100 portraits: #29 and #30

Two more portraits done, and almost a third of my goal of 100 completed. I tried out two very different techniques with these two. For the first I used four or five different pencils, from HB to 6B, and a blending stick, to get the shading very smooth and blended. The second focuses on the shape of the head in the profile, with next to now shading at all. Both were fun to do, and a good exercise to explore different ways of drawing.

Felicity Strong (#29) and Beth Morley (#30).

Four more bowls

Another four bowls are finished. I decided to glaze them all with the same two glazes, "vintage green" on the inside, and "elderflower" on the outside. I like the textured effect of both of them, and I think they go well together. And I managed to make not a too bad job of the glazing, although this time, it got almost a bit too thick on the outside. But you can't really see that.

My "collection" of bowls is growing, and I don't really know quite what to do with them all. Most of them are too wonky to be given away as presents. I've thrown the last time I was in class, two weeks ago, and hopefully, they'll turn out well and can be used for something. As small salad bowls, maybe.

While three of the four new bowls are again "eggbowls", this one I'm really pleased with. It's the first one that I did all by myself, where I managed to open it without loosing the centre, and where I finally, and for the first time, succeeded in pulling the wall. The trimming also went well (after having ruined the one I trimmed before that, but it was a particularly ugly and wonky one, so it wasn't a great loss). And the glazing went okay too.

Two weeks ago, we got the form for the new class, which will start straight after this one, in April. I singed up again, but almost immediately regretted it a bit when I got home that same day. The course programme of another school had just arrived by post that day, where I had taken a portrait class two or three years ago. I had really enjoyed it, and always wanted to go there again.

I really enjoy pottery class, but it's all getting a bit too much. If it was the only thing I was doing, it would be different. But it isn't. And I can't do it at home, only in class. And it's quite expensive too. So, I've decided to take the next class I've signed up for, but not to continue when that class finishes in summer. Instead, I want to concentrate on my drawing and painting, and take that portrait class again in autumn. And if I want to take another pottery class again some time, well I can just always go back, and make some more wonky "eggbowls" to add to the collection.

A weekend trip to sunny England

I couldn't have chosen a better weekend for my trip to England than last weekend. After all the stormy, rainy weather that has been going on in Britain basically since Christmas, I was expecting it to be, well,  cool, wet, and stormy. But instead I had 6 days without a single drop of rain! And while it was a bit cool, grey, and windy on Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday, it was warm and bright sunshine from Friday til Sunday.

I knew I wasn't going to do any sketching while I was there, but I still packed my sketchbook, some pens and pencils, and a small box of watercolours for the journey. The airplane sketch was a bit scary to do, and rather confusing, but I think I can just about get away with the perspective not being entirely right. I added the paint, and did another sketch - of my cup of tea - on the 2 1/2 hour train journey from Woking down to Dorset.

I had only a water reservoir brush and a tiny mixing palette with me, and while I think that the water reservoir brush is indeed very useful for travelling, I must admit that I don't really like it very much. I much prefer a proper watercolour brush, or better, a selection of proper watercolour brushes, and one or two ceramic palettes for mixing. But it's better than nothing, and it made the time pass by quickly.

On the way home, I had to wait about two hours at Heathrow, and while it would have been just the most perfect place for sketching - people sitting around waiting, reading, playing with their gadgets... - I just didn't have the energy to take out my sketchbook, and instead spent the time there, and on the plane, reading my book, or marvelling at the lights of the cities, towns and villages below. We flew right over London City on our approach to Heathrow, and for once, I happened to sit on the right side. Doesn't Tower Bridge look tiny compared to the buildings around? I just love to look at the world from up high.

I took some pictures with my proper camera too while I was there. Mostly of sheep. There are a lot of sheep in Dorset. And they have such beautiful faces.

And of seagulls. There are loads of seagulls too, along the coast. And we spent quite some time on the pier in West Bay, trying to get some good shots of seagulls in flight. They can be quite annoying. But they are fascinating birds too.

And of course some land- and seascape shots too.

100 portraits: #24 - #28

Back from a lovely long weekend in sunny (yes, sunny!!) England, I still haven't much more to show than a few more pencil portraits from earlier this month at the moment. I've done a couple of sketches on the way to England last Thursday, which I'll try and post later this week, and I'm looking forward to draw more portraits in my Moleskine sketchbook. But most of all, I'm looking forward to spending more time painting. I went shopping for some beautiful new art supplies (paints, sketchbooks, brushes, paper) while I was in England, and now I'm all ready to finally try out those oils.

Rebecca Olsen (#24) and Anna-Maria Reid (#25)

Mae Smith (#26) Ellen Parsons (#27)

Ulrika Melli (#28)

After a long journey home from the south coast, a very late night, and an early start back into the working week, I'm afraid my brain is too tired to come up with more than just a made-up name for my women.

100 portraits: #19 - #23

I haven't posted much lately, but I've not been idle. Among other things, I've continued with my pencil portraits in my Moleskine journal, and with each drawing, I'm learning. Here are the next five girls and their (imaginary) stories.

Veronika Braunhofer (#19) had a very busy day, and she's taking well deserved rest to calm down and relax. Her whole life has become more and more busy, but slowly, she's learning to refocus, to listen to her inner voice and to make some changes. Ellen North (#20) is a country girl, and her days consist of hard work on the farm from dusk til dawn. Life at the farm isn't easy at the end of the 19th century, and at night, she dreams of a better life - as the wife of the handsome son from the big manor house nearby.

Anna Norén (#21) has just decided to take a break from her studies at university, grab her backpack and go on a trip to across India. There'll be enough time for the 'serious' life, but now it's time for adventure. Maureen Lewis' (#22) has many happy memories from all her travels all over the world. She's certainly seen and done a lot, but now, she's happy to enjoy a more quiet life, and her beautiful garden, filled with blooms from all over the world.

The model for Leonarda (#23) was a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, and as with so many women (and men) of the 15th/16th century, nothing is known about her life at all.

100 portraits: #16 - #18

It's been a long time since I last drew a portrait for my 100 portraits challenge. In fact, it's been over one and a half years. But this year, I'm determined to draw more, sketch more, paint more, create more. So on Sunday morning, I sat down on my desk with a nice cup of Earl Grey, took one of my Moleskine sketchbooks, and starting drawing some portraits.

I used different reference images: a black and white photo from the 1950/60s, a drawing by John Briggs Potter from 1892, and and image of an old wood or copper engraving.

I like to give my portraits invented names and personalities. So here we have Margret Georgia Turner (#16). She's just graduated from school, it's 1960, and she's dreaming of having a career and independence instead of becoming a bored housewife like her mother, who never got the chance to fulfill her own dreams and potential. Karen Nordling (#17) also has dreams and ambitions, but living at the end of the 19th century, her only hope is to find a husband who not only can offer her a good living, but who'll also appreciate her intellect.

Maria Annunciata (#18) had the misfortune of being the youngest daughter of an Italian country squire. The squire has fallen on hard times, and he can't afford the dowries for all his girls, so Maria was put into the nearby convent. The end of her novitiate is close and soon she's expected to take her vows and take the veil for good. But she's a headstrong, ambitious girl, and she doesn't want to spend her life in a convent. In the quiet of the night she is dreaming about and planning her escape.

Three bowls, a cylidner, and some progress with glazing

Another four pots are finished. And although it's still far from perfect, or at least from how I meant it to turn out, there's definitely some progress in the glazing department. This time I used green for the insides, but kept it neutral on the outside. I prefer the green, it looks fresher, and it fits perfectly into my living room, which has a lot of green in it.

I used a dip in-glaze for the insides of the cylinder and one of the bowls. They come in big plastic tubs and you use a pair of tongs to dip the pots into the glaze for glazing them on the outside, or you ladle some glaze into the pot, swirl it around so it covers it all the way up to the rim, and empty it back into the pot. It gives a nice even layer, and I like the fact that it has some tiny cracks that give it texture.

For the other two bowls, I used a paint on glaze again, 'vintage green'. I think I didn't paint the layers on thick enough, even though there were three layers. The glazes are just so different to the colours I'm used to, and I have to learn to use them differently.

The outsides are looking a bit better too, compared to last time. Still a bit patchy, but altogether a lot more even, and I seem to have managed to cover everything. I used paint on glazes for all of them, two different ones, both light with a bit of a mottled effect. Most of my course colleagues seem to prefer bold, smooth colours, almost black on the outside, and bright yellows, oranges, reds and greens on the inside. But I prefer the more muted, uneven colours with different effects. I think it somehow suites the natural material they're made of better. But that's of course just my personal taste.

I'm especially pleased with my cylinder (which my teacher helped me made, of course, otherwise it would have ended up just another 'eggbowl'). While I don't really know yet what to use all the others for, this one I made with special intention - to keep my brushes in.