Here's one of my old watercolours of irises and other flowers in my favourite blue-tinted glass jug. I must have forgotten to photograph the original before I framed it because there are reflections in the glass. Not too bad a photo though in spite of that.

Busy planting up the pots and containers in the garden so I can paint from them in the summer sunshine. This oil was sold in 2022 and most years I prop up my easel here for some new work.

Irises will soon be flowering in the garden (my watercolour). I need to dig them over and reposition them when they've finished as they're a bit neglected.

Pastel life drawing: model in a wing-backed chair

Rainy watercolour, tall but small (ideal for hanging in a narrow place) - found a buyer ages ago. This is Trinity Lane, Cambridge, with part of Gonville and Caius College on the left. Not a scene that ever changes.

A Cambridge watercolour drawing with people gathering in Trinity Lane. King's College chapel is in the background and the gates of Clare College lead to the right (I've often drawn them from various angles)

A summer oil painting of my garden from 2021.

One of my Portsmouth pre-Dip art college life drawings in charcoal from 60 years ago so I was 17. Brings back poignant memories. The tutor was John Bowstead who was great, very inspiring and good fun. His details are in this link artuk.org/discover/art...

Life drawing, model sitting on a blue patterned cloth, pastel.

A life drawing session in pastel

After about 50 yrs of life drawing (i.e. the "undraped figure" as it used to be termed) I have many drawings done when the model didn't turn up and members of the class took turns with their clothes on. I'm rather pleased with this quick pastel of one such volunteer (see alt text)

Clare College Bridge Gate, watercolour and Indian ink (sold)

Thank you to someone who advised me that @henryshaw1.bsky.social is posting my posts as if they are from his own account. Having had similar problems in the past it might be that this is some kind of bot and not a real person. Anyway, I advised moderation so I hope he/it will disappear soon.

just this week: -- OpenAI killed Sora -- Disney subsequently cancelled its investment in OpenAI -- Wikipedia is now banning LLM-generated content ...tell me again how this is all "inevitable" and you have to "get on board or get left behind"?

Burnham-Overy-Staithe in Norfolk, watercolour and indian ink, from a couple of decades ago but a very memorable day's sketching. A beautiful place.

My pastel of the Pitt Club in Cambridge from 25 years ago. I don't know if I still have this one (it might have sold). An example of me looking for subject-matter that might boost my very depleted bank account at the time! See alt text

Rather a speckly old photo of my watercolour drawing of the clock tower in Newmarket. I did this as a commission for a race horse owner via a gallery in 1993. I painted it on the spot, leaving out all the traffic. I hope it's still hanging somewhere. #Newmarket #clocktower #enpleinair

An old watercolour of mine, painted at Aysgarth in the Yorkshire Dales in 1982. I think this is known as the High Force. Sold at an exhibition in a pub outside Cambridge (I don't know who has it now - another one I'm sorry to have let go!) #enpleinair #Yorkshire

A pastel done in my garden. On the left is a statue made from pieces of driftwood on an iron rod with a rusty metal base. On the right is a plastic dragon on the bough of a crab apple tree. It has been tied on there for decades, gradually disintegrating.

Fiddlers in the pub, mixed media painting #fiddles #violins #guinness #jigsandreels

Another mixed media painting of musicians. This one depicts an Irish music session at a wedding in Anstey Hall near Cambridge. The bride who is a flute and whistle player is in yellow (though in fact it was more off-white). I gave the painting to the bride and groom.

I think I will repost some of my musician paintings and drawings. This one is in mixed media and is based on a couple of pub music sessions which I used to attend. More to come later. #IrishMusic #jigsandreels #pubtunes #mixedmedia

Party-goers in evening finery, watercolour

Two portraits of the same young woman from a life drawing session. These are done with watercolour and ink on paper primed with gesso and it produces a strange effect as the watercolour dries on the surface without sinking in.

Pembroke Street, Cambridge, a small oil painting on board

Life drawing with male model (from an archive folder), pastel and Conté stick.

Portrait sketched in pencil at a life drawing session. I don't remember the name of this gentleman but he was great to draw. I recently posted another one from the same session.

Watercolour of the River Cam near Duxford on a very windy day in 2017. The trees were groaning because of the wind but the weather warning came too late to put us off visiting so we carried on regardless. On a later visit I gave this painting to the lady of the house as the property was being sold

Pastel from two years ago depicting my garden including a fairly invisible figure reading. Hoping for a similar profusion of growth and colour this year.

Evening punting on the river beside Darwin College, Cambridge, pastel.

Watercolour drawing of a copse of trees beside the River Cam with a few rare breed sheep and there might be some geese in there too.

Pencil sketch on grey paper of two girls sitting on a sofa.

St Clement's Church in Cambridge with a couple of punt touts in shorts having a chat, mixed media sketch.

This is an old watercolour of mine on a sheet of royal paper (20×25 inches) painted on location at Wandlebury country park near Cambridge in the '80s. It was bought by someone who was very keen to have it and it's one of the paintings I'm most sorry to have parted with.

Dear #Flickr, I love using your site but please don't keep asking me for age verification. I have been a member for over 20 years so I can't possibly be under 18 (I am a lot older!)

A watercolour from a visit back to Portsmouth in 1991: I did quite a lot of painting during that stay. Note the old gentleman on the left with his encampment of awnings and barrels. Managed to incude a couple of seagulls. #Portsmouth #watercolour #pleinair

One of my many drawings from around Portsmouth's Camber Docks (just happens to be in the same folder as others recently posted). I'm pleased with the structural composition of this. Haven't been back for a long time and doubt I will now.

While I'm on the subject of Southsea, here's a watercolour I did sitting on the slope near Southsea Castle in 1995. The building in the centre is the D-Day Museum and the the tall war memorial is on the left. Portsmouth cathedral is on the skyline to the right #Southsea #watercolour

Round about the same time as I did the preceding drawing I was sketching the view from the window of our temporary Southsea flat. Here's one of them and two interesting things: the strange object on top of the telegraph pole is a WW2 air raid siren and there are swifts in the sky!

Tony was a nice guy, harmless but somewhat incapable of looking after himself. He was an artist and we have one of his drawings. I later heard that he had died. I did this drawing of him in our flat in Southsea 50 years ago.

Life drawing of a woman resting her chin on her palm, watercolour and Indian ink. I do have an almost infinite supply of these but that's all for today. I'll have a look through old portfolios as I want to find more portraits some of which might not have been photographed.

My pencil portrait of a bearded man with a pony tail posing at a life drawing group some years ago

Pencil portrait of Rosemarie. This would have been from more than 20 years ago.

Another portrait drawn from life in watercolour. I have always done portraits but only rarely as commissions.

Life drawn portrait in ink and watercolour

Pencil portrait drawn from life. Tony was the model (from an archive folder).

One of my portraits from a life drawing group. This is Beth who modelled for us frequently in the '90s. Indian ink and watercolour wash. #drawfromlife

One of my May Week Cambridge street scenes with ink, watercolour and touches of oil pastel. That's Trinity College chapel on the right and behind that is a little bit of St John's

Watercolour of flowers, leaves and a couple of pears. I think vases like the brown one at the front are made from bottles by heating.

Life drawing of man with beard, watercolour and Indian ink (always with a dip pen)