A few people recommended Daniel Smith watercolours to me when I posted my last blog post. I got curious and found a place to order them online in Germany. I got myself Shadow Violet, Quinacridone Deep Gold and Indian Red (which I’d run out of anyway). The owner of the shop very kindly also included [...]
четверг, 28 февраля 2013
вторник, 19 февраля 2013
An overview over all the different watercolour types and brands I’ve worked with, their advantages and setbacks. Some general notes in advance. If you’re well-versed with the different features of watercolours, just skip this bit. Quality: Watercolours come in two general distinctions: Artists’ quality (Fine Art/K
воскресенье, 17 февраля 2013
This is a concept that has occupied me for years, resulting in several pieces already. It’s symbolic rather than illustrative of any given passage in the text – Maglor, a remnant of the Elves in Middle-earth but excluded from his people, caught in a world of his own where music no longer brings consolation, surrounded [...]
среда, 13 февраля 2013
Finished piece (here’s the process). The post was becoming so long that I decided not to hide the finished image at the bottom! Click to enlarge! Detail shots (click to enlarge):
вторник, 12 февраля 2013
In painting this one, I was facing the challenge to have a lot of reds, even in the sky, and horses – which sometimes leads to dangerously girly-calendary motifs. So far, I seem to have succeeded in not falling over on that side of the fence. I know that because my daughter, a great fan [...]
воскресенье, 03 февраля 2013
воскресенье, 20 января 2013
After being asked whether I’d do them for others as well, I decided I would. Get your customised sketchbook! Here’s the deal. 
пятница, 04 января 2013
I sat down yesterday for a reality check. Am I deluded? These all look different to me, even without their characteristic hair. So yes, they are all related (fathers and brothers and sons and daughters and cousins), so they are all immortal and ageless, and they are all beautiful in the same ethereal Elven way, [...]
среда, 02 января 2013
… or, how to avoid cluttering up mass scenes. On your second attempt. In this painting, I have such an amount of detail in the lineart that I have to be careful not to kill the picture with it.Let me give you a fun example of how *not* to do it, from exactly ten years [...]
воскресенье, 09 декабря 2012
(Drawing the Drawing of the sword always results in semantic weirdness.) It was in early 1994 that I realised this scene was one tough cookie. Two Elves, one at an arm’s and a sword’s length from the other? That means a bit of Elf at the margins of a picture and rather a lot of [...]
пятница, 23 ноября 2012
понедельник, 19 ноября 2012
Last weekend was Hobbit Feest at Kasteel de Berckt in Baarlo, Netherlands. It was a wonderful and cosy experience (probably too cosy from the organisers’ points of view, as there were really not enough visitors). Though it was rather quiet, I loved it there – I met up with loads of Loughborough friends again, and [...]
понедельник, 12 ноября 2012
вторник, 06 ноября 2012
воскресенье, 28 октября 2012
This week, in between essay marking, I read on a friend’s facebook page: “In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.” I actually think this sentence is less paradox than it sounds. The age of information has flooded us with so much knowledge at a mouseclick that choosing ignorance sounds like a rather logical [...]
пятница, 26 октября 2012
My trusty old Epson Stylus Office has finally, with a sound to permanently traumatise my cat, given up its ghost. 
So, to afford a new one that’ll take watercolour paper with less fuss, please help me out, and buy some shiny prints! 20% off everything until the fifth of November! A3 prints for 12 [...]
So, to afford a new one that’ll take watercolour paper with less fuss, please help me out, and buy some shiny prints! 20% off everything until the fifth of November! A3 prints for 12 [...]
понедельник, 22 октября 2012
Some artwork for my “Rhyddion Chronicles”. Branwen (who’s been recently renamed as “Branwyn” is the male form) as well as a little illu of the very last chapter, which has parallels with the Children of H
воскресенье, 21 октября 2012
понедельник, 08 октября 2012
Back from Ring*Con in Bonn, the biggest Fantasy convention in Europe. It was surprisingly close to my experience of Spielemesse Essen, when I had expected something more like Return of the Ring in Loughborough. Many thanks to Becky Dillon, Jay Johnstone, Julian Eilmann, Marcel Aubron-B
четверг, 04 октября 2012