Breakfast at Audrey’s

I never really remember many of my dreams, but some of them – now and then – are so vivid and I have conversations with friends and family members, both past and present.  However, I did have a very vivid dream last week, where I met and went for breakfast with classical movie actress and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn (b: 1929 – d: 1993). 

The fact that I dreamed about Audrey, could have had a lot to do with the fact that I had had cheese sandwiches for tea (a likely food to give you vivid dreams) and more so, the fact that I had watched some favourite parts of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s the previous evening.  I have many favourite movies, but this movie has some really beautiful cameos, not only by Audrey Hepburn. 

The movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s was released in December 1961 and was based upon the book by Truman Capote.  One of the most special parts of the movie is where Audrey makes herself comfortable on the fire escape of her apartment and sings ‘Moon River’.  I remember reading her biography many years ago, where she had taken professional singing lessons to sing this famous Henry Mancini (famous for the Pink Panther tune, amongst many others) and Johnny Mercer song.  At one point, the song was going to end up on the cutting room floor, but the normally gentle Audrey made a stand against that decision and she won.

In my dream, Audrey didn’t sing at all, but she did make me a lovely fruit and yogurt muesli (whilst wearing the shimmering tiara she has in the movie).

Many years earlier, I had drawn this image of Audrey Hepburn in the guise of the movie’s and book’s protagonist: Holly Golightly.  I really enjoyed drawing this portrait, which was done with ink pens and lots of dots (stippling), which can take ages to do!  I particularly enjoyed drawing her eyes, which are so beautiful and expressive…

This morning, I had no dreams of fine breakfasts or actresses catering for me, but it was just me and the porridge bowl, as normal…but, then again, breakfast with Audrey would be pretty hard to beat!

A Clowder of Cats – pet portraits

July seems to have been a month for ‘all things feline’, with two of my friends becoming the owner of a new cat.

I have always loved animals and I have also always loved collective nouns for animals, so many years ago when I was requested to draw a ‘clowder’ of cats, I was interested (but a bit terrified).  The commission was to be done for a friend’s special birthday and this lady knew each and every marking and whisker on her cats, so I knew the pet portraits would have to be totally accurate.

It was tricky getting the photographs of the cats, as cats are renowned for not liking to be stared at directly – either in person or through a lens, but I managed to get a good photograph of each of the cats for the illustration, without giving the ‘game away’ about the birthday surprise.

As I progressed working through the pet portraits (which were all done on the one sheet of paper), the pressure began to mount as it only took one mistake on one of the cats and I WOULD have to start the whole illustration again! So, you can imagine my delight when I finally got to the eighth and final portrait.  My illustration of a clowder of cats was complete (although there are other collective nouns for cats: a cluster, a clutter, a glaring and my personal favourite – a pounce!).

My favourite of the cats in this picture is no. 3 a lovely queen cat, who is called Squeak, and she is sooty-black with yellow eyes; totally adorable.  I always get a special nuzzle and cuddle from her whenever I visit my friend’s house, which does not happen as frequently as I would like.

I hope that, wherever you are, that you are enjoying the summer as much as my friends’ cats are – basking in the strong summer sunshine – without a care in the world…  Lucky things…

The Vixen – wildlife portrait

As you may have guessed (if you’ve read my August blog post) my book has been somewhat delayed at the publishers.  I am hoping that this will be sorted out for next month and, if so, I will put a post on here and let you know.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be out soon…watch this space…

In the meantime, I have had a few private requests to show some more of my wildlife illustrations and with my new book in mind (and the characters of Den the fox, and his cubs – Chester and Hester), I thought I would feature this illustration of a vixen that I did many years ago for an exhibition on British Wildlife.

I saw a photograph of a wary vixen and loved the expression on her beautiful face so much that I decided to draw her as she turns around to view something behind her.  It became one of about eight wildlife illustrations that I did over the next few years, which also included a badger, a rabbit, a Scottish wildcat and a fawn – to name a few.

The exhibition of these paintings went to the Lake District, Manchester and Liverpool and did very well.  On the last day, I decided to sell one of the paintings – the fawn.  It was quite a memorable occasion as two people were interested (at different times of the exhibition) in the Lake District.  However, both interested parties decided to buy it and came back to me at the very same time!  Neither were happy about the other wanting to purchase it, so a great quarrel broke out about ‘prior claims’ and in the end I had to say to both parties that it was no longer for sale (I was very concerned about being thrown out of the exhibition area!).

As it happened the painting was purchased a few days later by a very charming man who wanted something very special for his wife on the occasion of their 30^th wedding anniversary.  The vixen picture also sold a little while later (at a private showing) and is still hanging pride of place in Mrs Swordfish’s beautiful home, nestled in the picturesque scenery of the Lake District (Mrs Swordfish: I did promise I would give you a mention on one of my blog posts – you see I didn’t forget 🙂 ). 

I only did one or two of each animal illustration and they were all created by spending many, many hours creating the core illustration with pen and ink and then putting layers of coloured pencil on top to create the final piece of work.  I am pleased to say that all the illustrations have all found beautiful homes to ‘live in’ and are cherished by their wildlife-loving owners.

Laura and Ollie – pencil portrait

I have done a good many commissions for Laura over the last few years, mostly of her charming son, Ollie, but there was also one portrait I illustrated of Ollie and Laura’s husband, Gary, for his Father’s Day gift, which has also been featured on this blog.

However, on this occasion, one of Laura’s friends contacted me last year and queried if I would be able to do a pencil portrait of Laura and Ollie for Laura’s birthday in November 2020.  As soon as I saw the lovely photograph I was to work from, I was very keen to do the drawing.  I knew it would render very well with soft pencils and look nice as a square-format pencil portrait.

I really like the emotion in this illustration, as you can see the real character of Laura and Ollie shine through.  It was an ideal choice for this post in the month of March, which is the month that sees a celebration of motherhood.

My clients, Sharon and Al, were delighted with the portrait and I heard later that the pencil portrait was a very well received, special and thoughtful gift for Laura’s birthday. She was delighted!

Buster – Dog Portrait

The last couple of months of 2019 were extremely busy for me, as so many clients required commission work done at the latter part of the year. Luckily for me, most of my customers were quite happy to wait until the turn of the new year to get commission work done. I never rush an illustration and could not sell anything that hasn’t had the right amount of work that is required to complete it.

One of the commissions I managed to get done just in time for Christmas was a pet portrait of a beautiful spaniel, which had been called ‘Buster’. His owner, Wendy, from Consett, County Durham, had commissioned me to do a picture of their late beloved pet as a present for her husband, Rob.
It may sound quite strange, but I got the impression, when I was drawing Buster, that he was ‘speaking’ to me, as he had the most beautiful expressive eyes to draw! Quite honestly it was very easy to imagine he was communicating with me. He was a wonderful canine to illustrate, despite the complexity of working from photographs where the colour was not correct and having to employ computer techniques to alter the coloured photographs before the illustration could be started. Not the easiest task, but I was pleased that Wendy was pleased with the finished result.

I heard that Rob was also thoroughly delighted with his wife’s very thoughtful Christmas gift, and hearing that news was also a nice Christmas surprise for me.

I would like to wish all my clients and Blog readers a very happy 2020…

Cary Grant – a portrait in stippling

I have to say that this has been a very busy month for me, with commissions and college work and so much more… However, on a rare moment of relaxation, I sat down with my movie retro magazine and delved into the pages. I have always been a classical movie buff and one of the pictures featured a young and very debonair Cary Grant with his friend, Randolph Scott in their shared home in Santa Monica. I do like some movies with Cary Grant starring in them, one being ‘That Touch of Mink’ with Doris Day and also ‘Charade’ with Audrey Hepburn, but one of the best by far is ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ with Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre.

The film features the quirky (to say the least) Brewster family, which has a lineage of insanity. The young freshly-married Mortimer, played by Grant, returns home to announce his betrothal to his two maiden aunts.   Far from being the ‘sweet faded roses’ that the two aunts appear to be, they are in fact taking it upon themselves of ‘ridding’ the town of sad, old men with little to live for – in fact killing them with kindness. Mortimer finds one of their most recent ‘mercy killings’ hidden in the house and tries to keep it all from the notice of his new and pretty wife, who probably wouldn’t understand.

Into the midst of this family chaos, Mortimer’s shady brother, Jonathan, comes to the house with the equally dubious Doctor Herman Einstein, as they flee capture for their foul deeds…and mayhem ensues throughout the rest of the movie…

The film is a black comedy, but has enough mirth and slapstick humour to keep the ghoulish acts of the aunts and brother Jonathan to a minimum, so even the most squeamish of souls can enjoy the humour…  And when it comes to squeamish, believe me, I am the worst!

Cary Grant, actor, b: 18 January 1904 – d: 29 November 1986

Many, many years ago, whilst living in Carlisle, I did a series of movie star illustrations, all done in the form of stippling. Cary Grant was one of the movie stars I illustrated. I chose a very familiar ‘Cary pose’ – a most debonair, suited gentleman.

Gary and Oliver – Father and Son portrait

One of my friends, Mary Redshaw, has commissioned a great many illustrations from me, but this time it was her niece, Laura Stewart, who approached me to do an illustration for her husband as a Father’s Day gift. Gary and Laura became proud parents of Oliver last year and this picture shows the pride that Gary has in his wonderful son.

I have done numerous portraits in my time, but very few, if any, has given me as much joy to do as this one. I think the fascination for me is that the image has captured a special moment, as Oliver goes to greet his father who has lifted him up. The joy on Oliver’s face and his cute smile were wonderful to create.

As the photograph I was given to work from was black-and-white or mono, the best medium to use, for me, was graphite pencils. I chose a harder pencil, primarily 2H, as I didn’t want any part of the picture to be too dark or black. The picture is tender and emotional and I felt the pencils used to create this should reflect that. So, all the B pencils were banned from this commission!

  Thank you, Laura, for allowing me to the share this special moment and to produce it in illustration form. I am very pleased to hear that Gary appreciated his Father’s Day gift and I hope Oliver was suitably impressed with it too 🙂 

Doris Day – a portrait in stippling

This is going to be a bit of a heartfelt blog post, so you have been warned (in the nicest possible way)… I was very sad to hear the news of Doris Day’s passing just a couple of weeks ago on Monday, 13^th May 2019. She has been my childhood and adult movie icon and the news of her death was a day that I really was not looking forward to. She lived to a good age and gave many people a lot of joy and laughter. She said she wanted her legacy to be her movies and for millions of people that is what they will remember.

Personally, I would like to thank Doris Day for all the letters I have received from her over the years (please see my earlier blog post for more details on that, as I don’t want to repeat myself to those who have already read it). I will treasure the letters and photographs that are in my possession and the wonderful memories that go with them. I was very touched by the amount of my friends who contacted me to ask how I was when the news of her death was announced. Thank you to all you who did that (you know who you are are).

My friend and colleague, Ashleigh Thompson, who is also a big fan of Miss Day’s movies and songs, asked me how I started writing to the Hollywood icon and I told her that I sent her some drawings back in the early 1980’s when I was little more than a child. When I got a reply from Doris Day, many weeks later, it was like winning the Lottery. She told me that she had auctioned off some of the portraits I had done for her (I can only imagine what they looked like way back then!) and that one of the buyers had been Frank Sinatra! I later thought he might have hung it in the garden shed, as my work was very ‘in its first flourish’ at the tender age of those very early portraits. The money raised from my drawings went, in her own words, to her ‘critters’ – the dogs and many other animals she took care of.

The illustration of Doris Day, above, was one of several movie star illustrations that I did for an exhibition (some of the other illustrations, such as Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly etc. have appeared on this blog on earlier postings). They were painstakingly done all in dots, which took many, many days to do, as ‘stippling by hand’ is not the quickest way to produce art. I gave the original illustration to one of my customers, Mr. Paul H. Spencer, who had been a lifelong fan of Doris Day. I knew it would be appreciated and cherished by him and it certainly is… There’s no better accolade for all the time and hours that have gone into a piece of art.

  Doris Day, actress, singer, comedienne and animal welfare activist, b: 3 April 1922 – d: 13 May 2019

Milly and Harper – Pet Portraits

I am always delighted when a customer returns to me for another commission.  It is an endorsement and validation that they appreciate the style and quality of my work and are happy to commission you to do another piece of artwork for themselves or a loved one.

Last year, Mrs Angela Rose had commissioned me to create a birth illustration for a young relative, with a collection of dinosaurs.  On this more recent occasion, she requested me to create a portrait illustration of her daughter’s two West Highland Terriers: Milly and Harper.  I prefer to take photographs of pets myself, whenever possible, so I went around to do a photoshoot of the two canine characters.  Both of these two dogs were in a rather soporific mood on a hot July day that they needed to look their best for the camera.  They were both very well groomed, but their sleepy moments were interspersed with bouts of running, racing and jumping, as Mrs Rose’s daughter, Amy, and myself strived to keep them awake whilst I took numerous photographs. 

I have to say that both Milly and Harper were adorable in different ways, but I have a ‘soft-spot’ for Harper who gently raised her nose to touch mine whilst introductions were being made. 

The illustration took a number of days to complete and required a background of fawn and soft browns to make Milly and Harper stand out.  Whenever I am drawing ‘white’ dogs I am amazed to discover all of the different colours that go to make up the fur.  These colours can include a range of browns, creams and fawns to name a few.

I handed over the finished commission to Mrs Rose and her husband, Ian, and they commented that the illustration was “spot on” and that Amy would be delighted with her personal and unique commissioned illustration. 

I later heard that Amy was delighted and the commission will soon be displayed on her living-room wall.  Thank you to the Roses and my other clients who return to me time-and-time-again for illustrations – it is very much appreciated.

Ingrid Bergman – A Portrait

Ingrid Bergman, Actress, b: 29 August 1915 – d: 29 August 1982

I remember watching movies starring Ingrid Bergman from being a child. I recall seeing her afraid of her husband’s suspicious behaviour in one black-and-white movie and the suspense it created within me. In all of her movies she seemed to possess a striking complexion of an almost luminous quality. I think there were very few actresses that had ‘that look’.

I’ve seen Ingrid Bergman, mostly, in the film ‘Casablanca’ with Humphrey Bogart and her flawless features, along with the famous line…”Of all the gin joints, in all the towns…” is one of the most memorable aspects of the movie.

Of course, I’ve seen many more of her movies, including ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s’ (1945), with Bing Crosby; ‘The Yellow Rolls Royce’ (1964), with its all-star cast and her very memorable characterisation of a children’s missionary worker in Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (1974).

This portrait of Ingrid Bergman, created by using very small dots, was done by-hand and took many hours of patient and careful work. It was one of a number of movie star portraits that were featured in a small, private exhibition in Liverpool. The feedback of the portraits was very good, at a time when I was just trying new techniques. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that I couldn’t quite bring myself to sell the majority of the pen-and-ink originals…

After I had typed all of the information, above, I looked up the name ‘Ingrid’ which is a Scandinavian name, derived from Old Norse. One of the interpretations of the name is ‘Beautiful and Fair’. With regard to Ingrid Bergman, it really couldn’t be more accurate…