Sep
28
couple of figures
Things are getting seriously busy now as deadlines approach, so in the absence of words here are some more sketchbook grabs to amuse.
Sep
22
Digging up old work (an occasional slot)
I've been rummaging through some of my old work looking for material to show my agent. Often I end up getting distracted by the pieces that I turn up and forget what I was looking for in the first place.
This is one example, an exhibition piece from several years ago which I've always had a soft spot for. The tree was actually in my local park, I did an on-the-spot sketch and developed it into this illustration.
This is one example, an exhibition piece from several years ago which I've always had a soft spot for. The tree was actually in my local park, I did an on-the-spot sketch and developed it into this illustration.
Sep
19
Tea Pot Torment
Why can't you find as decent western tea pot in Japan (or suburban Yokohama to be more specific)? Could this be a rant coming on? Yes it is.
So the story's this. My old tea pot broke it's spout in the dishwasher, so the missus and I set out to buy a new one. Off we marched to new town shopping mall paradise "Center Kita" with our hopes high.
Center Kita - the very name ("Center North") conjures up images of modern Japanese blandness.
So the story's this. My old tea pot broke it's spout in the dishwasher, so the missus and I set out to buy a new one. Off we marched to new town shopping mall paradise "Center Kita" with our hopes high.
Center Kita - the very name ("Center North") conjures up images of modern Japanese blandness.
Sep
17
More machinery
Something else from the sketchbook. I find the more constraining the environment around me, (concrete jungle, crowds of people etc) the more I escape into fantasy.
Sep
12
Machines
It's not only faces I've been doodling during those increasingly rare occasions I get a seat on the train into Tokyo. One day these doodles might develop into a finished product, then again they might not. I don't really think about where I can take them too much, it's where the drawings take me that's more important. It's just good to scribble away without any agenda other than enjoying myself.
Sep
8
Sketchbook doodles
Recently I've been doodling faces a lot in my little note sketchbook, here's one page. All straight from the imagination, not so much observations of people around me. I regard it as a kind of imaginative work-out - free doodling without the pressures of meeting a brief.
Sep
6
Family Photos
Okey, this is definitely the last post on my family, the howling wolves of deadlines are baying at the door, henceforth I'll be focused on the present and the tasks in hand.
However I just wanted to show what a wonderful tool Photoshop can be for retouching. As various older members of the family have passed on my father's house has become a repository for a growing collection of old family photos, some of them in very poor condition.
However I just wanted to show what a wonderful tool Photoshop can be for retouching. As various older members of the family have passed on my father's house has become a repository for a growing collection of old family photos, some of them in very poor condition.
Sep
6
Heritage
I've been researching my family history for some time now. A couple of years ago my dad had reached a blank on tracing his grandfather, and asked me to see what I could find on the Net. For a history nut like me this was an invitation to open a door into the past - I was instantly hooked.
Since then I've not only traced my great grandfather, but his father in turn and generations before that.
Since then I've not only traced my great grandfather, but his father in turn and generations before that.
