This lovely looking modern place overlooks the beach on the West Coast of France in the Charente area. There are a huge number off places in the area that are used just a for few weeks in Summer. I really hope that this is not one of them. This is in a row of rather grand houses of an older style but exudes confidence and I suspect is a little more efficient than the draughty looking neighbours. I suspect whoever lives here has stylish furniture in a minimalist surrounding with white walls and plain floors with perhaps the odd piece … Continue reading House 4. French Modern

I’m undecided about this drawing, wether to re-work it or to plough on and see what happens with the colour. Robin, my sometime walking companion was checking his phone making sure, no doubt, that we were not lost out there on the Cotswold Way, some months ago. That band of white behind him is a field of oil seed rape. I’m reticent about showing you the original photo as you’d probably prefer it to the drawing. The location here is on the way from Chipping Campden to Broadway, two places that are popular with tourists wanting to see some typical … Continue reading Robin and the Cotswold Way

This place is just a few doors down from the previous ones that face the Atlantic on the west coast of France, but light years away in feel. Well looked after, I suspect that it’s full of books, perhaps even has a library room. I suspect the owners take as much care of the interior as they have the outside area. I hope they have some lovely paintings on the walls and perhaps the odd family photograph on the grand piano in the sitting room. I doubt they ever have a take away meal and probably dine out regularly at … Continue reading House 6. Another French neighbour

The Cotswolds near Cirencester and a sunny day. This is not far from an ancient Roman settlement and one would think that the poor Roman soldiers sent here all the those years ago might have seen a similar view across such a beautiful landscape. A considerably better posting than Hastings Wall, which if you have not visited is many miles North and was meant to keep the unruly Scots out of England . Both places worth a visit but I digress into travelogue speak. Taken from a photo the drawing is in my usual Indian ink, applied with brush, sometimes … Continue reading This image has two lives

I’m not sure if this place is still there but is distincly weird, perched over a cliff top in the only place in the UK with an exclamation mark in it’s name. It looks like no one lives there and this image was taken some years ago now, so it may well have changed, but when this was taken there was someone in residence. To say they keep themselves to themselves was something of an understatement at the time. There’s a story there that I don’t know, I hope it has a happy ending but suspect that it might be … Continue reading House 3. Westward Ho!

It’s up above Cheltenham and there on the top is the back way to Leckhampton Hill. This is part and just the start of a series of drawings I’m doing of landscapes. They start like this as simple line work and then get the digital treatment from then on. Indian ink on coated board and perhaps a bit of whiting out here and there, but in this case none, this is just the line work. It’s actually quite big drawing, around A2. I’ve done a few of these now and plan to do more. There’s something very therapeutic about sitting … Continue reading Leckhampton Hill from the back.

This one is in Sicily and is used as the house for the Mafia chief in the Detective TV series Moltalbano. A programme that is popular enough with me for us to take a trip over there a few years ago. We stayed in Ragusa, and hired a car to get us around and see stuff, including this place. The hiring of the car was the bravest part of this as the driving over there was ‘creative’ to say the least, and when it rained one day in the manner of a massive downpour, it got even more ‘creative’ but … Continue reading House 2. Mafia connections?

I do a card every year for a local garage who specialise in mending trucks. They are great clients, easily amused by my drawings and very loyal, they come back every year. I thought I’d share the progress of this year’s card. First of all the boss gets in touch and reminds me that he’d like me to do one again this year. I put my thinking cap on and try not to replicate previous ideas but I have to say that I have done a lot of Santa/Rudolf/Sleigh type drawings in the past. I sent them a number of … Continue reading From here to here, a Christmas card journey by truck.

This is the first of another series, this time on houses. This one is in my hometown of Cheltenham and although a typically English house, is not really typical of Cheltenham which has many regency houses, both terraces as well as occasionally detached. Detached sounds to me like it’s cast adrift, not wanting to speak. I used to take a walk past this place and it’s always stuck me as well-loved and with it’s sunny aspect that’s not really surprising. Houses have an aura. I’ve looked at many over the years and lived in quite a few. My parents moved … Continue reading Houses.

Looking like a luxury yacht at anchor this place is near Larchmont in Los Angeles. Most of the house around here are in a range of styles from faux Mexican villa to English Country cottage on steroids. This one was quite different, and lovely in its way. Super lines and some clever tree planting. The blue sky which is quiet normal for around here, sets off the white of the building . I love it. Probably owned by someone in the media, who only sleeps there. Too busy for the rest of the time earning enough to buy something bigger. … Continue reading House 19. Ship inspired perhaps?

I doubt that the little red wooden house here still exists. It was in Ontario, Canada, where we went a few years ago and was really the last holiday we had with the kids in tow. Heading north east from Toronto we were looking for the end of a family trail. We did rather underestimate the distances we needed to travel and spent many hours in the hired car. No wonder the kids never wanted to go with us again. They were also tortured as we got into country areas, by me insisting on stopping at any unusual Canadian barn … Continue reading House 18. Red house, Ontario.

In a typical Lancashire way my Aunty Winnie, who used to make a massive meat and potato pie for us whenever we moved house, had a way with words. Not unlike the great Hilda Baker who’s , comedy routine was based on getting the words slightly wrong but in an odd sense right. “Those evangelists have been painting the walls near the Town Hall again Dorothy!” Evangelists? Are you sure Winnie? “Yes of course I’m sure,saw it with my own eyes, take my word for it” The only bit of the word she got right was the “van” and she … Continue reading House 17. Cable Street, London