News today:

mostly feeling: tired..................................................

Hello,

Been doing some more quick sketches of shoes. I apologize for the rubbish quality but they are so light its hard to take a clear picture:

They are not finished yet but it would be nice to do a small series of painted and inked up images for my website.

I like to draw shoes as I think you can tell a lot about a person from their shoes- maybe that's just me that thinks like that. When I was at college I used to practice my skills by drawing shoes as they are hard to master! Plus, I like the different textures and colours. Sometimes shoes look like wrinkles on a persons face. For example, if you look at an old mans work boots you can see their whole working life in them- it makes you wonder what sort of person they are and what journeys they made in those shoes.

Holly :-)

Bonjour!

It is now officially my weekend before I go back to work on Saturday. I've mainly been sketching and listening to my new Kooks album (which, I highly recommend). I've gone back to doing images up a bit. This is the first image from my sketchbook using ink, pencil and acrylic:

Secondly, here is a pencil and fine-nib ink sketch:

Sketching over to look at tone with coloured pencils:

I think in future I will try and use more paint as I am sketching. I also, really enjoyed using the black ink and painting with it instead of using a nib (the first image)- the effects you can achieve are interesting.

Holly :-)

I'm at work right now so can't post much- I haven't done any drawing/painting for a few days and I really really really really miss it! Will hopefully have something to 'show and tell' soon x

Hello!

Been painting again today- I am trying to get some more base colours down although I wan't to make the image softer as it goes into the distance (as Penny suggested earlier). Trying to figure out the best way to do this.

Hello,

I'm feeling a bit slack in the old 'drawing' department. I haven't done any painting since last Tuesday I don't think.

Note to self- do some bloody work tonight!

Apart from that I have a new part-time job here:

http://www.castlegalleries.com/

I start next Tuesday and I am really excited!I have to work weekends which is a bit of a shame but you can't have everything in life I suppose. Wish me luck!

Holly :-)

Hello all!

Had a weekend off and have been out in a rented boat on the Norfolk Broads with a few friends. The weather was gorgeous for once and we all had a great time drinking wine and eating a picnic. Although I moan about Norfolk it does have its advantages such as lovely beaches and good days out!

Here are some of the other boats we saw (I was very jealous!):

Me and Matthew on our boat just about to stop at the pub:

And here is our friend Greg after a few too many wines- believe me, you will never meet anyone like him!

Hello!

Have been busy all weekend working and dealing with bloody annoying customers so haven't got much work done until today. I have been thinking again about my character Alice and went to the children's library in Norwich to get some inspiration on how to keep the movement within my character. I like my drawings when they are slightly looser and sketchy as I think it brings more life so I am trying to make the existing Alice slightly softer and more appealing to children (but still with a 'tomboy' look).

Here are some initial sketches from my sketchbook looking at different movements and facial expressions:

Close up of one of the sketches:

Developing a sketch onto watercolour paper ready for colour:

Have been doing a bit of painting also. This the second layer of colour- I'm enjoying using odd perspective in this picture:

Oh! And this is my beautiful doggy Ted. I took this at half five on Sunday morning when he had just lumped out of bed onto the cool floor in the hallway- he looks as if he's thinking "Bog off Holly"...!

Ciao for now :-)

Hello,

More painting!

Charcoal sketch and underpainting:

Close-up of sketch:

First couple of layers in the sky and sea:

Holly :-)

Afternoon!

I have spent all day researching and inventing a new character for the a competition: http://www.icograda.org/web/calendar-display.shtml?pfl=calendar-single-2.param&op2.rf1=1515&op3.tfl=calendar-single-2-FFFFFF.ptml

I'm doing the Alice in Wonderland so have spent all day sketching a few ideas.

Firstly Alice began her life like this:

Then I inked over to bring out her features:

From here I wanted to bring Alice a bit more to life and make her look older:
Colour and life sketches of Alice to see how she would work out:

Making Alice appear more 3D and believeable:

Finally, some quick 5 minute colour studies with watercolour- colour is the hardest thing to think about now.

I want Alice to appear as if she is from a good background but is still quite tomboyish. That's why she has scruffy hair and her socks are falling down. Her mother has dressed her well but she hasn't quite noticed because she is too busy thinking about having adventures. That's how I imagine Alice anyway..

Next I will put the existing Alice in different moods for example angry, laughing, embarrased to see how her features develop from there.

This project has been fun so far and I think it will be a good experience. Already I have lots of ideas for my own characters and stories. Perhaps when I have finished I could develop these for fun!

Holly

Painting number 2 finished:

At the start of this I thought the picture would turn out a bit pants but I'm pleased with the end result - especially the deck chair as it was so bloomin' hard to draw!

Holly :-)

Hello!

Had a really busy but great weekend- I feel very lucky to be me at the moment!

On Thursday evening went to a life drawing class which was a bit of an eye opener and really hard! I made lots of sketches mainly with charcoal and here are two of them:

Compared to the other regulars mine look pants but I'm quite pleased with them for a first go. The class isn't on again until September although I think I will definitely go weekly as I learnt so much in two and a half hours!

Anyway, spent the weekend down in Aldeburgh with Matthews family and went out for a fantastic meal at a restaurant called the 152- scrumptious food and wine- I ate so much I felt physically sick! (oops!)

Spent the rest of the time there on the beach soaking up the good weather and stuffing in plenty of the the best fish and chips you can eat followed by pink grapefruit sorbet! YUUUMMMMMM!

Anyway, that's enough talk about food (for now). On Saturday night Matthew took me to see Jamie Cullum in Theford Forest- if you love live jazz music like I do then go and see him- the whole band has tremendous talent and I was in awe of how well they played . You can tell when someone really does it for the music and not the fame...

Oh! And here are some photos of the cards I have designed for www.artgardenstudios.com (my Mum's website). Altogether there are 9 landscape and 9 square designs. All are glossy with a packaged envelope and plastic wrapping. I think they have come out really well and I especially like the square designs..

Holly xx

Hello!

Went to Mundesley on the coast last night with Matthew. We shared fish and chips and had a lovely evening looking at the scenery...however we are quite poor and experienced an embarrassing and humorous moment in SPAR when all we could afford was a shandy bass to drink! In fact, here I am modelling it now:



Here's a lighthouse we saw on the way- I think someone lives in it (lucky sods!):

And the lovely scenery:

Holly x

After being up ALL night because of the noisy old, mental guy next door (who is now sunbathing naked in his garden and getting pissed) I have had an enjoyable morning of painting.

You can't really see many of the changes as yet although a lot of time has been spent 'tidying' it up a bit. I think the windows in the houses give it more life. Nearly finished now- just a few more hours to go...

Holly :-)

Hello,

Had a good weekend seeing friends etc and am now back to my painting:

Have been struggling a bit with this one for some reason. I have added some boats and lightened it up slightly although it's not finished yet. I think perhaps I need to get up really early one morning and get stuck into it without any distractions. I aim to get it finished by the end of the week.

Spent yesterday with a bit of a hangover (oops) so went to sprawl out on the green next to Norwich Cathedral. There is an unusual sculpture there which I really like as it reminds me of Picasso:

Painting number two in the same style as the first. This is mainly the underpainting.



Off to wash my brushes now (the boring bit)

Spent all weekend at home so had to get out of the house yesterday..

Sketching a lady at the bustop (with a rather large bottom!):

And a man sitting outside the newsagents:

Lots of fun and had to work REALLY quickly. Makes you think about the shapes in the human figure though.

yummy! I made banana muffins!

nearly finished....

Spent all of yesterday painting and I think I achieved quite a lot. I have worked mainly on the right hand side of the image working up the colours with acrylic and charcoal. I need to buy some new acrylic colours to expand my palette, as I don't have many at the moment. I'm used to working with gouache so acrylic is a bit new to me but I like it!

Here's a close up of the houses:



I'm enjoying this painting lark!!!! :-)