this little drawing, which i did the other evening, is of two pebbles that i found at the coast…

[drawing - pen on paper, 10.5cm x 15cm]
surprisingly, it only took me about half an hour, so i must be getting better… it was done for a work colleague, who is getting married very soon… the theme is pairs and all the gifted artworks are to be compiled into a little book as a wedding present…
a while back, i had decided that one day i would draw every one of my heart-shaped pebbles (all found along the east anglian coast) as i have a very nice sketchpad which came from the royal academy shop… the sketchbook is adorned with a heart artwork by the late sir terry frost (whom i had the pleasure of meeting in person when i was at the rca).. the ‘terry frost’ sketchbook has eighty pages, but i currently only have fifty six hearts in my collection..

[terry frost sketchbook] ..available from the royal academy shop] see some of the many colourful prints of terry frost at flowers east gallery..
two of these nine gold-leafed pebbles were stolen from an art exhibit that i made on the theme place, the lost souls of dunwich (the pebbles were all found there).. i never got around to photographing the finished piece but here they are placed in their box, prior to making the lead coloured cast onto which they were to be displayed..

i found these assortment of pebbles a while back; i found a few more after the photograph was taken.. i must remember to do this each time, document the location and the day’s hoard.. perhaps i should have marked each with the date and location found… oh well..

notice also the tiny pebble with a ‘J’ – i only have two of these (much harder to find!) but i did find a corresponding G, but it was in lower case.. so, i figured when i reach eighty, i would begin to document them through detailed drawings.. i had thought that i might give the two pebbles i had just drawn as a wedding present, but would anybody want a couple of vaguely heart-shaped rocks on their wedding day?
i am definitely seeing observational drawing as an antidote to my abstract paintings..
ah, the wordplay that can be had with the word drawing: drawing water, drawing breath, drawing comparisons, drawing board or bored, drawing conclusions, drawing a blank…
