In my mind I'm still there..

Sitting here in the heat of the summer my mind drifts to soft, cool summer days in England.
Our summers in Sicily are harsh and dry, with never-ending days of sun. That might be paradise for some people, but I much prefer the pitter patter of rain!
This is a piece I've just finished, I will put it away for a few days before I finish the last tweaks.
A special place..but where?
Water colour underpainting and coloured pencil on top. 20 cmsx 25cms

UKCPS 8th Annual Open Exhibition 2009

Its official, the two pieces of art work I submitted to the uk coloured pencil exhibition have been accepted. I'm very proud to take part and even more so as the exhibition is being held in Birmingham at the RBSA. I was born in Birmingham (a long time ago) and I grew up not far away.

My two pieces are of Sicilian fisherman and are on my website. Here's hoping I can get over and see them for myself hanging in the same gallery with some of the best coloured pencil artists about. Soooo exciting!

Black

I've been sketching with different types of pencils and pastels, using only black.

Its interesting how many different shades of black there are and it's a good exercise for improving tones using just one colour. I will try a wet media next.

Black is the right colour for our little valley, for weeks now we have had wild fires and most of the green on the hills opposite has been burnt. The good news is that the person responsabile has been caught red-handed. Here's hoping that nature can restore its former beauty.

Black is my colour this week...

Home grown tomatoes

These are our first tomatoes this year...and they smell lovely. A quick drawing with water colour pencils and coloured pencils. I love all the red colours it makes a change from all the landscapes I do.