Works in progress.

As discussed in another thread there aren't too many WIPs posted. As I like reading them, I thought I ought to post something myself...rather than leave it to others. I'm not sure that it will appeal because my interest is in illustration and cartoons etc. There isn't much of that on this site, so we'll see how it goes. I tend to have several things on the go, and don't like to spend too much time on one picture for fear of losing interest. So I'll be hopping from one thing to another...not exactly an attribute, but that's how I am. I'm going to talk about several things I have on the go...I might have to make more than one post to get that in. So here goes. DOODLE. I like to do these from time to time, they allow me not to plan things too much, I just get on with it, sometimes better ideas pop up while I'm underway. The basic slim (anorexic) idea is people and their animals, I'll fill the page with them, they'll intertwine. I like pictures like this...doodles have almost become a new genre like still-life, landscape etc. If you love drawing is a great thing to do. I've made a start in the top left corner. I like to draw almost to a finish rather than work on the whole thing...this keeps my interest up. You'll see most of the page is empty. These are pen and wash in monochrome...they may not stay that way. It's in my A3 sketchbook, which has reasonable paper provided I don't go mad with the water. The SAD SONG. Another on-going idea. A while back I did eight 6 x 4 pics based on Dickens characters. They are all in one frame on my wall. I tried the same thing with 'Fictional Detectives'...eight more 6 x 4 pics. Although I liked some of the pics, that idea didn't work so well for me. So I'm trying another idea. My problem is that my shaky old hands won't let me do much more than a face on a 6 x 4 pic...I want to put more in the Sad Song pics. The plan is to paint them on 12 x 8 paper, scan them, and scale them down to 6 x 4, then print them. The idea is to have a singer singing a sad song with the band and audience reacting. They will be pen and ink and watercolour. I've done the first one (below) only seven more to do, as I do more, I show the process. That's two things on the boil, I have others. If anyone's interested I'll post about them...starting with my Lady Godiva idea. I normally have several ideas cooking, and like to hop between them...I don't suppose I'm alone in that. Lew

It's Sad Song. Just the one singer and her band, and the effect that song has on her audience. Just made up. I don't know if it'll be any good either. But right now, in my head, it seems fine.

Yes, Marjorie. I can't imagine life without Art. It's always fascinated me - illustration to begin with, then Art in general. These days, with the internet we have a vast gallery of art literally at our fingertips...not as good as seeing the real thing, of course...but a treasure trove none the less. My art, with a small 'a', has also made my life that much better. Good luck with your exhibition.

THE SAD SONG project. I've done another pic for this group, and I've shown the two pics together to see that they work as a group. This is mainly another band member with a view of the audience, you'll see I've used a black frieze to represent the crowd behind them. (Thank you Toulouse Lautrec...I nick ideas from all the best people.) I forgot to take pics while I was doing it...I'll make sure I do that on the next one (not that the process will have any surprises). I'm still reasonably upbeat that this proposed group of pics might work well together...if they don't I've enjoyed doing them. Thank you Jen, for your kind words...I'm familiar with Manga and comic book art. It's illustration that stimulates me the most.

SAD SONG project.... Sandra, I mean ANY sad song. Music has the power to provoke emotion and memories...I'm just exaggerating like mad. I've started another pic in this series. I'm not really a 'proper' watercolourist, so if you don't want to pick up my bad habits just look at the pics. Drawing. I start with a very loose pencil sketch, mainly to establish where things are (hardly any detail, just shapes)...maybe you can see some pencil marks. Then I take an 01 black pen and draw the figures, still not much detail. Then I rub out the pencil...don't want it to show under thin washes. Below, I've loosely drawn another table on the left and the shapes of background figures that will be in silhouette. I like this effect and it saves work. I wet the background area, and slop in paynes grey to get a broken up effect. When dry I apply a watery glaze of Cobalt over all the Paynes Grey. While the Cobalt is still wet I work in patchy areas of thin Ultramarine. I'm going for a broken up patchy effect. When that's dry, I paint in the silhouetted figures. I may add more to the left background, but I'll see how it goes. I may also have to make adjustments to the blue background, but I'll leave it for now. This is as far a I go in 'blocking in' colours. (Note; I've already reached the 'Oh my God what a mess stage'...which happens a lot. Blundering on is now the best strategy.) Now I start on the figures. I prefer to work them up to 'almost finished'. I don't work over the whole picture. (There are sensible arguments for doing that, but I prefer this way). You'll see I'm completing parts of the biker figure...while that's drying I'll move to the woman and work similarly there, I'm hopping about the picture working where it's dry. I'll continue painting until it's all done to the level you see on the biker's skin. I wanted a bronzed skin for him...I'm no colour mix expert, I fiddle around until I get what I like. Here it's watery cad lemon, with a little red ochre and cad red light, with the merest hint of cerulean blue. I don't like all the figures to have the same skin colours, so I'll be mixing something else for the woman. I paint in the shadows first, then blend with a dryish brush leaving white paper for the highlights. When I've got this far with everything, I may refine the skin with more glazes (or not). At the last stage I'll be adding tattoos etc. I'll show all that next time.

I've reached the stage where all the colours are there and it's time for some tidying up and finishing touches. It needs another silhouetted figure behind the man holding his head, looks a bit off balance at the moment. I'll be adding odd details, and refining the ink drawing. This was always going to be a kind of line and wash image (like the others)...I tend to think of my pictures as drawings rather than paintings...ie illustration. One other alteration I've made is this...with all the colours in, I thought the white highlights on the man's skin too bright, so I went over it with a very thin glaze of Titian Red.