Illustration Friday: Gesture

My offering for this week's Illustration Friday theme, gesture, features a stage actress rehearsing a performance for very young children.  This week's theme made me think about the movement and immediacy of live theatre performers, and how best to capture that spontaneity in a single image.  I made the drawing in situ, sitting on the floor with my 'mobile' drawing kit spread out in front of me.  By the time I drew this, I was completely absorbed in the process that the performers were going through, and had watched the actress repeating this routine several times over.  I used ink, watercolour and a very small amount of Photoshop afterwards, just to clean up the image once I had scanned it.

Here are some photos of the actresses at work in their humble rehearsal room at Leith Community Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland:

Turquoise Bay

Marchmont Gallery are now stocking a screen-print of mine: Turquoise Bay.  The print is a section taken from this concertina book, which illustrates a traditional sea shanty & folk song Fiddler's Green.  Here's a wee excerpt:

As I went a walking one evening so rare

To view the still waters and taste the salt air

I heard an old fisherman singing this song

Sayin', "Take me away boys, my time is not long.

Chorus:

Wrap me up in me oil skins and blankets

No more on the docks I'll be seen

Just tell me old shipmates, I'm takin' a trip mates

And I'll see you someday on fiddler's green."

...I don't need a harp nor a halo not me

Just give me a breeze and a good rollin' sea

I'll play me old squeeze box as we sail along

And the wind in the riggin' will sing me this song.