Leighton Noyes, Drawings and Paintings

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011!

2011-12-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone x

PETER FALK as COLUMBO

2011-07-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

Peter Falk who sadly passed away earlier this month was a bit of a hero of mine during my teenage years; I often pretended I was Columbo whenever I deceptively bumbled about solving murders. I'm currently selling this portrait on ebay with a percentage of proceeds going towards Alzheimer's research.

DAVID NIVEN

2010-10-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

A very simple line drawing of the actor David Niven.

LITTLE SAILBOAT

2010-07-11T04:05:00.000-07:00

This was made with strips of masking tape, torn and stuck down and painted. I enjoy painting on masking tape because of the interesting texture it gives.

MARTY FELDMAN

2010-06-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

I did this portrait of the comedian, actor and writer Marty Feldman a while back because I love his brilliant face. I suppose there's always a slight danger of disrespecting a face like his when drawing it but I tried to steer away from that because, as I say, I love his brilliant face.

SIR ALEC GUINESS

2010-04-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

A pen and ink portrait of Sir Alec Guiness as he appeared in The Ladykillers.

FINGER PAINTING

2010-04-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't done finger painting in years but I love the freedom and mess of it and ought to do more. This painting was done on brown parcel paper with inks in about 30 minutes.

LOST

2010-02-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is a charcoal foot drawing I have done of a little girl lost. I painted it, again with my feet, with watercolours.

DOCTOR WHO and the ZYGONS

2010-02-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

I did the hard part of this painting some years back, the hard part being the hand painting of William Hartnell and the two monsters. Not being so good at this sort of thing I had to cover up a load of mistakes with spacey stuff which I rendered digitally. I find this sort of thing quite enjoyable to do but at the same time it's incredibly frustrating if, like me, painting this sort of picture isn't your thing.

A THIRD INKY LANDSCAPE

2010-02-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

If I was brighter I'd come up with names for these landscapes but I'm ever so dull and can't come up with anything. Still, they're quite quick to do and are quite interesting for their small size. They also provide a welcome change from illustrating children's books- not that I'm complaining about my job, I love it- it's just a little change from time to time is very refreshing.

My children's book website can be found here and my children's book blog can be found here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE...

2009-12-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

...and have a peaceful New Year x

1 of 20 LITTLE LANDSCAPES

2009-11-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

This is the first of a little ink landscape that will be sold for 50p/£1 at my daughter's school's Christmas fair. I've been volunteered to draw 100 pictures for the first week of December so part of what I'll do will be these landscape types and the remainder will be along the lines of my children's drawings. The money raised will go to charity so I can't even complain about the workload.

AFRICAN ELEPHANT INK SKETCH

2009-11-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

Here I've drawn a quick sketch of an African elephant walking through shallow water in ink. When drawing living things I try and keep the sketch lively by rendering the marks quickly and without too much fuss. Of course with animals, being able to draw rapidly is often an essential requirement.

Ok, just a reminder that more of my work can be found on my website leightonnoyes.com. The work on this site is mainly my childeren's book work so please pop by and say hello.

QUICK INKY LANDSCAPE

2009-07-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

Whilst messing around with ink late last night I happened to make this atmospheric drawing almost completely by accident. It's only a very small drawing (no more than four inches across) which I've decided looks too much like a landscape for me not to call it a landscape. It's ambiguous as to what it actually depicts but I think there are trees and water in there along with a silhouetted figure in the foreground.

I hope this demonstrates how effective just spending a couple of minutes pushing ink around on a piece of scrap paper can be.

APERI-TIFF

2009-06-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

This watercolour drawing has been lifted from my sketchbook. I did this in August last year and it's a woman who came round for an aperitif when I was in France. She was always popping in for an aperitif but this is a big thing in France- sitting down half an hour before you eat to discuss food before eating the food and discussing the next aperitif and who's holding it and what the next meal will be and who's invited, and more importantly, who isn't.

It can all become a bit of a soap opera and is a source of disagreements and bad will.

Anyway, this lady was already 'aperitifed-up' before she came over and the unforgiving August sun that shines on the South, mixed with the alcohol, made her louder and more argumentative than usual. I don't think she was invited to the next one but she's French and does as she pleases so not getting an invite wouldn't necessarily have stopped her.

SYLVESTER McCOY

2009-05-15T07:54:00.001-07:00

A fair while ago I went through a phase of drawing portraits just to keep my eye in whenever work was slow or non existant and this is a pencil drawing of Sylvester McCoy. I know what youre thinking here: 'Please, not another Dr Who!'

Sorry about this. I've always felt that one good way to learn to draw is by drawing the things you're really keen on and I've been a bit of a Dr Who anorak since I was about 5. And as a young man it was easier to get hold of pictures of Dr Who than it was to get hold of pictures of girls I liked. Sadly.

This drawing has been cropped because he was wearing a hat and that turned out to be a disaster. I'm ok with faces, more or less, but hats are a right pain. Especially straw ones.

BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS SKETCHBOOK ROUGH

2009-05-12T12:36:00.001-07:00

This is the rough of the Beauty and the Beasts post I put up on 2nd May which I did in my little A5 sketchbook. After I'd done the initial rough, I decided bits and pieces needed changing or improving. With this in mind I did corrections on a separate piece of paper and stuck them over the parts I wasn't so keen on which you'll see if you look closely at the picture.

I also added extra little details to make the composition more pleasing and fill the space better. Once I started on the final drawing I continued to add further small detailing to improve the illustration and make it more interesting.

CHARCOAL AND WASH FOOT DRAWING

2009-05-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here's another attempt at a foot drawing and this time I've added a Quink wash over the charcoal to get some tonal variation. Again, as with the previous foot drawing I posted, this is a fairly large piece of paper I'm working on to accommodate my fairly large feet.

The washes were applied by holding the paint brush between my toes. As before, very little control can be managed by doing this but that makes for a more interesting mark I think. I find it's quite refreshing to do a drawing like this just for fun with no pressure to get it right and to have no preconceived ideas as to how it'll turn out.

PATRICK TROUGHTON

2009-05-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

I must of done this around ten years ago and I'd completely forgotten about it until today when I saw one of my favourite actors ever, Patrick Troughton guest as a villain in an old episode of The Sweeney. So I fished the drawing out and thought it didn't look too shabby for something I did that length of time ago so I'm posting it.

Done in HB pencils, I think some of the drawing is a titchy bit crude here and there in comparison with the way I'd do it now but every drawing is a valuable learning process and that's why you should never throw any work away.

I've always liked Patrick's wistful pose in this drawing and I think he was supposed to be looking directly at you but I went wrong somewhere along the way. Y'know, as usual.

BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS

2009-05-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

The sole intention of this blog was to keep my children's book work separate from my other drawings but I've caved in a little bit and thought that maybe one or two wouldn't hurt from time to time, if only to add a big splash of colour.

I've always had a huge fascination with monsters but although I love the idea of them, I wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle of the woods with them. And I really wouldn't want to be eaten by them, having my leftovers left dangling in the branches of the trees for the birds to pick at. I just wouldn't fancy that at all.

Not that there would be any leftovers, I'd be a juicy bit of monster fodder- and far too tasty to waste.

My children's book blog can be found here and my children's book website can be found here.

SKETCHING ANIMALS AT THE ZOO AGAIN

2009-04-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

As much as I like the dark and the rain and an evening chill, I was just about ready for home when I'd finished these quick animal sketches. The best thing about the cold when drawing is that it promotes a faster way of working I think and these didn't take any longer than a few minutes each.

A SKETCH REFOUND

2009-04-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this little ink drawing today whilst flicking through an old sketchbook and realised it's better than a load of drawings I've spent hours labouring over. It's fairly bold and loose and would only have taken a short minute to do.

Like most everyone else who keeps one, my sketchbook is a sanctuary for small drawings like this. Sketches that would perhaps otherwise become lost and forgotten.

ANIMALS OF THE ANTARCTIC

2009-04-11T01:16:00.000-07:00

It's not that I'd forgotten or forsaken this blog, it's just that I've been incredibly busy illustrating a new children's book series and too tired to maintain it for a while.

But in a break and having given this blog a check up, I thought it was high time to pop some colour back in its cheeks since it seems to have gone a little bit black and white.

The illustrator in me couldn't help but draw a line around these small watercolours of antarctic wildlife but since they're set against a plain white background I suppose they benefit from some sort of discreet definition.

CHARCOAL FOOT DRAWING

2009-01-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

When I did this charcoal foot drawing at Maidstone college of Art in 1992 I was looked upon by some of my peers as a bit of a monkey (I know this from the noises they were making behind my back). But I wasn't after a refined drawing when I stuck my charcoal between my toes, I was looking to make marks that I couldn't when I drew with my hands. Because there's less control using the feet, the marks are just that little bit freer and it made me think about what makes for a good drawing in a completely new light.

The drawing itself is a large picture and I was able to walk around it and work on different areas as I drew, accidentally smudging other parts as I went.

ELDERLY LADY

2009-01-10T09:22:00.001-08:00

I had a friend once (look at me showing off) and when she's old I think she might look a smidge like this quick pen drawing I've done of an elderly lady.

I did this sketch in black Indian ink with my dippy pen, which lends itself to keeping the lines lively and loose. I tried not to allow the pen to rest anywhere on the paper for too long to give the drawing as much life as I could.

ELISABETH SLADEN

2008-12-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

I did this pencil drawing way back in the heady days of August 1992, a month before I started my degree at Camberwell College of Arts. When I was a boy, Elisabeth Sladen would make my heart go goosey whenever she was on the telly in Doctor Who and I did this portrait for her when I met her in London at a signing session. She was so lovely and complimentary about the drawing when she accepted it, my heart pumped up to Goose Factor 9.

Sometimes I wish I did but I don't often do drawings like this anymore because they're so time consuming and although I still have the patience, I'm always too busy illustrating books and stuff.

Other Dr Who drawings can be found on my website.

SKETCH OF A LADIES' MAN

2008-12-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is a Leonard Cohen drawing I did today that was required as a quick commission. Anyone who ever knew me, I don't know anyone anymore, knows that I spend a lot of my time messing things up. And this drawing is a top example of that as I had his face all wrong after making the marks around the eyes, mouth and nose far too heavy. To be fair though, I'm a bit poorly today and I can't concentrate very well with a headache. And my nose was running and kept dripping on my work.

Frankly my friends, Lenny deserves better than that.

I'm quite resourceful in a tight spot so I took my drawing and popped it onto my computer where I gently over-layed bits and bobs of the original photo I used as reference. I haven't done this before but I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. The main problem was to try and make sure the parts I corrected still looked as though I was clever enough to have drawn them. But I'm not clever, not today. Today I'm a fraud.

Everybody knows.

THE BOY KING

2008-12-14T13:21:00.001-08:00

This is an A3 pencil portrait of Elvis Presley as a boy. Elvis grew up poor and there's a distict sadness in his eyes here. The drawing itself is quite loose and sketchy and although I don't know how long it took to do (I did it about 4 or 5 years ago), I don't suppose it took longer than an evening.

There are other drawings of Elvis which can be found in the portfolio section of my website.

AUDREY HEPBURN

2008-12-12T06:50:00.000-08:00

This is an ink drawing of Audrey Hepburn which I did in around 10 minutes one day last year. Audrey's a particular favourite of mine and her face is so angelic and beautiful, it's difficult to resist drawing her.

DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEK

2008-12-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

I did this tight little drawing with and edding pen I think, although that might not be true as I don't much like edding pens. Mmmm, it was some sort of pen anyway. The areas of darkness were built up with a laborious cross-hatched mark and I decided quite soon afterwards that I didn't really get on with this type of drawing because I'm not all that suited to it since I prefer a quicker, looser line.

But that sounds like a challenge and I reckon I've just goaded myself into having another go at another drawing of this type. In a couple of years or so.

Other Dr Who drawings can be found in the portfolio section of my website.

TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

2008-11-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

The picture on the left is just a quick pen drawing of an elderly man which took around 10 minutes. I used waterproof Indian ink and my trusty dip pen to quickly get some marks down on some 300gsm water colour paper. Usually I wouldn't use this type of paper for a pen and ink drawing but I planned to pop a wash over it and needed paper that would stand up to some harsh treatment later on. The fine hairs of this type of paper constantly clog my dip pen which is a major disadvantage as it slows the flow of the drawing.

I applied the wash with a mix of water colour paint and ink and drew back into it again with my dip pen and non-waterproof Indian ink which dries lighter than the waterproof version and is more subtle. But not wanting to be too subtle, I flicked paint and ink over the drawing and sprayed it with bleach.

I've always really liked the contrasts of light and dark in drawings so I try and make something of that when I get the chance. I'll have to look at these drawings in a few days time and decide if they need any further work. Or maybe I've gone too far as it is eh, chums?

YODA

2008-11-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is a pencil drawing of Yoda and which took a good 2/3 hours to do. With pencil portraits I used to start with a 2H and gradually build up to a 9B for the darkest areas. I don't know if I still do that as I've not done a pencil portrait for some time.

I'm prone to making mistakes and if you look at his left (your right) ear you'll see where I made one which I had to take a putty rubber to. If I remember rightly, I originally did the ear too long and I didn't correct it properly so the picture looks messy there, around the tip of the ear.

The full sized version of this drawing can be found in the portfolio section of my website.

SKETCHING ANIMALS AT THE ZOO

2008-11-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

I like animals and I enjoy drawing them. This is taken from my sketchbook from when I went to the zoo with my little girl. I drew these pictures quickly because it was cold when we went and drawing quickly draws your mind from the chill and warms you up. I also drew them quickly because I had to keep one eye on my daughter to make sure she didn't try and get in with the monkeys again.

I don't like her going in with the animals unless I'm supervising.

ELVIS PRESLEY

2008-11-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

This is a large charcoal portrait of Elvis which I did a couple of years ago. It's quite an involved drawing in which I tried to keep the marks loose where I could. With charcoal, I know that some people would suggest blending drawings like this with fingers but I'd rather cut mine off than do that. I find a soft brush better for blending; a tool from a more civilised age. If, when I was at college, I saw finger blending I used to have to leave the studio to be violently ill outside as I tried to get them ugly smudges out of my head.

I don't get to use of my easel nearly as much as I'd like to so when I do a drawing like this I try and make it last for days and this took about three.

More drawings of Elvis can be found in the portfolio section of my website.

LEONARD COHEN

2008-11-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I saw Leonard Cohen at the O2 Arena in London and found him such an inspiring figure that I had to draw the genius within hours of getting back home.

I started by quickly drawing the key shapes in black Indian ink before painting in some basic facial tones. I try to work as quickly as possible most of the time which keeps the drawing fresh but also means that a lot of the time I'm making it up as I go along. This drawing took around 30 minutes from start to finish.

His clothes and background were done almost at the same time and when I felt the drawing was slipping away from me I whipped out my faithful pot of non-waterproof Indian ink to re-establish shapes and forms that were close to being lost. I'm disappointed that one of his shoulders looks so sharp but I'll correct that in time.

I use dark blue Quink a lot of the time for areas of shadow. Quink is also useful because it doesn't stand up to being sprayed with bleach which I tend to do when I use it. I enjoy roughing up quick drawings like this by spraying on bleach and water and flicking it with paint and ink before drawing back into it again. This process might often be repeated several times over before I relent and stop bullying it.