stefan's sketch blog

All 24 Advent Cars

2012-01-03T13:25:00.001Z

All 24 Advent Cars, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Happy New Year! A quick assembly of all of the advent sketches. I'll do a print at some point. I've uploaded it at 1440x900 incase you want to use it as a desktop.

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-24T10:52:00.001Z

Season's Greetings! a video by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Thanks for following (and buying!) the Auto Art Advent series. Stay tuned for other themes later in the year. Happy to hear your suggestions too. All the best and have a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Right, where are those mince pies?

Auto Art Advent 24

2011-12-24T10:20:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 24, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Twenty-fourth and final one in the Auto Art Advent series. Thanks for following - it's been fun to do so I may well do other things in a similar vein. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 23

2011-12-23T11:05:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 23, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Twenty-third in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 22

2011-12-22T09:18:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 22, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Twenty-second in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 21

2011-12-21T10:09:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 21, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Twenty-first in the Auto Art Advent series. This is based on one of my favourite cars - the Renault 40cv. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 20

2011-12-20T10:54:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 20, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Twentieth in the Auto Art Advent series. This is based on one of my favourite cyclecars - the Grafton. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 19

2011-12-19T10:20:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 19, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Nineteenth in the Auto Art Advent series. This one's pretty much Barney Oldfield's 'Green Dragon'. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 18

2011-12-18T08:58:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 18, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Eighteenth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

SOLD

Auto Art Advent 17

2011-12-17T10:46:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 17, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Seventeenth in the Auto Art Advent series. Another bellytanker - I'm sure there will be more - I love the sci-fi shape and simplicity of these things. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 16

2011-12-16T09:37:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 16, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Sixteenth in the Auto Art Advent series. I was thinking of the old Miller Indy cars when I did this. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 15

2011-12-15T08:50:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 15, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Fifteenth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 14

2011-12-14T09:46:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 14, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Fourteenth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 13

2011-12-13T09:47:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 13, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Thirteenth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December I'll be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . Free shipping worldwide.

Auto Art Advent 12

2011-12-12T09:20:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 12, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Twelfth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December I'll be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . Free shipping worldwide.

Auto Art Advent 11

2011-12-11T11:59:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 11, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Auto Art Advent 10

2011-12-10T08:58:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 10, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Tenth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December I'll be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 09

2011-12-09T08:53:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 09, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Ninth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 08

2011-12-08T08:57:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 08, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Eighth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 07

2011-12-07T09:31:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 07, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Seventh in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 06

2011-12-06T10:15:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 06, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Sixth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 05

2011-12-05T09:42:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 05, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Fifth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 04

2011-12-04T10:44:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 04, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Inspired by VSCC hill climb specials, this is the fourth in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 03

2011-12-03T09:54:00.001Z

adv03-8926, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Third in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 02

2011-12-02T09:01:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 02, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Second in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December I'll be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 inc shipping worldwide www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Auto Art Advent 01

2011-12-01T09:26:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent 01, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

First in the Auto Art Advent series. Throughout December Ill be adding a new one every day. Original pencil and watercolour on 6x4inch (postcard size) watercolour paper . £24 Free shipping worldwide.

Update: pleased to say this is now sold and on it's way to Brazil!

Auto Art Advent

2011-11-30T15:45:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Starts tomorrow. I'll be posting the first image when I wake up - here, on the blog and on the new Etsy store...

www.etsy.com/shop/StefanMarjoram

Etsy Store now open!

2011-11-30T15:00:00.001Z

I'm delighted to say I now have an Etsy store - this should make it much easier for people to buy prints as all the credit card/paypal & shipping cost calculations can be handled by a properly laid out site. I have a few prints up already. Soon I'll be adding some original sketches too - and of course, starting tomorrow there will be the first of the Auto Art Advent cars. Hope you like it.

Auto Art Advent

2011-11-28T16:05:00.001Z

Auto Art Advent, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Here's the plan. Every day of December I'll be posting a new postcard-sized watercolour and pencil sketch of a made-up car and for £24 I'll post it anywhere in the world. Nice presents for any car fans in your life - or just enjoy the pictures.

(stay tuned for details - I think I'll be setting up an Etsy account to make it easier to order)

vw print

2011-11-25T15:24:00.001Z

vw print, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Here's the latest in the thumbnail series. It was only a matter of time before I got to VW's. I'll get it off to the printer - let me know if you'd be interested in one.

EJ200 sketch

2011-11-24T15:56:00.001Z

EJ200 sketch, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

It's jolly exciting working in a place that has one of these just outside the canteen.

Quick sketch of the EJ200 jet engine which will powering Bloodhound SSC. Done using Adobe Ideas on the iPad.

1932 Ford model B

2011-11-21T10:33:00.001Z

1932 ford, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

A very quick sketch of this great looking car. It looked like a barn find with plenty of rust, dents, bare springs on the back seat but apparently ran really well - having covered some big distances recently. I guess it takes more than being forgotten in a barn for a few decades to kill one of these.

A few photos from the event will follow soon.

1927 Harley Davidson JD

2011-11-18T17:36:00.001Z

1927 Harley Davidson JD, a photo by Stefan Marjoram on Flickr.

Spent a very enjoyable 3 hours sitting on the floor in front of this this morning. So many interesting details - lots of character.

HAMB T-shirt

2011-11-16T14:26:00.001Z

I was delighted to be asked to do a design for the HAMB Drags. However, once I actually started on it I realised how difficult a good T-shirt design is to do. This was the best I could come up with - sadly it wasn't quite good enough - I think it perhaps came out looking a bit too much like a kids t-shirt. Ah well, I'll try again some time. Incidentally it was all done in Adobe Ideas on the iPad.

Toys!

2011-11-16T12:28:00.001Z

I've been reliving my childhood thanks to my Dad who bought me the reissue of the Tamiya Rough Rider I had as a 10 year old. Had a lot of fun putting it together with Finn - and then doing donuts on the gravel drive. It's ace.

The two sketches are done with Adobe Ideas on the iPad. The top one is from memory and the lower one used photo reference.

Matthew - iPad sketch

2011-10-03T14:24:00.001Z

No life drawing today so i did this quick sketch in the harbour. I used the Adobe Ideas app. If you look on flickr there's another version with less colour - I can't decide which is best.

Bikes and Bits of Bikes

2011-09-27T16:00:00.000Z

Something a bit different - bikes. Haven't drawn many of these but I couldn't resist this collection of early machines. The first one is a shelf with JAP motors awaiting frames or rebuilding...

Hotrod Hayride Print

2011-09-05T11:28:00.001Z

Here's the next print in the series of thumbnails (there have already been VSCC and Land Speed Record Cars). It's giclee printed with archival inks on heavy museum quality paper. Hope you like it...

Porsche Club GB 50th Anniversary

2011-09-04T11:40:00.000Z

Had a quick look at the Porsche Club GB's 50th do. Love the simplicity of this design - and the slightly rocketman feel to the hood...

Couldn't leave without doing a quick sketch of the RSR which nearly won Le Mans outright. What a monster...

Bugatti T35 engine

2011-09-04T11:37:00.000Z

Had a go at using some watercolour paper and a softer pencil for a change - I'm not sure it was a good decision - it all got a bit heavy. I'll try a compromise next time...

VSCC Prescott 2011

2011-08-09T14:52:00.000Z

I only made it to Prescott for one day this year so my sketches are a bit loose and scribbly. I'm pretty happy with them though. Got to see lots of old favourites and a few new machines too - and met lots of people whose cars I'd painted or who I'd chatted to on the internet.

Here's a splendid, low slung Piccard-Pictet or PicPic with a 9 litre aero engine...

... and a stunning Peugeot 148 from 1913...

This car has all the details I like. Great proportions and stance, big side exhausts, the GN chassis with it's chain gang and a terrific looking Cirrus Hermes aero engine...

Here's a very elegant looking recreation of a GP Sunbeam. Love those long tails...

I slightly exagerrated the proportions of this tiny Carden - not by much though...

Another powerful looking aero engined special, this time a 1913 Theophile Schneider...

I spent a little longer on this one...

Here's a couple of cars in the car park which I was comissioned to draw. I may still add a bit more watercolour although I quite like it as it is. What's tricky is that they were both black so there won't really be anything to contrast and catch your eye. Perhaps all it needs is a bit of a wash to the sky...

Finally, just as I was thinking about leaving (huge grey clouds gathering overhead) I saw this wonderful creation. I thought I might be able to get a quick sketch in before the deluge. The rain came, and so did the owner, Mark Dixon from Octane magazine. He's a very kind chap, not only did he give me a small feature in a past issue but he also held an umbrella over me while I got the sketch finished! I added the colour back at home. It's an interesting car, based on a model T and built by Peter Stevens - designer of the McLaren F1 no less...

Hotrod Hayride

2011-08-02T21:18:00.001Z

I saw some very exciting photos from this event last year. A few months later I saw a poster for it on Eric's Historic Engine Company blog and the seed was sown - I just had to visit. I was a little nervous before I left - I know very little about the Hotrod world other than that I like the cars and the art scene which is such a big part of it but I needn't have worried - they were the nicest bunch of people you could ever meet. The atmosphere was terrific with visitors from France, Belgium, Holland, Finland and even Spain. People sat strumming guitars and singing rock and roll songs by their tents, there was a soap box race, wall of death, stalls, drag racing, live bands, good food and drink and a constant stream of awesome cars and bikes cruising past. I spent most of the time sketching and loads of people came up to chat so I left feeling that I'd really taken part in the event. So often when you're a photographer you never really get to interact with anybody and you come away from an event having viewed the whole thing through a viewfinder. Anyway, on to the sketches...

One of the first things I saw was this amazing creation with its huge truck wheels - towing a caravan! I got chatting to Mark the owner who told me he'd made a thumbnail sketch and then built it himself in three months out of the most unlikely collection of parts. He certainly nailed the proportions and stance and it all tied together perfectly. To be able to design and build your own car just blows my socks off...

Here's the first of a string of Model A Fords and perhaps my favourite car - a 34 Coupe with a huge Chrysler V8 in it. I found out that it's quite local to me so I'll be visiting to do some more sketches soon...

This flathead V8 was also in a great looking car - it looked like it would have been right at home at Bonneville. Below is a very smart looking Model A roadster in black with a tan roof...

This Chevrolet Cab-over was finished in bare metal and towered over everything else. It's a great bit of design and I'm not sure I've done it justice here...

I loved the stance of this pickup and the simplicity of the roadster...

Interesting air filter arrangement...

What caught my eye here was the chopped top combined with the powerful looking engine...

These two are dirt track midget racers imported from the US. The top one originally had a V8 but when Niall bought it it came with a Fiat twin-cam. It looks just right and it made it a much more user friendly car - so much so that Niall was happy to drive the 230 miles from Yorkshire in it! The lower car is powered by a high revving 750cc Crossley...

Finally here a page of thumbnails - I think they work particularly well for Hotrods as the shapes and sizes are so varied and interesting...

And that's it. I took loads of photos too - still need to find time to sort through them before adding them to Flickr. Thanks to all the nice people I met for making it such a memorable weekend - and thanks also to the French people I met who gave me a round of applause after I showed them my sketches - never had that before :)

Fiat S76 - Bodywork 2

2011-07-27T17:38:00.001Z

Popped in briefly today to se how the Fiat was getting on. Rather alarmed to see a pile of crumpled bodywork on the scrap pile but thankfully there was some on the car too. It looks superb - catches the light in all the right ways - matching the period photos.It's amazing to see the car in three dimensions after having looked at photos for so long. It took more than three goes to get it right and the wooden frame had to be altered too but it was worth it...

Goodwood Festival of Speed

2011-07-05T08:44:00.009Z

Spent 3 days there this year. Friday I spent filming the Bloodhound team in action on their stand and also an F1 in schools tournament. The rest of the time I got to take some photos and do some sketching. As usual it took a while to get back into the flow of it - and the huge numbers of visitors combined with the busy goings on in the paddocks meant it was a much more challenging place to draw than sitting under some leafy tree at Prescott. Still, I was quite pleased with a few of the later ones.

First was this 1911 Fiat S74. This car has some similarities to the S76 I've been drawing but at 14 litres it has half the engine size....

I really don't know much about this 1935 car but it's striking aerodynamic shape caught my eye. I keep thinking I've drawn it stretched but it was pretty long. the aerodynamics suffer a bit when you see most of the top half of the driver sticking out the top...

It's always a treat to see Jim Hall's Chaparrals - there's really nothing else like them. The wing on this 1996 car could be tilted by the driver to give higher downforce on corners and less on the straights...

One of my favourite cars of all time. Unfortunately it wasn't running particularly well (you could find it by following the trail of oil). It was built by Ernest Eldridge in 1923, who used it to set a speed record of 146mph...

With so many people at Goodwood I had to try hard to find out of the way places to sketch. Quite pleased with how this one came out...

This magnificent 1930 car was once owned by Malcolm Campbell - he won his first race in it at Brooklands...

Another favourite of mine - it won the first ever Indy 500...

I was very taken with the pre-war Indy cars. This is the engine from a 1923 Mercedes...

Should have been red but I was quite pleased with the sketch and didn't want to ruin it...

Another of Jim Hall's brilliant ways of creating downforce - a pair of huge fans driven by a snowmobile engine to suck the car onto the road...

There was a wonderfl collection of boat-tailed cars on the lawn. I liked the proportions of this one...

There was a bit of a delay so I quickly sketched this terrific car waiting to go out. It's also a Land Speed Record holder - Rene Thomas took it to 143mph in 1923...

I've been wanting to sketch this for quite a while and finally got the chance at Goodwood. I was made very welcome By Ralph - who looks after this massive record setter. it was great to sit and study the interesting details for an hour or so. Particularly unusual was the way in which the bodywork had been 'sewn' together using short strips of screwed in metal - apparently to allow for the car to flex...

When you only have to turn in one direction you get some very unusual engineering innovations - this has to be the weirdest, with the driver sitting ina sort of side car alongside the engine...

These are becoming a bit of a tradition now. The cars are, Mercedes 710 SSK, Bugatti T35, Delage 2LCV, Bugatti T45, Fiat S74, Fiat Mephistopheles, Marmon Wasp, Miller Special, Miller Preston Tucker Special, Kurtis Kraft Novi Governor Special, Duesenberg Cummins Diesel and Peugeot L45...

Fiat S76 - Bodywork

2011-06-25T10:52:00.002Z

Exciting times ahead as the bodywork is being shaped and fitted. Unfortunately I only had time to do this quick lunchtime sketch...

C Type Jaguar - iPad

2011-06-14T16:48:00.004Z

Here's the more graphic treatment of the car I did the watercolour of. I used Adobe Ideas to sketch it then exported the layers into photoshop for some tweaking of the colours. Still can't decide which background colour is best. Probably blue, followed by red...

Cowboys

2011-06-14T16:45:00.003Z

I watched Pale Rider again last night - what a great film. Here's Stockburn the baddy played by John Russell. I had to do it pretty much from memory as he got shot soon after I started. There's something that doesn't usually happen in life drawing. Done with sketchbook pro on the iPad.

Moe and Les

2011-06-10T10:32:00.005Z

Here's a few character designs for a job which unfortunately never made it. The brief was to design two cheeky characters which would encourage people to do a little 'Moe' exercise and eat a little 'Les'. It was a lot of fun coming up with the designs and thinking of the various mischievous things they could do. Although it would have been CG I wanted to try out a kind of illustrative feel with lots of texture. Ah well. Here's the initial little thumbnails that I always start with...

... and a few with them in various costumes. I thought they'd be the sort of chaps who'd like to dress up a lot...

And here's some characters and environments worked up in Photoshop...

Life Drawings and others.

2011-06-09T15:41:00.005Z

To balance out all the cars here's a few drawings of people. FIrst one is of Cathy. I did it on the iPad in Sketchbook Pro and then added some grunge with Photoforge...

This one of Finn was done the same way...

... and here's some done with real pencils and pens. I think the pencil ones were about 10 mins and the marker about 5...

Prescott - La Vie en Bleu

2011-05-31T09:54:00.007Z

Just got back from a terrific weekend at the Prescott Hill Climb Circuit. I camped over for a few nights which meant I could get in two full days drawing - and a bit of photography too. The weather wasn't great during the day - a bit blustery and grey - but the rain held off most of the time. They'd really gone to a lot of effort with the French theme - Can Can dancers, mime artists, a wonderful accordionist, an angry onion seller - they'd even found French versions of all the signage that a racing circuit requires.

I got to see some excellent cars - some old favourites and some which I thought I'd never see - such as this Bedelia. I'd seen amazing period photos of these taken in Africa. The driver sits behind the passenger...

There were quite a few Coopers and other 500cc racers too. These are the sort of thing my Grandfather worked on during his time at Cooper...

This strange looking thing is a Triumph powered hill-climb car built by Tico Martini in 1962. He went on to build F3 and even F1 cars...

The campsite was full of interesting vehicles, among them this Citroen panel van (done on the iPad with the Adobe Ideas app) and rather handsome 1920's Renault...

As the day went on I managed to loosen up a bit. Quite pleased with this Sigma...

Managed to keep the loose work going the next day. Here's a Very large V8 engined Berliet...

... and one of my favourite cars, the JAP GN. Perfect proportions, exciting noise and the attention to detail in the build is staggering. I've taken a few photos which I'll be posting soon...

Here's a very pretty Vernon Derby - I only leaned about these recently. It has some lovely features such as wire wheels with integral drum brakes - a bit like the alloy versions on the Bugattis. There are a couple of photos of this on my flickr site too...

One last page of watercolour sketches. Two Austins and and Amilcar with a great wwoden boat-tailed body in the middle...

Lastly here's a page of quick thumbnails of interesting shapes which caught my eye over the weekend...

Hope you like them. I'll post the photos on Flickr soon. In the meantime - if you'd like to see some amazing period photos of cars like these I can't recommend The Old Motor blog highly enough - there's always something new and eye-popping to look at.

I don't just blog here you know...

2011-05-25T10:52:00.002Z

I was lucky enough to be asked to be a guest blogger on the Adobe Ideas site. I talk a little about how I got into ipad art and also turning an Ideas drawing into a print...

Stefan Marjoram on Adobe Ideas

Sketchbook app revisited

2011-05-25T10:44:00.001Z

I haven't used the sketchbook app for a while and just discovered they've added some nice new brushes and made the interface a bit more friendly too. It's great! Particularly the spatters and halftone dots. If you're lucky enough to have an iPad2 it higher res - pity they couldn't make that work for the iPad1.

Jaguar, Tatra and Alvis

2011-05-05T10:03:00.006Z

This week I've only had to travel as far as the next village to get my fix of exciting cars. First there was this rather splendid Jaguar C-Type replica. I'm also working on a more graphic front-view using Adobe Ideas...

Then I returned to Edwards Motorsport where I made some of my earliest sketches. Here's a quick one of the Tatra which I drew the motor of. The body has been resprayed - but the many rivets are supposed to be bare metal - which meant a difficult time for the sprayer. You can also see one of the engine blocks on the floor in front (although it's not really a block - more of a circle)...

... and here's an Alvis called Georgina looking quite sporty without her rear mudguards (drawn on the iPad with the Ideas app)...

They had also just finished a major restoration of a Frazer Nash motorshow car which I'm hoping to go back and sketch soon.

More life drawing on the iPad

2011-05-04T19:59:00.003Z

I've been experimenting with using the iPad for the quick 1.5min sketches we do at the beginning of our life drawing class. These are done with the Adobe Ideas app...

Quick visit to the Anzani and Fiat

2011-05-02T09:51:00.004Z

Haven't been to visit Duncan for a while so I popped in one free afternoon to catch up. The Anzani was being readied for the Lands End Trial and the Fiat had it's gear box mounted and was about to have the rear wooden frame sent off for the bodywork to be fitted to it...

More Bugatti Sketches

2011-04-30T21:37:00.005Z

Whilst drawing in the Bugatti Trust I met Charles Trevelyan, the owner of one of the other cars on display (the T23 in the previous post) who asked if I'd sketch his car too. I found it harder than usual - I need to find a way of dealing with the pressure of doing a comission instead of just drawing for yourself. I seem to be getting slower instead of faster too. Despite this it turned out to be a very exciting day as I got a ride up the Prescott hill in Charles' other Bugatti - a wonderfully sporty looking Type 37. This car drawing has become quite an amazing adventure - each drawing seems to lead to meeting another enthusiastic owner with another exciting car - getting the chance to occasionally ride in them is the icing on the cake.

Here's a quick warm up sketch...

A couple of longer A3 studies...

I felt they were getting a bit tight so I reverted to smaller, looser drawings. I'd be interested to hear which ones you think work better...

This is a car which also belongs to Charles. It's a Type 52 - which is actually a half-scale children's version of a Type 35 - the first one was built by Ettore for his youngest son in 1927. Lucky chap. It had an electric motor and the engineering, naturally, is superb - even featuring cable operated drum brakes to all four wheels...

Finally I ended the day with a quick sketch on the iPad using Adobe Ideas...

Bugatti T23 Engine

2011-04-06T17:12:00.003Z

Had a spare half-hour whilst visiting Prescott today so I nipped in the museum and made a quick sketch...

New App and quick car doodle/paint

2011-04-06T16:51:00.004Z

Here's a little test done with my latest iPad painting app - Procreate. It doesn't have loads of features but it does have some great brush creation controls and a nice simple interface. This was done entirely on the ipad - starting with a quick zenbrush sketch...

... and here's the Procreate part. The app allows you to make your own brushes using images for both the shape and texture. It also has layers and is reasonably fast. The new version will apparently be higher resolution - which is good. It costs $7.99...

Watercolour/drawing process

2011-03-31T17:11:00.012Z

Somebody asked if I could do a step by step series of one of my sketches - so here it is. This is a 1914 car called an ONO - based on a Fiat S74 chassis with a Pope Hartford engine. It raced in the Vanderbilt Cup Races in San Francisco.

This is a quick sketch to work out the angle and get used to drawing the car...

On to the posh paper now. I lightly put in the horizon, perspective construction lines and body with a 2H pencil...

Then I add the wheels and other important features...

I switch to a softer pencil - perhaps a HB or B - and strengthen some lines and add more detail to the area at the front of the car. I've also added a wash to the background though sometimes I do this last...

Now I add colour to the rest of the car. I like to leave areas unpainted and sketchy as it focuses your attention on just one part and it helps to keep the image loose - which is tricky when you're not working from life...

Finally I use a pencil to add a bit of contrast and clarity to any bits that need it - and also a white pen for some highlights and it's done...

Here's a close up...

... and my desk showing the tools I used. Hope it was interesting...

Hereford Trials

2011-03-21T15:10:00.001Z

Having never witnessed one, I really wanted to visit a trials event this year and by a massive stroke of luck I was invited not to come and watch but to actually take part! My job was to be a 'bouncer' - to help provide traction for the back wheels as Duncan raced the Anzani GN up the muddy slopes. As it happened, we had the most gloriously sunny day and there was barely any mud in sight. Traction was not an issue at all and it became a fantastic sightseeing tour of a beautiful part of the country in what was definitely the most exciting car there. Ben's nippy Bugatti Brescia was a delightful sight to follow (though my dust and castrol filled eyeballs won't agree). Another spectacular sight were the big Bentleys packed with friends and family of all ages - what a terrific form of motorsport!

Bugatti T35

2011-03-17T17:01:00.005Z

Back to traditional drawing materials. Went up to Prescott for a meeting and had a bit of spare time to sketch one of the cars in the excellent museum. This one was on loan from Nick Mason. Quite pleased with how it came out so I might make it my next print edition...

Inkpad app

2011-03-17T16:50:00.003Z

Been playing with a new app on the iPad called Inkpad. It's a bit like a cut down version of Illustrator and seems to work very well. It's vector based and allows you to draw using shapes, lines and bezier curves. The results are usually quite crisp and graphic but I have seen some very warm, almost painterly work done with it too.

First, the remains of an old matchbox car my son dug up in the garden...

This time I traced an image from the excellent www.autofrei.wordpress.com.

2 caricatures and a house

2011-03-17T16:44:00.002Z

I've always struggled with caricatures - or indeed any sort of likeness. I even have trouble just recognising people. Perhaps it's some kind of face dyslexia? Still, I have a bash at a caricature every now and then and I think this one of David Mitchell sort of worked - even if he's not quite so tubby in real life...

Here's another try at a caricature - this time it's the latest Dr Who - Matt Smith. I tried Bill Wyman after this and just couldn't do it. You'd have thought he'd be easy...

Finally, here's a quick sketch of a delapidated building. All of these were done with the Zen Brush app on the iPad...

Life Drawing

2011-03-17T16:35:00.003Z

Recently we started some lunchtime life drawing session at work. These were done with the zen brush app on iPad (using a 1 pixel brush). I like the way the pen bleeds when i stop moving the stylus - it has a bit of a felt marker feel. First ones are 90 seconds and the last one is 10 minutes - and I added some colour with art rage later...

Antigua

2011-03-05T18:27:00.007Z

Just returned from two weeks in the sun - jolly nice it was too. So nice in fact that I didn't do half the amount of drawing I planned to do - prefering to lounge around on beaches, float in the warm turquoise water, drink rum punch...

Not making you jealous am I?..

Here's a couple from Falmouth Harbour - it was filled with the most amazing collection of super-yachts - very shiny, very expensive...

Just next to Falmouth Harbour is English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard. Still used as a harbour and features a beautiful collection of restored buildings which were once sail lofts, workshops and stores...

I loved all the different types of palms - here's just a few of them, the second one done on the iPad...

Still battling with the watercolours - here's a couple of tries at a lobster shell...

There was a wonderful old church in the neighbouring village of Liberta. It's made of a pale green stone which can be found on the island...

Almost forgot this one. Antigua's a wonderful place but compared to where I live in the UK it can be really quite noisy at night. Tree frogs, crickets, noisy cars, distant discos, noisy neighbours and the dogs! bark, bark, bark, bark, bark.... Bark, bark, bark, bark... Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark, and on, and on...

Anzani GN

2011-03-05T18:24:00.002Z

A couple of quick sketches of the car I hope to be bouncing in in a few weeks time...

Fiat - rear former

2011-02-04T22:18:00.004Z

Today the former for the rear bodywork was temporarily put in place to give an idea of how it would fit. Suddenly the car looks massively long - and very purposeful. The finished thing is going to be very impressive. I've started a flickr gallery of photos of the build too...

Fiat - Front axle

2011-02-03T21:42:00.003Z

Thought I'd try something with a bit more detail today. I've seen people like Scott Robertson using ballpoint pens to draw futuristic car and spaceship designs and thought I'd try it out. It actually works quite well - I can't write with one at all but they're not bad for drawing with - allowing you to lay down very feint perspective and construction guides which can later be made heavier and clearer.

This image shows the front axle, part of the suspension and the wonderful radiator which comes up to about nose height. That swooping shape on the left arm of the chassis is a wooden former for a part which will later be made in aluminium. There are various pieces like this which can be bolted on to make the car more streamlined...

I later added a bit of colour in photoshop. With a bit of tidying up I'd be able to hide the outlines altogether. If I get time I'll give it a go...

Fiat - rear suspension

2011-02-01T20:59:00.005Z

The rear wheels were off today and a little more of the wooden frame is in place. This will be shaped to fit the curves of the rear bodywork and will support the seats. It also houses the fuel tank. Mostly it's held together with beautifully done joints but the firewall has been screwed on - using big reclaimed screws from the same period...

An interesting thing i saw today was how almost every part right down to individual nuts and bolts are stamped with matching pairs of numbers so that you know exactly where they belong - almost like the joints on an oak framed building. If you look closer still you can see other scribed lines and dots - showing where to cut or file to. It's great to be able to see marks made by the engineers 100 years ago - it really brought home to me how hand-crafted cars used to be compared to todays machine made ones.

Workbench with gearbox

2011-01-31T21:30:00.002Z

Bit pushed for time today so I picked the most complicated thing in the room to draw. This is the gearbox for the Fiat laid out on the workbench. I'll try to do a longer sketch one day which shows it in a bit more detail...

Look out there's a monster coming...

2011-01-28T19:32:00.007Z

One of the most exciting cars in history has to be the Fiat S76 from 1911. Also known as the 'Beast of Turin' it has a whacking great 28 litre, four cylinder engine - good for shooting 3 yard flames, blowing people's hats off and singeing their eyebrows according to some reports. It's also supposed to be good for over 130mph - but it never managed to set an official record despite attempts at Brooklands, Saltburn ad Ostend.

Hopefully one day this will change thanks to a dedicated builder and racer of crazy automobiles I met recently. He's managed to track down the chassis, axles and steering of one car and the engine of the other and bit by bit the monster is taking shape again. Better still, he's very kindly allowed me to come and sketch the build. I couldn't be happier and I think it'll make a great parallel to the build of the Bloodhound SSC car that I'll also be documenting this year. I can't believe my luck at having not one, but two LSR cars being built on my doorstep.

Here it is at it currently stands. Whilst it awaits it's pistons it's having a beautiful oak frame built to support the seats and the bodywork surrounding the passenger area. Measurements are taken from massive, full scale drawings lovingly lettered with gothic script - the plans even show the wood grain! This first sketch was done as a quick warm up using Adobe Ideas on the iPad...

Next I thought I'd try a more detailed sketch in pencil and wash but I'm a bit rusty and it's a little heavy handed. Still, you can see the triangular oak supports an a bit of the massive flywheel which is attached to a crankshaft that looks like it belongs on a steam train...

There are several other of my favourite cars to draw too. This one's a GN Vitesse often seen at VSCC meets. It's currently being rebuilt after a rather frightening roll. The engine is an 8.2 litre Curtiss. The engine cover is where the seat should be, the seat is on the cowl and the back axle is on the floor...

A GN Anzani with a 3.5 litre V Twin. Apparently the first time it was started the front wheels were bouncing off the ground...

Day two and another quick one of the Fiat - firewall temporarily in place. There are some wonderful details such as streamlined covers for the end of the chassis - even the starting handle was sharpened to a point. People often write this car off as an over sized relic, built before people knew what they were doing but it's plainly not true. Fiat were one of the top, if the not the top builders of Grand Prix cars. Despite the massive size of the engine it actually has quite a small frontal area and was much more streamlined than anything else at the time...

Everard's Print Works

2011-01-14T14:03:00.004Z

I made a short video about using Adobe Ideas for sketching and this is the subject I chose to draw. It's Edward Everard's print works in Bristol. They were designed in about 1900 and feature wonderful tiles illustrating some of Everard's influences - Gutenberg and William Morris. It's a beautiful building sandwiched between some modern attrocities - infact the building was almost demolished in 1967. That really would have been a great shame. Bristol lost much of its architectural heritage in the war but it seems they couldn't stop after either.

The sketch took about 50 mins. I'll add the video as well as soon as Adobe have released it.

New Print - The Land Speed Record

2010-12-14T11:44:00.003Z

You may have spotted the post about the Bloodhound Art Show, well this is the print i made for it. It features (hopefully) all the official land speed record holding cars. I wanted to highlight how the size and shape have changed over the years and so they are as close to the correct size in relation to each other as I could get them (I used a combination of photos, stats and video clips to try and establish the sizes).

Like the last VSCC print they are signed and numbered, on museum quality paper and printed with archival inks. This time it's A2 in size and it's an edition of 1000 (to match the 1000mph the Bloodhound team are aiming for). The cost is £40 +p&p and £10 of every one will got to help fund the Bloodhound Educational Project. Hope you like it...

ZenBrush App - quick test

2010-12-14T11:34:00.003Z

ZenBrush - $2.99
Found another nice drawing app for the iPad. Again it's quite limited in terms of features but it makes up for that with a really nice, speed sensitive brush mark. It only has three opacities of black and an eraser, no zoom, no layers and only one undo. But that makes it very quick and intuitive to use. Plus points are - there's not much lag, a beautiful brush and a few different paper options. I can see myself using this for sketching quite a bit.

More Ideas

2010-12-14T11:14:00.007Z

Still playing around with adobe ideas. I'm enjoying making custom palettes and then just sticking to those 5 colours. I think it gives it a sort of screen printed look (although the colours do look slightly different on the ipad - perhaps it's a mac gamma thing).

Bloodhound SSC Art Show

2010-12-07T16:32:00.007Z

The Bloodhound team are having a little art show on the theme of 'Speed'. It opens this Friday and should run for a week I think. Some of the art will be auctioned off to raise money for their education programme. I've got a couple of prints on display - one of which I've done especially for it. The full size show car will be there too. So if anyone is in the Bristol area please pop in and have a look - or if you come on Friday, say hello. (Follow signs for the SS Great Britain and next door to it you'll see a square, red brick building which used to be the Maritime Heritage Museum - it's in there)...

UPDATE...
Just heard that they have a photographer coming to do a shoot so the show has been taken down early. That was quick wasn't it. I'll let you know if any other interesting events happen.

More ipad fun

2010-11-30T13:59:00.008Z

Still experimenting with the ipad paint apps. Here's a quick sketch of Cathy watching tv - done with the adobe ideas app...

And looking out of the window, a couple of cloud studies done in Art Rage...

I have a couple of new apps to add to the reviews too. First...

Quill. $0.99
Similar to adobe ideas in that it's vector based. Has the addition of an italic nib and filled shapes too. Worth a look for the price.
Like: Cheap, italic nib has more character than plain round, shapes
Don'tlike: They seem to get flipped when emailing the images as pdf's - perhaps I' not doing it right, crashed on me yeterday and I lost some doodles.

TypeDrawing. $2.99
Not sure how often I'll use this but it's still a lot of fun. You type something in, choose a font and then draw with the text...

iPad paint software review

2010-11-23T14:33:00.010Z

One of the reasons I haven't posted much lately is because I've been distracted by a new ~~toy~~ piece of serious technology which I need for work. I've always been a pc user and I'm not going to get into a pc/mac debate - there are things I like about both. Actually I don't really think of the iPad as a computer - I'm not entirely sure what it is. It's silent, keeps cool, doesn't need to boot up and the battery lasts all day. The interface is great and very intuitive - and then there's the apps...

I've had a lot of fun exploring all the strange games and widgets but for me the single most interesting thing was the ability to have photoshop-like software with me anywhere. I quickly downloaded a few of the most popular ones and although I've only been doodling so far I thought I'd share my experiences. First up...

Brushes. $7.99
Like:Not too laggy. Good selection of tweakable brushes without being too cluttered. Ability to play back sequence of strokes is brilliant. Layers.
Don't like: Can't make a dot (tapping screen brings up menu), Can't make quicktimes from playback on a PC (as far as I'm aware)

Sketchbook Pro. $7.99
Like: Least laggy of the ones i've tried so far. loads of features and brushes, layers, symmetry, clever shortcuts, speed sensitive stroke/opacity- even found some storyboard templates yesterday.

Livesketch. $1.99
This is like a cut down version of the Harmony procedural drawing program.
Like:It's reasonably fast, very pleasing and unexpected results.
Don't like: It's a pity it doesn't have a few more of the Harmony brushes.

Inspire Pro. £2.39
Haven't tried too much with this yet. It's supposed to simulate oils (not something I've done much of).
Like: reasonably fast, uncluttered, nice blending.
Don't like: Cant draw dots easily (you can do it by putting your finger down and twisting it), splash screen :)

Adobe Ideas. $Free.
Funny one this - I think it's vector based. You can zoom in to huge amounts and draw really detailed little drawings the size of ants. The brush strokes get smoothed too. To export the vector images you export to email - otherwise they get converted to jpegs.
Like: Fast, smoothing, large document size, palette creating tool
Don't like:Limited tools (a pen and an eraser). Have to pay for extra layers (but it is free so I can't really complain).

Artist's Touch. $4.99
Like: reasonably quick, nice splodgy paint daubs for gestural sketches.
Don't like: Colour palette interface (big long list), can't draw dots (brings up menu again)

Art Rage. $6.99
I'm a big fan of this on my PC - it's cheap, has excellent tools and a very intuitive interface.
Like:Tools, layers, everything really
Don't like: Unfortunately it's probably the most laggy - but I am starting to get used to working a little slower

That's it for now. It's not very in-depth and there may be some things which I'm wrong about because I haven't found everything out yet but it'll give you an overview of what's available. One other thing that's worth mentioning is that none of these have the ability to tweak contrast etc. so I found a useful free app called PhotoPad which will do that and more. So far I've really enjoyed drawing on the iPad - even though it's not pressure sensitive. I'll post some more pictures done with it soon.

Oh, and the boxwave stylus seems to work quite nicely too. A bit short but glides nicely over the screen.

Airports

2010-11-22T18:03:00.003Z

Sorry the posts have been a bit thin on the ground recently. I haven't done a huge amount of drawing from life lately but I did manage to get a few quick sketches done on a recent trip to Denmark...

Hot Rod Doodles

2010-10-25T14:23:00.008Z

There's a great hot rod forum called the HAMB. It has a very active art show every friday with some terrific work - everything from pinstriping to sculpture, photography, paintings - even lino cuts. That's the thing I like about Hot Rod culture - the art is such an important part of it. The cars themselves, being unique, are expressions of the builders artistic vision. Anyway, enough waffling - I did these for that...

My first print run!

2010-09-27T19:42:00.005Z

I've had quite a lot of nice comments about those little car thumbnails. So much so that I thought I'd try a run of prints. I 've found a local printer and we spent Friday afternoon tweaking the image and trying out different papers and I now have now the first batch of A3 prints in my hands. I'm really pleased with how they came out. I've decided to limit them to 100 prints and they are signed and numbered. If anybody would like one I'm selling them for £35 including postage in Europe or the USA (if you're somewhere else please get in touch and I'll calculate the extra shipping cost).

Goodwood Revival

2010-09-20T07:47:00.005Z

Found out on Thursday that I'd have Friday free so I got a last minute ticket for the Revival - only Friday tickets were available so I didn't manage to get a huge amount of drawing done. It was pretty chilly too and I didn't do too much watercolour this time as I hadn't packed my big waterbrush. Still, I had a fantastic time, jaw-droppingly beautiful cars abounded and I managed to get a few nice photos in as the sun set too. I'll be posting some images on flickr shortly.

First up is the 1959 Maserati Birdcage. It was fun trying to capture the curves of this beautiful car. I thought I'd done alright but Cathy said it looked like an A level piece. Perhaps it is a bit stiff - first one of the day, the cold etc etc...

I like a challenge so I had a go at the BRM H16. They had a beautiful selection of BRM's there...

This is a very quick sketch of a supercharged Austin Special - Mrs JoJo...

This is a rather stunning Bugatti Type 54 from 1931...

You'll notice that I've drawn a lot of these from the same angle - I didn't have a paddock pass so mostly I was restricted to drawing these from over or through the fence. Unfortunately this famous ERA had had its engine removed - you can see part of it on the ground next to it...

I quickly tried to get this last sketch in as the light disappeared. It's a beautiful car with a wonderful, well used look...

Bloodhound

2010-09-03T12:00:00.003Z

Next door to where I work is a small building that used to be the Maritime Heritage Center. It's currently being used by Richard Noble's Bloodhound team - who are hoping to build a car that will exceed 1000mph. Here's a quick sketch of the full size mock up which is used to raise money and excitement for the project at various shows and events. It looks stunning and I can't believe my luck at having something like this going on so close to home...

Kilve

2010-09-03T11:52:00.005Z

Kilve is on the Somerset coast. It's very interesting geologically - with a beach made of large sloping shelves of rock and some shaly cliffs behind. It's quite a good spot for fossil hunting too with lots of ammonites. It's only about an hour from where we live so we went for a picnic. Here the shale cliffs have eroded to leave the silhouette of a face...

... and it would be silly to go this close to Devon without stopping for a cream tea. These ruins are in the gardens of the Chantry Tea Gardens. The scones were excellent - should have only had one though...

Dragster

2010-08-27T15:36:00.003Z

Went to a small local car show at Mark Moor. I was with the family but managed to get time to do a quick sketch of this Dragster - "The Canon Reloaded"...

Devon

2010-08-24T13:34:00.005Z

Went camping in Devon for a few days. Didn't rain but there was a cold wind - which put us off sending much time on the beach. Still, we had a fun time exploring the area and had a nice view of Burgh Island from the tent. Here's a couple of quick sketches.

Burgh Island - with it's famous Art Deco Hotel...

Newton Ferrers and Totnes. Some of the architecture was very interesting - particularly in the back streets of Totnes - but there wasn't enough time to draw it all unfortunately...

and Dartington Hall - went a bit wrong with the windows...

VSCC Prescott

2010-08-20T08:58:00.010Z

I went to this event last year and decided that day to try drawing the cars instead of just photographing them. I was really pleased with the sketches I came away with and it led to many more car drawings in the following months - I don't think I've stopped. When the same event came round again I decided I would camp so that I'd get the full two days to draw in.

I spent just over an hour on most of these (apart from the really quick ones). I'm enjoying experimenting with the watercolours. I ended up selling quite a few of these to the owners of the cars and got a couple of commissions too. Hope you like them.

I did this the evening I arrived. It belonged to someone from Holland and was a very impressive sight in the camping area. The back part of it was beautifully finished in wood...

Theophile Schneider. My first sketch of the day. It's quite tentative and light but I quite like that - I managed to stop myself doing too much and going in too heavily...

Stinson Special. This was originally an American Sprint racer...

Semmence Special. I did this one for the owners. I know very little about it - I thought it was a Lagonda Rapier at first - but it has some beautiful details...

Hudson Super Six. This car had fantastic proportions. The sketch was supposed to be a warm up piece for a more polished work but when I finished this I didn't think I could do a better one...

When I'd finished the other one I thought I'd have a quick go at sketching from a much closer position and it ended up becoming an action picture...

Wasp. I did this while being buzzed by actual wasps - the car was parked under a cherry tree. That's my excuse for it being a bit wonky anyway...

GN Gnat. Another of my favourite hillclimb cars. I have a sketch of this from last year too...

GN Spider II. Can't beat twin rear wheels - and the exposed chain driven gears too - what a fantastic car...

This was a stunning car. The body work was a modern recreation but it really looked the part. The satchel on the side was a nice detail. It's great to be able to see these great beasts in action...

This amazing car is a 200hp Darracq land speed record car from 1905. 25 litre V8 (possibly the first V8). It has two speeds. First is good for 90mph, second takes it to 120. The chap who owns it drove it to the circuit on the motorway! I didn't envy him having to start with a handle though...

A couple of quick front views of the 200HP Darracq and GP Mercedes...

Becke Powerplus. I love these specials. They're great to draw, full of interesting details and textures...

This well proportioned car had the most beautiful patina and all the details I like - rivets, oil, wood, brass, leather - perfect...

I did these Alfas in my tea break - not overly happy with them as they're a bit heavy - I probably drew them too small...

Very quick sketches mostly done while the cars were waiting to go up the hill. These vintage cars have such an interesting array of sizes and shapes...

I've not really looked at an Invicta very closely before but it's certainly worth it. Very crisp lines delicately edged with red pinstriping - it must have been quite a fancy car in it's day...

Panhard Levassor. 13.5 litre engine, a chair and some wheels - and something to hang on to. What more do you need?...

I'd like to have drawn this some more. It had some great angles and was very imposing...

The last drawing of the weekend. It 's a stunning car - the body is no higher than the wheels. Supercharged Jap engine provides the power...

Yorkshire

2010-08-20T08:45:00.004Z

Went up to visit relatives who live on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors. I damaged my knee in a space hopper race so wasn't able to do much walking. Still, it gave me a bit of time to sketch.

Helmsley is a small town to the north of York with some very interesting buildings and a castle in cross-section. There's also a small, picturesque stream running through it...

I was really pleased with these two - perhaps I should just stick to one or two colours...

This is a longer one done at the remains of Jervaulx Abbey. They were great to explore. I could easily spend a month drawing there...

A very quick sketch of an interesting architectural feature in a doorway at the abbey...

We had a bit of time before our train left so we visited the train museum in York. This is a very quick sketch...

Our return train sat just outside Birmingham station just long enough for us to miss our connecting train. We had a bite to eat and I quickly sketched this tall building. (I've since found out it's the Nat West tower - and it's due to be demolished)...

Who do I think I am?

2010-07-23T10:55:00.006Z

I've been trying to trace the origin of my name and it seems to have come from Norfolk. I recently spent a few days there in the records office and visiting the beautiful flint churches where my ancestors were baptized, married and buried. After my four hour drive I needed to sit outside and relax a bit so I drew this little church in Hellesdon...

I liked this jumble of different styles in this street in Norwich. It's not the best drawing, I was slightly distracted by a multitude of insects falling out of the tree I was sitting under...

This is the church at Pulham Market. It has some beautiful paintings inside and the roof is also very nicely done. Joseph (my GGGG Grandfather) was originally from Pulham and I did find quite a big family living here through the 1700's but I've yet to find out which of William and Mary's children was Joseph's father...

The next church is at Blofield. It has a very impressive tower - probably twice the height of most others in the area. Mary and Joseph Marjoram were married here in 1808 but they didn't stay in this village for long.

The second drawing is of St Mary's South Walsham. It shares a graveyard with another church - St Lawrences. It is here that John and Ann (my GGG Grandparents) were Baptized and buried - I've sketched the stone in another drawing.

The final church is Burlingham St Andrew. Mary (78) and Joseph Marjoram (82), my GGGG Grandparents were buried here, they died in 1858 and 1861. There are two Marjoram stones in the graveyard but they're not my direct ancestors.

The stone below is in South Walsham and is that of Mary and Joseph's son and his wife - John (72) and Ann (77). They died in 1891 and 1903.

They lived to a good age and both Joseph and John were gardeners. There are a few large houses nearby - South Walsham Hall and Burlingham House (and Hall) and I think they probably worked at one or other of these.

It's a very strange feeling to come across a gravestone with your name on - as they were labourers I really didn't expect to find one...

Burrington Fete Classic Cars

2010-07-23T09:34:00.003Z

We had a village fete at the weekend which featured a small gathering of classic cars. The first is an impressive Jaguar XK150...
The cars lined up...
A nice little 1931 Morris. The actual car was a bit more symmetrical than my drawing...

Burrington Church

2010-07-23T09:31:00.001Z

This church is in a lovely little village in North Somerset.

More Watercolour Tests

2010-07-13T19:50:00.007Z

Here's a few quick watercolour thumbnail doodles done on ordinary paper and a more finished painting of the GN SPider hillclimb car. For the GN I managed to find some hot pressed paper (The Langton by Daler-Rowney). It is indeed much smoother than the cold pressed paper I'd been using up to now - much better to draw on...

Duck Racing - Plume of Feathers

2010-07-11T17:07:00.001Z

There's a lovely pub near us - The Plume of Feathers. It sits in a cul-de-sac by a little stream and each year they have a duck race to raise money for local schools. There's a BBQ, refreshing drinks, live music and all afternoon plastic ducks are tipped into the top of the stream and gathered up at the bottom again. Gangs of children splash down the stream too. The water comes out of the ground in a pond called Rickford Rising and nearby are various interesting buildings presumably containg pumping gear and things to do with the sluice. This is one of them...

Auto Union - Work in Progress

2010-07-11T17:04:00.001Z

I wanted to do a larger work of Hans Stuck racing his C Type Auto Union up the Grossglockner mountain on his way to becoming German Hillclimb Champion in 1938. My Grandfather was there and took this photo of him at the start...
www.pbase.com/smarjoram/image/3472160
I made a basic model in Maya and exported a wireframe - mainly to get the wheels right but it also allowed me to quickly experiment with camera angles.
This pencil sketch is A3 (pretty big for me). I tried one twice the size - transferring it to some card - only to find that the card wouldn't take any sort of paint or crayon without going wrinkly or showing the ridges in the card.
Next stage is to try again with a more suitable paper - perhaps using some charcoal. I may also try a digital paintover on this pencil sketch.

2010-07-06T20:13:00.003Z

Went to the City Museum and Art Gallery today. There's a new exhibition of 'Art from the New World'. It's works by Coop, Todd Schorr, Gary Basemann and the like. It was fun and plenty of people were coming to view it which is good. I think I preferred looking at the old paintings though. Some terrific views of Bristol from the 1800's and some with all sorts of hidden messages and lectures on the dangers of drinking, gambling, joining the army... What really stunned me though were some cut paper art works. Tiny illustrations made by cutting holes into white paper. The cuts were miniscule - perhaps 1-2mm long and 0.1mm wide! The images depicted coats of arms, text, trees with every branch visible - it was astonishing. I had to sit down and have a brownie after that. Here part of the main hall with some New World art at the bottom and a dinosaur roaming about upstairs...

Boatyard

2010-07-01T16:23:00.004Z

Another quick lunchtime sketch. These are the boats to the left of the one I did before under the scaffold. These are all quite small - about 5x15cm. The sketches, not the boats...

Boatyard

2010-06-30T15:02:00.005Z

Still experimenting with the watercolours. In the first drawing I got carried away with the shading and ended up scribbling all over the place so in the next I tried to use a lighter touch...

Watercolour Car 4

2010-06-30T14:59:00.002Z

Here's another. I was aiming for something whale like but I think I can take it much further and make the link more obvious...

Matthew Watercolour

2010-06-28T15:27:00.002Z

Had another go at the Matthew - a replica of John Cabot's boat in which he discovered Newfoundland (Although I have a feeling that the Native Americans knew it was there all along)...

Hot Rods

2010-06-28T15:22:00.004Z

More little thumbnails. The first are made up ones, the second are actual cars seen at the Hot Rod Drags, Shakespeare County Raceway...