Bootlegger linesketch - Ben

Ok so I was down at an Open Mic event at the Bootlegger Pub, High Wycombe, opposite the train station.  I was getting a bit fed up with some of my drawings so I thought I would experiment with a single line drawing and came up with this.  It's Ben, the guy that organises the even doing his thing!  I've just notice the seat has only 3 legs - don't fall over Ben.

Ogre's Journey

Read at the bootleggers on Will 's birthday accompanied by Pirate Joe

----------------------------

The Ogre Grimnut approached the wood
Club trailing behind he was up to no good
He had a sore throat and was all of a blunder
And now searched the forest to stave off his hunger

There was a rumour if you went deep inside
You would find tasty fairies, and more besides
So in he went through the gathering gloom
Hoping his stomach would be filled soon

The trees were great and their trunks were tall
But grimnut was afraid of nothing at all
His club did drag over root and stone
And the ogre walked on starved and alone

On he trekked deeper and deeper
through swamp and marsh
till the ground got steeper
and though the track wore soles of boots
no food did he find, just tiny red fruits

Grimnut stopped and sniffed the air
The fairies were close but he couldnt tell where
So he searched until he saw to one's side
A path that would take him to where the fair folk reside

He trekked and then passed through white flowerfall
And ducked under rocks made for someone less tall
Sunlight then fell on his grizzled face
he'd finally found their hiding place

Grimnut then passed through a sunlit glade
He spotted the sight of an elfin maid
Hunkering down he wasn't seen
by the winged fairy all dressed in green

Pulling himself up he grabbed his weapon
He would do this quick, in less than a second
But as he readied his deadly swing
The fairy shifted and he noticed something

2 sycamore seeds she held in her hands
tying them together with 9 silver bands
           'What are you doing' he said with a grunt
'I'm making some wings' and held them in front

'They're for a friend that's not here yet'
'I couldn't decide what it was I should get
          'Nobody's ever given a present to me'
'That's a pity but I think
there's still time, you see'

'it's too late I'm starving and dying of thirst'
          'drink this' she said 'don't fear for the worst'
And with a wave of her glittering wand
she revealed the most wonderous and clear blue pond

The ogre bent down and drunk his fill
and didn't stop
his drinking until
the pool was dry, his thirst was sated
whilst across from him the fairy waited

He said that's better now I need to eat
'No, you need sleep, before such a treat'
So he lay his head down and closed his eyes
And as he slept she then chose to arise

He awoke much later cold and bare
lying on a bed of the coarsest hair 
Looking around he saw the fairy
she looked much bigger and no longer seemed wary

Beside him a bunch of red berries lay waiting
their crimson coats looking so appetaising
he tried one out and to his surprise
the fruit was so tasty it lit up his eyes

'I only eat meat, so how can this be'
'Things will be different now - here come and see'
she refilled the pool with a wave of here wand
and bid him come forward and look in the pond

there he could see in the glassy reflection
that changes were made in his grizzly complexion
no longer a face that was hardened and worn
but soft and now elfin for he had been reborn

'does this please you?' she said with a smile and a sigh
          'It does but how can we live here you and I?'
          'I don't have wings, where you're able to fly'
'so I cannot follow you up and into the sky'

Oh you're so very silly I've thought of these things
I made them before they were always your wings
and she fastened them on and held them on well
before uttering the sounds of a magical spell

He flapped his wings and came off the ground
his eyes were smiling, and he fluttered around
'where shall we go?' And looked into her eyes
'This way for now, we'll watch the sun rise '

Allosaurus - Natural History Museum

This is Big Al, who can be found at the Natural History Museum, London.  I think everyone think's he's a T Rex, but he's not, so there!

Bit of waffle from Wikipedia here - FYI they lived 155-150 million years ago, roughly about the length of time it takes to buy an overseas product from ebay (my son is currently waiting for a Slytherin tie!):-

Allosaurus was a large bipedal predator. Its skull was large and equipped with dozens of large, sharp teeth. It averaged 8.5 m (28 ft) in length, though fragmentary remains suggest it could have reached over 12 m (39 ft). Relative to the large and powerful hindlimbs, its three-fingered forelimbs were small, and the body was balanced by a long and heavily muscled tail. It is classified as an allosaurid, a type of carnosaurian theropod dinosaur. The genus has a complicated taxonomy, and includes an uncertain number of validspecies, the best known of which is A. fragilis. The bulk of Allosaurus remains have come from North America's Morrison Formation, with material also known from Portugal and possibly Tanzania. It was known for over half of the 20th century as Antrodemus, but study of the copious remains from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry brought the name "Allosaurus" back to prominence, and established it as one of the best-known dinosaurs.

As the most abundant large predator in the Morrison Formation, Allosaurus was at the top of the food chain, probably preying on contemporaneous large herbivorous dinosaurs and perhaps even other predators. Potential prey included ornithopods, stegosaurids, and sauropods. Some paleontologists interpret Allosaurus as having had cooperative social behavior, and hunting in packs, while others believe individuals may have been aggressive toward each other, and that congregations of this genus are the result of lone individuals feeding on the same carcasses. It may have attacked large prey by ambush, using its upper jaw like a hatchet.

Triceratops - Natural History Museum

This is my image of a triceratops as seen in the Natural History Museum.  It's got a slightly creepy cast to it as it was lit from underneath with tungsten lights.

There was a massive queue to get in here when I was at the museum over Christmas 2014 and this is the almost the first sight as you file through.  It was very tricky to draw as it's held in a glass case that has reflections all over the place.

Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the lateCretaceous period, about 68 million years ago (Mya) in what is now North America. It is one of the last known non-avian dinosaur genera, and became extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago.^[1] The term Triceratops, which literally means "three-horned face", is derived from the Greek τρί- (tri-) meaning "three", κέρας (kéras) meaning "horn", and ὤψ (ops) meaning "face".^[2][3]

Charles Darwin - Natural History Museum London

Hi All, or should I say Mum, as my wife tells me she's the only person that looks at the blog.

This is my sketch of Mr Darwin as he surveys the entrance hall to the Natural History Museum, London.  Do go there - I only managed to get around the dinosaurs but it's well worth the visit.

Darwin made a lot of his discoveries on is travels in the ship the Beagle 1831-1836.

http://www.hmsbeagleproject.org/second-voyage/

Before I forget there is an incredible book call 'this thing of Darkness' which is a piece of historical fiction which tracks his life and that of Captain Fitzroy. First 2 pages are a bit peculiar, but a great read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Thing-Darkness-Harry-Thompson/dp/0755302818

Je Suis Charlie - Marianne

This is Marianne, one of the symbols of the French Republic.  Marianne is a national symbol of the French Republic, an allegory of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. and this sketch is taken from the statue in the Place de la Republique in Paris where many of the gatherings are currently taking place

This my expression of solidarity with those that believe in freedom of speech.

There's further to go with this, but time is of the essence.

King Amenemhat III

King Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC One odd feature about his rule was that he had a 20 year co-regency with his father.  The other nugget I unearthed was that he had 2 pyramids built for him.  Presumably the first wasn't pointy enough.

This statue sits next to the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, London.  Although the latter is historically very significant it's hard to see with all the crowds around it and wouldn't sketch particularly well.  I managed to sneak this sketch out whilst the family were having a wander at the other end of the section.

Found a photo of the bust here:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/snarfel/8141183803/

Lauren Platt X Factor - save me song

This is Lauren Platt in the UK X-Factor sing-off week 9.  I think they call it the semi-finals, but it's not exactly Wimbledon is it?  

I did the sketch some time ago and every time I looked at it really fancied going in with a bit of colour to see what would happen. I think that the sketch was always intended to have colour in.

Pretty please with the background and this time I used a combination of raw sienna and ultramarine blue which somehow got the skin colour I was after.  I did add a smidge of red to warm it up too.