Tea time - 9

You probably won't believe me when I tell you I've completed nearly 4 hours work on this today...I decided I wanted to show my left hand (I'm left handed by the way!) and I wanted to depict something symbolic. I've drawn in a few versions of what I wanted ( you can see the indentations of pencil lines erased in the process!)..I've applied a base cover of dots to the sleeve...tomorrow I'll work on refining it, then the hand and hopefully the tea spilling from the cup!

Tea time - 8 Will i am proud !

Having thought about it for a while...I've decided to make the tea cup more three dimensional as opposed to being seen in profile. This should make it more interesting when I work on the tea spilling out of it. I next thought about different leg wear...I usually wear denim so that's what I settled on. You can see the nearly completed jeans...the creases in the material looks complicated but is really just a series of patterns. Once you have understood the way highlights on creases relate to shadowed areas, it's just a matter of 'feeling' what looks right.

Today, my second son had his leavers day. Way back when I left school, there was absolutely no fuss made. I remember I walked the 2 miles to school...did an exam...then walked home again having said goodbye. Today it's increasingly becoming the fashion for pupils to arrive at school in progressively more interesting forms of transport. The stretch limousine has been popular for some time, but in my opinion is a little passe now. Will and his girl friend Claire were driven to school in a specially hired Mercedes driven by Claire's Mum. I was very proud of will, he'd spend hours redressing his dreadlocks. I helped to pin the front sections back off his face.I think he looked great.  

Tea time - 7

I originally thought when I photographed my hand this afternoon that it would look quite graceful...but after working on it for a while, I realise that although I'm  delicate and dexterous with my hands, they actually resemble a bunch of sausages ! It was then important to prepare to render the tea cup I'm going to hold in this picture. As you can see by my pencil work, it needed some basic geometry to make sure it looked right. Eventually, tea will be spilling from the cup....

Tea time - 6

Had a bit of a stutter on this today after someone said that I looked like 'Rumpole of the Bailey'. Whilst Leo McKern is or rather was a great and well respected actor..I felt saddened to be compared with him. Especially as I've embarked on a diet and exercise regime in the last couple of weeks...I do realise I'm over weight. This is wholly due to the fact that my work happens behind a desk in my own house. I used to work in Residential Childcare and spend most of my days playing sport and being active...this all ended six years ago when I was made redundant.  So I'm now working hard to get back in shape before my age and sedentary lifestyle catch up with me in a bad way! So far weight is coming off, and I power walk around 3 miles every morning! So look out for a leaner Mr Young in the near future!

Tea time - 5

Tea time - 4

I've worked today on my top which is fairly easy to do but the effect is in my opinion  pleasing.You can see the pencil work towards the bottom showing where I shall be working next.

Tea time - 3

Not much time for work today, but I've been able to start on the old 1990's top I'm seen wearing here. I love the moons and stars...it's also got a hood...but I can assure you, I'm not turning into the Star Man!

Tea time - 2

Blimey...not a very flattering view of me that I've chosen to use here is it? Still..it should prove humorous when taken in context with the rest of the picture. The hair is proving difficult...thank goodness lots of it has fallen out and I only have half a head to deal with! I've also decided to depict me wearing a favourite top of mine I bought back in the early 90's...you'll see more of it next time I post!

Incidentally, you might be wondering what happened to  'Tea time 1' ...well, I have no idea! I wrote it...I posted it...and it's gone! I'll post below the image it contained.

Tea...oh...and kittens!

OK..I've at long last settled on the full arrangement for my new picture. But being the old spoil sport I am, I'll keep it under wraps and you'll see it as I do it! Hopefully if all goes well, I'll start dotting tomorrow.

But in the mean time...here's the litter of kittens our cat Wilba has on Sunday. This is the very last litter she is being allowed to have . A trip to the Veterinary surgeon is going to see to that at last! For now...we're going to really enjoy these three in the next few weeks. Mum being half Manx has produced two long tails, and the almost black kitten here in the middle has a stumpy tail which is hooked just like her mum's !

Tea tease - 2

I've taken a large amount of photographs of myself ...one hopefully be used for reference to be  included in the new picture.Here's one of the many that may or might not be used....

Development today has gone well...I'm hoping tomorrow to settle on a good composition...I like to produce sketches on separate pieces of paper and assemble them rather like a jigsaw....I have the separate elements and have several ways they can be put together. Lets meet up here again tomorrow evening to see what I've decided upon!

Tea tease.

Have had a very productive day with the sketchbook...and have now moved onto my bigger format sketchbook to begin roughing out the basic composition forms. The main sketching work which includes a mock up of the way I'm hoping the finished picture will look will remain unseen for the time being. But as a teaser, here is an early development drawing of three ladies ...I realised that it actually echoes aspects of both 'Three Graces' and 'White Ladies' and was originally due to be included in 'Tables'...but I like to think that this concept is a more complex development and will include two major figures (not seen here!) a bridge..a train..flowers...probably skulls..birds etc....you get the idea. But it's what I'm about, and it's the natural progression of ideas generated over the last few years. If you're fed up with the current trend in my work...then you're going to be stuck with this one for a while yet.

But just remember...you were there at the beginning!

Miss O'Murphy by Francoise boucher 1752.

Painted in 1752 by Francois Boucher, this portrait of  Mary-Louise O'Murphy de Boisfaily was 

thought to be a direct invitation to Louis XV showing that she was available to be his mistress.Without resorting to the many and varied 'historical' references to this painting (I'm not an art historian!) I have always considered this painting to be erotic and gloriously executed  by an artist who is familiar with sexuality and sensuality. Seeing it for the first time in a book as a black and white illustration, it has remained part of the bedrock of my artistic refverence  between classical anatomy and the etherial beauty of the erotic whereby an image engages with the desires and dreams of the observer.

Tennis Fashion - Bethanie Mattek - Sands

I was just watching coverage of the Madrid Open tennis tournament from Spain. Part of the women's WTA tour, the Quater final featured American Bethany Mattek - Sands who comes from Miami in Florida. I felt the need to comment because as you know I have an interest in ladies tennis fashion.Whilst I don't have any pictures of her playing in the match, I have these pics from the net of recent appearances. A detirmined and powerful player, Mattek -Sands displays an individual style which is extrovert and distinctive. Wearing today, black shoes..black calf length socks, a black skirt, black and white striped vest top, black head band and those moustache shaped under eye markings, she looked very similar to the view in the photograph below . I think Mattek is good for women's tennis and the sport as a whole. I applaud her individual style and look forward to seeing her in upcoming tournaments.

Pregnancy.

Hello..I have no idea what to write about.I'm sitting in my front room..it's dark outside and I've spent most of the day with my sketch book....oh yes, I've got lots of ideas as you know. Long term readers here will know that I find the period between pictures quite difficult at times. Apart from the concept and development, the really good thing for me is the process...the actual action of spending hours , days, weeks and months working on something that was once an idea or a series of ideas, and seeing an image emerge from the blank page. I miss the action of  dotting and concentration...the order of my day is formed around it.

I suppose it would be whimsical to compare this period to being in an accelerated pregnancy where my idea has been conceived and is approaching the birth day.

 I'm concentrating on two concepts at the moment..( I guess this means I'm expecting twins if I use the pregnancy analogy ! )one of which has progressed through around 15 - 20 versions becoming more refined as I go on. The other idea which is fairly simple is at the stage where (If the first idea doesn't work very well) I can initiate it without too much development.

Funny...I wasn't going to write about that. I was going to write a short piece about another favourite painting of mine. I'll probably do that tomorrow.

Tables - finished.

Tables.

2011

48 x 26 cm.

Total time: 142 hours 35 minutes.



Tables - 40 Final stages.

I've actually finished this picture now, but I'd like to photograph the work in daylight...so i'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow. work today was a matter of finishing the stones on the ground and refining the boy's and the Mad Vicar's faces. I'm happy with the way things look now and so it's time to put the pen down and prepare for the next project!

Tables - 39

Working on the stones is tedious but actually easy. I firstly create an outline for a stone, and then another until a series of abstract similar sized panels are ready for filling in.

A basic layer of dots is applied to the panels I have created , I then consider from where I imagine the lightsource is and begin to lay in some basic shading which represents where the shadows will go.

Once I've established the shadow areas, I darken the spaces between the rocks and deepen the shadowed area presuming that the upper line of the stone will be caught by the moonlight.The difficult part of this process is to vary the angles at which the stones lie to each other, hence the depth of shadow varies too. I also have to allow for shadows falling from the figures...this is something that can be addressed after the stones are defined.

Tables - 38

Tables - 37

Tables - 36

've worked on the increasingly tedious stones today...should finish this very soon.

Tables - 35

Tables - 34

Tables - 33

Tables - 32

Tables - 31

 I'm now at the stage where I will bring the sky down towards the horizon...this should speed up production time as it beomes lighter!

Tables - 30

I think I've just about finished the upper portion of the sky now...I just need to refine the features on the Moon..then I can start to work down towards the horizon.

Tables - 29

Blurred photo...sorry...

Tables - 28

Further work on the clouds...I'm not happy with the leaning dark cloud, so I'll balance it up at a later date. Recently I've been listening to a lot of music...I have a huge collection of album and CD's dating back to my childhood. ..and it never ceases to amaze me that there is always something new to discover that fits perfectly with one's tastes. It happened this week. I'm a big fan of what they call Progressive Rock as typified by bands such as Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd etc...so I was very surprised to discover a swedish band called The Flower Kings who made their first recording in 1995 and incorporate all the things that make for good 'Prog'..wonderful stuff...I can just set it playing and work away to it. what do you think? this is part one of a longer piece...

Tables - 27

Worked well today...managed around six hours of dotting. the main process here is to lay down a fairly even layer of dots, then fill in areas to denote the clouds edges. I'm feeling my way slowly as I'm not sure of the final cloud formations.But it's fun in a sort of way letting areas suggest themselves as I go along!

Tables - 26

The worst thing about being demotivated is that one is inclined to spend fewer hours working ...this in turn means the piece takes longer to finish and become even more tedious.Not that I'm finding this piece tedious, but it has altered radically from my original intent. I found myself going through my original sketches for this composition and reconfiguring my concept which might mean I can executee 'Tables 2' at a later date. I also have a good series of sketches developing for a colour self portrait. (Doesn't sound like demotivating does it?)

Yesterday I had to make good use of the warm weather and get out to do some gardening. Which really only meant cut the grass and get rid of some overgrown Buddleias which were obscuring my Japanese Maple tree. Heavy physical gardening, hefting lawnmower about and sawing  and pruning  always causes my hands to hurt and tremble...which impairs my ability to do delicate and intricate dotting.This usually eases in around 48 hours and I can work properly again.So that was another reason for reduced time today. The good news is, that tomorrow I Should be back to full capacity..!

Tables - 25

View from the battlements.

I'm finding it a real challenge at the moment to concentrate on my vision. I tend to plow a very lonely furrow often not speaking to any adults for days. I read recently that William Blake quote which says something along the lines of "I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's." However. the system I create is fallible and imperfect ....and alone I continue...and in many ways i've learned that I shall be alone.

 I apologise for the lack of progress on 'Tables' today. But here is a photograph I posted on Face Book at the weekend of a rainbow seen from my bedroom window. It's got me thinking  (and sketching!!) about how few artists have managed to render correctly and effectively it's luminescence.

I think I can....watch this space!

Tables - 24

Started work on the sky today and completed the body of the locomotive. Not much else to say.

Tables - 23

Sorry for the no show yesterday. Had stomach cramps and felt quite under the weather.So lay around watching daytime TV. I've also had battle s with self doubt over my work..this has been going on for some time and is (when looked at objectively) a symptom of working for day after day alone in my room concentrating on small areas. Pictures completed go into a large plastic bag and live down by the side of my wardrobe. Nobody gets to see them until I get them framed and out to exhibition. the result of this down patch has been I have no major exhibition this year.  I'm off to the Willington Arts Festival in a few weeks for a three day show...then nothing until possibly September.

I think many people find my work awkward and difficult to deal with. I certainly find it difficult to open my heart and discuss what at times are very sensitive issues to me resulting from a difficult childhood.The are times I don't want to be open, but I have a responsibility to the true nature behind my work and to sit and see people just drift by them in a exhibition is almost impossible for me to bear at times.... So if you'll forgive the illogicality of the thought..it's better not to have an exhibition than to continually tell strangers about my mother's alcoholism (which is key to my expression) and why there's yet another frilly knickered Cello girl staring out at the viewer.This is easy when I'm on top of things, but hell when I'm not.

Which brings me to today's post. Yes there were supposed to be two cello girls...yes there was going to be a Cancan dancer and an airman. but after much thought, I've decided to stick with an earlier concept to reduce the area of the picture leaving the central character as the Mad vicar. So this I have done which will mean the piece will be completed sooner. I think (if my nerve permits it) dedicate a picture at a later time to my beloved Cello girls yet again.

Anyway... having said all that, I still have some distance to go with the current drawing. there's a moon up in a darkened sky..and what's going on the floor?....see you tomorrow.

Tables - 22

I started the day with a distinct lack of omph! You know the feeling!? It's that point when as a kid we say "I'm bored!"..but there is never ever any excuse for being bored. there is always something you can do ! With me, I need to either get out and do some physical activity or surround and bombard my senses with things that I've found to inspire me. so; comfy chair...ear phones...loud music and sketchbook. OK, so sometimes a bottle of wine or some other wonderful whisky or rum or brandy will be involved. But that is all...I once had a conversation with a friend's son who just couldn't believe that i didn't use drugs (Ok so alcohol and caffeine are active drugs, but they aren't illegal!)...I've never used illicit drugs or been offered them. In fact I consider it lame, weak and utterly foolish to use them. My imagination is a place of infinite images and dreams as it is..

Tables - 21

Just passed the 70 hour mark working on this piece. My work today was confined to the afternoon period and found me listening to the final of the world Cup Cricket Tournament between Sri Lanka and India..was very exciting and I was pleased that India won. this evening is another evening at home, but a nice bottle of red wine awaits!

Tables - 20

Worked a few less hours today...but was able to add more to the locomotive. If you're interested, it's a British Rail class 55 'Deltic'.So called because the engine's pistons were arranged in a triangular system which looked like a delta shape. the engine was made by the Napier Deltic company who are most well known for marine engines. At the time of it's manufacture between 1961 ( the year of my birth!) and 1962, the loco was the most powerful in the world. Built to pull trains up the British east coast between Kings cross in London and Edinburgh Waverly in Scotland. with a top speed of 100 MPH, there were only 22 units made which continued in service until the end of 1981. six examples are preserved in private ownership. They were named after Derby winners, a prestigious horse race and famous military regemints.The names reflected the pedigree nature of these machines.

For a boy trainspotter such as myself living in the Midlands..it was nigh impossible to see these beasts unless one traveled to the East Coast Mainline.Thus they achieved almost mythical status. Then to actually stand in the presence of one of these machines especially under the enclosed roofing of York railway station, you could feel the air vibrate and throb with the deep growling of the twin Napier Deltic engines.

By the time I was independent enough to travel alone, I had no money to afford tickets...then by the time I could afford tickets..they had been scrapped! Luckily today, six still survive and run on preserved lines around the country. I have yet to travel behind one....one day! Below is a video curtesy of you tube which shows the sight and sound of  preserved Deltc 55 022 'Royal Scots Grey' leaving York station on 8th August 2008! turn up the volume!