Tag Archives: watercolour

Bending the rules, just a little.

Posted on by Soulcraftcandyman
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82_Wheelie_1

Todays stunt, the Wheelie. As much as they are displays of machine control and skill, they are also a perfect expression of the utterly boyish exuberance and confidence that infects us when we’re out on our bikes. It’s a lot of fun to depict them in images, though capturing that moment, like a camera snapshot, presents its own challenges. If you drew up some kind of list of all the variables one could consider before putting pen to paper, you would probably never start. For me the essence lies in capturing that sense of fun and confidence such a display gives off. It is after all, nothing more than showing off to an audience, so trying to get that into the picture is important. It would be far simpler to draw the whole thing as a straight elevational view but that would be too easy. Like a camera lens your eye can be a pretty wide angle device, and so creating a sense of depth and perspective is the main challenge. Which part of the image is almost flat to the viewer, and at what angle does one see the rest of the subject are aspects that present an interesting challenge when drawing from imagination. Too little and things look rather flat, too much and you get a kind of fish eye effect that turns the subject into a kind of banana. In perspective terms these are not perfect depictions but I hope they do enough to convey the idea. Cartoons invariably bend the rules a bit, but I think you can get away with it when you admit that that is exactly what you’re creating.

 

This one is Wheelie 1, and yes, that means there is another one coming along shortly. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

Fish out of water.

Posted on by Soulcraftcandyman
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78_Cafe_Stoppie

Whilst scribbling through one of the worksheets a few weeks ago it became clear that at times, streams of ideas cross one another, and at these junctions one often finds a source of inspiration previously unseen. This image above comes from one such junction, the point where ideas about stunts and ideas about cafe racers crossed. It caught my imagination instantly and after some rough sketching there was the basis for a short series depicting such a combination.

 

The main driver of the idea is born out of an apparent change in the context of both. Stunts  like “wheelies” tend to be performed by guys on more modern bikes, though this is a sweeping generalisation of course, and cafe racers, although tending to roar about the place are never spotted doing the kinds of things shown here, the “stoppie”. I wondered what it would throw up if I took one and combined it with the other. There are probably lots of rational reasons why guys with classic bikes don’t show off in such a way, like weight, available power and the delicacy of their old clutches, but cartooning the whole idea lets you forget all that in the name of artistic license.

79_No57

Finally today here is that “smoke” moment I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the one that really didn’t finish well. I have resolved not to try rescuing it yet, it serves as a reminder of how perhaps not to do it, but have overcome any reservations about revealing it to you. More out of context cafe racers soon.

 

 

A gift that keeps on giving.

Posted on by Soulcraftcandyman
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77_Don_Lance-zinger

A slight deviation from the well ploughed furrow of motorcycle art today, as one of my other projects reaches its end. Now that the gift has been given, I can let you in on something that I’ve ben working on for the last few sessions. My friends visit the blog and so it is always a good idea not to show stuff too early, they may see things they’re not meant to.

 

This is a gift picture done for a very good friend, Martin, to celebrate his birthday. It’s done on A4 Bristol Board using my favourite current techinique of watercolour wash and drawing pen. My friend is a strangely quixotic german, and over dinner the other week my partner and I came up with this idea of the dis-functional knight based on the Cervantes character of Don Quixote. Oddly, Martin too has a sidekick called Sancho, his cat. It seemed very fitting at the time. It took more than a couple of goes to get the horse looking silly enough, but I think I succeeded in the end. And turning my hand to a bit of calligraphy, after rushing to the library for a reference book, was an interesting experience, like dipping a toe into an adjacent pool of different colour water. Needless to say Martin loved it, and his wife Adriana knew exactly what the picture was referring to.

 

Selling a picture is a rewarding experience and one always hopes that the buyer will enjoy it for many years to come. One is of course always happy and grateful for their support and custom, and it’s a great feeling knowing that you have made that connection with someone. Giving a picture, or indeed anything that you have created or made, invokes completely different feelings, particularly when it’s a complete surprise to the receiver. I get a real kick out of seeing their faces and feel tremendous gratitude from hearing their appreciation and thanks. I always hope that every time they see it, the picture reminds them not just of me, but of that moment and the friendship that we share. These kinds of gifts are often wholly unique and the investment in time, energy and care in their making says a lot about how much your care about someone and what their friendship means to you. It’s a wonderful thing.