‘Herne Bay skaters’

‘Herne Bay skaters’ mixed media  © Peter Gander

‘Lapland map’ Christmas card

© Peter Gander/Have a Gander. Watercolour and ink.

detail

detail

That’s shallot

Tickling out a quick lunchtime watercolour today of a shallot destined for a Thai duck curry tonight. The beauty of watercolour is in its speed for me. No, or very little, waiting time for stuff to dry. The only reason really that I ever took it up as it was so perfect for ‘lunchtime sketches’ working full-time in London.

Winter hedges

Winter hedges  © Peter Gander

Inspired by the very straight-cut and graphic hedges I saw on a foggy dog walk last week, my interpretation. Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm grain fin paper.

Colman’s Mustard jar, my favourite

Colman’s Mustard. No manly food should do without it. As they used to say themselves ‘Meat needs mustard’. An iconic design and personal favourite of mine, drawn in scratch pen and acrylic ink with watercolour on 300gsm The Langton’ Grain Fin’ paper. Warhol had his Campbell’s, my muse is mustard. Email me if you’d like to give a similar original as a present headlined with ‘(insert name)’s favourite’, to a loved one - maybe a jar of their favourite marmalade, a bottle of beer or wine, or even a pair of Converse, anything goes. petergander@gmail.com

Fishing lure 131015

Imitation and life, as it were  © Peter Gander 2013

Despite being an avid fisherman, I must admit to never having mastered the lure, admiring from afar their beauty as objects but that’s as far as it goes (so far). This one sports a chunky diving vane on its lower lip and a ruddy throat which I understand throws the intended quarry into a lusty attack, thinking that the faux fish is injured. Unusually for me, I used masking fluid for the hard-edged spine highlight as it does give a strong effect (usually I bring wax to the art table for similar effect). The white/cream paper, though full of texture (Hahnemuele Andalucia 500gsm board) lacked a certain something, so I cut out a fish-body-sized mask of paper and lay it on top of the coloured fish. Then sprayed it freely with blobs of watercolour paint tapped over the back of the hand for that more characterful bespattered look.

Lure 131015  © Peter Gander 2013

Fiona’s Converse

Fiona’s Converse  © Peter Gander 2013

I’ve always wanted to draw these iconic shoes from my youth and my wife Fiona wears them, so I got her to part with them for an hour. The drawing was done sans sketch/pencil 1st, so it remains nice and loose with a spontaneous feel. Ink and dip pen with watercolour (mostly Payne’s Grey) on Hahnemuhle Andalucia 500gsm paper.

Seaside characters for Putterfingers.co.uk

1 of 9  © Peter Gander 2013

Commission for www.putterfingers.co.uk a Suffolk-based mini-golf company. 1 of 9. Original: Ink  and watercolour on 300gsm The Langton Grain Fin paper.

‘Skullbikery’ watercolour edition

‘Skullbikery’ watercolour original edition  © Peter Gander 2013

An update of a previous digital edition, this one’s been painted as an original as a gift to a cycling-crazy friend. Hope you liked it Dan ; - ) Winsor & Newton watercolour on The Langton 300gsm Grain Fin paper.

East of London Bridge

‘East of London Bridge’  © Peter gander 2013

Looking east downriver of the Thames towards WWII battleship, The HMS Belfast (where my parents once took me when I was about 12) and Tower Bridge behind it, backlit by the low morning sun. The pointed tower of Canary Wharf, where I am currently freelancing at Ogilvy & Mather, seen in grey in the background. A simple combination of two favourite colours, Winsor & Newton Payne’s Grey and Cerulean Blue capture the essence of the morning light. A dryish brush dragged across the tooth of the mould-made paper acheives the sparkly water effect. The shelter, by Hay’s Galleria at London Bridge (south side) is just by the Clipper pier where I get my morning boat to the Wharf, a mere 10 minute ride, despite the fact that the tower looks like it’s a hundred miles away down the snaking river. Winsor & Newton watercolour and waterproof pen on 210gsm handmade Indian Khadi paper sketchbook.

Lottie the black labrador

‘Lottie’  © Peter Gander

Winsor & Newton watercolour painting on 300gsm handmade Indian Khadi paper. 

‘Couple on seat’ bronze by Lynn Chadwick 2000. Canary Wharf, London.

‘Couple on seat’ bronze sculpture by Lynn Chadwick 2000.  Sketch © Peter Gander 2012

Strong winds again today but dry at least. Right outside the Ogilvy office is this bronze by Lynn Chadwick. I was surprised to see the date of 2000, having presumed it was a 1970s piece, similar to the Henry Moore abstracted figures that I used to see around Harlow, Essex when I was younger. A ring of tiered seating surrounds this and a fountain, so I had a comfortable sketching position. Drawn with a soft (7B) pencil, the paper’s tooth was rather too rough for any subtle variations of tone, but the wash of  sepia over the top helped with that. Dry pigment on the brush dragged upwards (left figure) lent an appropriately rough texture in places. Winsor and Newton watercolour on 210gsm Khadi (Indian handmade) ‘rough’ paper pad.

London lunchtime sketch: Sasso Cosmico, Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London

Sasso Cosmico, Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London  © Peter Gander 2012

A grey day in London. Raining, in fact, so nowhere to sit down and sketch but would have sketched this standing up anyway, for the best viewpoint of this dynamic view down to the famous Canary Wharf tower. In the foreground is a sculpture entitled ‘Sasso Cosmico’, by Do Vassilakis-Konig (bronze and steel) 2007. This view will be familiar with commuters like me who get the Thames Clipper boat into the wharf. The very fine rain added an interesting dotty texture to the painting, visible in the sky especially. The woman pushing the pram, lower left, circled the small park continuously for as long as I was there, a good 40 mins! Staedtler Permanent Pen and Winsor & Newton watercolour on 130gsm cartridge paper (the latter was too thin/non-absorbent for such a well-soaked job really).

London lunchtime sketch: Knocker White, West India Quay, London

‘Knocker White’  © Peter Gander 2012

A windy lunchtime today, had to batten down my own hatches with bulldog-clipped pages held down to stop them blowing around in the wind. A few spots of rain too but nothing really threatening. I am currently freelancing in the Docklands area of East London so thought a boat would make a good inaugural sketch for this area. The rust-coloured autumn leaves floating in the water were a good match to the tug’s warm orange paintwork. This little tug sits just outside the Museum of London Docklands and here’s the official history: 

KNOCKER WHITE is a traditional Thames tug, built in 1924 by T. van Duivendijk, Lekkerkerk, Netherlands as CAIRNROCK, for Harrisons Lighterage Company, London. She was traditionally steam-powered. She later passed into the ownership of W. E. White & Sons, Rotherhithe, and in 1960 was renamed with the nickname of one of the White family. She was converted to diesel power with the installation of Petters engines, and alterations were made to both the funnel and wheelhouse. In November 1982, she was sold for scrap, and parts of her engines were removed. In 1984, after a 60 year working life, she was reprieved and became part of the Museum of London Docklands. Source: Paul Brown, Historic Ships The Survivors (Amberley, 2010), updated Feb 2011.

Winsor & Newton watercolour (squirrel mop brush) on 210gsm rough Khadi (Indian handmade) pad (from Paperchase).

‘One for the pot’ (lobster)

‘One for the pot’  © Peter Gander 2012

A poor photo of this painting (at A3 or 42cm x 21cm it’s too large for my scanner), but hopefully you’ll get the gist. The outline was done with a jumbo bamboo dip pen and Ultramarine ink. Watercolour and ink on The Langton Prestige 300gsm rough paper. • SOLD

Red & green hen (• SOLD 13 Jan 2013)

Red and green hen  © Peter Gander 2012

A random hen for the show (it can’t all be about fish, fishermen and that maritime stuff). A big puddle of plain water was laid down for this in the shape of the body and pigment dropped into that puddle once only the sheen of water remained. (You need to use big, bold water-loaded squirrel mops for this). The result, rather like a photographer’s experience in the darkroom, is a joy, watching the colours blend, dominate and develop in front of your eyes. Minor leg and head details/caption were added with a dip pen and ultramarine ink. The downy feathers of the hen’s rear was achieved beyond the puddle area, dragging out the pigment eastwards with a dry squirrel brush, across untouched paper. It’s best, again for simplicity’s sake, to stick to just a couple of colours when experimenting like this. Winsor & Newton watercolour on Two Rivers handmade paper (rough). • SOLD 13 Jan 2013

The long slow road to the Sargasso (painting)

‘The long slow road to the Sargasso’ (painting)  © Peter Gander 2012

Scratching away white highlights with a scalpel

Going back a few years now, I posted a lunchtime sketch on this blog of ‘The long slow road...’, (see pic) with a link to The National Anguilla Club later picked up by a certain eel enthusiast from Cefas . (Hope you’re keeping up). Anyway, I was commissioned by the same person to produce the ‘Eel knot’ invite artwork and the above painting for the delegates of a Fisheries convention up in Edinburgh, Scotland, earlier in May. The original is a watercolour but I employed the fine skills of Michael Setek at www.gicleeprinting.co.uk in nearby Wye, Kent, to supply a number of giclée prints to hand out to worthy attendees. For any other artists in Kent keen on duplicating their paintings, especially watercolours (which aren’t easy to reproduce accurately) I’d recommend you check him out. Such is the excellent quality of the prints that you have to feel the original paper to check which one is the ‘real McCoy’!

The new painting (foreground) and the original sketch from 3 years ago amidst eely reference material

‘Eely happy’ print recipients, from left to right:
John Casselman (Canada), Mari Kuroki (Japan), Don Jellyman (New
Zealand), Katsumi Tsukamoto (Japan), Jim McCleave (USA) and Alan Walker
(Cefas, UK). Willem Dekker (Sweden)

The new painting remained very faithful to the original idea, changing little from my concept of a family and their belongings tied to a giant eel, travelling by night on their arduous journey to every European eel’s spawning ground - the Sargasso sea near Bermuda. In fact, I even kept the Biro element to lend an etching-like feel to the finished art. Also employed were a scalpel to scratch away white glossy highlights of the eels’ skin and candle wax to add texture to the flinty soil catching the moon’s rays. Winsor & Newton watercolour on The Langton Prestige 300gsm rough paper.

Café

Café  © Peter Gander

Using Indian ink and white gouache on Indian Khadi paper, a loose, gestural painted sketch of a waiter through the window of a London café. The heavyweight, cotton rag paper is perfect for those unexpected blooms, spreads and grainy effects that give richness to the piece. Indian ink, gouache on Khadi 310gsm paper.

Herne Bay Pier Trust commemorative postcard

 

Commemorative Herne Bay Pier Trust Pavilion postcard © Peter Gander

I have recently produced a humorous postcard for The Herne Bay Pier Trust (HBPT) who have a newly-opened Gallery on the seafront where I live. The pier, which is disconnected from the pier head still visible a third of  a mile away at sea, is also due to lose its 1970s sports pavilion building this year. But this time it will be a demolition crew rather than a severe storm that will see the demise of this part of the pier, as the jaded pavilion building is no longer a viable sports facility though in its time it nurtured Herne Bay’s famous roller skating teams (see the HBPT website for full story). Visually, note that the construction of the sports pavilion’s roof is obviously inspired by the undulating waves of the sea and I mimicked this again in the waves in the foreground. The local angling club, The Herne Bay Angling Association holds a Monster Crabbing Competition for the kids during this week’s Herne Bay Festival which provided a good ‘stage’ for an amusing scene choc-full of people. I painted the original, with hand-lettered elements, at A3 size (420mm x 297mm), which is 8x larger than the final printed postcard dimensions. I allowed for the inclusion of the HBPT logo on the far right but hidden in the original painting behind that very space is a special saucy bonus image that only the buyer of the original painting will get to see ;) The postcards and original painting will be for sale at the HBPT gallery on the seafront with a healthy portion of the proceeds going to the Trust. Permanent ink drawing pen and Winsor & Newton watercolour on Langton Prestige 300gsm smooth paper.

Happy Birthday Fiona!

Our bench © Peter Gander

It’s Fiona’s birthday today and this card that I painted for her is of a sailboat-shaped bench found on the shore at Whitstable, where we sat after our first date about 4 years ago. Winsor & Newton watercolour on 300gsm Jackson’s (UK) Eco Cotton Rag (medium rough).