Denmark

Just back from 2 very enjoyable weeks teaching at the Animation Workshop in Viborg. The students worked really hard and the standard of work was excellent (like the schools in France it puts most UK places to shame I'm afraid to say). Found it a bit tricky to get going with the sketching at the beginning - it was quite wet and this was coupled with a biting wind (and the houses were much harder to draw than Norwegian sheds). Still, I'm happy with some of the later ones...

Brasier WIP

Managed to do a bit more on my Brasier painting - I added a bit more detail to the drivers and fixed the wheels - the ellipses were a bit off before...

GT40 goes up to t' north

A friend of mine took on this rather large kit car project nearly 2 years ago. Although it looks like a proper car that might work, none of the important bits are connected to each other - so it doesn't. It's going up to Yorkshire where Ol will take it all to bits again before putting it together again. I could sit and look at that shape all day long. It'll be exciting to hear it for the first time. Here's a very quick sketch done before it was wrapped for the journey...

Citroen Ami

It's been a while since I did any sketching so I thought I'd do a quick one this lunchtime. I'd spotted this car on the way home the day before and thought it would be fun to draw. I hadn't planned on it starting to pour down with rain though...

The splotches make it look rather old and beaten up but it was actually in very good condition.

I'll be off to Denmark for a few weeks soon - I'm looking forward to sketching the interesting architecture already.

Norway II

I just got back from my second visit to this beautiful country. The autumn colours were again amazing and after the first week the weather was pretty much perfect. I got to climb the Rotsethornet which looms over the town and also visited the seaside one day. I sketched in pen - I work faster using ink and with temperatures near freezing this is a good thing.

Right, here's the first one - done at the airport in Oslo - where I'd just discovered my bag hadn't made it past Amsterdam - I wasn't surprised - it's the third time this has happened to me when getting connecting flights there. Whenever it happens I always think of how Holland has a famously relaxed attitude to drug taking.

Oslo airport is stunning - it's a bit like being in a Bang + Olufsen music centre - lots of solid wood, stainless steel and glass...

I had a great flat with a fantastic view over the fjord the mountains beyond - the weather meant that the view changed almost completely every 10 minutes...
Here's a couple of sketches from my day trip to the sea. I particularly liked the boat huts. I was to get a better look at these valleys on my flight home when the little propeller plane I was in flew through them for what seemed a good 10 minutes after leaving Orsta. It was very impressive to see the walls of snow and rock towering above us.
Here's the Folkestad ferry which goes back and forth across the fjord day and night...
... and Volda town centre - it's not a big place...
.. and I managed to sketch quite a few of the typical Norwegian wooden houses. They fit into the lnadscape perfectly - and are easy to draw...
I even managed to find a few cars to sketch...
This is the cairn at the summit of the Rotsethornet. I thought this would be the goal of my walk/climb. I took the steep way up which seems to go up a vertical face when you look at the mountain from the town but is actually not that bad when seen from the side. Still, there are steep bits, and a rope or chain in places and it's a scramble rather than a walk. After admiring the view I was looking forward to an easy stroll down the back of it to the lake below. The trouble was that there was a lot of fresh snow at the top - up to my knees in places - so I couldn't see the path. The only option was to follow the footsteps of a woman who passed me on the way up and who I knew lived in Volda and wasn't staying the night because she didn't have a bag.

To say she was a keen walker is a bit of an understatement. It took me five hours to finally get back home having trudged up and down every peak in the ridge behind the Rotsethornet. It was great though...
These are some buildings I found by the river - it seems to be Volda's first power station and some other industrial buildings using the water to power the machines. Here's a sawmill (the modern building is the school where I was teaching)...

Some of my favourite buildings are the farmhouses and barns. Always painted dark red with stone bases (or sometimes white painted concrete) I love their simplicity...

These are I think some of the best sketches I did and I made them a few minutes after slipping on a slimy rock, falling on my back and smashing my finger and camera onto the ground. As much as I like the drawings it's not some thing I'm prepared to try again. Perhaps that's what they mean when they say you have to suffer for your art...

Finally, the sketches from my last day. The harbour in Volda and a few planes on the way home. Hope you've enjoyed them, I'll be posting some photos on my flickr site in the next few days...

Mechanical Oddity

This motor is from 1922 Tatra T11 racecar. It had the most peculiar casting The finned cylinder heads are enclosed within it and are cooled by a huge fan attached to the flywheel - the air being forced through the various tubes in the casing. The hole at the top is for access so that the engine can be assembled.

You can see the sort of car it comes from here...

http://www.tatraworld.nl/tatra_motorsportfotogallery.htm

and wikipedia has a nice picture of a complete engine and chassis...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_11

Back to the workshop

I was back at the workshop for a few hours this afternoon. I'll be back at work soon so I won't have so much time to draw old cars any more. Here's a couple of Frazer Nashes being assembled...

I thought I'd try a bit of colour. This is a very muddy Austin Seven that's been used for trials (and to store things on)...

Inspired by Bob Freeman I thought I'd try some tricky technical pieces. This is a box of bits that sat under the Austin - it looks like the front wheel assembly...

Goodwood Revival

My first time back since 2000. What a great event - too much to see in just one day though. It seemed more people dressed up than in 2000. I'll be posting some photos on my flickr account too. I wasn't overly happy with my sketching - there were a lot of people about but I'll post them anyway. First up, Stirling Moss's 1951 Kieft Norton - a great looking machine...

Some Alfa 8C's from 1933...

A very well used Bugatti Type 59 from 1934...

Pole position for this 1929 Frazer Nash Super Sports, looking very purposeful in bare metal...

There were some excellent garage displays showing cars in a period setting. Here are some D Type Jaguars...

Quick sketches of the front of various cars...

The cockpit of a 1930 Mercedes Benz SS Rennsport...

And finally one of the Spitfires in the arifield...

How we used to drive IV

The collection of glamourous limousines has gone now but there's still plenty to draw in the workshop. There are lots of Frazer Nashes in various states of being rebuilt. It's fascinating to see the ash frames, aluminium bodywork and various mechanical parts laid bare...


Outside there was also a very nice Austin Seven...

Brasier WIP 01

I've tried to work up one of my recent sketches in colour. I don't want to do too much more to this because I like the looseness but I will define the people and generally tidy it up a little - perhaps add something to the background...

How we used to drive III

Today most of the cars left for the Bonhams auction later this week. I managed to get a few last sketches in. Luckily there's still a terrific looking vintage car garage to sketch.

Today I have a 1947 Allard (with a Bentley radiator on the floor before it)...

... a 1837 Riley (with the Delahaye behind)...

... a Berliet. Windscreen wipers have really come a long way since 1906. This had a single wiper at the very top of the screen, about 4 inches long. It is operated manually by wiggling a lever on the front pillar...

A very imposing Rolls Royce. It had some interesting repairs to the front wing involving tin snips and a rivet gun...

And finally a beautiful 1932 Delage...