Colour from the season - Sunflower yellow

Young Sunflowers rotate their heads throughout the day to track the sun (called heliotropism) and driving past fields of them, almost every single one, in each regimented row, is facing the same direction. Therefore, on one side of a road they may all be facing you, on the other side you are looking at their backs, amazing!

Challenging to draw - I almost stopped here. A bee considered landing on my notebook which was very flattering...























Are there any flowers more full of Summer's sunshine? Hello August!
...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Passion Flower blues

I'm starting to think that using slower drying oil paint (in an Impressionist style) might have been a better bet in such very hot sunlight, rather than my usual dip pen/ink/acrylic notebook sketching. Drawing this flower a few days ago in the Pyrenees (where they were wildly rampant), the paint dried before I had time to colour a single petal, the ink persistently clogged the nib, the flower wilted and then closed as I drew it (do they only last a single day?) and I was also wilting in the heat. So...

...not so much passion in the sketch of this extra-ordinary flower, but strength and sharpness of shadow and a fabulously intense colour palette...

  

Phew !

...from my seasonal (Mediterranean) colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Wild Artichoke Thistle purple

Globe Artichokes growing wild at the edge of a small field of gnarled vines. As I started drawing this one, an entire army of earwigs marched out of it!! Delicious with butter and lemon, but worth growing I've always thought, for these reptilian heads, their architectural leaves and their astonishing purple spikes...

slightly overheated drawing outside in fierce sunlight.

...from my seasonal (Mediterranean) colour sample notebook.

Colours from the season - Corn grass yellow

Ripe Corn coloured grass, Dragonflies (not drawn yet), strong shadows, Poplars, Summer sunshine, lazy days! These grasses (unidentified) were far taller than me and a single graceful detail from the landscape.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Cornflower blue

Cornflowers are a very unique blue, looking them up I discovered why!

"The ions that bind in cornflower blue

Roses are red and cornflowers are blue, but both flowers are coloured by the same red pigment. This conundrum has puzzled people for 90 years, but finally scientists have worked out what makes cornflowers blue, publishing their findings in Nature. Kosaku Takeda of Tokyo Gakugei University in Japan, and colleagues, used x-ray diffraction to investigate the structure of the cornflower pigment. They discovered that the bright blue colour comes from the arrangement of four metal ions, which bind to a complex of six different molecules, made up from two pigments. This pigment structure is completely different to the pigment found in other blue flowers. A strategically placed iron ion and magnesium ion give the blue colour, while two calcium ions give the structure stability. "This tetrametal complex may represent a previously undiscovered type of supermolecular pigment," says Takeda".

from The Guardian Thursday 11th August 2005.

They remind me of Van Gogh paintings - perfect with Poppies! Difficult to match such incredible Iron and Magnesium ions against printed CMYK colours(!) but here's my very best attempt...

Happy 4th July! and very Happy Birthday to my son Josse! xx. This is a detail from his Graphic Design degree show at Central Saint Martins a few weeks ago. He's designed a Font which can't swear - brilliant!! See more of his work at.. http://cargocollective.com/Jossepickard

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colours from the season - Wild Rose pink

I've had a touch of designer's block lately! 

The Ash has formed bunches of elegant keys, the hedgerows are full of Pink Campion, Buttercups, Ferns and Foxgloves. I still have the Beetle and (broken) Blackbird egg that was left on my doorstep, I've thought about drawing all of these and more, but haven't managed to put pen to paper. 

Until yesterday that is, when I spotted these roses rambling...well...wildly in the garden. Aren't they amazing? I think so and drawing them made me feel HAPPY!

Heart shaped petals, Wild Rose pink and yellows, to celebrate the start of Summer. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

The little things - favourite things...

The little things in life that make the difference...

...meeting up with a whole tent-full of amazingly creative people at the Bovey Fair, here are a few of my favourites!


The wonderful graphic and organic jewellery of Chie Mannami - on the stand next to me. You can't have this particular piece as it's now mine! But lots more of her work on her website here.

These are Clare Crouchman's intricate wall ceramics, diagonally opposite me, her work reminded me of Dartmoor - it was like looking across at the most beautiful landscapes. See her website here

Clive Bowen's highly collectable earthenware ceramics, I'm a huge fan, and such a nice man! See more of his work here

Beautiful ceramics by Adam Buick, reminiscent of the Pembrokeshire landscape where he lives - see more on his site here

Great to catch up with Pacha Design and their latest eco furniture collection made from locally sourced, reclaimed slate and wood. See more of their work here

Last but not least, some of my own flora and fauna at the private view!
(Thank you to Anna Trussler at the Devon Guild for taking such a nice pic! See this and more of their festival photos on their facebook page here)

A rustic selection! - can't be helped, surrounded as I am by old A frames and moorland!

The Contemporary Craft Fair

I'm exhibiting at the Contemporary Crafts Fair this weekend in Bovey Tracey (near Dartmoor in South Devon). It's celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year and showcasing nearly 200 high quality designer/makers work. I last exhibited there 7yrs ago! so I'm really looking forward to to meeting up again with friends and customers old and new. Come along and say hello if you're in Devon this wk/end - I've heard a rumour that it's going to be sunny!

Chip in the morning sunlight in the studio. Waiting patiently for me to finish working out the stand layout and take her for a walk...

P.S. A big thank you to the person who left the (dead) beetle and egg in a jamjar outside my front door! which I hope to draw when I have a bit more time x -

Colour from the Season - Dandelion Seedhead Grey

Yesterday I woke with the idea that I would deconstruct the parts of a Dandelion seed head and put them back together. It's great to wake up feeling inspired and I decided to act on it.

It was the most gorgeous May day, so I drew outside. No wonder Dandelions are so prolific – a brilliant piece of design, the parachuted seed heads take off on the slightest of breezes and little hooks to anchor them when they touch ground. I'm afraid there could be quite a lot of collateral damage in the garden next year.

Later that day I went to a crowded memorial service for industrial/graphic designer, teacher, mentor, automata maker and friend Tony Mann.
Tony inspired many people, including me. He had forceful opinions, especially about design and education, but was always ready to pass on his extensive knowledge and give constructive advice. One of the things he said to me was "What is it that has actually inspired you Sam? Don't ever write inspired by nature about your work, it's just wishy washy nonsense."

Which I've always taken on board, therefore...

Inspired by a Dandelion seed head – Analysis of the construction and colour.

(Just heard that I/my studio have been selected for an Artisan feature in Period Living magazine - very exciting!!) 

N.B. Discover the brilliant yellow of the Dandelion flower in an earlier notebook page here!

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

My favourite things – Still life with Night Light Clock

Another in 'a few of my favourite things' series...

I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't surrounded by clocks and watches. That's because my dad was a watch and clock maker (still strange not to say is). One of my friends told me she remembers when she came to stay once and woke up every hour through the night.

My dad offered me a clock as an incentive to give up smoking and this is the one I chose. Took me a long time to actually own it, as I slipped back a number of times, and though I didn't let on that I was having the occasional roll up again, I didn't take the clock either.

This is a night light clock - the wrought iron surround is Victorian, the dial original of the same period, at the back it holds a candle. It's unusual and I've never seen another like it. However, the real interest (and excitement) was opening the back and discovering that the verge movement inside (almost certainly taken from a pocket watch) was made by a maker called Eardley Norton of St. John St. London, in 1762. One of the most important clock makers in the United Kingdom and clock maker to George III! 

Lichen, Moss, Ivy and Bramble (links to notebook pages), because they seemed the right sort of plants to clamber invasively over something so old.

Screen Printing - Studio sampling

A few photos in the studio showing some of the sampling stages of the new geometric design I've been printing.

The dye bench in my studio – 4.2 metres long (including sinks). The dyes piled up on the top of the cupboard are natural dyes, Lichen, Cochineal, Madder, Brazilwood, Walnut and many more. The oversize wooden spoons, turned blue from past Indigo vats, are great for dyeing. The old plough came with the building and the rabbit, a first test paper print, keeps a wary eye on everything.

My invaluable dye notebooks and scales.  Industrial Marigold gloves!

I'm printing onto natural (ie unbleached) linen. Here are some of the colours and first sample prints.

Two Belfast Sinks, one clean(ish), one dirty for washing dye-pots etc. Dyes/chemicals etc are stored underneath.

printed sample detail of indigo/brown colourway...after printing the fabrics are steamed to fix the dye, then washed thoroughly to remove excess dye, thickeners etc.

First full screen print.  I designed this geometric stripe originally to be laser etched into cork (as a very fine lined stripe) and I've always thought it would make a great design for fabric. A different variation of it is being (digitally) manufactured in the U.K. currently onto fabric lengths, based upon these samples I've printed in the studio. The design is startlingly modern and yet quite ethnic, even rustic in feel, and I think really successful. My design inspirations originally were influenced by the textiles of the Weiner Werkstätte and also Josef Albers, Formulation: Articulation. (links are to books I have).

These cushions are filled with 100% wool filled pads (http://www.woolsoft.co.uk), which importantly supports the UK wool industry, as well as being far more cosy than feathers. At 30"x 24", they will make a pretty impressive design statement to a room. Designed to be bed-cushions, they are I think, exactly perfect for lazy Sunday mornings!

Colour from the season – Horsetail pink

Last week I was fascinated by the design and colours of this plant...

...but couldn't discover what it was. Not in books, nor on the web (I won't repeat some of the search words I resorted to). Just as well I've a couple of friends who seem to have an entire plant encyclopaedia in their heads! So...this is HORSETAIL (or the fertile stems of it anyway).

Honeycomb patterning on it's head (right) which becomes increasingly less defined as it ripens (left). Colours are light and breezy – sun bleached colours I thought? (wistfully). Full of healing and medicinal properties, Horsetail is also a really invasive weed I now discover, so hoping I didn't let any of its (murky green) spores loose in my garden or there'll be trouble...

(Thx P&B - who incidentally are also pretty good table tennis players).

...from my seasonal colour notebook.

Old Tea Rose - Stamping!

I'm delighted that some of my favourite illustrations from my colour notebooks on Planet Sam are being launched this week as card maker's stamp sets by 'Flourishes' who are based in Sunny Florida! Starting with Old Tea Rose (Read my original Tea Rose post here), they will be releasing a number of my illustrations as stamp sets over the coming months (see my interview yesterday on the Flourishes blog here)!

Many thanks to Jan Marie and the whole team at Flourishes for such a warm welcome! I'll be adding a link to the first set when it's released tomorrow (Here), very exciting! in fact I'm thinking I'd love to have some fun experimenting with these fabulous sets myself..! 

(for those of you new to my blog – I only wear (my dad's) specs for drawing!)

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season – Ash red

You'll be pleased to hear that I've been keeping an eye on the Ash trees in Devon, and after what seemed like an age – they've done this!  Every hoof–like bud has exploded into tiny little red fruit like flower, truly extraordinary and I can hardly believe that I've gone through my whole life without noticing this before, but that's the case.

A hurried sketch, but you get the idea I hope. Also, I should add that within a day (indoors) these flowers had become seeds - which I don't have time to draw, so photo below...

See my previous post showing the Ash in bud here

Now heading off to a barn in the wilds of Devon to see Sheelanigig (think Balkan, Jazz, Folk mayhem) for a bit of a knees up! have a good wk/end.
...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Lily cream

I think the reason I'm attracted to draw dead plants and flowers is just because I like muted hues. It's a huge generalisation, but I think I'm less attracted to saturated colours.

These Lilies had died in a vase (before opening) last week at a friends house when I was there for a birthday dinner and so luckily, (because she is as creatively untidy as I am!), we were able to appreciate how strangely beautiful these flowers had become, withered as they were on their stems – a sort of fallen ethereal glory of faded blue green leaves, ancient ochred pods and burnt orange pollen.

Decided in a rash moment (forgetting how pollen can stain!) to bring these home to draw...

the Lilies at Elaine's on Clare's b'day..!

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colours from the Season - Rocket cream

Rocket is flowering in the garden – is that seasonal? seems a bit early to me. The flowers have a straggly fragile beauty - pretty in salads, despite the fact the petals could be likened to the wings of Crane Flies.

I live with the colours of Rocket in my kitchen, so maybe thats what drew its quiet presence to my notice...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Snakes Head red

I recently had a very stern telling off from my paternal aunt who lives in India for wearing my dad's old specs (crikey!!). She said that I should no more wear someone else's spectacles than use their toothbrush!

Nothing else really to do then after that (!) except head off to the opticians. First stop was at a well known high street chain to see if they could repair my dad's ancient specs (two broken arms) and put prescription lenses in? I think they thought I was off my trolley.

So, without much hope I went to the local independent opticians in the small market town where I live and while they thought the specs almost beyond repair, they said that they'd send them off and see what could be done – and now, brilliantly, and not expensively, the specs are as good as new and I can see to draw again! (my eyes aren't that bad, but even to lose a small amount of clarity I've been finding has meant drawing has become more difficult as well as tiring).

Snakes Head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) have a honeycomb/check on their petals that has something of the bleed effect of tie-dyed fabric. Muted purple petals, a vivid flash of yellow from the stamen, alongside a rather splendid shade of stem green and I can see that quite clearly...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Spring blues

Re-categorising and up-dating a few colour pages from the archive and thought I'd share. A few Spring blues, but not sad - very cheerful in fact! 

Muscari or Grape Hyacinth...

Hyacinth...

Mountain Cornflower...

and my favourite, Bluebell blues...

Original posts can now be found in the category...BLUE!

...from my seasonal colour notebook.

Colour from the season - Duck Egg green

Spring arrived yesterday – only for the day, but what a day!

Our neighbour has (what I think are) Black Indian Runner Ducks and this morning she gave us some eggs. Wow! Duck Egg blue, or green as it turned out because the egg has more yellow than blue as well as a percentage of black.

I thought it would be a simple notebook page, one egg and one colour, but no, an egg is not an easy thing to draw..!

Distracted lately because at last I've started some new designs for fabric, in their infancy, they've been buzzing around in my head for a few months. Inspired by the Ivy, Roses, the block repeat post...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Bamboo Green

This Bamboo (Phyllostachys Nigra) has helped to brighten my Winter! It's simply been the most lively green outside my back door on even the darkest of days. I was adding colour to a drawing of it yesterday and decided it deserved a mention.

When I first tried to draw bamboo, I discovered that it dies quickly when you cut it. I cut a full stem and placed in water to draw, but within a few hours the leaves had rolled in on themselves - hopeless! The only thing to do was to draw it outdoors. So one Spring day, a few years ago, I sat on a low seat in the garden with a drawing board on my lap, a long roll of cartridge paper and starting at the base of the stem, I drew a full stem - not in pencil but directly in ink. I waited for the ink to dry then rolled the paper up, continuing to draw and roll until I reached the top. The following year (!) I decided that this one stem was a bit lonely and so I drew another! The drawings are approximately life size and measure 2.6 metres and 2.4 metres.

I then scanned these images, re-drew them in (Adobe) Illustrator, laser etched the first of them into Cork and exhibited this at 100% Design in London in 2009. For some time I've been thinking of adding colour as I'd like to screen or possibly digitally print them onto fabric. So here as a result, are the fresh colours as I noted them yesterday...

The first ink sketch...

The second...

Laser etched into Cork...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.