We had variable weather this week - some heavy rain but also some sunshine . I did get the opportunity to do a couple of quick sketches .
 I was  excited to receive James Gurney's new watercolour DVD yesterday . As one would expect it is excellent with lots of tips and demonstrations of plein air watercolours . I am very envious of his amazing skills . He can create stunning paintings on the hoof even of some pretty humdrum subjects - everything from raindrops hitting a pavement puddle to industrial subjects to a study of a long dead tortoise.
I'm also eagerly awaiting Jim Vadeboncoeur's latest and possibly his last edition of Images S. He did a kickstarter campaign to fund the production of what promises to be a really deluxe edition. I have a few of the other editions and they are brim full of superbly reproduced illustration art .

The North face of the Ben with cloud gathering on the summit.

View from the supermarket car park .

Quick sketch on the way back from Kinlochleven.

New print of Lochnagar for my etsy shop

I was sorting out my paintings when I came across this watercolour of Lochnagar. It shows the dramatic ridge on the main route up Lochnagar. It is a stunning view at any time of year but especially so under a cloak of snow. I got a couple of prints made which I hope to sell from my etsy shop

This week I have had two good runs from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William.

Very quick sketches of deer at Kingshouse

. It is easy to jump on the train down the road from our house and I can be in Bridge of Orchy shortly after 9 AM . It's cheap too with a railcard. Then you have a wonderful 35 mile run along the West Highland Way.
 On Thursday the weather was warm and mostly dry .As I jogged along in the sunshine there was a gorgeous smell of honey coming from the heather which is now in full bloom. The grasses are flowering as well giving the moor an orange tinge together with the myriad of greens and the purple of the heather. It was the first long run that I've done for weeks due to my bad back , so I was extremely pleased to be pain free and enjoyed the day immensely.
At Kingshouse I stopped to sketch the red deer that mooch around the hotel in the hope of a tourist's sandwich. Unfortunately two little boys appeared and chased the deer away!
 In the Lairig Mor I bumped in to a  couple who asked whether the path led to the Lower Falls car park . I had to tell them that they were in the wrong glen and that their car was on the other side of the Mamore mountains. They decided to walk to Kinlochleven and to try to get a bus back to Fort William.
Yesterday H and I did the same run but the weather was very different- relentless driving rain the whole day long. We stopped off at the Glencoe ski centre for a coffee and a bacon roll ; it was that kind of day.

Pen  portraits of passengers on the train

King

I've recently discovered the website Illustration Friday. Every week a new topic is posted and people invited to submit pictures on it . This week the subject is 'king' . Above is a drawing that I'm hoping to post. it started off as a pencil drawing but I added charcoal for the darkest areas and some colour with  Derwent graphitint pencils.

Wedding in Norfolk

Man on the train.

I haven't blogged for a while due to being busy at work then away to a wedding in Norfolk .We took the train down south which always offers ample opportunity for sketching people.

Sketch done during the ceremony at the Assembly Rooms

On Sunday we visited the house of H's sister which is a wonderful 16th century manor House. We had a barbecue in the garden and sat drinking beer in the sun.

The house now has a brick skin which somewhat detracts from the other more ancient features.

Sketch of a church with an unusual round tower a type found only in Norfolk and Suffolk