Seaside sketch

Children paddling on the beach

Memories of sunny days at the beach, with warm sand and a cool sea and often a biting wind! Here a big sister gives her little sister a helping hand as she explores the waters edge.

I like doing these quick sketches which capture that special moment freezing it in time and evoking memories for years to come.

They are done with a 4B soft pencil which starts very sharp but then gets a nice bevelled edge which makes interesting lines of varying thickness. It is done ‘alla prima’ with corrections done by drawing over the top of lines more firmly. The paper is just ordinary computer printer paper 80 gsm which has a nice surface for quick drawing. Good quality papers have too much tooth! Which means their surface has textures which I don’t want in this type of drawing.

I scan and clean up the image on photoshop and tweek the tone as pencil can sometimes be too feint in reproduction.

Finally I import the cleaned up image into ‘Publisher’ and print cards and A4 prints for sale in my shop.

The card stock is pre-scored 350gsm white card and the A4 prints look best when printed on ‘Bockingford’ Watercolour Inkjet paper 190gsm.

Lifeguard, Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

In a previous post I mentioned that the trumpeters of the Household Cavalry Band ride white horses which are called Cavalry whites and there are 14 of them.

Here is a Lifeguard of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment riding a cavalry black! There are over 200 black horses often with white feet or stars on foreheads, which are ridden by the Lifeguards and the Blues and Royals when they undertake their ceremonial duties in London.

The Lifeguards wear these magnificent red capes, with dark blue collar in the winter, whilst the Blues and Royals wear a dark blue cape with red collar. The helmet strap is worn differently between the two regiments. The Lifeguards helmet strap is under the bottom lip and the Blues and Royals have their helmet strap under the chin

Anyone who has watched a ceremonial event in London will have seen the Lifeguards in either their red tunic or cape. Look out for them the nest time you are at Buckingham Palace at changing of the guard or St James’s Palace or Horseguards, Whitehall.

Mounted A5 polo prints

Perfect as gifts these double aperture mounted prints feature my A5 polo prints. The mounts are either in landscape or portrait mode to fit the artwork. The finished mount size is 36 x 25.3 cm and all mounted artwork is cellophane wrapped for protection. The aperture size remains the same but the choice of which prints to mount is yours. Please email me for choices.

The aperture size is 16.5 x 12 cms.

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Trumpeter of Household Cavalry Band

The trumpeters ride white horses which are called Cavalry whites and there are 14 of them.

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment troopers ride black horses which are called Cavalry blacks. There are over 200 black horses often with white feet or stars on foreheads.

And then there are four magnificent Drum horses.

Anyone who has watched a ceremonial event in London will have seen the Trumpeters as well as the Drum horses. Look out for them the nest time you are at Buckingham Palace at changing of the guard or at The Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Looking at the world upside down!

Children are so curious and it is a delight to see a toddler trying to make sense of his/her world by standing on their head! I hope this drawing makes you smile.

Polo player showing the strain.

The strain of twisting the whole body to play the shot on the left of the pony shows!

The most common shots in polo are the offside forehand and backhand played on the right of the horse. Less common but very effective are the nearside forehand and backhand shots played on the left side of the pony. The difficulty is in the twisting of the entire body to play the shot.

The players face in this illustration shows the effort involved in the nearside backhand shot.

All players now play right handed even if they are natural left handers since a rule change in 1974. Pre 1974 you could play left handed.

And the player strikes the ball with the side of the mallet not the end as it’s polo not croquet!

Dynamic offside forehand polo shot

This polo player is winding up to play a very dynamic offside forehand shot. Twisting his upper torso so much that he is out of the saddle and legs flying. His pony looks ready to take wing as well.

This illustration is on Fabriano 4 hot pressed paper and watercolour is enhanced with Derwent watercolour pencils.

New polo illustration - Hooking in polo

Hooking in polo

This new painting in watercolour and colour pencil illustrates ‘Hooking’ a defensive shot that you will see a lot when watching a polo match.

When a player uses his/her mallet to block or interfere with the opponent’s swing on the ball that is ‘Hooking’

‘Riding Off’ is the other defensive shot that you will see all the time in a match.

A new post for 2024. Oil portrait of little girl.

Using oil paint again has been so rewarding. At Art College we used only oils, as acrylics, although available weren’t encouraged. The main reason I gave up using oils was the smell of the turpentine and linseed oil. It really was overpowering and I can remember once, having run out of turpentine using parofin as a thinner! Idiotic!

Winsor and Newton now produce a turpentine substitute called ‘Sansodor’ which is amazing. Does the job with no noxious fumes. The oil paints do have that particular smell which takes me back through the decades but it’s not obnoxious.

I can also remember my old wooden palette which got caked with used paint. Wish I’d kept it! But the new disposable palettes make the clean up so easy.

The richness of colour and workabilty of the paint is the thing I’d forgotten about. My studio in Hampshire gets so hot in the summer that acrylics even with keep wet medium are dry in seconds and blending techniques are impossible. One adapts to these conditions but it’s a pleasure to have options to explore other media.

I will be producing a variety of different portraits this year and will enjoy sharing them here.

New greetings card of first Female Adjutant at RMA Sandhurst

Sandhurst Trust requested a new card to mark the first Female Adjutant at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. This card features the new Female adjutant on her black charger and it makes a companion piece to the previous card of the Adjutant on his white charger.

Both cards are now on sale at the Sandhurst Trust shop.

First Lady adjutant Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Major E L Humphreys is the first female Adjutant at Royal Military College Sandhurst.

First female Adjutant Major E L Humphreys AGC (SPS) and her charger climb the steps at Old College, RMAS.

Adjutant and his charger climbing the steps at Old College RMAS.

The tradition of the Adjutant and their charger climbing the steps of Old College at the end of the Sovereign’s Parade dates back to July 1926. The Adjutant Captain Frederick ‘Boy’ Browning (later Sir Frederick Browning) rode his horse ‘The Vicar’ up the steps of Old College at the conclusion of the end of term inspection, the precursor to the modern Sovereign’s Parade.

Many theories surround the tradition, but it appears he had the idea after riding up some steps in the training area and asked permission from the Commandant, Major General Charles Corkran, to do so at the end of the Commissioning Ceremony.

New oil portrait

Just completed this little oil painting for a birthday present 6” x 6”.

Starry starry night! New Italian greyhound Christmas or winter card.

Starry starry night.

A stargazing italian greyhound is a new card for sale. They are members of the sight hound family so they are always gazing at something. Usually food or other dogs.

Polo mugs for sale

These new polo mugs feature the images from my A5 mini prints of polo shots. There are two designs and include Riding Off, Woman polo player, At the gallop, Offside backhand and Offside forhand on a grey pony. The mugs are coated with orca glazing which gives a lovely finish.

For more product photos and details about prices and ordering please go to my online shop.

Finished Oil Painting of a soldier of the Blues and Royals

The Blues and Royals (Household Cavalry Regiment)

The Blues and Royals are the second most senior regiment in the British Army and have the dual role of armoured reconnaissance in areas of conflict around the world and in London they act as the ceremonial guard of the monarch.

They are very familiar to visiting tourists and can be seen at Horse guards and parading down the Mall towards Buckinghan Palace for the changing of the guard.

The Blues and Royals is one of two Household Cavalry regiments in the British Army, the other being The Life Guards. They were formed in 1969 by joining The Royal Horse Guards with The Royal Dragoos (1st Dragoons), both almost 300 years old.

They have seen active service in West Germany, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Cyprus and in the Falklands war.

Oil painting of a soldier of the Blues and Royals in progress.

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Drawing for painting of Blues and Royals soldier

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Blues and Royals soldier on guard at Horse Guards.

Finished Oil painting of Soldier of Blues and Royals.

A Chelsea Pensioner

A Chelsea Pensioner

A tiny painting in oil 4” x 4”.

Chelsea pensioners are all ex servicemen and live in the Royal Hospital Chelsea.The Royal Hospital was founded over 300 years ago by King Charles II in the heart of London. Any former soldier of the British Army over the age of 65, who might spend their advanced years alone, can apply for residence as a Chelsea pensioner.

The Hall Porter, Old College, RMA Sandhurst

Sandhurst Trust asked me to come up with some designs for cards of the Hall Porter at Old College, RMA Sandhusrt.

This portrait is a bit different as it is an oil painting which is not my normal medium. The original painting is quite small 5” x 7” and depicts the Hall Porter on duty in his uniform with top hat. It was interesting painting the uniform and contrasting that with the shiny top hat. In the background is the painting of Queen Elizabeth ll with Princes William and Harry on the steps of Old College on their passing out parade. On the left of the painting there is a peek of Prince Harry posing as a trumpeter and the legs of the then Prince Charles, now King Charles. The Duke of Edinburgh and Duchess of Cornwall are also in the original painting which hangs in the entrance hall at Old College. The two Princes did not graduate in the same year so this painting involves a bit of artistic licence.

Riding Off

Riding off.

In the fast action of a polo match one polo pony can push an opponent out of the way. There are strict rules so that horse and rider are not injured. ‘Riding Off’ as it is called is allowed as long as the angle of attack is less than 45 degrees and any contact must be made between the pony’s hip and shoulder.

Recent portraits

These are the most recent commissions that I have completed.

I use reference photos and combine various images and get details from a variety of photos. My computer screen can get very crowded during the painting process.

The girl and her dog are painted in watercolour however the other two portraits are in mixed media. The surface of the paper, good quality Arches watercolour paper, is coated with chalk paint in random large brush strokes. The drawing is lightboxed onto the paper and then the initial washes of watercolour are applied. I then use coloured pencil followed by soft pastel and more watercolour. The final artwork is fixed using hairspray so that the pastel stays in place.

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