Off we go, walking in the Cotswolds again, perhaps to sing the odd song under a canal bridge. This is what we did today, my friend Robin, the singer, and me. Quietest place on the walk and the best place to burst into song. The Canal is overgrown right here but is part of the Stroudwater Canal running from there to here and beyond, here being towards Frampton Mansell. We did not reckon with the runner coming into view, and she probably thought it odd that someone was singing under a bridge. From here we wandered down the tow path … Continue reading Singing under a canal bridge, but don’t mention the cheese.

Hopefully, they were all out getting a good walk in which is what we did, but nobody dropped into here yesterday. It’s flattering when anybody calls by to my blog and even more so when they like or say anything. Why do we do it? Well, I think it’s a little like going to the pub and bending someone’s ear at the bar. Not something I’ve ever really been prone to doing as I rarely visit pubs these days, or any days really apart from my long gone student times when I successfully managed to make myself ill every time. … Continue reading No visitors on a Sunday

OK, that’s enough of these. This one is a little more local and is from a picture taken down by the River Severn. It’s a meadow and it was another bright blue day. It’s sometimes only after you’ve taken a picture and looked at it again that you realise what a wonderful day it was and exactly how lucky we are right here to live in such a wonderful landscape. This series has featured places as far away as Canada and the Orkneys, but this one is literally just down the road. The other factor here is that we can … Continue reading The last of the series. Did I hear a sigh of relief?

Some years ago we went walking in Crete, with olive trees at every turn I took loads of pictures. This is from one of them. That black sky on the top right will be blue, leaving me to get the rest of this to look as it should, baking hot with cool shadows. The truck below was on the same walk, but I won’t be drawing that. The plan is to make the truck a photoprint version. I think it’s a volvo! Continue reading One of the few from Crete

Still in Yorkshire and near Sheffield. This muddy track’s brightest feature were the pools of water. the lines in the background are the web of fields surrounded by dry stone walls. Unlike some of the other drawings, I’m confident that I can make this one work well. Watch this space! Continue reading Have you had enough of these?

This one’s in Yorkshire and a more recent inspiration. March saw a late fall of snow around Sheffield and this is a drift juts up the road from where we were staying. Lovely dry stone walls around there and this smooth snow drift in front of it. Of all the recent drawings there’s something about this that might be just leaving well alone. Being snow might make it a print to leave in black and white, white mainly!     Continue reading And another…Number 2, this one’s in Yorkshire.

We are still in Scotland and in the Orkneys. We were about to take a small ferry across to the island in the background. Small jetty is out of the picture to the left. I’m not sure if it was this ferry crossing or another where we encountered French Driver. An elderly chap with two female companions and a beat up old French vehicle. Despite his advancing I’m not sure if it was this ferry crossing or another where we encountered French Driver. An elderly chap with two female companions and a beat up old French vehicle. Despite his advancing … Continue reading “Even more!” Number 1

This too is on the Orkneys and is an ancient building. The foreground here is seawater, and in the original is a bright turquoise. The strata of rocks in the backgound are grey and in some places orange. The sky was blue but is unlikely to be so in the final. It was pretty wet on the Orkneys and as we were on a walking holiday, we got wet now and again. But it’s well worth it, atmospheric and calming in many ways. The rain rarely comes down, it comes along parallel to the ground, giving a very strong tingling … Continue reading “Oh so much!” Number 7

Found this when sorting out computer back up. The start of an idea that really never got much further. Has it got legs? Perhaps not.   Continue reading Artist’s Specs…

Anyone looking at my blogs will know how much I like sheds. This one is on the Orkneys, so we’ve moved on from the Canada pictures and are onto the Orkney ones now. So don’t expect any more trees for a while, there are none, or very few, on the Orkneys. The final print of this ought to have brown, blue and green in there but I tend to make up my mind differently and not necessarily follow the colours in the photo, otherwise I’d just publish the photo. I might even do that, when the whole project is finished, … Continue reading “Oh so much!” Number 6

The last of my Canada drawings for the time being. Again this is near Ucluelet. It’s been a lot of fun doing these and I hope I do the place justice when it comes to producing the colour print versions. This one will have much darkness in the foregropund like this has on the leaves and trees, but I need to go a lot of work on the bits between the trees and to the right to make it work properly. In addition, there was a sea mist in the top left, not sure just yet quite how I’m going … Continue reading “Oh so much!” Number 5

Vancouver Island again, this time of the coast. Again a lot to do to get the atmosphere, but I like a challenge. If you’ve not been to Vancouver Island then go there, this is near Ucluelet, which is pronounced a little bit like “You clue less!” but with a ‘t’ on the end. Great place and the coast around there is very varied, very bracing and the people were lovely. Loads of hippies from the US went there in the 60’s to avoid the draft and Viet Nam, quite a lot have stayed, so it’s ‘cool man’. Continue reading “Oh so much!” Number 4