Shopping for a Basic Tool Kit for Drawing
With my Master Classes in Fine Drawing underway at the studio, I thought it would be useful post a list of basic materials that we use, and the best suppliers local to Bloomsbury. I have always maintained that one should use the best possible materials for everything, whether it is a rough sketch or finished … Read more
The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones
Some time ago I happened upon a venerable 1865 edition of Owen Jones’ “Grammar of Ornament” in an antiquarian bookshop, and after a month or so of obsessing about it, I decided to buy it. It is pretty much intact, with some restoration work, and it had obviously been well used in its time. That’s … Read more
Painted Rooms and Victorian Gothic at St. Pancras Station
St Pancras Station with its integrated grand hotel is a marvel of high Victorian engineering and design, recently restored and redeveloped as part of a major regeneration project in the King’s Cross area. Originally conceived and built by Sir George Gilbert Scott , the Grand Midland Hotel opened as a state-of-the-art luxury hotel in 1873, … Read more
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 33 trips to carry that many people. Click here to see the … Read more
The Colour Red
“My Name is Red” is a novel by the celebrated Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, published in English by Faber and Faber in 2001. It is a memorable read – a beautifully constructed ‘whodunnit’ set in the visionary world of the miniature painters in 16th century Turkey. There are several reds, both mineral and organic, that … Read more
A Mughal Masterpiece at The British Museum
This painting is called “The assembled animals complain to the raven of their mistreatment at the hands of man” British Museum catalogue number 1920.0917.05 , an illustration to one of the animal fables that were so popular with royal patrons in the 16th century. It has been attributed to the painter Miskin (or a student … Read more
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