My Daler Sketch Pad...

Having experimented with watercolour, pastel, ink and pencil, I was still frustrated by not being able to draw properly, as I saw it. When I arrived in my present job however, I found both the time and some interested friends who helped me with technique and encouragement. This page is an excuse for me to scan my sketches, and (if you're learning, or want to try) hopefully serve as encouragement. What's here are generally my absolute best efforts: the other 99% percent of my stuff is what makes landfill.

Take a look - at worst, you can have a laugh! (If this page isn't enough, you can check out pages two and three! Arrrgh!!)

My thanks to...

A gentleman called Kimon Nicolaides, in his book The Natural Way to Draw, had it right: 'You should not care what your work looks like as long as you spend your time trying. The effort you make is not for one particular drawing, but for the experience you are having... '.

	Shadow study: Small plastic bottle This was one of my earliest attempts at rendering something that with any substantial shadows. I have a really strong urge to draw lines around everything - which makes drawing shadows almost impossible. I was shown how to observe shadows, and use smudging, cotton buds, soft pencils and all to make it come to life a bit more. At the time, I was quite impressed; mainly because what I'd been doing before was diabolical. (Derwent Graphic on Daler Series 'A')
Life/Shadow study: Juvenile lion The original image I drew on for this was on a postcard I bought one day in Cambridge. There are surprisingly few photographs of lions around that show the whole body - even less that show the animal in any sort of active pose. This one was perfect for practising getting proportions about right, and doing more shadow work. (Derwent Graphic on Daler Series 'A')
	Life/Shadow study: Cheetah cub Another postcard, the same series as the lion above. As you can see, I should have quit before starting the background... (Derwent Graphic on Daler Series 'A')
Life/Shadow study: Leopard This originally started from a study of the eye of this leopard. I reckon the eye is about the best thing about it. (Derwent Graphic on Daler Series 'A')
	Life/Shadow study: Wolf's head After a gap of a few months, an exchange of email with some friends encouraged me to pick up the pad again. I got home late, and underneath my pad was the book 'Of Wolves And Men' by Barry H. Lopez. This wolf is an attempt to draw the one that appears on the cover. It's done in HB pencil and 5mm stick charcoal. (Derwent Graphic & charcoal on Daler Series 'A')