Conté ‘carp on black’ sketch series 1 of 3

I bought a square format, black paper Daler-Rowney sketchbook yesterday and before sullying its pristine surface with a poor drawing, I did this sketch first on a seperate sheet of paper. In fact this first fish was drawn in white Conté over a black-marker area, which proved not nearly as nice and solid a black (of course) as the black paper which was used for the next two drawings. But still, a worthy trial. When drawing what is effectively ‘in reverse’, i.e with white as the highlight, it’s tempting to draw outlines as you would with a black-on-white example, but that would kill the subtlety, so restraint is the order of the day.

Reading on the train 090915

Was scratching around for ideas for more surreal fishy drawings, but as we fisherman say, I 'blanked'. So I drew this fellow-commuter instead on the homeward train. Black Biro on Cachet recycled sketchbook.

Lucky 7-in-One 090908

Drew this on the homeward train last night. A new take on the well-known big-fish-eats-little-fish scenario. I remember seeing film footage of Australian angler Rex Hunt reeling in a fish only to have it eaten at the boat's side at the last second by a much larger fish, so this really happens. (Okay, not quite as neatly as in my pic). Black Biro and Chinagraph white pencil on recycled sketchbook.

Fishermen’s Thoughts 090908

Inspired by a recent fishing trip to Skye in the Scottish inner Hebrides last week, where salmon fishing was the order of the day. And also the work of MC Escher, who mastered the illusion of negative and positive spaces and interlocking images. Black Biro on recycled sketchpad.

Nude, Fiona 900903

Having loosened up with the previous study, I drew the model with a charcoal pencil and then applied a loose watercolour wash, keeping distracting background detail to a minimum.

Fiona study 090903

A quick charcoal pencil and watercolour wash warm-up sketch, prior to my main painting of Fiona on a recent fishing trip to the isle of Skye, Scotland.

A Suitable Fly

I drew this on my homeward journey last night on the train. He‘s found that fly that fills him with hope. The first fly. The one that’s been on his mind since he woke up. His lucky fly. Not the gaudiest or the best-tied, but something indescribable. A Suitable Fly. Okay, he looks a bit like the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, but that’s not a bad thing. He’s obviously done too much fishing as he’s looking like a fish. But come to think of it, can you do too much fishing? I don’t think so! Black Biro on recycled sketchbook.

The Flying Fisherman

Still on the surreal side of fishing and ’under the influence’ of reading a fishing novel at the moment, comes ‘The Flying Fisherman’. I once saw some of these amazing fish on a fishmonger’s slab in East London. Their pectoral fins are extraordinarily long (the pic’s not anatomically accurate of course). It was very exotic for Leytonstone. It also reminds me of reading ‘Adrift’ where the starving author was stranded in the Pacific and as well as being butted from below by dolphin fish (dorado) in his thin inflatable ‘boat’, he was lucky enough to receive some manna from heaven when some flying fish landed virtually in his lap during a storm. Quink ink and charcoal pencil with white pencil highlights.

The Yin and Yang of Fishing

I was reading (US author) John Gierach’s 'Trout Bum’ (Fly-Fishing as a way of life) this morning on the way to work and was inspired to get my sketch book out. A man who’s familiar with the delicate balance of the right timing, the right fly and the other influences one doesn’t have any control over when fishing, Mr Gierach would certainly get this. The harmony of it all going right on the day, The Yin and Yang of Fishing. I had originally planned the composition the ‘usual’ way up, but it looked much more relaxed with the character lying side-by-side with his catch in harmonious bliss. Black Bic biro on recycled sketchbook. As featured across the pond in the US on Steve Stracqualursi’s website Way Upstream.com Thanks for the interest Steve. (UPDATE: 17 Sep 09: PS Apologies for mis-spelling 'Ying' on the drawing!)

Quink hen

A quick, Quink lunchtime painting (sans pencil) drawing stage, of one of our hens as a thank you for a family who looked after them whilst we were on holiday. (Thanks Jo & co!). It’s challenging to eschew the pencil when it’s so handy as a starting point, but once you drop in the main, palest colour (of the hen’s body) as a guide, this can be added to, especially wet-into-wet, such as in the tail and neck tones. It’s very subtle without the pencil outlines, but has a charm of its own.

A Good Day’s fishin’

Inspired by a photo I found of giant American roadside model of a bass and another pic I came across of a Japanese ceremony of a crowd carrying a huge paper fish, I blended the two. I’d like to be that fisherman, imagine the kudos. You can just make him out being held high on shoulders in front of the fish’s mouth. The whole town could eat sushi for a year. Charcoal pencil and Quink ink on the usual recycled sketchbook brown paper.