The Dark Tower in the Bookshop

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” - Jane Austen

Start of a Watercolour painting of La Trappiste from Chocolate Café in Canterbury today.

I have finally found the ideal site to paint La Trappiste in Canterbury from, if you are familiar with Chocolate Café in Canterbury, ‘nough said, otherwise I can only say it comes with my strongest recommendation.

The picture is all brush, lots of layers and fairly free.

If you are geographically disadvantaged La Trappiste is on the left in this photo and Chocolate Café is on the right. 

A really odd one here from my teenage children, I offered to give them the money to get themselves a drink and a cake in McDonalds or join me in Chocolate Café and the elected to join me. 

The atmosphere is very good for painting as because everyone is high on dopamine and therefore very happy.    

A ramble about sketching pens, Canterbury and stuff with a few pictures

A pen sketch of Canterbury Cathedral, this is A4, very rough and done in about 20 mins from the seat by the entrance, by the bins, which is sheltered and as it was drizzling a bit about the only place you can sketch the cathedral from while sitting down, in the cathedral grounds when it's raining.   

If you take a photo looking up the tower it gets thinner towards the top, which looks a bit naff to me.

The start of a sketch from Canteen in Canterbury I've done this veiw before see http://thanetonline.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/a-pen-and-ink-sketch-of-sun-hotel-in.html

More careful this one, about an hour so far and I may go back and finish it off.

Art wise at the moment, I am concentrating on sketching likenesses of people, small, quick and in pen.

  I have tried a variety of pens and have just discovered the "uni pin FINE LINE" which I am now using and I used in the sketches above.

 Next a few Canterbury photos, these will expand if clicked on compulsively

 I was rather taken with these based on album covers