'Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina', 2009.
Just finished this, the last of the original ten South America pieces I had planned to do. Looking back through my drawings though I can see some more in the future, but I need to move on through some of the other backlog first.

'Los Torres, Chile', 2009.
This picture was taken in the shadows outside so the colour is a little washed out. A lot of the sights I had seen during the Africa/South America trip had been compromised by the weather and fog and Torres del Paine was one of the last places I had planned to see before going home. I was determined not to miss out after other disappointments (and planning for eighteen months to get there) so I sat huddled under a rock for around eight hours, through a freezing blizzard, to get the classic photo. The sky only cleared around fifteen minutes before I had to leave for good and although I was eventually rewarded for my persistence(stubborness), a week later I learned that somebody had died doing the exact same thing.

'Macchu Picchu, Peru #2', 2009.
Second attempt at this piece, simplified and a little more stylised than the first one.

'Regents Park, London', Watercolour, 2004.

'Pontylfni, Wales', Watercolour, 2004.

'Kaitoke Road Stop, Wanganui'. 1999.
An example of the looser style of painting from the Wanganui years, pieces like this would take me half an hour as opposed to the eight to ten they do now.

'From Augustus Gardens, Capri, Italy', Watercolour, 2005.
I used to make a watercolour before each piece to sort out colour and had periods where theybecame nice little paintings in their own right. This was one of a series of small pieces for a show at Idiom a few years ago.

'The Durdle Door, Dorset, England', 2006.
This piece is from another day trip out of London down to the south coast.

'Grimey', Bone Carving, 2009.

'Vaxholm, Sweden', 2005.
This image is from a day trip out of Stockholm through an amazing archipelago of thousands of tiny rocky islands.

'Rowdy Roddy Peeper', Bone Carving, 2009.

'Faraglioni, Capri, Italy', 2005.
Another piece from the trip to Capri.

'Hans Moleman', Bone Carving, 2009.
"But Marge,.....the football, the groin, it works on so many levels!!"
I had to freeze the episode at this exact point to get this image, this piece needs another sanding though.

'From Mt Solari, Capri, Italy', 2005.
For my birthday in 2005 I spent four days in a lovely villa on the western side of the island, a former home to the emperors in the Bay of Naples. By day the island was flooded with day trippers but of an evening the best way to see the stunning sunsets was on a clifftop with a glass of wine.

'Poochie', Bone Carving, 2009.
Kent Brockman-"Far be it for me to gloat in another's downfall, but I have a feeling no children will be crying when this puppy is put to sleep."
(P.S. Picture doesn't really do this puppy justice).

'The Nile Valley, Egypt', 2004.
This view was from above the Valley of the Queens, looking back down toward the river and Luxor. The journey there was via the Valley of the Kings and on 'donkey-back'.

'Los Souvenir Jacketos', Bone Carving, 2009.
-"But friend, your jacket is on fire!'
-'Then I shall burn with her.....for I would rather die than have people not know what stores I have been to!'

'Pond in Regents Park, London #2', 2003.
I lived in London for several years near Regents Park and would often walk and run through it, especially in the school holidays. This piece shows the looser style of painting that I still used until a few years ago.

'Cooder the Carny', Bone carving, 2009.
Classic character from an episode where some carnies take over the Simpson house. Below are some of the files that I use to make the carvings. I don't use electric tools (except to drill the eyes) and the forms and shapes of the face are scratched and filed into the bone by hand and take up to twelve hours per piece.

'Mirador Dorotea, Chile', 2009.
This was a little walk through farm land outside the town of Puerto Natales in the south of the country. Up to a clifftop and looking back up the valley, it was a nice spot to sit in the sun and watch the condors gliding high above.

These are pictures from the day trip to Laguna Verde, mainly strange combinations of fields of ice amongst stoney desert. The frontier on the road sign is the border with Argentina and Ojos Del Salado is the highest active volcano in the world at 6893metres high. The cow and horse had sort of dried out, rather than rot, along the road side and reminded me of Picasso's 'Guernica' with their pained expressions.

'Laguna Verde, Chile', 2009.
When in Chile I was based in a town called Copiapo for a week and did some day trips in the area. One such trip was by 4WD into the Andes and Atacama desert going as high as nearly five thousand metres up to isolated places such as this. I find deserts to have some of the most stunning scenery in the world and also have the most interesting palettes to paint.

'Macchu Picchu, Peru', 2009.

A few pictures today to help illustrate the process I go through with each piece. At the top are the sketches done on site, below that are secondary sketches (though this is the first time I've done it on the board) to work out how to make it into a painting, and then the actual piece itself.

I am not very happy with this piece but will do another version of it when I finish the South American series. In the past I have done up to four or five versions of a piece, trying to get it right!

'Duffman', Bone Carving, 2009.
Still needs another sanding and was difficult adding that detail on a smaller scale, but nice to work with a good piece of bone. Starting some new paintings tomorrow.
P.S. Sweetman.....best entrance music for a hero has to be Yello's 'Oh Yeah'!

'Kynance Cove, England', 2003.
Another piece from a road trip to Cornwall in 2003.

'Virginia Lake, Wanganui', 2001.
During the five years I spent in Wanganui, I took many trips up to Virginia Lake to draw and sketch, not the pretty birds and lake, but the dark sinster corners leading off into the trees. I enjoyed giving the shadows some colour and this led to a series based on obscure little streams in the bush around Wellington.

'The Yes Guy', Bone Carving, 2009.
This needs a final sanding and I'm a bit disappointed that he is a little cross eyed. This will be the final bone piece for a while so I can concentrate on painting for the upcoming holidays. I will be getting some new bone soon too as I have had to use curved and stained scraps for a while now.

'Otto', Bone Carving, 2009.
This piece of bone has a mottled red stain through it but I am still reasonably happy with it.

'S.B', Cardboard and glue. 2009
For a class at school we are going to make pinatas and I made this as an example for the kids. I had intended to get all of the joints perfect, as a good example should be, but came to the the conclusion that it didn't matter if we were going to beat him into pieces anyway. Because of the shadows in this picture it looks like he has a mo' Flanders would be proud of. The idea came from Matt Couper's 'Hugs and Kisses' series.

'Nelson', Bone Carving, 2009.
This piece of bone is quite curved so it is difficult to get his hunchback and over-bite in the same photo. Everytime I want to move on and do something else I get another idea for a character to do but with holidays coming up, the focus will switch back to painting.

'Sunrise, Mt Sinai, Egypt', 2004.

In 2004 I spent two weeks in Egypt with a tour group travelling around by train and truck. Easter Monday we woke up at 4am and walked up to the top of Mt Sinai with other assorted pilgrims to watch the sun rise. The warm sun was welcomed by our frozen bones and the trek back past the monastery was just as spectacular.

'Worm's Head, Gower Peninsula, Wales', 2004.
Another piece from a little road trip around the U.K. The Gower Peninsula was very beautiful with its little bays and stone-walled, lined country lanes. Not far from the top of the path to this viewpoint was a quaint little tearoom, where I enjoyed a well earned cuppa and Devonshire scones.

'Number One', Bone Carving, 2009
All together now,
'Who controls the British Crown? Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps? Who keeps the Martains under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car? Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs the cave fish of their sight? Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do!'
Boo-yah!

'Mljet, Croatia', 2006.
Another piece from the trip to Croatia in 2006.

'Kynance Cove, Cornwall, England', 2003.
During my first summer in the U.K I spent a long weekend in Cornwall staying in B&B's and visiting such delightful places as 'Mousehole'. Kynance Cove was near the southern most tip of the country and even during the English summer, was very cold for swimming.

'Cleetus Spuckler', Bone Carving, 2009.
Not the nicest piece of bone to work with but I quite like this so far. Other Simpsons candidates for future bone carving include 'Fat Tony', 'Apu' and 'Moe Syzlak'.

Bone Carving #2.

This week I've been working on this piece. I saw the Escher drawing last week and it gave me the idea for the old school skull in top hat carving. This needs a final fine sand and polish as I'm not too happy with it so far.

'From Matapaua Bay, Coromandel', 2003.
This was the first piece that I painted when I moved to the UK in 2003, in a tiny little dark room in Kensal Green. It was a drawing I had of a trip to the Coromandel just before leaving and the beautiful little bay (with its crazy steep access road) seemed a world away from the glum, dark London clouds and skyline.

'Naxos, Greece', 2005.
Another picture from Greece. I was only in Naxos for a day or two but my lasting impressions will be the time lazing on the beach, and a great little restaurant called the Picasso Mexican Bistro which did amazing burritos.

'Alesund, Norway', 2005.
I found this piece today, another from the Norway trips in 2005. Alesund is on the western coast of Norway and I spent a few days there, making trips inland to see the fjiords, before heading north towards the Lofoten Islands. Of all the places I visited when based in the UK, Norway and Morocco were my two favourites.

Dia de los Muertos Skull, 2009.
Lately of an evening I've been eyeing up the dog's bones lying around the house, with an idea to do some bone carving. This is something I have done in the last week with the details carved into the bone with an old file, it now needs a final sanding and a polish.

'Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, Ireland', 2004.
When I lived in London, one of my first trips away was to Ireland on a eight day tour around the south of the country. Glendalough was about 45 minutes south of Dublin and supposedly where some scenes for the movie 'Braveheart' where shot, apparently there were tax benefits for filming in Ireland.

'Ted's View, Peak District, England', 2006.
For a while, whilst living in the UK, I had access to a car and used it to make trips around England during weekends and school holidays. After a trip to see family in Liverpool I took a detour on the way back to London to travel through the Peak District. I was only there for a day but this view overlooked rolling hills, ferns, bramble and had a bench bearing a plaque 'Ted's View', testament to some sorely missed, local character.