Perspective - it's damp outside.

Giffilated

 

 

 

I spent a silly hour tonight giffilating one of my sketches so you could see how it built up.

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.