casa del ajo

Illustration Friday 081211 : Swell

2011-08-14T00:34:00.003Z

Miriam thought being pregnant was just swell.
(Click on the picture to see it full-size.)

Illustration Friday 040811 : Bottled (2)

2011-04-15T02:08:00.002Z

The morning after the night before. We encountered this character and his two even-worse-for-wear mates early one Sunday morning in Newcastle, down by the Tyne. They all insisted on having their pictures taken, so...

Click on the image to see it at full size.

Illustration Friday 040811 : Bottled

2011-04-10T19:40:00.003Z

OK, I confess, this is a rerun from 4 years ago, but it is one of my favorites, so there! I'll try to do something new when I have more time in a couple of days...

Anyway, this is an ink bottle from a company in Buffalo, New York - one of many that I've picked up from junk shops and flea markets. (Click the image to see it full size.)

Illustration Friday 012811 : Surrender

2011-02-02T21:50:00.004Z

Reg surrendered to his germs, and spent the whole day in his jimjams...

And he's not the only one ;)
(Click the image to see it full size.)

Illustration Friday 012111 : Dusty

2011-01-26T04:46:00.004Z

Old woman waits
Tolerates the span of existence which remains
Watches the dust particles dance
In patterns of confusion
Relives a life not her own

(poem I wrote when I was 16, published in my high school art-literary magazine 40 years ago)

Click the image to see it full-size.

Illustration Friday 120310 : Prehistoric

2010-12-10T04:24:00.003Z

Inspired by 4800 year old Cycladic figurines I saw at the British Museum - very stylized depictions of women, all with the same crossed-arms pose. (Didn't have the time this week to put something together, so this is a previous entry - Primitive - re-visited.)

Illustration Friday 111910 : Sneaky

2010-11-21T00:32:00.007Z

Heading to the kitchen for a midnight snack, Ursula thought it best to let sleeping dog(s) lie...
(Click on the image to see it full size)

Illustration Friday 111210 : Burning

2010-11-15T01:22:00.003Z

Venus on the (small) half shell
Every summer it becomes painfully obvious that many Brits still consider turning fluorescent pink as the sign of a good holiday - ouch!
(Click on the image to see it full size)

Illustration Friday 101210 : Beneath

2010-10-01T21:59:00.010Z

Beneath Stuart's curmudgeonly exterior lay the heart of... a curmudgeon.

I've been away from IF for a long time, but am now hoping to remedy that, having recently taken early retirement - and escaped the stresses of working with the office curmudgeon (who bears no particular resemblance to Stuart ;).

Illustration Friday 111309 : Unbalanced

2009-11-19T02:40:00.004Z

...all of which possibly explains why I sling a 16 pound rucksack onto my back before going to work most mornings.

If you don't know who Ivor Cutler was, I recommend you look him up; he was a one-of-a-kind performance poet with a truly unique and highly amusing take on the world.

Illustration Friday 103009 : Skinny

2009-11-05T23:08:00.003Z

The first size zero/waif/supermodel, Twiggy. This is a portrait I drew in 1967, when I was 12. (After some 40 years of less than optimum storage conditions, it's a bit creased and blotchy - not unlike its creator!)

Illustration Friday 081409 : Wrapped

2009-08-14T23:09:00.004Z

The 'long-neck women' of Burma and Thailand have adorned themselves with brass spirals that are wrapped around their necks, from the age of 5 or 6. While it makes for a striking appearance, and no doubt gives the women themselves some income as tourist attractions, the practice must surely affect their ability to function... not unlike some other 'cultural practices' to which girls and women have been subjected (female circumcision and foot-binding, anyone?). Sometimes, tradition has a lot to answer for.

Illustration Friday 070309 : Shaky

2009-07-04T22:22:00.003Z

Jealousy makes a shaky foundation for a relationship...

Illustration Friday 052209 : Cracked

2009-05-23T02:43:00.004Z

I took pottery evening classes for over 3 years, but never succeeded in making anything bigger than 4 inches tall. My first (and better) teacher told us to *look* at and draw pots, to get a sense of how they were made and the variations that existed. This was one of a series that I drew back in 1992.

Illustration Friday 040309 : Talisman

2009-04-05T18:18:00.003Z

Horace adjusted his lucky tie before going into the board meeting... but got his ass whupped anyway.

Illustration Friday 022009 : Instinct

2009-02-22T04:58:00.002Z

In times of trouble, an Englishperson's first instinct is to make a cup of tea...

Illustration Friday 013009 : Flawed

2009-02-01T23:53:00.003Z

"If the President does it, it's not illegal."

Having recently seen Frost/Nixon, what else could I do?

Illustration Friday 010209 : Resolve

2009-01-03T20:12:00.004Z

All his business training led to this point, as Harrison was faced with a momentous dilemma that only he could resolve - cheesecake? or profiteroles? The success of the company's Christmas party hung in the balance...

Illustration Friday 121908 : Voices

2008-12-19T23:30:00.003Z

The voices told Arnold the time was nigh, when he would assume his rightful place as King of Persia.

Illustration Friday 112808 : Balloon

2008-12-01T22:42:00.005Z

After two months, Duncan was forced to concede that balloon animals wouldn't be the making of him.

Illustration Friday 110708 : Wise

2008-11-13T02:25:00.003Z

Judges are meant to be wise, but sometimes their knowledge of contemporary culture (or lack thereof) and their attitudes towards gender, ethnicity or sexuality lead to questionable decisions.

Despite recent efforts to modernize the attire of British judges, it looks like the horsehair wigs and red robes will carry on making courtrooms look like BBC costume dramas...

Illustration Friday 091908 : Clique

2008-09-21T02:00:00.002Z

Being excluded hurts, but is being one of the herd really so much fun?

Illustration Friday 053008 : Baby

2008-06-01T01:51:00.002Z

The egg and I have always been in agreement...

Illustration Friday 052308 : Worry

2008-05-24T10:19:00.002Z

I'd originally posted this sketch a couple of years ago for another IF topic. But, I'm worried that nobody ever saw it... having uploaded it on a Friday morning a mere 30 minutes before the topic changed...

Illustration Friday 050908 : Electricity

2008-05-12T23:59:00.003Z

Bummer - I've suggested "Electric" and "Electricity" as topics for IF some 6 or 7 times over the last two years, only for someone else to get the "glory" (and the extra page views)...

Our 8th grade science teacher, Mr. Ronnie "You bark at the moon" Black, was inspiring and terrifying in equal measure. When the time came to drag the Van de Graaf generator out of the closet for a demonstration of static electricity, he found the perfect victim in Diana Cooper - owner of the longest (in reality, long enough to sit on), palest hair in the class. I'll never forget her startled expression - and how deeply she blushed - when her hair took flight.

Illustration Friday 041808 : Primitive

2008-04-20T01:24:00.002Z

Inspired by the 4800 year old Cycladic figurines I saw at the British Museum last week - very stylized depictions of women, all with the same crossed-arms pose.

Illustration Friday 032808 : Homage II

2008-04-02T23:59:00.002Z

So, despite having paid homage to the distinctly modern Julian Opie in my last post, my artistic heroes are actually the Dutch/Flemish/German portrait painters of the 15th and 16th centuries: Memling, Holbein and, of course, Albrecht Durer. I painted this miniature in watercolors (leaning a bit too heavily towards the yellow) in 1984, after Durer's portrait of Oswald Krell. I was really pleased with the fur and the velvet at the time...

Illustration Friday 032808 : Homage

2008-03-30T02:51:00.005Z

This is a self-portrait in the style of Julian Opie, he of the Best of Blur portraits. Particularly recommended if you want to forget about your wrinkles...

A post script: have been playing with more "homages", and the result is this diptych, in honor of our 20th anniversary yesterday.

Illustration Friday 031408 : Heavy

2008-03-21T01:12:00.004Z

You always see them at airport carousels - those battered, cloth-covered suitcases that look like they've been doing overtime carrying a couple dozen gold bars half way 'round the world. Invariably, they belong to little old ladies who are incapable of lifting them off the carousel and onto a trolley. And, also invariably, when I step in to help them, I then spot my own bag moving just out of reach...

Illustration Friday 022208 : Multiple

2008-02-25T02:03:00.003Z

All the vitamins, minerals and placebos you'll ever need, in one medium-sized pill...

Just having a go at 3D in Illustrator, after a long absence.

Illustration Friday 122107 : Horizon

2007-12-24T03:52:00.000Z

Just playing around, as I have neither the time nor inspiration to do more this week.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Illustration Friday 110207 : Hats

2007-11-04T02:42:00.001Z

Young man with hat...

Illustration Friday 101207 : Extremes

2007-10-18T01:14:00.001Z

Elliot's response to cold callers (like his taste in textiles) tended toward the extreme...

Illustration Friday 100507 : Open

2007-10-10T11:05:00.001Z

Have just been listening to a guest on Radio 4's Women's Hour exhorting us all to wash less in order to save water...

Illustration Friday 083107 : Alphabet

2007-09-07T08:45:00.000Z

A contemporary alphabet: C is for crumpled coke can with crisps at the curbside

Have been away from IF for too long a time...

Illustration Friday 062907 : Twist

2007-07-01T22:32:00.000Z

Having grown up near the shore, I do miss being able to beachcomb. (The weather here in England has been absolutely appalling this summer and, in any case, the nearest beach is more likely to turn up beer cans and condoms than shells...)

Illustration Friday 050407 : Neighbor

2007-05-06T01:44:00.000Z

Neighbor... from hell. Here in the UK, we have something called an ASBO, the intent of which is to protect the community from the anti-social behavior of an increasing contingent of lunkheads, in part by 'naming and shaming' them. Most often, said lunkheads are male, 14-25 year old NEETs and/or Chavs, who, rather than being shamed, 'wear' their ASBOs as a badge of honor.

I hasten to add that I've never had a neighbor quite this bad, though a couple have come close on memorable occasions.

Speaking of occasions, this post marks my one-year anniversary as an IF contributor!

Illustration Friday 042707 : Remember

2007-05-01T23:39:00.000Z

Only time for something quick, but timely, this week. The shadier corners of my garden are full of forget-me-nots and bluebells right now, two of my three favorite flowers. Still have a couple of months until the daisies put in an appearance though...

Illustration Friday 042007 : Polar

2007-04-26T23:23:00.000Z

These boots were made for waiting... Someone must have cold tootsies.

Illustration Friday 040607 : Green

2007-04-12T23:13:00.000Z

It's been a grueling couple of weeks, and I probably should have spent the time doing other things, but green is my favorite color and playing with Illustrator is absorbing and relaxing and has taken my mind off of less pleasant stuff, so...

This is an 1890-ish ink bottle produced for the Larkin Ink Company of Buffalo, New York that I picked up in an Aladdin's cave of an antique shop along Seneca Lake owned by a friend of a friend. Have to get back there sometime to add a few new bottles to my collection...

Illustration Friday 033007 : Snap

2007-04-03T23:46:00.000Z

When I was just starting school, a suburban Long Island childhood was defined by a handful of specific toys: a hula hoop, a little red wagon, Silly Putty and pop-beads. I remember having a couple of long strands that were constantly being "re-styled", noisily. And, minus the crackle, one person's pop is another's snap...

Illustration Friday 030907 : Wired

2007-03-09T23:47:00.000Z

This is a small section of a large illustration (below) I've been working on this week for 'Hazards in the Home', an RLO intended for students at a local FE college. Fitting everything required into 700 x 560 px has been a helluva challenge! (Maybe you can spot the eight hazards without animation and hot spots to help you!)

Illustration Friday 030207 : Hide

2007-03-04T18:21:00.000Z

Agatha always said that her time in the Territorial Army had taught her a thing or two about effective camouflage.

This reminds me of our house when we moved in umpteen years ago - decked head to toe in Laura Ashley floral. Initially, money was a bit tight, so it took a very long time to get rid of it all...

Illustration Friday 021607 : Gravity

2007-02-19T00:38:00.000Z

Derek and Trev spent many happy hours discussing the specific gravity of their favourite brew.

(With apologies to any CAMRA members out there...)

Illustration Friday 012607 : Red

2007-01-28T16:37:00.000Z

No hidden meanings, just something most of us see every week... (Does anyone know why blogger's compression adds artifacts to blocks of solid color? Any way of avoiding it?)

Illustration Friday 011907 : Superhero

2007-01-20T03:43:00.000Z

Look, behind that desk - it's an ex-librarian - it's a media developer - it's... DIGITAL DIVA! Able to negotiate new software in a single bound! Faster than a speeding laser printer!

Actually, my estimation of my own abilities isn't that obnoxiously high, but this is an idea that I would have had to flesh out for a class assignment if I'd carried on with my course last year. ("Place yourself as a superhero within a 3D environment.") No regrets that I didn't finish the course (Foundation degree in Multimedia), as I've learned far more in my job than I did in class.

Anyway, the source for this illustration is one of the few photos taken of me that I actually like. (It was taken 15 years ago, but hey, who's counting?)

Illustration Friday 011207 : 80s

2007-01-18T00:13:00.000Z

My mother, the octogenarian. (Please do click on the above image to see it at a larger size, and without the jpeg artifacts...)

Illustration Friday 0105007 : Buzz

2007-01-10T20:02:00.000Z

Even though it doesn't feel like winter (yet?), the days of blue skies and buzzing bees seem a very long way off.

Illustration Friday 122206 : Peace

2006-12-26T03:33:00.000Z

Nothing editorially clever here (as I'm once again too oomphless to come up with anything original), but another bit of hand practice...

Illustration Friday 120106 : Might

2006-12-01T18:49:00.000Z

The doctors say that George might survive; then again, he might not.

Yeah, it's a stretch, but I'll be in overdrive for the next two weeks, churning out RLOs before our long pre-Christmas weekend in Brussels, and any spare time will be spent trying to get my much-neglected house in order. (George, by the way, makes a guest appearance in the soon-to-be-completed Bacteria and Viruses Compared RLO, as well as the upcoming Volume of Distribution.)

Illustration Friday 112406 : Invention

2006-11-27T01:26:00.000Z

The mother of all does-everything-but-wash-the-dishes inventions - do you really think your mobile/PDA/camera would exist without it?!

Illustration Friday 111006 : Clear

2006-11-14T02:15:00.000Z

Snow, ice, and slush are facts of life for much of the year in upstate New York, and I spent many, many hours attacking sidewalks with snow shovels in an attempt to clear a footpath around our house. Surprisingly, now that I live in the "balmy" English Midlands, I actually miss it - we've had only one all-out blizzard in the last 16 years, and don't even own a snow shovel!

Illustration Friday 110306 : Smoke

2006-11-05T19:04:00.000Z

Having grown up in a house with two heavy smokers, I've always found the notion of ingesting any sort of smoke wholly repugnant. But there's something extremely seductive about the scent of (unlit) pipe tobacco...

Illustration Friday 102706 : Wind

2006-11-03T02:30:00.000Z

When I was in the Third Grade, we were all given "music aptitude" tests to see who would be allowed to learn an instrument the following year. Anyone who scored 90 or better got to join the chosen few, but yours truly only managed an 89. For some now unknown reason, I had my heart set on learning to play the flute, and was bitterly disappointed. So disappointed that my mother actually wrote a letter to the school to ask if there was any possibility of my being given lessons should anyone else drop out of the program. Well, this was in the early '60's, and flexibility was an unknown concept; despite almost half of the "instrumentalists" in my class quitting their lessons by the end of the Fifth Grade, I never got a chance. (Many years later I tried to teach myself to play the tin whistle, but never got very far. Like learning languages, it's just so much easier when you're young, and learning alongside others.)

Anyway, this really isn't a finished illustration - the relative proportions of the head and hands are wrong - but I've run out of time...

Illustration Friday 102006 : Ghost

2006-10-23T02:11:00.000Z

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and Nigel ran into the room, looking as if he'd seen a ghost...

Illustration Friday 100606 : Trouble

2006-10-09T12:31:00.000Z

Macho posturing often leads to trouble, something that's all too common here in Nottingham, a city with far too many bars and clubs. Not a week goes by without news of another two or three young men (and sometimes women) being knifed, shot, "glassed" or punched...

Illustration Friday 082506 : Run

2006-08-26T10:21:00.000Z

Running man in a running stitch. Not much more to say, really...

Illustration Friday 081806 : Match

2006-08-21T20:47:00.000Z

Thanks to an eye infection that has put my contacts on the shelf, this was done with my nose six inches from the screen. I sure hope things settle down in the next couple of weeks, as my glasses aren't much use for computer work...

Anyway, so here's a very literal interpretation of this week's theme.

Illustration Friday 081106 : Play

2006-08-17T02:00:00.000Z

Forty years ago, back in the days when I messed about with charcoal pencils and India ink, I had a helluva time drawing hands. (It was the era of Get Smart, and my attempts were often met with a derisive chorus of "The Craw! The Craw!") These days, it's only marginally easier, which is why I need all the practice I can get. (Have to put together an RLO on "glove use in infection control" shortly, so hands loom large on the horizon.)

Apart from a brief but intense addiction to Solitaire on my first pc in the early 90's, I'm not much of a card player. (Over the years, friends have attempted to teach me Bridge and Poker, but soon agreed with me that my talents lay elsewhere.)

Illustration Friday 080406 : Capture

2006-08-11T10:28:00.000Z

Well, maybe this'll appear on the IF web site for all of 30 minutes before the new topic for today is posted. Better late than never, I guess...

Illustration Friday 072806 : Clean

2006-07-28T23:19:00.000Z

In theory, at least, there's no place cleaner than an operating theater. This scrub nurse was part of an animated sketch I put together for work. Eventually, she may find her way into an actual RLO.

Illustration Friday 072106 : Opposites

2006-07-22T19:47:00.000Z

Sweet and sour are opposites, aren't they? My normally astute husband didn't get it, mostly because he didn't recognize the lemon as a lemon. ("That's never a lemon!") Ah, well, everyone's a critic...

The bee has been borrowed from an animation I'm working on at the moment ("The Inflammatory Response" - I'll post a link when it's done for anyone who wants to know why bee stings hurt and infected cuts turn red!)

Illustration Friday 070706: Skyline

2006-07-11T00:30:00.000Z

The Brits among you may recognize this as the Tyne Bridge - the famous Newcastle landmark that has recently found itself in competition with the newer, ingeniously-designed Millennium Bridge, and the Sage Gateshead, a futuristic concert hall, both only a couple of hundred yards away. To anyone familiar with Newcastle, the detail of the arch and the distinctive lamps will be enough to identify the location.

This is a manipulated version of a photo I took a few months ago.

Illustration Friday 063006 : Sticky

2006-07-06T22:58:00.000Z

Sigh. I ran out of steam again. Started to work on this last weekend and was happy with the shell, but had no time at all this week, hence the (all-too-phallic) snail's resemblance to one of the unformed pod people from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

We had a slightly surreal close encounter with a slug a few months ago. It apparently climbed up the front door, came through the letterbox (in British houses, actually a hole cut in the door), squeezed itself past the metal barrier, descended to the hall carpet on the other side, then made its way under the radiator and over 6 pairs of shoes before crossing the threshold into the living room, where it had slimed its way a couple of yards along the living room skirting boards before we discovered it, looking very sorry for itself. Its epic journey from the front yard was reversed in a matter of seconds. Kind of sad, really...

Illustration Friday 062306 : Rain

2006-06-27T01:17:00.000Z

Spent last week away at a conference, so never got 'round to completing anything for "Dance", and now I find myself exhausted by trying to catch up with all the *real* work that I'd left undone. So, that's my excuse for a rather uninspired bit of doodling. I hope to have my oomph back for next week's challenge...

Illustration Friday 060906 : Jungle

2006-06-16T00:46:00.000Z

Haven't had much chance to look at the links on IF this week, but I expect at least two or three others have done something very similar to this... If I'd had more time, would have liked to try my hand at vines and tendrils, and some dappled light.

Illustration Friday 060206 : Portrait

2006-06-03T20:52:00.000Z

My favorite portrait of all time was painted by Velasquez, and lives in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Its subject, Juan de Pareja, was also a painter. I discovered him in the late 70s, when I was living in Manhattan, making a monthly pilgrimage to the Met to escape my coursework.

For years, I had a postcard of this painting on the bookshelves above my desk. One very hot night 20+ years ago, when it was impossible to sleep, I unearthed an old set of watercolors and pulled an all-nighter painting my homage. My only light was a pre-halogen desk lamp with a very yellow glow, so I didn't realize until the morning that I'd been rather heavy-handed with the yellow paint!

Illustration Friday 052606 : Cake

2006-05-30T00:49:00.000Z

Well, this week at least my effort should make it onto the Illustration Friday web site (if you're feeling generous with your time, you can check out last week's neglected entry here).

This is the result of playing with Illustrator's 3D tools. Still need to work on perspective and shadows, but I'm pleased with this as a first attempt to create something more complex than extruded boxes.

Illustration Friday 051906 : Sorry

2006-05-25T23:55:00.000Z

Only time for a quick "sketch" this week. What do you think he's feeling sorry about...?

PS- I can now (Friday the 26th) reveal that he's terribly sorry about the technical hitches that prevented him from making an appearance on the Illustration Friday web site, despite a dozen or so attempts in the wee hours of Thursday night/Friday morning to upload the link.

Illustration Friday 051206 : Angels and Devils

2006-05-14T04:02:00.000Z

This could also be filed under Memories of a Sixties Childhood: Drake's Devil Dogs, and a glass of pure, unadulterated, whole milk. (Neither of which I've ingested for many, many years.) Personally, I preferred Snowballs (and, of course, the cake was completely expendable, and besides the point.)

I had a very clear idea in my mind for this illustration, but at present my abilities and time are both severely limited. I know I need to work on 3D perspective and gradient meshes. Tips and pointers always welcome!

Illustration Friday 050506 : Fat

2006-05-06T03:33:00.001Z

No, these aren't my feet (thanks for asking). Nail polish (pink or otherwise) isn't part of my personal grooming routine, and I haven't owned a light blue towel in 30 years...

This illustration is from an RLO that I'm working on at the moment.

First post

2006-05-05T15:10:00.000Z

OK. I surrender. Having resisted blogs and blogging all this time, I've finally found a good use for one, courtesy of a web site called Illustration Friday. So, I'll use this space to post my responses to IF's weekly challenges. Who knows, maybe I'll use it for something more 'verbal' eventually...