Not snowy

Definitely no snow here. Arrived exhausted today at Kommetjie, near Cape Town. I took this photograph shortly after arriving and walking five minutes down the road from the house where we're staying.

Christmas

I'll be away from tomorrow - if the flights from Heathrow can be relied upon to run! - for almost a month. Will try post while away, but certainly won't have a scanner... meanwhile, wishing you all a

In the bleak midwinter

... though from just before things totally froze up! Just testing the paper of a spiral bound sketchbook to take to away with me (if I ever get on a plane) to see if it takes watercolour without too much curling (the verdict is so-so, but too bad!)

Brush markers and watercolour wash in Windsor and Newton spiral bound A4 sketchbook.

Iceworks

Frozen lines

The country is at a standstill with all lines of communication frozen - still not sure why this problem is repeated every year, 'they' should know it gets cold in winter... the poor spiders have their lines of communication frozen too.

Snug

I know it's not a very manly look, but Kato was shivering for a while. Note: that was at home - he doesn't go into the outside world as Cardy Man - there, he is feral beast (or a bit of a lad, actually)!

Brush markers and watercolours in Seawhite of Brighton sketchbook.

Scale

Kato sat next to the big vase of amaryllis which is on the floor...

Brush marker and watercolour in Seawhite of Brighton sketchbook.

Luminous

I'm afraid these have been slightly chaotically busy days before the Christmas break, so not many drawings, or even not any, though I may settle now to an hour's sketching... but here's a photo taken this morning. Of a transparent giraffe's leg...?

Life drawing

Still tidying the studio storage, I also didn't remember these - from a small sketchbook of very quick, watercolour sketches from life. Probably around 1998!

All are watercolour or pencil in watercolour in small, wire-bound watercolour sketchbook.

Then and now

I had a big tidy of my studio store cupboard and found all manner of lost and forgotten things. Not least, a big Seawhite of Brighton sketcbook, begun probably twelve years ago and abandoned after some pages, having been used mostly to jot down ideas and many lists of things. Slipped between a double spread of ideas for titles, none of which I ever used, was a drawing made on tracing paper. There were other sketches of this couple, which I must have drawn at life drawing sessions at the faculty of fine arts where I was teaching at the time, but I liked the way this one let the writing through. 

Pen and ink on tracing paper, on pen in large Seawhite of Brighton sketchbook.