Colored Pencil, Portrait Group Sketches

 

Stirrer Cowboy

 

I was sitting in bed examining this little figure and noticed the strong highlights and shadows caused by light coming from the window. So here is my marker pen and colored pencil rendition.

Camilla at the Beach

 I am dedicating this picture to Camilla, a young, expressive, Brazilian lady who engaged me in extended conversation after I remarked to her that there were jellyfish in the water. These particular jellyfish didn't seem to have much of a sting so I then tired to reassure her. When I told her it was my birthday she clapped her hands and congratulated me. Her English was not great but her exuberance made me smile.

  I did draw her from memory, but one thing I remembered was her luxuriant hair.

  The seagull is kind of an add on. I made a mistake with its beak so made it into a beard, then added a hat and more hair so it ended up being a Hassidic Jewish seagull!

  I am thinking of making a canvas painting from this picture but the seagull will revert to being a gentile!

                

Aztecs and Olmecs

 I have long had a fascination for Aztecs and other Mesoamerican civilizations. Recently I picked up an Aztec-related old paperback and decided to draw it and an Olmec pottery head which was among the photos. It includes my rambling notes that I could replace with more concise, easier to read, digital ones. However, I have kept the character of my visual journal.

 

Dog Village

 

Statue of Dogivity

 

The Cerberus Breakwater

 I drew this recently at Half Moon Bay, Melbourne.

Below are some photos off the Internet showing what it once looked like. I was made in 1868 and was part of Australia's Victorian navy.

  I also 

have more detail on my Quantrill's Toy Soldiers blog.

Ned Kelly, Australian Religious Icon - His Birth

 

Animal Alliteration

 

Phillip Island Holiday February 2026

  Visits to Phillip Island are, for me, the closest things to pilgrimages. My family had, from the 1960s to early 2000s, a block of land and, later, a holiday house at a quiet back beach called Ventnor. We went there every Summer, Easter and other times, staying in tents, caravans and plugging portable black and white TV to an extension cord to the electric pole so my grandparents could watch 'Homicide' and I could watch 'Doctor Who'. It is where, as a child, I learnt to swim, went on long beach walks, studied sea creatures (including a deadly blue ringed octopus I once collected on my metal spade!), discovered rabbits, koalas, lizards, spiders, beetles, frogs and even snakes visiting our tents and outdoor toilet and water tank. It was all tremendously exciting and the days in the sun seemed to stretch on for ever. As a teenager and young adult I also discovered romance there, but that is another story.

  These days I don't spend weeks on end at Phillip Island but occasionally make the trip by car or train, ferry and bicycle. Recently I made use of my credit card travel credits and stayed at the Sea Pavilions hotel, two nights. I spent some time on my favourite beaches and also made some drawings on Cowes foreshore. The old twisted oaks, juxtaposed with people, seagulls and dogs are a great backdrop for the sea and the pier.

  As a cartoonist and a sketcher I do notice humorous aspects and connotations and exaggerate or sometimes invent them.

  Below are my sketches of Cowes foreshore. The Asian lady in the hat saw my drawing and said: 'Can I give you some advice?' 

 "Sure".

 "Next time make me look 18!"

  The man feeding the seagulls was not really doing so but plenty of others did. We are not supposed to feed them as they outbreed other species.

  The cloud formations are approximate but the idea of them having eyes eating each other is my fanciful addition.

                             This is the same place with a green tint and different people,

    
The lifeguards had a quiet time with not a lot of people on the beach, although they did get to see me swim the length of the beach and under the pier and back. I am not a dog lover and I especially don't like 'stoopid' looking ones (except to draw 'em). I don't remember the reed but it was hairless except for long hair on the top of the head, the end of the tail and the ankles.

  There always seems to be the odd seagull with one leg. At first I thought it was doing the stalk thing, using one leg only. I often wonder how such birds lost their legs. Did a big fish or shark take it or did it lose it in a fight with another bird? I always feel sorry for them and I bet they get more food scraps than other gulls.

                                       Those seagulls are always gatecrashing the pictures.

Below is a sketch of Red Rock Beach. You probably didn't notice but the sea I made to look like a seal's head!

I am not a big fan of takeaway food but this time I made an exception. This local fish and chips shop and the tastiest flake I ever ate.

  I visited Ventnor Beach. It brings back cherished memories of loved relatives no longer alive. 

  The unmanned lighthouse is in the distance. The beach looks different from my childhood. A dune, once huge to my eyes as a small boy, is now scarcely a hillock. Tea-trees grow where there was once nothing. On the beach areas are roped off to protect nesting birds. This time there were signs saying not to disturb the seal which was 'resting'.

 No seal was present but there was a roped off area, an unsavory smell and some excrement. There was also a little mound of sand with some shells carefully laid on it. I suspected that the seal's 'rest' might be the permanent kind. I doubted that other seals had arranged the funeral; possibly some tearful children had covered the deceased marine mammal with sand and thoughtful decorations. Did they say a prayer and say what a good seal he had been, a wonderful son, father, brother, etc.? Anyhow, my artistic interpretation is more optimistic, although perhaps I should have provided said seal with a martini.

Doctor Who As Rasputin

 

Tom Baker did not only a great job as the Doctor but also as the charismatic and also notorious Rasputin. What if Tom Baker retained some Doctor features in the film? Maybe it is not so strange as Tom Baker spent six years as a monk.

Snakes Tongue Kissing

 This picture started as the reverse of a portrait of a lady. Some ink showed through wear her hair was. A friend asked what I would make THAT into, so here it is. I have other alliterating animal cartoons lurking in my brain.

Morticia Adams Pruning

 Yes, I know it is not a close resemblance as I drew this in my sketchbook when I did not have access to a picture of the lovely Morticia. However, the sketch was also inspired by my cousin's concept of garden pruning with an electric hedge trimmer and her colorful response when I suggested she might want to leave a few flowers.

  I always loved The Adams Family but my observation is that they were, ironically, a loving and relatively wholesome family and Morticia would never swear!

On The Trains

 

A Day At The Beach - Sandy Jellyfish Invasion

 As a keen swimmer I thought I might take advantage, at Sandringham beach, of the warm weather. However, after jumping in and swimming a few stokes I soon found out that the sea was swarming with jellyfish. After receiving several stings I made  hasty retreat to the sand.
    Instead I got my sketchbook out. yes, there is a LITTLE artistic licence.

Today I was sketching with the portrait group. Noela sat as our subject. The pictures were 20 minute sketches done over three hours. I used a few different styles, including caricature.

                                                      

                                                         Below: brush-pen caricature

                                                                  Naturalistic HB pencil

                                                                        Cartoon style

Naturalistic line brush-pen

Des Darvell Portrait With His Art As Background

 As a boy I had some very nice and interesting uncles. One of them was Uncle Des, my mother's only sibling. He was a 'dabbler'. Des did sign writing, managed art galleries and was a photographer. He also did abstract paintings I call 'splatter paintings' and pictures that combined his painting and photography. I decided to redo his portrait with one of his paintings in the background.

   I know that Des, if he was still alive would love to see this. He always encouraged me in my art.

Ned Kelly, Australian Icon

 Ned Kelly is a hero to many and a villain to others. He was a bushranger akin to America's outlaws, Jesse and Frank James. In both cases large elements of their communities helped them because of perceived injustices from the authorities.

  Sadly, it has been revealed that he probably never, on his pending hanging, remarked 'Such is life'. But it is the kind of thing that he would say.

  Below are three versions of my portrait of Ned.

      

Mind Your Fingers

 

Mrs Lawnmower Man (Staphny) & Her Special Toxic Spew

 

This picture and other cartoons are now available from Zazzle on t-shirts, mugs and caps.