Sunday 29 January 2012

Forward


mixed media sketch

Put your best foot forward...but how do you know which is your best foot?

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Twirl




Illustration Friday - The word this week is TWIRL, which brings into mind lots of lovely things including chocolate.  I decided on the sails of a windmill twirling in the wind and this particular one is a windmill from Trapani saltpans.

Sunday 22 January 2012

The Pink Lighthouse



watercolour

Well it's not really pink, it just reflects light as the sun goes down!
This is a little postcard sized painting that I did for a swap.  My blogging friend Anne  in Scotland organised a 'postcard' swap and people from all over the world took part.  You could make a postcard in anyway you liked so I painted this postcard using sketches and photos I made on location. The light house is somewhere I often go  and the making sketches imprints many things on your mind like the light and atmosphere.

My swap partner was Anne herself and she sent me a beautiful postcard that she made by needle felting.


Anne is very talented with textiles, she makes beautiful quilts and can knit so many different things.
Have a look at her blog  Frayed at the Edge 


Thursday 19 January 2012

Prepare for the Day Ahead

watercolour & ink


I sketched my coffee pot or caffettiera for Illustration Friday.  The word was prepare and the best way to prepare for the day is a nice coffee in the morning?

Monday 16 January 2012

Inside my Sketchbook





Tuesday was one of those gloomy grey days but I thought I'd try and sketch  the sea and perhaps the coastline but I found that all the little fishing boats were pulled up high, nearly on the road.  Their colours are always cheerful even on gloomy days but as I finished off the sketch the sky cleared and the sky became a lovely apricot colour as the sun started to dip.
The black lamp thing attached to the boat is used at night to attract the poor little fishes to the net, by shining the light on the surface of the sea.




This is a nearby town sketched from my daughter's bedroom window at the weekend.  The very steep road is hardly ever used as you have to ford through a river at the bottom, most people prefer the longer route by the main road and bridge!


This is the other end of the same town and another hill, sketched from my front terrace on a nice sunny afternoon.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Costa Concordia


We have been watching the fate of the Costa Concordia all weekend, it's a dreadful experience for all the passengers and crew.  
The Concordia calls in every week at Palermo and I often see her docked at lunchtime when I drive past the port and  I even  spent the day on board a couple of years ago.   
We wait with anxiety to hear news of the people still missing.



Thursday 12 January 2012

The Last Page! ( ArthouseSketchbook Project 2012)



Finally the last page for the Sketchbook project 2012 and it had to be the site of the ancient Phoenician town of  Solunto up on a nearby hill.  Most of  what you can actually see there dates from around 256 BC when the Romans took possession after the First Punic War.

My theme was encyclopedia of...    I used this title to make an encyclopedia of secret places (or places with a secret).




Sketchbook Cover

THE END

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Grounded

Pen and ink


'Grounded' for this week's Illustration Friday.  The word grounded has different meanings this is what came into my mind!

Saturday 7 January 2012

Erupting



This was Mount Etna yesterday morning (not my photo).  It is not unusual for Mt Etna to erupt, it happens almost every year to different degrees.  I'm just glad I live a couple of hours away even if it is a spectacular sight!
My computer has decided to go on strike and will have to go the doctors so at present I'm unable to scan any artwork, although I have actually finished my sketchbook for the sketchbook project, cover and all!!
Fingers crossed my computer gets better soon.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Highlight


Late afternoon sun  highlights the beautiful gold decorations on these marble columns, the effect is beautiful and serene.  You have to go  at the right time of day to see this long row of ornate columns glow, each pair is decorated in unique mosaic patterns, no two are the same.



Built as part of the cathedral abbey at Monreale in 1200, there are 108 pairs of marble columns and Arabic arches.

This is a page for The Sketchbook Project and it alson fits in nicely with this week's theme on Illustration Friday - Highlight.

Monday 2 January 2012

Hilltop Village



Happy New Year!
Time is running out to finish the Sketchbook Project, I have just 2 pages left plus the cover.
This is a small hilltop village, one that looks deserted at first, but as you wander down the tiny streets you can feel the curtains twitching!