F1 GP portrait no 3

Here's the next in the Grand Prix drawing-from-life effort. Another less-than-flattering picture, but at least I'm on a learning curve with this (tho I fear I may be sliding in the wrong direction!) Funny how, when you see it on screen, you can suddenly see all the things that aren't quite right!

Pastel on pastel paper, A4.

In the garden

8" x 10", watercolour.

A fairly quick effort painted earlier this year from a photo reference of OH in the garden, enjoying the sunshine.

F1 portrait no 2

Here's the next 'Formula One' life portrait, in charcoal this time.

Reasonably happy with this - there are bits I like and bits I don't. I enjoyed using the charcoal.

Gossamer girl

Here's an experiment I painted sometime last year.

Watercolour and ink, approximately 10" by 14".

Self portrait

I thought it was about time I tried a self portrait, so here I am in watercolour (8" by 10").

I took about 20 reference photos, camera held at arm's length, and I've got the same disgruntled expression in all of them!

Amsterdam trams

As you may have noticed, my favourite subjects are people and animals. I don't paint many landscapes, so this was something a bit different for me. This is my effort for April's Virtual Paintout monthly challenge.

8" by 10", acrylic, from a reference from Google Streetview.

Pink socks

This is a watercolour, 8" by 10", that I painted a year ago.

My model's looking a bit dazed and confused, probably from me following her around on all fours with a camera...

Crazy Magnolias

Here are two versions of a special request, a stylized magnolia painting. The process (using clingfilm) is a bit hit-and-miss, so you never quite know what you're going to get.

Approx 6" by 8", watercolour and ink.

Cat sketch

Here's a bonus sketch - the cat draped over my OH's legs, during the Grand Prix.

A quickie this one, 10-15 mins.

F1 Grand Prix drawing...

I know I need to improve my drawing skills, but finding someone willing to sit still for long enough can be tricky. My cunning plan, hatched this weekend, is to draw my other half while he's watching the Formula One Grand Prix coverage on the telly - two hours of sitting on the sofa and barely moving - perfect! I'm planning to do one drawing each GP, so hopefully there'll be a detectable improvement over the season!

Here's the first, completed yesterday. Graphite (2B and 6B), 6" by 9". Not the most flattering portrait, but a reasonable likeness (better than I was expecting, anyway).

Little painter

Here's one that I've just finished - I'm afraid I've lost the likeness, but I enjoyed painting it.

Watercolour, 8" by 10".

Cat on a beanbag

Watercolour 5" by 7".

This was a quickie I did a couple of weeks ago, trying to stay loose and not get bogged down in detail.