The Weekly Challenge – Graeme Skinner

Silliness and Stuff

Graeme Skinner — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:20:55 +0000

Okay, the ‘stuff’ first, I’ll be uploading the weekly challenge backlog shortly, well as soon as I’ve found the book with them all in :-/ Now for the silliness. I’ve been busy painting landscapes, and generally being far too serious for my own good. So, when I turned to the theme of the month over on John Howe’s website I had to do something a little more light hearted. The theme this month is ‘Under Sea & Under Wave’, and for this I scribbled a quick Photoshop picture.

When Looney Tunes illustrated the Silmarillion…

they may have misread the part about Ulmo – here, Elmer (lord of the seas) makes his way to Tuor.

With apologies to Tolkien, Looney Tunes, Tolkien fans, and generally everyone else.

WC #35

Graeme Skinner — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:22:43 +0000

On Time!

Remembering

Two events were worth this week, at least to me they are, one is something that only interests a few more geekier people and the other is something we should all remember. First the minor event that I try to remember and the one for geeks being the first publication on the 11/11/1954 of the Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien of course. And so the first sketch is of a palantir…

The other event of course is remembrance day…

I’ve never been a poet, and I know it, so I’ll post one by someone who was much better at words than me and saw first hand what war is like…

FOR THE FALLEN.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

LAURENCE BINYON

WC #34

Graeme Skinner — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:09:35 +0000

And another late post…

Typo’s and Fireworks

The build up to bonfire night must get earlier every year and you get tired of the constant pop bang fizz, or at least I do, but then I like a bit of peace and quite

We visited Hay-on-Wye while we were away, and it always amuses me to see typo’s on signs in bookshops

WC #33

Graeme Skinner — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:01:06 +0000

Only two weeks late…

Bags & Lanterns

Halloween always used to mean turnip lanterns to me, now all you see are these new fangled pumpkins, and so here’s a quick turnip lantern

This week we were packing to go away for a couple of days, we packed our small travel bag made from modern materials and somewhat characterless really and I started to think of the more traditional suitcases covered in labels from past journeys.

WC #32

Graeme Skinner — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:11:08 +0000

This one is nearly on time…..

A wander…

Time for a little wander in the Shire, just because

WC #31

Graeme Skinner — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:14:45 +0000

Nearly caught up, only a few days behind now

In a hole…

Well, as the Hobbit films have been moved a little closer recently my mind turned to that opening page of the Hobbit and Bilbo sitting outside as Gandalf wanders up

WC #30

Graeme Skinner — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:29:29 +0000

Another late posting (the next one will be late too :-))

Bl**dy Laminate

I spent far too long laying some laminate floor, much of the time I thought I’d much rather be sketching something though thoughts of stacking the laminate flooring up and putting a match to it did cross my mind once or twice.

Around this time I was trying to come up with ideas for a painting titled ‘Night Wings’ it was for the theme of the month over on John Howe’s website.

WC #29

Graeme Skinner — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:59:45 +0000

Nearly caught up….

Decorating Fun

(or should that be hell)

We’ve been redecorating the kitchen, it involved painting…

Much waiting…

and much frustration mainly due to new light fittings (and uneven floors).

WC #28

Graeme Skinner — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:42:49 +0000

Yet another delayed blog, I’ll get them back on track shortly

The Water Garden

I started scribbling hills, just for the fun of it, and decided that really they would have a huge water garden beneath them, now I just need to work out who wanders around them.

WC #27

Graeme Skinner — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:51:49 +0000

Okay, I’m a little late in posting this one, but then I’m on holiday so surely can be excused

Windy

I sat down with the idea of trying to sketch a windswept landscape and a small troop of people wandering along, somehow it turned into this…