Is it a Bird?

This was a sketch I did for a friend in Aussie land, a bit of an illustrative flying robin. The interesting cut off look on the lower wing is cus I only have a photo of it and so the quality ain't great so I did a bit of quick photoshop and I think it does the trick to an extent =)

Down Like Silver

I enjoy Peter Bradley Adams music and this is his latest project, a collaboration with Caitlan Canty. I thought I'd share this discovery with you, pretty chilled, relaxing music. Check out this link if you want to listen to a few more of the songs they've done, a good six songs so if you like it give the rest a go http://downlikesilver.bandcamp.com

To Carve a Pumpkin

My first try at carving out a pumpkin and I thought I'd stick with the classic scary face, sticking to the basics on the first go. We were all doing it as a small group so it was a great evening of fun =). 

Lewis

Another simple pen drawing of Lewis a mate from architecture. Portraiture is pretty much my thing, I love catching the expressions of people on paper and somehow art whether drawn or painted adds something different compared to just a photo. That extra addition or sometimes the subtraction of something captures my attention and interest. 

A Nottingham Lad

This is Jake Bugg and he's from nottingham, so that's pretty cool in itself. Which means he'll be playing in Nottingham at times which will mean I could very well have the chance to see him and I just checked his myspace and he's performing at glee so that's something to consider. I enjoy his really nice plucking and his voice is a little different from the usual, it's got a nice folkiness to it. It's a short but good song.

Wedding Invitation

My brother got married to the amazing Taryn a couple of summers ago, and they asked me to design and paint a wedding invitation for them. They gave me the ideas they had and a few pics and I had a lot of fun painting the two of them on tandem bikes and then doing the general drawn parts around it. The top is the front cover which opened up in the middle to reveal the words inside. It was a very fun project and I was happy they liked the finished piece =)

INDIA =)

As the next post will be the wedding invitation I did for my brothers' wedding in Delhi, I thought I'd put up some amazing hindi music. This song is just so good, I love it, it probably does more for those who have been to India before but I think it's still worth a listen. A beautiful piece of music.

1000 VIEWS =)

Whoop whoop, it's awesome to know that people have been looking at my blog and appreciating it over the past few weeks, and that there have been 1000 visits is pretty cool. So if I was able to do an expression like this I would, sort of shock, surprise, a bit of scariness ok maybe I would have a little bit more of a smile going on but you get the idea. I thought I'd share this amazing portrait of Noelle with you =). I'm sure she's ok with that.
Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting
I appreciate it all

Dom

Sketch of Dom, nice and simple pen drawing. 

Gold & Silver

Some new music i have stumbled across, supporting ben howard in december here in nottingham. It's a good acoustic song.

Celebrating the Light

This is a painting and chalk piece I did of a friend from school, not the best copy of it though it's quite hard to get a good digital copy, but it's alright. It was in the same theme of hope as my self portrait. The Celebration of finding that which is beautiful and amazing. The light dawns and you are full of joy and thanksgiving, you raise your hands and laugh, your happiness overflows. 

What a GIG

Saw them live last night, a pretty crazy gig, very lively crowd indeed. Got to see the band from all sorts of different angles. Finished the night pretty far from where we started it. But an awesome evening, definitely going to remember it. They played this song, it was definitely the most quiet one of the night and it has Lucy Rose in it to so that's cool. She was also very good last night, really enjoyed her set.

Hope

This is a painted piece I did a while back, probably about A1 in size so pretty big. It's a self portrait, when i was once clean shaven, and i painted it to communicate the idea of Hope. Of finding something to trust and believe in, that gives you direction and strength. 

I Can Move Mountains

A 12 stringed guitar, I haven't seen someone perform with one of them in a long time. Well I just found this guy yesterday and I'm trying to find more about him, though I think he's quite upcoming so just starting to get stuff out there. He's a theology graduate so that means his songs have some very interesting lyrics in there. He also recommended a band called the The Soil & the Sun, which is a very interesting band. Enjoy

Scattered Frequency

The sounds of the city

 scattering chaotically through

 its voids and spaces.

 Around buildings and through levels. 

They give it character and form, 

they let you know where you are

 and what surrounds you. 

The life of the city is always heard.

Young and Free

It's good to see some amazing young talent. Just a piano and her voice, that's all you need. Beautiful

Varanasi

I went to Varanasi last summer. For five days, five days that were far more eventful than I ever expected. More surprising and joyful than I had imagined. This work was done as a way to remember those five days, specifically for Noelle =) 

A Boat

What a voice, I get to hear that voice on Wednesday live. I can't wait.

Fleeting Tranquility

This is a piece I did for a Conceptual drawing project last year. This is the explanation that went with it
 'The moments of beauty and happiness,
 of repose and thoughtfulness.
 Like being held in a frame that only lasts ever so briefly 
before it moves away.
 The city holds a story of these
 like a series of frames attached to one another 
as peoples lives pass by.
 Through the spaces of the city.'

Men can Harmonise

Another band that I came across on 'watchlistentell', and I nearly went to see them for free in London when I was one of the first to reply to an email from them, but yeah travelling to London unluckily wasn't free so it didn't quite happen, but I think I'm going to get to see them play before Bombay bicycle club, so that should be great. I love this song because the band all sing together, they harmonise and their voices create such a lovely sound. Its so good when a whole band create a sound together through instruments but also through voices it adds so much to a song. 

Through the Haze

This is a portrait of Kara, and I just loved the wide eyed expression framed by the winter hat tied over her chin. It caught my eye and i thought it really worked well into this composition with the dribbling paint which give it a slightly chilly and wintery feel. She stares through cold blue haze. 

I Don't Care What The People May Say

I found out about Lucy Rose a while back when I saw her on 'watchlistentell', doing one of her songs called 'nightbus' and it was really good but since then I pretty much forgot about her. But I was doing a little bit of youtube surfing, I once thought youtube was lame for music I now think its great if you find the right channels there are some beautiful live performances on them with such great artists, and I found her again and I really liked this song. The channel is alright, I have to say its not going to make me buy Allsaints products, but just get past the opening intro and to the song and then listen and enjoy. I also think lucy rose is going to be supporting bombay bicycle club when i go see them, so I'm really happy about that.

Site Sketch

When I was wandering through London looking for a site last year, I came across London Bridge and the space beneath it where the river path passes under it. I loved the atmosphere that I found down there, the river below the city above, church bells were ringing, there was someone singing nearby, people jogging by, boats passing beneath, the light reflecting off the river below. So I chose that site for my project and I did this sketch of one of the lamps under the bridge.

Iron & Wine

The lyrics that come out of Iron & Wine songs are always a mixture of beautiful poetry and lines that leave you wondering about their meaning and depth, maybe a little confused but they get you thinking. I think this is a great music video to go with the song, not so much in terms of relevant content but just a great idea that goes with the feel of the music. 

CD Cover

I made a mixed cd for my girlfriend, Noelle, and this was its cover. I used the left hand side for the blog image as it captures the idea of it all, with the addition of tea =).  The tea glass is a traditional turkish glass that you would get when you ordered tea in any cafe in the country, well at least in istanbul, and it was very good tea as well.

Foster Trio

I just found out about Marcus Foster a week or two ago and I'm really enjoying his music. It seems that he's just starting to make a name for himself this year with a complete album coming out and going on tour, which includes nottingham so I'm hoping to catch him then, would be amazing. His music and voice are soulful and poetic and he's definitely worth a listen.

Potter =)

This is a portrait I did of a friend a while back. I did it in pen like most things I've put up so far, and I had some fun with the hair, decided that I was a little bored of standard hair so I made it a little funky =). 

Sophia

Each time I listen to a new album by Laura Marling, I have to step back and prepare myself for something new and quite different. This album is no different, the first couple of times I attempted to listen to it I didn't warm to it very easily. But after encouragement from a friend that it was well worth it, I gave it another shot and I'm happy I did. It's got some great songs in there, and such beautiful lyrics. So I'd recommend her new album, it'll grow on you =)

Bed of Grass

A couple of older sketchs I did in pen. Some friends (josh r, pranav m, esther t) in Australia took some great pics of themselves having fun in the thick grass, lying in it, jumping into it, enjoying the bed that it created beneath them. I loved the pics so I thought I would draw them out a bit and put a little bit of style and my own spin on them. I thought they turned out pretty good. Enjoy =)

A Take Away Show

I love this type of music video, where it's just some great musicians with their instruments out in a city somewhere doing what they do. No full show with lights and stage, just the backdrop of people wandering by and stopping to listen. I hope one day I get to be there when one happens. Enjoy, and check out this youtube channel to it's got some class music.