Sunday Roast

This is about all I have done today is cook the Sunday Roast? and very nice it was too. It is always depressing when you know you have lots to do but just cannot be bothered to do it? It has been a really lazy day and I hope to crack on with everything tomorrow?
   As reported in the news Elizabeth Taylor died , who was a true Hollywood Legend and very beautiful woman so I thought I would try and sketch her and the love of her life Richard Burton. I haven't quite caught them  but great faces to practice with.

 I could only manage a quick doodle of Sharon Stone for Caricaturama 3K this week as below. I really must try to make the time and try harder.

Best wishes to all.

Blog Motivation

I always seem to be running late, lately. I had promised myself I would blog every Sunday evening as this is one of the few times I can get a slot at my computer without the kids taking it over! But of late I have not been around to get on! or they need my computer because they need to print things out on my new A3 printer? Anyway I am on now but I have not done much finished work just lots of sketching, so I thought I would put some old work I have done from last year.

 

 I do tend to do more cartoon settings with

little portraits of people as sometimes I think

people get scared a caricature may offend?



The best caricatures or cartoons are always the simplest ones. I think one of my best was of a guy who everyone called the Vicar ( he was anything but) and was just him standing up in a black suit with the dog collar on and a slightly tilted halo ( unfortunately I do not have a copy).

Yards of Paint

Well this week I have been busy painting, yards and yards of it to be blunt, but unfortunately its been with a 4 inch brush or a roller for my Mother. She is too old now to do any sort of decorating, so me and my brother and his son have started the total redecorating of her house. I now ache all over and came home for what I thought would be a rest? only to find my wife wants some decorating doing as well?? Therefore I have had very little time to draw and paint, and have just put a few pencil sketches up for this week.

I have not had a chance to enter Caricaturama 3K this week and only managed this sketch of Chow Yuen Fat and a couple of sketches one of the brilliant Caricature artist Paul Moyse and a college friend of my daughter.
I never intended to comment on the news here but the recent destruction in Japan is so alarming that I can only say my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Late entry to Caricaturama 3k

I have been so busy with lots of family issues I did not get time to paint my sketch of Bill Murray who was the victim of last weeks contest, so I thought I would still put it on here. He had a very difficult face to draw and took me 4 little sketches to even get a likeness?

I hope to get a chance to use my new Artrage software and digitally paint him later on. With him I found the more you tried to distort his face the likeness just went, so I only slightly changed his features!

Best Wishes.

New Art Software

I have had a dilemma for quite a while now, which has been the line quality that I produce on my computer after I scan in drawings and continue using my tablet and PC. When I look at the work of many professionals and enlarge their work on screen there never seems to be any pixelation or distortion of the line quality. My own on the other hand is terrible. I have asked many people over the last year what it could be and thought I new a possible answer? all to know avail, until I was attending a photo shop lesson on scanning images by a recent degree student, now an excellent gallery curator. She said it was the professional software in Photo shop and Illustrator that smoothes out and fills in any pixelation for you automatically. Obviously most professionals have the expensive software and do not see the complete other end of the spectrum Kids/ Student entry level. At the moment I do not feel I warrant spending £600 to £1000 on Photo Shop or Illustrator so I have spent £60 on upgrading my Artrage package I got with my tablet which does do something similar. I have done a couple of drawings and paintings with it and it is far superior to my original, but still need to practice with it a lot more. The next sketch was done with no smoothing on and the lines to the left as viewed are with differing types of smoothing on. If you enlarge it you may see what I mean.

The two caricatures above are old ones I have done and tidied up in the new Artrage. I could see a big difference in the quality of the line but not sure it will show up here on this blog?

      I have recently visited some friends of mine in London and promised to do a couple of caricatures of their Nieces but the photos I took on my phone were quite terrible, with to much light blocking out all the detail? If in doubt as an artist blame your equipment! I always seem to make children look to old? lets hope these very well behaved children grow into them, Nina, and Danni.

I have to dash now as I need to push the vacuum round and get tea on. Being self employed can be a difficult life? Regards.