The subject for one of my most recent online art classes was inspired by instructions to stay local during Lockdowns I-III, and the regular walks that many of us consequently developed. I thought it might be a nice idea if my students and I each put together a pictorial representation of our respective ‘lockdown walk’….
Category: Pen
I’ve found a remote, but which one is it?
This drawing, made this afternoon in pen and ink in an A5 sketchbook, depicts a stack of five devices around which evenings chez Birtall are often wont to revolve. Before Judith and I were married last year we invested in white household blinds and entry-level projector, using which we intended to challenge the stamina of…
Thanks and Goodbye, Summer 2015
It’s mid-September and starting to feel distinctly chilly here. A fleece-lined shirt has been donned and the warm socks are out. The summer is fading to a vague memory, thoughts are turning to central heating and cocoa, and high street shops are trying to flog us Christmas. So… I thought it might be nice to…
The Fruit within the Husk
A satisfying day tidying up the garden yesterday, as its winter hiatus draws to a merciful close, threw up some unexpected delights in the shape of a handful of Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) husks. I find this plant and its flowers magical and have returned to draw and paint it at regular intervals over recent…
Art and Stress
I am sometimes surprised at the extent to which it is assumed that painting and drawing is a relaxing pastime. I generally find it quite the reverse. My brain often struggles to process the many simultaneous decisions that it is forced to make each moment working on a piece of artwork. I find this process…
Drawing Upon Life 