278. Collage for '30 in 30' Challenge - September 2016

Collage for '30 in 30' Challenge,

September 2016

Well done everyone who took part! Some managed to do 30 paintings; some of us only did a few - I managed 17 but well done one and all as it may be 17 pieces of artwork that may not have happened otherwise. My thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way and, ultimately, huge thanks to Leslie Saeta for putting on another great challenge - thank you!!!

(End of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30' September 2016 Challenge.)

265. Not Boring!

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Derwent Coloursoft pencils in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

My cousins and their cook took delight in creating a series of wonderfully tasty vegetarian 'clean eating' meals for me while I was there clearing my parents' house. They and some of their friends were also an invaluable help in the process. As always, they took great care of me, again making me feel so welcome and not once made me feel a nuisance (that I probably am!). I'm so privileged and honoured to have such lovely people in my life. This particular meal proved that tofu does not have to be boring!

Made a bit of a 'Horlicks' of the glass (below) - yuk! I've now gessoed over it - the paper buckled a bit (amended version above).

Happy art-making everyone and thank you for your lovely comments that keep appearing.

(Day 15 of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30'.)

264. Monster Mango and Green Tea - Coloured

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Derwent Coloursoft pencils in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

Colour added yesterday evening.

Of the many benefits in doing Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30' challenge twice a year, one is discovering new artists and catching up with other fellow artists on the challenge. I love leaving and receiving comments and seeing the encouraging comments left on other blogs.

Another benefit is that I am forced to do more art than I would otherwise have done and sometimes to work more quickly - yesterday, for example, I could only create and post a quick ten minute sketch as I had to go to a meeting. Had the challenge not been on, I would simply have gone off to my meeting, art materials enjoying a lie in! Thank you Leslie and thank you to my fellow '30 in 30' challengers.

(Day 14 of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30'.)

263. Monster Mango Sketch

 

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen on re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

Only time for a ten-minute sketch; no time to add colour; will finish later. Err… it really was this big and we were all able to enjoy a yummy piece!

(Day 13 of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30'.)

262. Coconut Vendor

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Derwent Coloursoft pencils

in re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

I'm not sure what you call the spiky bits but that's how the coconuts look when cut down and the vendor cuts them free and will also slice off the tip and add a straw to your coconut so you can have instant refreshment!

(Day 12 of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30'.)

261. Jamaican Patty

Brown Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Derwent Coloursoft pencils

in re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

The dot on top of the patty indicates that it is vegetarian, containing either soy or vegetable. Jamaican patties are the colour of saffron. My cousins found it highly amusing that I ate mine with a knife and fork; seems as though it was similar to eating a portion of chips (fries) with a knife and fork. Hmmm, I don't eat chips but if I did…

PS. This is my entry for Day 11 of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30' Challenge.

260. Electrolyte Refreshment

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Coloursoft Pencils in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

On quite a few occasions, I was presented with one of these. Coconut water is low in calories and is one of the richest sources of natural electrolytes; they also contain sodium and potassium. These were perfect in the 40C heat that we were working in during the day - even the nights didn't drop below 30C!

Sip, draw, sip, draw… yum!

The pen and ink drawing before adding colour.

252. Manchester Art and Jazz - Turtle Bay Caribbean Food

Faber-Castell 0.7Grip Plus in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I had Vegetarian 'Rundown' which was absolutely yum! I sketched the salt and sauce bottle while we waited for our meal.

I'm so glad I popped to the loo as the whole of the upstairs area was decked out to look like Jamaica and the loos were a tribute to Bob Marley.  It totally put me in the mood for my upcoming trip to Jamaica in mid-August.

246. Manchester Art and Jazz - Real Pizza

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

 
Well, excitement on top of excitement - we went to Manchester because the annual Urban Sketchers' Symposium was being held there at the Manchester School of Art. In addition, the Jazz Festival was on at the same time, together with the Beer Festival. This meant that Manchester was buzzing and around every corner at various times of the day, there were sketchers, music lovers and beer drinkers - sometimes all three were combined!

We were amongst the many that did not have a Symposium ticket but went along (so glad I did) as there were several sketch crawls and so much to sketch in the city centre.

This is the first of a few sketches I did - mostly at the jazz concerts - it is unfinished because we wanted a front seat at the concert where I could sketch the musicians and their instruments with a clear view.

237. The Sandwich

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in hand-stitched sketchbook

This pair seemed to be completely oblivious to me sketching them.

(Posted later.)

229. Kitchen Challenge

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5" (x2)

Our latest challenge is to 'Draw something that's in the kitchen'. I opened the herb and spice cupboard but didn't have much time to sketch before going to work so later in the evening I filled the gap with some wording.

220. Vegan Yumminess

Staedtler Fineliner (0.8, I think) and

Faber Castell markers on photocopier paper

Short version:

After I'd written out the ingredients in the dish, I found myself absent-mindedly sketching it so decided to get out my markers and add some colour.

Detail

Explanation:

We're currently in the middle of another Alpha course and each week we give the participants a hot two-course meal so they can come straight from work without worrying about what to eat.

We discovered in week 3 that we have two other vegetarians on board - one had simply written "no pork/beef" under 'dietary requirements' on the registration form but the other had put nothing at all. Consequently, we noticed they were just eating the veg!

We have a great catering team who will turn their hands to anything but guess who forgot to pass on the information?! My excuse is that I was told on my way to do something else. Anyway, I remembered on the morning of Week 4 - in the shower!!! I had a little panic and told my husband (who, unusually, happened to be at home that day) and, in his own inimitable way calmly said "I can cook something if you want…!" He regularly cooks for me - an almost total vegan these days, although he'll eat almost anything (except eggs and black pudding - yuk!) - so we went shopping for fresh ingredients and put this dish together, which he then named "Courgette and Mandarin Cassoulet". We served it with rice.

Our friends adore and regularly request his food (he has a PhD in Biochemistry so has experimented over the years with food and flavours - look at the ingredients!) and this was totally yummy!

207. USK Market Sketch 3 - Fish

Staedtler 0.05 Fineliner pen in
Stillman & Birn Alpha Sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5"

This fish vendor was, as my friend, Victoria​ said, a "ball of joy" and a great end to our day. He was very accommodating and was happy for us to sketch him and his wares. NB. It didn't smell (important for me a vegetarian!) which means the fish must be really fresh there!

206. USK Market Sketch 2 - Parma Ham and Cheese - Really?!

Staedtler 0.05 Fineliner pen reinforced by

Unipin 0.5 pen on Stillman & Birn Alpha Sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5"

Yep! I know! Why was a vegetarian at the Parma Ham stall??  Because, like everywhere else in this lovely market, it was beautifully laid out. I was taken by the sign writing again but didn't have time to do more than a few lines.

205. USK Market Sketch 1 - Borough Wines

Lamy Safari fountain pen on

Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 5.5" x 8.5" (x2) 

Saturday 7th November was three years since my dear Dad died and he used to love to visit Leather Lane market in London near where he worked before both my parents retired and returned to Jamaica. It seems fitting therefore that the Urban Sketchers London sketchcrawl on that very day was "Let's Draw Borough Market." It was a lovely day, at a fantastic venue with great company (including my friend Vic who made sure I laughed a lot). My Dad would have loved it there!

196. Lovely Cuppa and New Sketchbooks!

Pilot G-Tec-C4 in Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5" x 5" (x1.3)

I'm nearing the end of this lovely sketchbook and I'm gonna miss it! However, I have other sketchbooks waiting with baited breath to receive some recognition. I've already started on my Stillman & Birn Alpha and Epsilon sketchbooks, then there are the ones I've stitched and bound - all vying for attention!

Some home-made sketchbooks. My husband has kidnapped the top one; I made the third one down for him as he wanted a slim one and I made the half-sized chunky one for myself as I wanted one with twice the number of pages as the bottom one but without any extra weight.

179. Fruit Pastilles added …..

Staedtler 0.05 pigment liner, Unipin 0.05 pen and 

Derwent Coloursoft Pencils in Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5" x 5"

A friend, on seeing my 'soft pastels box', asked "Where are the Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles?" So, Trish, here they are just for you! (I really enjoyed drawing them!)

174. Jacqui's Meringue

Pilot G-Tec C4 water-soluble pen and Tombow brushpen

in Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5" x 5" (x2)

I had to sketch really fast so am very happy this came out correctly. Thank you Jacqui (and guests) for your patience while I sketched it.

148. Trin's Cake

Pilot G-Tec C4 Watersoluble pen,

Staedtler 0.1 Pigment Liner and Caran d'Ache Neocolour II

in Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5" x 5" (x2)

Yesterday, five of us went to the Hampstead Sketchcrawl with Urban Sketchers London. Lunch was at the Buttery Cafe and one of my friends had this lovely-looking cake. One of the great advantages of these days is having the opportunity to do quite a few en plein air sketches. I also sketched outside the Flask Pub and finally John Constable's house - I'll post these over the next few days.