Further ramblings of a self-made pauper

Despite some ropy scripts courtesy Russell T Davies, there have been some excellent moments for the Tenth Doctor over the past few years - primarily thanks to Steven Moffat. It's a pity we couldn't have had one full season with Tennant under the supervision of Moffat and the new team.

But hey ho.

Anyway, the fanboy in me wouldn't let the impending regeneration go by without me drawing and posting up a portrait of the out-going Doctor, and since today is my last day at home before going back to work (albeit for 2 days):




Image ©2009 Bryan Lea

The picture was sketched in pencil, scanned and then worked on in Paint Shop Pro. I could have carried on fiddling, but I wanted to keep some atmosphere to the picture and I have a tendency to over do it if I don't tell myself to stop and stand back...

Hope you like it.

I’ve found some excellent warship art prints on eBay, and have taken the opportunity to pick up three quite splendid pictures; two of HMS Warspite – one depicting the ship in heavy seas, about to attempt the ramming of a U-Boat whilst on its way home for repairs after the Battle of Jutland, the other in Narvik Fjord, 1940 bombarding fleeing German ships and one of an anti aircraft destroyer, HMS Egret on arctic convoy duty.

Hidden Menace Narvik Dusk Gathers

It turns out that the chap selling the prints is also the artist and he emailed me to tell me that his printer had broken down and that the second two of the prints would be delayed until next week. He offered to refund my money if I couldn’t wait, or as a gesture of goodwill, a couple of A4 size prints for free from his catalogue ( www.warshipart.com ). So that’s what I have gone for.

As it happens, I was in the shower when the first print arrived this morning, so I couldn’t take delivery. I shall have to collect it tomorrow morning. I need some frames now, I guess.

I don’t seem to be able to dispense with the nautical theme today. I was mooching about on teh intarweb last night and came across some art prints of various Royal Navy ships, primarily but not exclusively, dreadnoughts of the First World War. I think that I am going to have to treat myself to one of the cheaper reproductions in the near future. You wouldn’t believe the prices some of them fetch (or more precisely the prices they try to charge), particularly the bigger ones. If the picture is a limited edition print – actually printed, numbered and signed by the artist, it’s not so bad, but for what amounts to a photograph of the artwork that just happens to be printed on reasonable quality heavy paper…

Well.

So anyway, I may take a trip down to the Imperial War Museum on Wednesday and take a look around. With luck they may have some reasonably sized and priced prints, or at least be able to provide pointers to where I can get something at a reasonable price.

I have been (especially) interested in naval history and warships since I was about 8 when someone (Mum, probably) bought me an Airfix model of HMS Victorious. It’s one of those interests that just sprung up and never went away. I’m less interested in modern warships, powerful as they may be, visually they are blando di tutti blandi; not enough twiddly bits, see?

If I can find a good print of HMS Warspite, I shall be in hog heaven. Failing that, a good picture of any of her sisters of the Queen Elizabeth class would do. Or the “Mighty Hood”.

I have seen this nice pair of HMS Barham and HMS Royal Oak at Jutland that would fit the bill.


HMS Barham and the 5th Battle Squadron, Jutland 1916


HMS Royal Oak at Jutland 1916

or this:


HMS Warspite and HMS Ramilles, off Normandy, June 1944.

Fantastic.

Back at the Athenaeum Club and it's probably time I turned the radiator back on. The mild spell has disappeared in a splash of mid-winter caprice, and my observation that central heating made The Tower too hot was probably a little premature. The old tootsies are a little chilly (putting socks on would help, but what's a lazy bloke to do?).

I got back from Yule in Foxton yesterday, about five-ish to find an already returned Beastie in the middle of a rather uncharacteristic bout of tidying up. My first inclination was to apologise for the intrusion and go back out on to the street and go to the proper house, but that passed.

My return was a little earlier in the day than I originally intended, spurred on by the severe weather warning issued by the Met Office. Three millimetres of snow and a partial thaw later, I am wondering quite what the urgency was; I've spilt talc deeper than the snow we've had, and over a wider area. Doubtless Niclas, the co-Godfather of my God Daughter with whom we all spent Christmas, is wondering if it was all some kind of bizarre practical joke as he prepares to travel back to Stockholm today. Still, they get several metres of the stuff every year. We may get a foot or so every twenty, so I'd be a bit miffed if the council spent a fortune on snow-clearing equipment which will still only have 500 miles on the clock in thirty years time.

A little later on I am going down into Finchley to try and get hold of a drawing board and some decent pencils. I have found that I cannot get on with drawing flat on the table, I have got used to shifting the picture around to strange angles while I draw to make life easier. A table is a little big for such shenanigans, though indispensable in other ways. I have several sets of drawing pencils, but I'm damned if I can find them just when I want them, so it's time to acquire more. They're not expensive. I'm not sure my small supply of sugar paper survived the move from Clapham, but I still have several pads of cartridge paper, so that will do until I get down the West End next where I can get supplies from Cass Arts or the London Graphic Centre. Probably the former, as the latter seem to be convinced that true art can only be produced through poverty and charge prices designed to ensure the continuance of the would-be artist's bohemian living conditions. They do have a cracking selection of stuff, though, and I still haven't acquired the Japanese calligraphy brush I'm after, so...

Right, that's it for now. I've just had an email from ebay telling me that someone has outbid me on the Lennon-style shades I was after. Judging by the price they've bid, I imagine that they must think they're buying a pair worn by the man himself. Good luck to them; I'll search for a cheaper set.

Later, kids.