Vliegermolen Windmill, Voorburg, Holland

 

Drawn earlier this week at Voorburg in Holland. Twas so cold I ended up sketching with my gloves on. Brrr.

Still, I was able to finnish it off in the evening infront of a roaring log fire.

I had fun that day too filming storks and herons in flight, and photo-ing a whole heap of other stuff.

An Oasis

 

 

 A welcome sight to walkers, this café offers an oasis in which to gain refreshment and gain strength for the onward journey.

Virtual Prayer Cloaks

Taken a while to finnish this sketch off. Started thinking of various expressions of prayer we use.
People have asked me in the past why I use candles, there is nowt theologically significant in lighting a candle - though the bible mentions incense of prayer floating up. Nope, I like candles. they can be used as a platform, get you in the right frame of mind.
The other question floating through similtaneously was why sometimes we 'lay-on-hands' in prayer, or 'reach-out' towards the person we are pray for. Again more hooks on which to hang our virtual prayer cloak.

We are instructed through God's scriptures, Romans 12:12 be faithful in prayer 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Thinking through the day, if everything you do is prayer, prayer without ceasing; wonder at the many different cloak hooks on which you hang your offering of prayer.

I went for a cycle ride and walk this morning, settled on my favourite bench about half way round to write a letter and this ink pen sketch.

I fingerpainted the same scene on my i:Touch  a year or two back during harvest.
It's one of those rare spots where the sound of nature, wind, birds, trees, exceed distant rumbles of man made engines chugging man up and down highways.

The Olde Village Pump at Horningsea.

Water Pump at Horningsea.

I tootled off on my bicycle this morning to Horningsea, a local Anglo Saxon village, on a Geocaching Adventure, at the same time armed with my Postcard SketchPad.

Horningsea  is a pretty little village, what really caught my eye was the Olde Village Water Pump.

The box to the left of the tree in the background I am told looks like a Cable Junction Box. It was in fact a Telephone Box. Oops!
The full box was orriginally in the sketch, but the low overhanging branches blocked it out.





River Cam Granchester - Post Flood.

Last time I brought my sketch pad down here, sun shone brightly, walkers paced the bank - there was a lot of excited chatter in the background. That was almost exactly a year ago - high summer.

The grassy track is now a mud bath, the river flowing faster than I could punt upstream. Hardly anyone has come down here to enjoy their lunch, read or pass the time in pleasant company.

But I do hail the adventurous spirit of 4 youngsters, determined to keep School Leaving spirit up. Exams done, Balls danced and released from the fetters of education - the River Cam must be swum.

So with one on the bank and four - no, that would be 3 - three in the water, a bit of normality is returning to this sleepy bank.

In the background birds lift their chirruping above the distant, but sadly constant rumble, of traffic setting off down the M11 to London.

As I write this a spider has begun spinning his web dangling from my beard. He has mistaken me for some country hedgerow!

The sun is now out, ramblers have emerged from their lunchtime beverages. Time, methinks, for this ancient hedgerow to find a cup of tea.

Cedric & Max: Return to the Page.

I have not see much of Cedric nor Max recently, singularly uninspired in my sketching. But today, pleased as punch, they walked quite randomly back into a letter I was writing and sat down  at top and bottom corners of the page.

I say, 'sat', but indeed Cedric was swimming in the warm waters around his island.
Max was heartily singing Camp Fire Songs, standing maybe a bit too close to the fire for safety. I must speak to him about that.

The letter is almost finished now, but will be posted after Final Collection tomorrow to plop onto S's doormat on Saturday. I always aim for a Saturday delivery, so much nicer to receive a Hand Written Letter on a Saturday as the weekend is just kicking in.

SPLASHING through puddles...

Bilbo's Walking Song

With a bit of culture almost injected into my veins this weekend, I went in search of a poem from Lord of the Rings I have always wanted to remember.

I so like the imagery of roads linking up, but I am not sure this is the one I remember!
Leading from door to door?

30 Year Old Cognac

I have in my drinks cupboard, a bottle of 30+ year old Cognac. It was only 10 years old when it was given to me, cognac is not my drink of choice.

But these last few weeks I have been enjoying an odd tipple here and there from this bottle having rescued the liquor from a crumbling cork.

The wine goblet is stainless steel, one that I have owned and been drinking from for over 40 years.

Dandelion

Hmm, I miss-spelt Dandelion... Oh well!

Countryside Mountains

I live in suburbia, but would love someday to live out in the countryside with walks such as this on my doorstep.

 

I do so hate the feel of pavements under my feet, far prefering a bouncy meadowy tread, or leaping rock to rock up a mountainside. Hmmmmmm - time to stop dreaming, and back to planet earth.

Monday's weather

St George's Day

Happy St George's Day folks.
Are you off to hunt dragons today?

Foraging Plod

Like many of mine, drawn on a blank postcard, and will be safely in the postbox before last collection tonight.

I sketch directly onto 140 lbs, 6" x 4" card using an HB pencil. Most important to always have a good clean eraser handy, and in some places to artistically smudge the sketch rubbing over with my fingertip.

Finally I 'Fix' the sketch using hairspray to stop the sketch accidentally becoming more smudged in the hands of the postman or recipient.

Maundy Thuursday

In the Garden of Gethsemanie, Jesus knows he's was facing a stormy few days, sure though of his destiny.

An experiment today, picturing the portrait and portraited.

Advertising Bikes

This postcard, sketched at lunchtime, is winging it's way Northwards beyond the border.

More and more recently bikes have been popping up around Cambridge with Advertising Boards strapped to the frame. Today I saw one with a Free NewsPaper dispenser attached to the back rack...

Rooted in Faith...

An eclectic crowd gathered for our Christian Writers group this week. I dug out my book and a pencil as Tom spoke, after a while he read us a chapter from his book - an amazing work in progress.  My pencil started moving, I wondered how what I was drawing was inspired by what was going on in that room. We seemed to be drawing nourishment and learning through our faith roots together.

Sketch finnished I headed the writing side "Rooted in Faith", but had to stop at that point as we moved on.
I thought I had an idea of words mapped out in my head, but revisitting the page today other words poured out. Those words need reworking, as writers we are continually changing. But I think I understand now just a little of what God was prompting.

I imagined a plastic flower, designed for purpose of looking beautiful.
Sometimes they are made so well, you maybe poke and prod, 'Is it real? Is it not? I thought of a potters passion, or that of an athlete, digging deep into their hearts to produce what is best.

I can learn with my head all the facts on how to make a pot or run a race, and maybe succeed passably at either. But unless I have passion and dedication rooted in my heart and soul for potting I will not throw a masterpiece.

The plastic flower can only give an impression of being alive, a real plant has roots drawing up goodness from the ground.

It is easy to slip into a mechanical faith routine, led by the head and putting on a good display. But it's not being good at something, it is doing it for the right reason.

1 Corrinthians 9:24a   Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Our race is not against anyone else, each one of us a solo runner.

I guess this makes me think, because sometimes I ponder the difference between

• 'doing' an act of kindness because it's the way I'm ROUTED through teaching. An action to produce a result.
•  or because that's the way my heart is ROOTED  in Jesus. A natural responce gaining a result.

In a worldly view, both are winners.
Colossians 2:8  See to it that no-one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

RanDOM Cartoon Strip: Unique!

A Thinking, not Sinking, Sketch...

The picture started fairly similar to a previous sketch, with a calm blue (Black n White Blue!) sea.

But when the ship appeared I could see it more beating it's way to port in driving wind and rain.
I wondered the difference between difficult circumstances happenning to or around us,
- or the act of willingly taking ourselves out of our comfort zone into adventure.

Either way we must trust in God to guide is in from the storm.
Is there an element too of it being wise to live outside our comfort zone...?

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23 verse 4

First entry in my new Journal...

I wonder if you can read it all.
If you click on the picture, a larger version should appear.

Luke 10:11

Read more here...

Vicar anon

Drew this whilst bouncing around on the Citi 6 today, took most of the 20 minute journey.

Waiting in for my new Blackberry to arrive

I thought of how we used to communicate.

Drawn today, 24th Jan 2012

 

And so, after such an exciting day, and having enjoyed communicating with the world

 

 it is time I lifted my wearisom body in the direction of snooze land.

Goodnight.

GoogleMaps!

Following my last abortive trip to hospital I am preparing to return - this time as a day patient only. Hooray. :)
The procedure involves feeding a camera through my mouth down to the stomach so Doc can possibly determine a reason for the incredible pancreatic pains.

GoogleMaps despatched a driver to Plot the Pancreatic Hills

My orriginal thought was to draw a TV Crew preparing to enter the unknown, but somehow a GoogleMaps journey seemed more appropriate.