Here’s another of my drawings from a photograph taken on a superb trip to the very West Coast of Canada on Vancouver Island. In Canada the Group of Seven is a much lauded collection of artists from the early 1900s and Tom Thompson was said to be a member of the group. Although you can see from the link that he died, quite young and in mysterious circumstances before the group really was formed. Of all the works in the group I was really taken by his beautiful atmospheric landscapes with the strong graphic style. Visiting the area that he … Continue reading Tom Thompson and the Group of Seven.

It’s one of those words heard a lot on arts programmes on Radio 4 when worthy people talk about the very latest art, and it’s a word I try to avoid as it always reminds me of, those arts programmes on Radio 4. So I’ll just use it once in relation to this drawing which is, like the others in this series, taken from a photograph when on our travels. This one is in Crete and is of a fishing boat with a broken down factory in the background. I wonder what the factory did with its tall chimneys and … Continue reading Juxtaposition, not a word to be used lightly.

This is the second of my series of black and white drawings and is where Gavin Maxwell wrote the book of the name. We went there as part of a walking holiday, and this, like all the drawings in this series, is from a photograph taken at the time. My memory of the place is of almost copmplete stillness and peace. Difficult to imagine anyone living there really, and it must have been tough. Like the first in this series of drawings this has yet to reach the colour stage, and in some ways I’m loathe to bother, or should … Continue reading Ring of Bright Water

This is the first of a series of line drawings done in last year and intended as a bit of a departure from my cartoon stuff. See how I hesitate to call it “cartoon work” in an effort to make it sound less than it is. Cartoon work is work, but it’s hardly coal mining. Any sort of drawing is a kind of therapy as most people who do it will tell you. So I’ve been in therapy since the age of about 7. This is Beaumaris the home town of my late father and it’s in North Wales. It’s … Continue reading A drawing a day for a week, plus back story.

These are the words spoken by my brother at our father’s funeral that have stuck very close to me. What he had to face is in this image. That’s him under the black dot. It’s quite a famous photograph from the invasion of Normandy and was taken in June on the outskirts of Cagny and features the advancing Guards Amoured Division that by September the 2nd was liberating Brussels. On my father’s left is another Davies who sadly never made it out of Normandy. The officer pointing is Major Syrett, killed the day after this image was taken. Our father … Continue reading “We’ve had nothing more frightening than a VAT inspection”