New Years Eve, Head in His Hands

And what expresses seasonal renewal better than a bloke with no head on a big green horse?

Happy New Year!

Festive

The captain and crew of HMS Ermintrude come over all festive.

Happy Christmas to you all, however you'll be spending it. 

Elliottness

"Sir" Thomas Elliott, keyboard player of The Elliott Knights, a beat group that went a bit psychedelic in about 1967.

If the Face Fits

Back on the Holbein trail again; Lady Lister, Misfit fan.

Colinton Firrhill

Colinton Firrhill. A man made for widescreen and Technicolour.

Gorgie & Drem.

The well-waxed eyes and piercing moustache of Drem Gullane, who played a laird in eighty-three Hollywood films between 1947 and 1965. Currently living in the Athelstaneford area.

Plus Gorgie Dalry, the Pittenweem Joan Crawford.

...And Again

Behold the elegantly languorous Corstorphine Clermiston.

On the Road Again

Today was a good day. We went to pilates class this morning, and then I spent all afternoon humpbacked at the drawing board thoroughly re-crabbing my posture. 

I haven't sat down to draw for what feels like a long time; I've had a head full of homework and reports and targets targets targets, so it was pleasing to put a fence around all of that and spend a few much-needed hours just drawing.

I'm working on a small set of portrait drawings which will eventually (I hope) be on display in the Bon Papillon gallery in Edinburgh, run by Stuart and Ingrid. We have Ingrid's splendid work in the Coldstream Gallery and I recognised her straight away someone who shares an interest in laughing at funny-looking people with odd names. 

First finished is the avuncular character actor Gifford Humbie. A cheery old cove.

Evening

I'm quite interested in trying to capture the light you get after the sun goes down, when colours are not at all what you see in the daylight. You end up mixing in some odd things to try and get that indefinably vague almost non-colour colour. Or just colour your trees all purple. That works too.

Sunwick After Sunset, oil on canvas, 20cm x 20cm.

The Admirable Cornelius Stellingwerf

A newly discovered portrait of Admiral Cornelius Stellingwerf, fresh from the conservators. An x-ray of the painting revealed a table and the radiologist's feet. The x-rays may have been calibrated wrongly.

Thundery Saturday

An update on yesterday's post, the completed series of four small squares, 'Thundery Saturday I - IV.'

Stormy Weather

A week or so ago we had a day of sunshine and heavy, thundery showers. There were some fantastically exciting skies. I went up the road and stood in a field gate and watched a storm cloud trundle past and it was like watching one of Philip Reeve's moving cities go rumbling past. I'm working up some new squarescapes as a result. This is how they're shaping up.

The Last of the Mackerel Cans

I did one of these a while ago, A3 size, and it drove me up the wall in the end. Stripes stripes stripes, fins fins fins, eyeball eyeball eyeball. It was with great reluctance then that I agreed to do another one, but it was a present for a friend and frankly I was being paid money. But definitely this time, no more mackerel.

Island

I got a new Admiralty chart from ebay (Anguilla, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy') for a commissioned piece, There was enough to do another sea tower.

Tintamarre Fog Trumpet Station, pen, ink and watercolour.

More Noir

After a long break due to the inconveniences of having a job, another in the series of film noir stills.

The Glass Key, 1942. Alan Ladd has ‘bad dreams.’

Directed by Stuart Heisler, cinematography Theodor Sparkhul.