Black on Grey on White

Ever wondered if, we artists, like writers, have to tackle the notorious "page blanche" syndrome? The big white gaping blank page hole? We do. Sometimes. These infuriating times, times when everything you know goes blank, do plague our creative muses. Paper Clone and " Uncrushable " are results of blank moments. Symbolic pieces. Drawings tentatively touching the third dimension. Nothing is quite as it seems. Nothing crushed remains crushed forever. Strength and beauty always rise to the surface. "Uncrushable" Pencil on Paper 42x50 cm 1550 Euros Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved .

Summer's ending, schools have started and the studio is where I am heading with a wee skip in my step. (We've been apart for too many moons!!) Over the last three months, work has had a strange staccato rhythm with interruptions sometimes hitting very loud fortissimos. The emphasis now is on creating a beautiful flowing melody with strong Vivaldi tones and Beethoven hues. "Chinese Whispers" is the result of this interesting mix of working rhythms and scribbling hours. I love this drawing simply because it's all about perspective, emotion and lazy manic summer days. Chinese Whispers - DETAIL Pencil on Paper  30x59 cm Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. Chinese Whispers Pencil on Paper  30x59 cm Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved.

The Pencil Art Society , a young society well on the way to becoming a force to be reckoned with, has a philosophy that totally struck home. The Society is just what the pencil art world needs: a strong dedicate voice lobbying the power, the beauty and the versatility of pencil art. Member artists have a talent in abundance and I really could not miss the opportunity to  discover their pencil world. The amazing news that followed was so very humbling and made all the "struggle moments" over the years so very worth while. On the first of August, along with three other fantastic pencil artists  Denise J. Howard ,  Karen Hull  and  Wendy Thompson , we received wonderful news: The judges selected us as the first artists to receive Master Pencil Artist Status (MPAS)  Woot woot woot!!!! ~ The jury has examined all information and portfolios submitted by those PAS members wishing to obtain Master Pencil Artist Status (MP...

Born into a world that did not want him, this wee chap’s fate changed. He can now be found frolicking around the daily life of his new warm and loving forever home.  His cuteness and adorability reaping smiles, hourly. A joy to be around, a joy to draw. Meet Nemo ... Nemo Pencil on Paper, 32x27 cm Sold Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved

Mea culpa. Stalled my blog!!!! Life went into overdrive. Foot slipped off the clutch, releasing it too way quickly, timing went up the creak and the word flow came to one terrifying standstill, lasting not days or even weeks but months. Two to be exact. Neglect like this has not happened in the 6 years I've been blogging. Quite shocking! Behind the scenes, in the depth of the studio, my pencils have been active, totally ignoring (and forgiving) my poor blogging skills and have been working scribbling near to non-stop. No bad driving going on in the studio.... Instead new explorations have been concocted, fun combinations have emerged. The result a combined rendering of my favourite subject ( Hurricane ) and favourite substrate ( paper )... Fingers crossed life resume a touch of normality ...soon. "Paper Clone" Pencil on Paper, 35x49cm Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved

Sweet and sour lemons. They're coming from every direction, fast and furious. Seriously, life's throwing lemons like there's no tomorrow! In some sort of defensive response, I find myself very very busy catching them in the hope of making some sort of lemonade! (Not really liking lemonade and having no firm idea what a good lemonade should taste like is not helping!). So, I'm juggling! Juggling the little lemony things,  juggling them into a fusion of harmonious mixes, working out delicate blends of sweet and sour that would knock even Jamie Oliver and Michel Roux's socks off! There's no hiding place right now, a fighting smile the answer. The day life's' lemons forget about "moi" is near. Until then it's a stoic chin-up, warmish smiles and making darn sure to remember the little things in life really are the very best.

It's fantastic! So many of you are asking questions that I know the answer to and that I feel confident answering! Happy dances! Therefore, it may very well be time (after thousands of hours at the drawing table) to, finally, create a wee series of tips and share my experience with all of you here on my blog. My Short Drawing Tips (SDT) are going to be short (yep!), exclusively about the technical side of graphite drawing (double yep!) and will all be based on my trials experienced and errors made. Some of you may remember I shared my drawing recipe a while back with a more poetic focus. The objective this time round, is quite simply to share, in a short and snappy way, how I approach my craft. These SDT s are never going to boast being the right and only way, they are just what works for me . Topics covered will be the very popular topics of choice of paper, pencil choice, drawing surface, sharpeners, fixatives, blending but also extra personal tips of the trade. ...