CHARCOAL FOOT DRAWING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.