Creating the Mood

I was wondering the other day, what to put on iTunes today while I'm working would you not think your favorite music or sounds would work! Am afraid I can't draw to Janis Joplin or Meatloaf for that matter it seems I create the mood even before I sit down to draw or paint or photograph. I subconsciously create my environment before starting and I only found out when I put Summertime by Janis on and found myself listening instead of drawing!!!!


I seem to do well listening to Clanadonia, bagpipes and drums. Calamity Jane on DVD does well. Also Red hot chili Pipers again bagpipes and drums there's a theme going on here me thinks! It does not seem to matter what kind of drawing it is, maybe my mood is what I take into account, as, this seems to be a subconscious act at this time while writing I listening to Enter the Haggis's Star of the County Down. 

I have just finished a painting of Hunter the Cairn Terrier and he was very hard to do so many colours in his coat and getting a true representation was difficult, I think more so as I tried to change my listening music, and so it took longer to finish than it would have!

Going Stale

If you had your favourite meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Sunday, the meal would soon become stale not as tasty and above all boring! 

The same happens in art I tend to change from photography to drawing to painting. Mind saying that I tend to keep to portraits but this is because I find my style suits people and animals. 

I do step outside this genre as when I ventured out into my garden and seeing so many beautiful shapes and colours, hints and hues, I don’t think these images are as strong as the new wedding photographs and horse and rider images in this blog! 

What I am trying to put across and know you strengths, but don’t stop digressing and exploring and sharing.  

A likeness

I have two favorite drawing lecturers first Lindsey John Moffat and then Willie Strachan. Without either of these guys I would not be able to create anything I do.

The easiest instruction to give and the hardest instruction to reproduce is... "People are all made up of angles all you have to do is get the angles right"!!!!

The best way to start is from life, and start small, if you give yourself too big a object then when you do not get it right you will disappoint yourself.

People do not always like still life but that is a good place to start, as I was always told the human body is the hardest image to re-create.

Start with a piece of fruit; draw it, paint it, mix media it, get to know the angles and their relationship with each other.