ANOTHER DOG

Lynne's brother Matt turned 50 when we were on holiday in Hobart.

Needless to say, Lynne said (very endearingly): 'Darling, I've forgotten my brother's birthday. Can quickly rustle up a dog?'

Just what I wanted to hear when I was engrossed in my daily task of working out which beach to spend the day on.

Fortunately technology came to the rescue and Carol emailed a photo of Frankie for me to do a portrait from. (For anyone who's interested here's the genealogy: Carol is Matt's wife - Frankie is Matt's dog.)

Then Australiapost and the Royal Mail came to the rescue and got the painting of Frankie to Mat on time.

SOME RAMBLINGS ON DRAWING

This is a pencil portrait of Gilbert Chini, the village electrician and TV expert.
I drew him again because he has such an interesting face. It was done on a cold wintery day in what should be spring in Southwest France. And I really enjoyed the exercise, probably because it was a way of escaping from the deplorable weather, and rediscovering drawing.

Here's what some great artists have said about drawing:

An artist draws with his brains and not with his hand (Michelangelo),

Paul Klee said that drawing is taking a dot for  a walk.

The pleasure Van Gogh got is expressed in his thought that 'I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.'

I also found one recently attributed to Salvador Dali that encapsulates my ideas on abstract art. 'Those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing.'

Now go and get a pencil and paper and start drawing.

MAN IN A BLACKSHIRT

The drawing is three fourths and a half of what constitutes painting. Jean-August-Dominique Ingres.

I think he's got a point. A really big one. So it's back to the drawing board.
Here's my latest portrait in pencil. I try to think about it as painting with a pencil. Great fun, really, when you get into it. Why not give it a go.
All you need is a sheet of paper and a pencil. And a face of course. If faces are in short supply, just look in the mirror.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Three Spanish painters. It took me a while to get this more or less right, as you can see from these preliminary exercises.

DESIGN FOR A BOOK COVER

This my cover design for a collection of my short stories.
But beware, the copy says it all. What you see is what you'll get.
And as sure as a pound to a pinch of you know what, some people will have difficulty with both the style and the themes.
But I don't give a fig. I'd rather get a reaction from readers - even if they hate my writing - than be read with indifference.
So, if you decide to read any, please be sure to read the warnings.
Here is the link:
http://rays-books.blogspot.com/

THE SPANISH PAINTER

After several years of focussing on painting, I've negleted drawing, which is where I believe it all starts.
it's a great discipline and it teaches many basics, including control of the pencil.
So I've decided to do a series of portrait drawings. Here's the first.
The subject's a Spanish painter who lives nearby. I've painted him in the past, but he has such an amazing face that I decided to do another portrait, this time in pencil.

YOU TURN 60 ONLY ONCE EVERY LIFETIME

So, George is getting old. In fact, he's SIXTY today. Even if he's being trying to forget it. But we won't let him.
As you can see, George likes Guiness.
And, as he's made 60, Guiness must be good for him. Maybe if he drinks lots of it, he'll make a hundred.
Happy 60th birthday George.
(Can anyone guess who I'm talking about - if not, send me an email).

SNAKES ALIVE!

For some reason that's completely beyond me, just after we arrived in France, I started to paint snakes. I painted them on tables. I painted them on walls. And I painted them on doors.
Although I quite liked the pointillist dazzle that is set up by the dots of contrasting and complimenting colour, I never thought any more of them. (I was, however, sometimes conscious of the startled looks on people's faces when they came back from one of out guest bathrooms that's encrusted with snakes).
And then one day, an American guest - Joan Rushton - asked if I'd ever done a snake on canvass.
My turn to be startled. I could only answer "No! And don't ask me why."
So, to make amends, I'm about to start a snake painting on canvas.
In the meantime here are some of the snakes on doors at La Petite Galerie.
Here's the link to my Online Gallery where you can look for my painting of a snake.
rayjohnstone.co.uk