Venice Rialto - stage 1

My next bit of artwork - Venice Rialto - stage 1 - the pencil drawing. It's going to be another over the top colourful acrylic/collagey painting! I suppose it should really be called "working boats at the Rialto Bridge".

Sheffield Canal Basin 2 - Finished

Excerpts of my finished work - ready for submission day - just 3 more paintings to complete before 13 April!

Canal Basin Sheffield - start

Canal Basin Sheffield - start of my mixed media/acrylic effort for the Great Sheffield Art Show - submission day April 13th - finished effort to follow.

Higger Tor from Burbage Edge

Oh... and Higger Tor looked especially gorgeous from Burbage Edge in the clear blue sky on a most beautiful Spring morning. We walked 4 miles from Ringinglow to Longshaw for our coffee and 4 miles back across t'moors via the Fox House. Good to be alive. Wonder if Wales won this afternoon? It's almost 5 o'clock and I'm about to find out - hope there won't be any tears in the next 5 minutes! 

Calver stone-with-a-hole

On our jaunts around Calver I keep seeing this beautifully re-furbished house on Main Street with a strange stone-with-a-hole built into the gable facing the road. Is it a megalithic sun-worshiper's sextant or perhaps a Roman carsie (they did a lot for us in the Derbyshire Lead Mines)... I wonder. Anyway, thought I'd draw it.

Downtown Calver - the Village Center

The Centre of Calver Village at the confluence of High Street, Main Street and Sough Lane. Our Ezra was unusually grumpy this morning - he napped for 2 hours so he must have been over-tired... bless. Gave me a bit more time to do the pen sketchette on the left., put the watercolour on at home. He made it to his nursery.

My 300th post - the Shard behind Tower Bridge

My 300th blog post. My latest version of the Shard - finished it a couple of nights ago. It's based on my "plein air" drawing from our visit to London last October. This one is A3 size and I'm saving it for the Great Sheffield Art Show in July (hence the grey and partially coloured low resolution images)  - hope it gets selected. We've booked tickets to see the view from the top in June - it's part of a re-union with fellow architectural students from the year of '67 - hope the clouds aren't too low and/or wet!

North from Palmers Cafe CALVER

Our Ezra had a bit of an eye problem (can't spell the medical word - if I could I would have become a Doctor!) so he couldn't attend his nursery today. Instead we attended Palmer's Café while he had his morning nap outside. Can recommend their sausage rolls. Rushed this sketchette off after my cappuccino - he didn't sleep for long.  

Bakewell Church

Another view on our Ezra's Bakewell tour after his first morning at nursery last Tuesday.

Bakewell Bridge over the Wye

Last Tuesday - our Ezra's first day at nursery in Bakewell. We picked him up at noon and after a quick nap he was ready for a tour along the Wye to point out the swans, cygnets, Canada geese, moorhens and a variety of ducks. Here he is - in his no. 2 pram with Grannie Liz. The bridge in the background is the main road from Sheffield into Bakewell.

Bakewell

                                   It's a sign...... in Bakewell

Our Ezra

                    Our Ezra in his first Welsh International Jersey!

Portland on Countryfile

Just watching the Isle of Portland on BBC's Countryfile - above my sketch of Portland Bill Lower lighthouse (the bird sanctuary) and the Main lighthouse drawn on a very windy and sunny afternoon in July 2012. Check out: https://picasaweb.google.com/117235147329899148544/2013Stuff?noredirect=1# to see my 2013 drawings of Portland, Weymouth and Chesil Beach (before the recent storms).

UK tour

Back from Llandrindod Wells, Tenby, Neath, Mumbles, Bradford on Avon, Warminster and Morton in Marsh. Gorgeous Tenby illustrated.

Roadworks at Calver crossroads

Today's sketch from coffee time at Palmers Café - the roadworks at Calver crossroads.... nightmare! Give it a miss for the next few days. Our Ezra slept through - good lad.

Venice Rialto Working Boats

It was snowing yesterday which made us late to Palmers Café so I didn't have time to do the usual sketch for Ezra's Diary. Also too wet, cold and snowy to go to Heely Art Club's Tuesday evening meeting so I roughed this out in pencil - I'm going to finish it in acrylics. Thought I'd get the bridge arch correct, so I got my drawing compass out. Must be the first time in 15 years! Good job I didn't bin it when I started doing AutoCAD in 1997. The painting will be for the Great Sheffield Art Show in July - hope it'll get selected. 5 more paintings to go by April 13! I'm going to finish it in the style of my Blog 21 August 2013.

Inside Palmer's Cafe Calver

View inside Palmer's Café - it did get busy at one stage. We were at our usual corner table - coffee, crossword and sketchette.

Calver rainbow

Oh and there was a fine rainbow over Calver Village this afternoon, photo captured during my walk with our grandpup - the dog Jasper. Sorry about the joint down the middle - need a more modern camera!

Calver cottages

Cottages adjacent the Eyre Arms at Calver crossroads looking up the Derwent Valley towards Grindleford with Eyam towards the left. Sketched (today) once again at coffee time from Palmer's Café. Met my former boss Roger Needham (1990-1992) in the adjoining Spar shop - he lives locally. Ezra slept for a record 88.5 minutes!

Coffee time again

Yet another coffee time in Palmer's Café at Calver Crossroads waiting for our Ezra to top up his batteries. The Spar delivery lorry to the adjoining supermarket pulled up outside our window and stayed long enough for this quick sketchette. It started snowing but Ez was well covered up and slept through 'til his usual time to join us.