AFRICAN ELEPHANT INK SKETCH

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.

APERI-TIFF

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.

BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS SKETCHBOOK ROUGH

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.

SKETCHING ANIMALS AT THE ZOO AGAIN

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

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.

SKETCHING ANIMALS AT THE ZOO

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.