No Margin for Error

Drawing direct is never easy and sometimes the delicate faces of young girls I find a real test, some times I manage to `get them` and other times go a bit wide of the mark!

Hurr Family Exhibition

After many years apart, my brother was re-united with his daughter Victoria five years ago, now an art & architecture teacher. Last week we had an exhibition together in Surrey.My brother with his realist landscapes & nudes, me with my neo-impressionist stuff & Victoria with abstract prints.It was a happy occasion.

Variety makes life interesting.

One of the good things about working in areas like East London is the great variety of nationalities there for me to draw. a young English footballer (in an Argentine shirt), a Turkish man in an interesting hat and a beautiful girl from the Ukraine.

Two Beauties

Drawing portraits is always a challenge but when they`re as beautiful as these two girls ,who sat for me consecutively last Saturday at a shopping mall in Hounslow, there is less margin for error.The pressure is on to do their beauty justice. The dark-haired girl is French & the blonde from ( I think) Poland.

A Survivor

One of the great bonuses for an artist drawing portraits in public places are some of the interesting people who dare to take the hot seat for a portrait. This 8o-year-old man who was born in Danzig is a survivor of the concentration camps in Poland. In 1939 children were rescued in an operation known as the `kinder transport`.He was the only one of his family to survive.

I wish it would always work like that - a perfect photo to work from and a result that I am actually satisfied with. Pastels are a great medium for animals, especially the lovely iridescent sheen on horses.

Poster for a good cause

A traffic cop mate (for whom I have done several caricatures) asked me to do a freebie poster design for the Help for Heroes charity. I did this oil showing latest army & police vehicles.Now selling by the thousand so I`m told.