It’s good to change your subject matter and working methods every now and then to freshen things up and keep on your toes. To that end I’ve been drawing aeroplanes in museums and hanging around in working boatyards. I’ve been interested in the design of the machine, where the function determines the shapes.

There is a great mash up of shapes and colours in a boatyard, where the new, the old and the derelict are on top of each other in ordered chaos. Add the whistle of a redshank and the call of a gull and you have a timeless atmosphere.

 

The red boat, ink and wash March 2012

The red boat above was the main focus of this drawing, with its substantial yet curvy structure on a makeshift rusty trailer, parked in front of a sophisticated looking yacht undergoing some refurbishment. A barge sits in the creek to the right, the tide is out. It was a sunny and warm spring afternoon with the sound of someone sawing wood and listening to the radio.

Aircraft museums are great places for detail or to explore themes like extreme foreshortening and perspective. The Mosquito and Lightning below are examples of
where you can draw at your own pace and chose a viewpoint normally unobtainable.