Some drawings of Wimbledon (done from TV unfortunately...)

The English National Ballet...and a bit about sketchbooks

Last November I had the chance to draw the ENB during their morning warm up when they were on tour in Bristol.

It was a 45 minute session. You're led into the auditorium (very weird when it's empty - definitely a space designed to have people in it) and then you quietly sketch whilst the ballerina's go through the motions of getting limber for rehearsals (they're very powerful for such small people). The pace, relentless; the music, bizarre; and it's all over far to quick. I managed to squeeze out 102 sketches (that's about 1 drawing every 26.5 seconds assuming my pen was moving the entire 45 minutes...)

And these would be (some) of them...straight from the sketchbook all dirty and raw. I know they're not much to look at but my view on sketchbooks is that they are a visual diary, a place where you can make mistakes, try new things and generally never have to show anyone, because if the world saw all the bad stuff then there is no way I'd get a job again...

Anyway, these "notes" come in as handy reference, if I ever feel like working them up into something...

Sketching out and about in Bristol town with fellow Aardman storyman, Dirk Van Dulmen - People...and also some people drawing people.

and (much like Game of Thrones) some nakedness...

Lunch sessions at Aardman. Clothed models, occasional dancing and sandwich eating.

Bits and bobs from the streets...

(and another figure drawing...for good measure)

Some more from sessions at the Bristol Grammar School...

So I've been going through my sketchbooks and scanning work, collating it etc. May as well make use of the old blog!

- Some figure drawing from a class in Bristol -