Session 24- ROYALTY!

Yesterday's live sketching session on the theme of ROYALTY was another gang of four- two guys and two gals which was a whole lot of fun and here are the results- varied and surprising! The next subject on Wednesday is POP STARS!

The first of the gang of 4 is Anna K Lange who surprised us all by painting (in ink) this fabulous image of Queen Elizabeth on the throne reading a magazine (probably Royalty monthly!). And she did it in the allotted hour! Wonderful!

The next attendee of the live session was Martin Ansell who also produced his masterpiece in the allotted hour-
It's a frog prince or a toad king or Jabba the Hutt! Anyway, whoever he is he's doing well for him
male as he's clutching a large wad in his sticky fingers! Fab, Binky!

The Julia Xandru, who was also live for the hour threw us all a google with this  wonderful piece which is part mask, part portrait of Princess Turendot who is most famously known from the Puccini opera Turendot. The opera was unfinished at the time of Puccini's death and was based on a play but the original story comes from an epic 12th century Persian poem by Nizami, I love masks and this one is particularly beautiful! Well done Jools!

The last of the gang of 4-ME! And I tried to do an oil painting of King Kong chasing some bikini-clad beauty!
The pic on the left is what I managed to get done in the live hour then this morning I fiddled with it in Photoshop for another hour and that's the version on the right. I still need another few hours to get it better but it'll have to do!

Our regular contributor from Morocco- Khawla Sdour has done this gorgeous portrait of one of my favourite actresses- Charlese Theron from the film Snow White and the Huntsman in which she played the wicked Queen! One day I hope she can join us on the live session along with her twin sister Somaya!

Finally, from Uzbekistan (although Anna is from Siberia) we have Anna Lindenburger's beautiful and delicate portrait of Lecrecia Borgia! Anna says, "She was 14 when her father married her to a real arsehole and she she poisoned her second husband, She was also sleeping with her brother." A nice lady! Thanks Anna!

The Gang of Four- Paul, Martin, Anya and Jools!

And  even more finally, a late addition from Pearl Bates of a delicate yet strong drawing of a Queen and two dogs (they don't look like corgis so it can't be our own dear Queen last seem on the loo at the top of this blog!) Thanks Pearl!

Session 23- Birds!

Yesterday's subject for fabulously talented, high-flying sketchers was chosen by last time's newbie- Sarah Kelly (nee Chase) and the theme was BIRDS! The next session's theme will be Royalty!

The first fledgling out of the nest is Anna Lindenberger returning to us after a short emigration with  the sort of lateral thinking that I like to indulge in and she's drawn a fabulous portrait of Joaquin Phoenix (Phoenix- Geddit?) from the film Gladiator! She loved him as The Joker!

Then we have some late offerings from Annalisa Renee (who couldn't make the live session) of a more traditional type- two beautiful paintings of a tawny owl and a kingfisher in flight. 

Then one of our live artists- my old friend Anna K Lange stuck in Poland after living in Australia, Thailand and all over the place has drawn the much maligned and ignored pigeon. I love the Bridget Riley background you added Anna. Lovely!

Then we have two entries from my friend Khawla Sdour in Morocco of two exotic birds. One's a parrot but I've no idea what the other one is! Beautifully done!

Then the excellent and innovative Julia Xandru has sent me two versions of the same image including a cheeky photo of me from my birthday celebration last night. Very graphic. Very groovy. I love it!

Next my own humble effort. I was again trying to make a witty connection with myself as it was my birthday so I've painted a bald eagle!

And finally the new star of the ******* show- Sarah Kelly (as she's known professionally but her married name is Sarah Chase) has done these gorgeous images of owls in ink. They're fabulous!
Right! So the next subject for our sketchers on Sunday is Royalty in whatever way you'd like to interpret that theme!
ROYALTY!

The gorgeous gang and me!
See you on Sunday I hope!
Paul
xxx

Session 22- ANIMALS!

Yesterday's subject (chosen by me) for our small squad of scribblers was ANIMALS! Due to the relaxing of lockdown and summer weather our group of live scribblers was reduced to 4 plus Jools who popped in briefly to say hello. But 4's enough for a sketching group and the results were added to later by some of our regulars who couldn't do the live thing but sent a picture afterwards. Well done all you animals who took part and a particularly warm welcome to Sarah Kelly who joined us after much nagging and badgering by me! So anyway, here are the glorious images what we done!

And on Wednesday I'm promised another little animation from Daniel Houlle so I'm very keen to see that!

The effervescent Anna K Lange was one of the gang of 4 and produced this strikingly colourful and characterful image of her cat Mouse! Fabulous!

One of our regulars- Annalisa Renee who has been with us from the start, couldn't do the live session but sent me this gorgeous drawing of a mummy wolf and her affectionate cub. the cub's probably saying in wolfese- "Mum, I'm HUNGRY!"

Ana Ripoll who I know though the oil painting class here in Palma (closed until September) is another regular who couldn't join us live but sent me this fabulously exuberant and colourful bird (a bird of paradise perhaps? Or a bird of Ana's imagination?) later. It reminds me of the award winning illustrator Quentin Blake. Nice one, Ana!

This was sent later by the talented Vivian Salzman from Uzbekistan and it's her cat in human form! Great colours and design, Viv!

Emily Woolf (one of the gang of 4) didn't draw a wolf but instead drew this alarming cat with a fabulous moustache  worthy of Kenneth Branagh in Murder on the Orient Express. This marvellous drawing also reminds me of the work of another award winning illustrator- Edward Gorey!

Julia Xandru, who popped into the session briefly to say hello and later sent me this  lovely painting of a cat again (lots of cats!) in some European looking town with a sun (Love the sun!) and a moon in the sky. This one reminds me a bit of another renowned painter whose name escapes me. Any suggestions?

And now my attempts at doing two oil paintings in the allowed hour. I twiddled with them both a bit later but- Hey! We all cheat! So we have a somewhat disgruntled looking lioness (another cat!) and two lovey-dovey elephants! Aw!

New girl- Sarah Kelly was one of the gang of 4 but couldn't show us what she'd done at the end of the session  cos she had to dash off. So imagine my delighted surprise when she sent me these three stunning images later. Drawn with black Quink ink which when diluted breaks down into lots of gorgeous colours! I must get some! These are stunning, Sarah! Please join us again! And, as the newbie, Sarah got to choose the next subject which will be - BIRDS!

And finally from Morocco our regular twin sisters Khawla and Somaya Sdour who can't join us live because they don't have access to Zoom but they sent me these two gorgeous drawings of a very fierce looking tiger and a good cow coming to say hello! Wonderful work ladies! And now I'll say goodbye until Wednesday when I hope you can all return to draw - BIRDS!
Paul
xxx

The Gang of Four!

Session 21- Hero or Villain?

Yesterday's quick draw session was on a subject picked by me- Hero or Villain? With all the current   controversy surrounding statues and what they represent I thought it would be a relevant theme. I was going to try an oil painting of Winston Churchill who some regard as a hero and some as a villain but then I noticed that it was the 60th anniversary of one of my favourite films so I changed my mind as you will see below.

So high kicking us off is a real fictional hero (should that be heroine?) the wonderful Wonder Woman as powerfully portrayed by fellow Mallorca prisoner Sophie Birritta.

It was great to be joined again by Elsa Lish accompanied by her dad the extremely talented and successful Dan Lish who is SO busy (I'm jealous!) that he couldn't participate but was with us live to encourage Elsa who produced this fabulous drawing of an irate chef chasing a thieving seagull. Elsa has a wild imagination and the drawing skills to back it up. She'll go far! As will that seagull unless the chef catches him. I think the mask is a wonderful detail.

Next, one of our remote members all the way from Morocco it's Khawla Sdour who has produced this gorgeously  rendered portrait of The Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham-Carter, from Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland.
Off with her head! No, not yours, Khawla!

My old pal from a few years ago in Palma- Anna K Lange was with us live from Poland and gave us a hero-  Chris Evans from the film Snowpiercer which she says is brilliant although I haven't seen it. I love the colour and the contrast between the line line and large areas of black. 

We can usually rely on something weird from Julia Xandru and this is no exception!  Apparently, it's an evil god of greed called Kuvera. He is a greedy Lord that sits on top of his wife drinking Jaegermeister He is the hero of other greedy villains like most politicians and businessmen. Basically anyone in a suit! He's so two-faced he's got THREE!

A late addition from Vivian Salzman in Uzbekistan and this one is new to me. I assume it's a comic book character but whether he or she is good or bad only Vivian knows. It's a great drawing though. Love the colours and I'd never think of having a grey background but it sets off the colours really well!

This is my one hour oil portrait of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in the brilliant Hitchcock chiller- Psycho which premiered exactly 60 years ago! The face looks a bit too long but generally I'm quite pleased with it. "Mother's not herself today!"

Alan Bartlett joined us briefly and later sent me this lovely image of Hero/Villain Napoleon! He was one of the greatest commanders in history whose wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide but to the man in the street he seems to be most famous for saying to his wife, "Not tonight, Josephine!"

Our fabulous gang of scribblers and daubers! We all agreed on the next subject for Sunday-
ANIMALS!
Love to all!
Paul
xxx

Session 20- INBETWEEN!

Yesterday's sketch club session was on a theme chosen by Anna K Lange- INBETWEEN! A bit of a tough one perhaps but our stalwart team of talented scribblers rose to the challenge and produced the following mellifluous melange of fabulous images!

Anna K Lange, who was Zooming us from Poland produced this colourful and striking image of somebody called Mister Inbetween! I think he's a character from a TV show! Looks a bit like Sean Connery, don't he? Yesh!

Alan Bartlett thought the session was cancelled again so he wasn't part of the live session but sent me this  gorgeous fellow later. He's a transvestite with a beard and therefore in-between sexual identities (I think!). Nice one, Alan!

Julia Xandru has done an image that reminds me of Dali for some reason. Nothing wrong with that! Jools' usual dazzling colours in an image that is "between alpha and omega!"

Two lovely watercolours from Annalisa Renee showing waterspouts between the sky and the sea. Great colours, Annalisa and a feeling of vast depth and space in the bottom one. 

My own effort at tackling the theme is of a werewolf who was just off to bed not realising that there was a full moon.
This one's for Fluffy.

A delicate and emotional pencil drawing from Marina Renee-Cemmick, back from London in Dorset with her mum for a couple of weeks. It's taken from the film Billy Elliott which (to her horror) I admit that I've never seen!

And finally a late entry from Sophie Birritta showing a great balance between the beautiful (great colours, Sophie!) and the comical (nice one!).

The talented gang of scribblers and daubers plus Jools' cat commenting on our efforts with a big yawn! Critics, eh?
So, for the Wednesday session it's my turn to choose a theme so how about- HERO or VILLAIN?
That should give us a bit of scope. I hope to see you then then!
Paul
xxx

Session 19- Extreme Weather!

It was Annalisa Renee's choice of theme for session 19 and she chose Extreme Weather! Brrr! Gasp! Shiver! Sweat! AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH! So our diverse and dispersed group of resident geniuses came up with the following interpretations of that subject!

Renowned iconoclast and peripatetic painter- Alan Bartlett missed the live session but, nonetheless produced this magnificent image of a tall modern city being subject to the excessive, enthusiastic bombastic bombardments of nature at its most irate! Fabulous!

And by complete contrast Anna Lindenberger who also missed the live session came up with this peacefully sleeping cowboy.
She said that she tried to make it look really hot so I boosted the saturation a bit. I asked was he drunk or dead or dead drunk? And she replied- the latter! That's one way to escape from reality, I guess! dream on, cowpoke!

Anna K Lange was actually at the session during which she produced this striking image  which she calls A Two Fish Drama in one Act! Quite how that relates to extreme weather is beyond me but like all artists, she ploughs her own furrow.
Plough on Shrimp!

Julia Xandru was also present during the hour of scribbling and daubing and she came up with these dazzlingly colourful images. Again, I'm a bit pushed to see how they relate to the theme but they are gorgeous paintings and that's good enough for me, Jools!

There's absolutely no doubt about the relevance of Annalisa Renee's image (well she did pick the subject!)
of a storm-lashed lighthouse (Seaham Lighthouse on the North Sea). This image is so strong you can almost hear the roar and smell the ozone (or is that my deodorant?) Fabulous! 

And by contrast, also by Annalisa is this tranquil scene of another lighthouse sailing off for a week's holiday on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. 

Now my oblique contribution. I thought I'd be a smart-arse and interpret the subject in a lateral fashion so here's a caricature of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber as The Phantom of the Opera unmasking himself and scaring the pants off (not visualised!) a young lady ably modelled for me during the session by Jools! Do ya geddit? NO? well it's an- Extreme Webber! Oh, well. please yerselves!

A pencil sketch from Vivian Salzman showing a female superhero that's new to me. Is she from the X-Men, Teen Titans, The Young Avengers? Dunno but a great drawing anyway. You should draw comic strips for DC or Marvel, Vivian!

Sophie Birritta tried and failed to get in on the live session (some technical hitch!) but later sent me this glorious image of a small truck taking an unusual route to town. Looks like Australia with the wind up!

And finally, all the way from Morocco it's Khawla and Somaya Sdour with two contrasting climates! Khawla's shivering girl is inspired but the film Frozen (If she's so cold why has she got the window open? It's a mystery that Khawla can solve for me maybe!) and her twin sister Somaya has drawn a very thirsty man in the hot desert trying to have a drink! His camel looks serenely indifferent to his plight but that's camels for ya!

The sketching gang being silly as usual. What's Fluffy doing in there? I told him he couldn't attend!
So Anna K Lange has chosen the subject for next time- Inbetween!
So, I hope to see you all on Sunday at the same time for your interpretations of that mind twister!
Paul
xxx