A Chair

I built my first chair about 40 years ago by nailing four lengths of wood onto the corners of a (folding) cardboard ludo board. It was not a good chair. It was only through the phenomenal strength my barely formed thighs that I managed to keep my bum off the ground until the end of tea time. This is my second chair and is pretty successful.

I'd always thought that making furniture might be a rewarding occupation it being both creative and practical. However it's also quite time consuming, space hungry and expensive. The plan was to attempt to make a set of chairs and a small table but time moves on and other projects came to the fore so 1 chair is all there is for now.

There are nails or screws but I did use 'organic resin' glue to strengthen the joints. It was a great excuse to invest in some new tools though. I now have a band-saw, bench-sander, electric-planer and biscuit-jointer (nope,me neither).

I do like the chair very much though. It was based on the stylised designs that Annes Stevens and I developed for the game; Fable The Journey. I think it worked out really well and is quite charming if not very practical as the footprint is quite small. It's shown here on Hankley common to add a touch of drama.

Cutting the mortice and tenons

Laminating the legs

The un-oiled seat.The splits are cut in as a stylistic feature

Perhaps one day I'll make the rest of the set but keep your money in your wallet for now, I'm not be taking any orders just yet.

Fire and Iron

2011 has been good to me, I feel revitalised. I've been catching up on time mis-spent and searching out new ways of making stuff. I'd always been attracted to the elemental nature of blacksmithing; iron, fire and muscle. But how to begin? Well as it turned out, I work with the partner of Rebecca Clarke who is both a Blacksmith in her own right and the daughter of renowned metalworker Terrence Clark. Even better than that their forge is right on the path of my lunchtime run, about 10 mins form the office.

Bex is an excellent tutor and a pleasure to be with. She took me from complete novice to making items I'm genuinely proud of in a matter of hours. Call her, commission her, you won't regret it!!

She started off by teaching me to make tongs, a basic tool of the trade and then some 8cm nails which I need for another project of mine.

I had a thoroughly rewarding time doing this. It's probably the most engrossing thing I've done in a long, long time and something I intend to pick up again when time permits. Perhaps even build a forge.

Sicily sketches

Just back from two weeks in Sicily where we rented a house overlooking the sea near Scopello. Sicily is lovely, all you might want from an Italian experience; beautiful countryside, chaotic towns, turquoise water and great food. It's also got the most unthreatening feral dogs and the most threatening drivers I've come across anywhere. The cafe/bar in Scopello is a great place to sit and be amazed by both. Outside their cars the people are lovely; relaxed, engaging and charming but once behind the wheel they're SCARY.

I Managed a couple of morning runs (not my best time :-) in the Zingaro national park which was amazing. It was more like fell-running as the paths are really rocky and uneven with quite demanding slopes. I made it even more challenging by sticking to a strict and beautiful diet of pecorino cheese, fresh bread on the hour, suino-nero salamy, oil soaked veg and cheap wine. I should really align my intrerests better.

More relevant to this blog, I found the time to do some watercolour sketching as well. It was fantastic being able to paint in such wonderful light. It really makes easier to be braver with the palette when everything is glowing. I think I learned quite a lot from the experience.

There are a few more pics here if you feel the need more sicily sketches

Semi Recovered Fail

Oil No2

Tomatoes and coffee bon't make a great snack but they serve well enough as a still life subject.
I took a bit more care over this one. I really want to be able to paint in the 'studio' and in the evenings so I sorted out some daylight lighting and used a box to reduce background interference.
I got some 20w (100w old skool) low-energy daylight bulbs from 'nulightuk' on eBay http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/nulightuk/. They work well for the subject using a desklamp but I really need another source to light the canvas. One light is just a bit constraining.
An old cardboard box with the front and top removed contains and controls the scene. It should probably be black but I figured I'd done enough prep at that stage and really wanted to start painting.
I also painfully re-learned that painting over graphite pencil with oils is not a good idea (it lifts).

It's so much more enjoyable when you can focus on painting without the time pressure of shifting light. I can see loads of ways to improve this pic but I'm still pretty happy with the result. Can't wait to do another.

Oil

I fancied trying a more robust medium so I got myself some oils. I'd used them once before, years ago got frustrated and never stuck with them.

I know this is a horribly flawed image, I was just getting a feel for the paint again. To be honest it felt alright, I could do with being bolder and less faffy but it seemed managable.

 

The biggest shock was realising just HOW LONG it takes for the blasted stuff to dry.

The Moat at Elstead

Not a terribly exciting image but it has some things going for it. It's of The Moat behind Elstead.

I took off for a couple of hours this morning to see if anything convinced me to paint it. After strolling around The Moat for a bit (remaining unconvinced) I decided I had to do something rather than pack it in so I sat myself at the far side of the pond, looking back on the little sandy beach.

It's not a bad representation the scene but it looks a lot better in the thumbnail than it does enlarged. Lacking crispness and a bit muddy again but I'm happy with it considering I wasn't that motivated.

It's a lovely spot, very relaxing, ducks paddling, ripples rippling, a couple of biplanes droning overhead on the way to the Dunsfold airshow. In the end, as always, it didn't really matter what I came up with, it was just nice to be out and about painting.

I might just treat this and another I did at the time as sketches and have a go at a studio image later.

Mackeral

It's too easy to get used to good weather. This weekend we forgot we were in the U.K. followed a break in the clouds and went line fishing off a boat (Kraken) out of Lyme Regis. The sea was spectacular, a gently undulating glassy surface with a seamless blend between it and the pearly cloud backdrop. Quite a beautiful and surreal experience for an infrequent boater like me.

Of course the weather borked and everyone was soaked within 10 minutes despite coming equipped with perfectly good tee-shirts and even some socks. Anyway, once you're really wet you're probably as wet as you're going to get so we carried on.The company and the fishing was pretty good though; interesting chats and enough of a catch for dinner.

Mackeral are a beautiful fish to catch (easy), eat (tasty) and to look at (stripey). Unfortunately I haven't really done them service here, E.Mc has done much better in the past. To make amends I later headed off to Tesco to have a crack at an iced one but they only had Herring. Arguably as tasty but not such a looker if you ask me.

Cliffs at Burton Bradstock

More of the crazy cliffs at Burton Bradstock near West Bay in West Dorset with the Isle of Portland in the background. This one on a really hot August day with the crowds out. Sun-cream and ice-cream as as as the eye could see.

I'm pretty pleased with this pic; It feels like the place and the paint is going down a lot cleaner than recently. I'm being more agressive with it which seems to be paying off. It's certainly a big improvement on last year's visit to West Bay a bit further west along the coast.

This one is about A5, watercolour with some gouache to help with the people (the dotty bits in the middle). Thanks to A.S. for suggesting adding more green in the summer sky, paradoxically it does feel warmer and helps remove the 'straight from the pan' quality from the F.U.Blue.

Last Year's images http://paulmcsblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/west-bay.html

Grey Day by Golden Cap

A Bleak day and quite a bleak picture. Had an hour between downpours to rattle one off on the beach by Golden Cap (Lyme Regis in the background).

I had some problems with laying down the initial tonal values so it's a bit overworked but worth doing, any practice is good practice.

Beer Garden

Some success (by my standards) though. It was a wet Sunday but later in the day the sun came out and we retied to the beer garden of the Manor Hotel in West Bexington.
Ordered cider for the first time since being a student, good choice, I suspect there's more to follow if the summer holds out.
Anyway, this pic has some annoying shortcomings but I'm happy enough considering I was 2 pints in.

The second image is a kitchen repainting I did later (for Maria and Si) which presumably relegates the first one to sketch status now. I suppose the repaint has lost a bit of spontaneity but I actually think it's a much nicer pic and captures the mood of the place more effectivly.

Coastguard

If anyone needs an image to put on a souvenir tea-towel or box of fudge then I'm yer' man.

Here's a quickie of the fields behind the coastguard cottages at West Bexington.

Later in the day I tried to recreate the feel of the place from memory. I like the way it's become more stylised but there's not much in it really. That said, the process of reimagining the scene was an interesting exercise in itself, worth doing if you get the chance.

Behind Elstead

Another empty landscape. This one is to the back of Elstead village. I 'm lucky enough to pass this way most mornings. It's pretty parched now in mid Summer but it's amazing how it changes through the seasons.

This pic' might not look much to you but I'm really happy with the way the paint is going down here and the fact that the image captures the colour/light pretty successfully. I'm going to try some other similar, simple compositions to keep paint options to a minimum and reduce the potential for messing up.

Tractor

Got pulled behind a tractor at Loseley today. Exhaust, dust and hot rubber; I love it!
This is a digital colour-up of a pencil sketch I did at the time.

Tamarisk Farm

There's a fantastic, ancient farm at the top of the hill in West Bexington. It's a ramshackle and eclectic collection of grey stone buildings enlivened by a lovely blue on the woodwork. Weather was problematic but a nice subject to work on regardless. These are pencils and (precision) felt-tip drawings given a colour treatment with watercolour.

It's sort of my fallback style I guess. A5 ish and about an hour or so to do each at the side of the road. The colour is pretty delicate and some has disappeared in the scanning, I'll have another go at them later.

The application of mechanics to the practice of Devotions

 

A bit of a legacy from my Catholic upbringing this. I managed to lose god before it was too late but it's hard to get the memories of ceremony and sniff of incense out of your sysyem. If nothing else Catholicism is always good for a spot of bizarre and dark drama.

This thing is pretentiously but very accurately titled (there is even a label on it saying): “The application of mechanics to the practice of Devotions”.

I designed it as a foolproof aid to prayer and worship, practically guaranteed to help you gain favour with all the major God figures although tuned for the Catholic Christian one from my youth. It’s quite simple really:

Instructions for use:

1. Select your saint on the top roller from a choice of the 40 most useful and popular. Padre Pio is a new addition to the line-up and a pretty good all rounder. There will be a series of collector cards to follow.

2. Genuflect (optional) and light the, now electric, devotional 'candles' using the switch provided.

3. Type your invocation using the keyset. It's a QWERTZ arrangement, Southern Europe being better attuned than the north for this purpose. Try to be brief and to the point. remember, it's a machine so there is no benefit in being overly wordy or poetic.

4. As you key, the bell chimes in time, creating a solemn and holy atmosphere. This focuses the mind and draws attention to your spiritual condition.

5. Prayers will then be answered in the normal way only moreso.

It’s not fully complete yet but so far it has proven to be extraordinarily effective as well as decorative, far better than either unassisted prayer or simple secular wall adornments.

The wings are really only there to add some ambience of the angel. From what I can tell, they don’t affect the functionality in any way. They were found, along with the rest of the crow, by an my daughter's 11 year old friend while out cycling and left on the windowsill in case I had a need. Which I did :-)

More attempts with watercolour. This time while on holiday in the Dolomites in the Autumn of 09. All of these are in the area of Ortisei in the Val Gardena and actually painted from balconies on the villa we were staying in! I'm getting marginally better (well, braver) with applying colour and am relatively happy with these but the reality is that I don't paint often enough to make significant improvements.

The night-time sketch was of moonlit clouds forming up in the Pitzberg mountains. This was incredibly dramatic at the time and even a bit creepy, just needed the cry of a werewolf to complete it. BTW the little bright dot to the right is Jupiter.

The others are looking up the valley towards the Sella Gruppe and are effectivly the view from the kitchen window!

Went all went on a day trip to London last Sept. I had intentions of doing all sorts of scribbling and drawing but once I'd done this sketch of the pillbox at the end of Putney Bridge tube station the pad never came out again. I guess I was having too much of a good time or something.

Beer

Beer is a lovely little seaside town in West Dorset. It's also a working harbour though, only without the harbour; all the fishing boats get hauled up onto the shingle beach by winches. The boats themselves are very characterful and an easy target for sketching. This started off as a drawing with my brush-pen but I decided to colour it up once as it turned out OK.

I quite like water colouring on this cheap cartridge paper. The paint stays fluid for quite a while and I'm not so precious about the paper so I get more done. Only problem is the paper buckles badly so I've got myself some heavier weight stuff to work with.

This pic is all very twee, make a good postcard, but there's still some good stuff going on with the paint which I was happy with.

West Bay

Back in Dorset. Lovely place lovely weather. I promised myself I'd try to capture something of the crazy cliffs in West Bay and Burton Bradstock. All this area was a river delta millions of years ago and the ebb and flow of the water has resulted in really striking strata. Add some uplifting (?) and erosion and you get something very unique.

It feels like the setting for the closing sequence of Planet Of The Apes

"You maniacs! You blew it up! God damn you! God damn you all to hell!"

As so well re-enacted by Alberto G' V' when we were there last year.

These are very much sketches I quite like the graphic one but either way you get the idea.