Sam is a Siamese. He’s twenty years old and is, sadly ‘near to his time’. He makes his way about very carefully. He likes the warm tarmac near my studio and often lies there in the sun. I explained to a young person who was looking at Sam, that in cat years he is 140. Sam can’t see much, but he knows we are there.
Sketch of Sam the Siamese by Alan Dedman
This is a portrait sketch by Alan Dedman of a man contemplating the fate of his enemy. The brooding malevolence expressed through the sitter’s eyes, the pale blue and cold light – indicate the lack of compassion about such a moment. The technique, chalk and pen was often used by past masters of the Baroque and Renaissance. Broad slashes of chalk allow the build up of form and suggest chiarascuro while the sudden impact of the pen asserts the character.
Portrait of a man contemplating the fate of his enemy by Alan Dedman
Additionally, I’ve decided to sketch some chickens. Chickens are quite fashionable at the moment, what with the recession. A good source of ‘much better than what you’d get in a supermarket’ quality eggs. We get some from mother-in-law and they are completely different to the one’s we get in a large local supermarket. The yolks are cadmium yellow, deep. Whereas the shop ones are usually a weak tint of yellow ochre and don’t taste of much. Anyway, chickens are hard enough to sketch. No better than horses, they look at you funny and they move around all the time. They do however, have a simple basic shape, which helps.
Quick sketch of chickens by Alan Dedman
Thomas was a charming kitten I’m sure. I knew him as a full grown ginger tom. He was awkward, to be honest. I learned this whilst cat sitting on his behalf. Nevertheless, I managed to sketch him a few times. So here is another sketch by Alan Dedman on the theme of animals. For more cat studies go to: www.feline-artofcats.co.uk or www.alan-dedman-artist.co.uk
Thomas the kitten sketched by Alan Dedman
Now on the theme of animals – these cows were in a field near Hurstpierpoint, so I sketched them. They stayed still longer than the grazing horses. But I was drawing the horses for reference which changes the way I work. Drawing cows isn’t easier, getting the appearance anywhere near right is a challenge. But cows are more sedate, less frisky and slower moving. I do a good line in cats, having originally drawn them for friends and family. See: www.feline-artofcats.co.uk for these or for general artworks see: www.alan-dedman-artist.co.uk
Cows sketched by Alan Dedman
And now for something completely different: today I have been sketching a horses back end- literally. I have to do this for some work I’m engaged in, involving horses. But the bit I needed to refresh my visual awareness about was the rear end or haunches of these charming creatures. So I stood in a field (having asked the farmer’s permission) on a beautiful afternoon and tried to get two horses to pose for me. But they kept moving about! And eating my sketching gear. Never mind.
Sketch of a horses back end by Alan Dedman
There is an ongoing debate about breast feeding, it was happening at the time when our baby was born. My partner couldn’t do it – too painful she said. She tried though and here is a very quick sketch of this taking place. Not a great study but it has caught the moment.
Breast feeding sketched by Alan Dedman
This is a rare example of early computer drawing, done around 1989 by my girlfriend, Cathy. Cathy had one breast larger than the other (Poland’s Syndrome), not that I noticed. She eventually confided that she had been sexually abused by her father and brother. So what? So:- the nature of this drawing expresses the perversity, resident in her, expressed through humour – which we shared. The attitude of the sketch is brave in the way it presents her hang-ups about herself, so boldly. It was the first time she had useda ‘WIMP’ computer system to draw. Done on one of those cute early AppleMac’s using MacDraw, after hours in the medical school at St. Thomas’.
Booby sketched by Cathy
These moments are experienced by us all, noted by some. Sketching a newborn as they have their first days in the world is something which you do automatically: if you’ve been brought up to it. This is a particularly close and intimate sketch of our newborn on his mother’s breast, sleeping peacefully. Babies can’t really make sense of their world at this stage in their development, they have to trust their parents. This sketch has an emotional charge for me. www.alan-dedman-artist.co.uk
Three days young sketched by Alan Dedman
I’ve made drawings of our child at various stages. This is a quick sketch, done from observation, whilst he was playing. I capture the essence of the pose in line and we can see the difference between an infants form and that of an adult. At the Royal Academy Schools there is a glass cabinet with a series of skeletons which have been preserved to show anatomical differences as a human being grows – though macabre, it can help to have this ‘inside’ knowledge when drawing the human form.
Boy playing sketched by Alan Dedman