Sharps and Flats

I've been listening to people like Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Rufus Wainwright and even Jackson Browne lately, my piano idols, trying to understand the method behind their extraordinary ability. The last couple of days I've spent with my iPod head phones jammed into my ears, soaking up as much of their genius as I can. I don't know if it's rubbing off on me or not though.

When Brubeck plays jazz, he taps out these minimal, restrained riffs that are so sweet and simple that one can't help but want more. Jarrett , on the other hand, lets loose and flies across the keys but he does this while somehow managing to hold his many melodies together at the same time.

Bill Evans plays 'A Few of My Favourite Things' into a medley with ease and grace. You can hear him weave in and out of Julie Andrews's famous melody like water.

I'm always trying to play piano like these people can. And then most of the time I try to draw and sketch like I play. In an odd sort of way, most of the things I draw come, at least in part, from the piano stylings of people like Dave, Bill and Keith.

Listen to this. If you're anything like me, it'll change your life.

Cheers.

Undergrowth

It's the second day of 2010 now, about 3.30 in the afternoon. Somehow the clock keeps rolling over and the years pass us by even and I think especially when we're not looking, when we're concentrating on something else. So, in this fashion, a decade has come and gone and we all continue on without so much as a moment's hesitation. I guess this is because time doesn't wait for you to give the go ahead, it couldn't care less for what you're doing. It won't give you a break, really. Not that this is an issue, personally I think it keeps you on your toes, it just means that if you need to stop then you've got to do that by yourself.

With this in mind, I sat in my garden and drew some flowers.

Happy New Year.

Face at 10.58

This is the second in a two-part series of faces that I drew last night with a sharpie. Neither of them is very refined, nor do I think they're finished. I drew them at the times stated, rushing them both in an attempt to get the images in my head onto the paper before they disappeared.

Face at 10.57

This is the first in a two-part series of faces that I drew last night with a sharpie. Neither of them is very refined, nor do I think they're finished. I drew them at the times stated, I rushing them both in an attempt to get the images in my head onto the paper before they disappeared.

Shoes

Today I decided to show something a little bit different; these are two brief and rushed sketches of my two kinds of shoe. By scanning my arm and adjusting some sliders in PhotoStudio, I managed to produce what I hope is a pretty interesting piece.