Recent commission, a deconsecrated church in Helmsley, North Yorkshire.
St Aidan’s Church, Helmsley
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Category Archives: drawing
Some Recent Jazz Drawings
Thanks to Steve Hanley on drums, John Dyson on saxophone, Steve Crocker on double bass. This was a Rush Hour Jazz gig last month at SevenArts, Leeds.
Night Train
People at the Bar
They seemed to be having a good time. It’s a good bar.
Jazz Drawings
Trying to see the jazz music I’ve heard recently…
More Jazz Paintings
Great jazz in LS7. This is Denys Baptiste on saxophone, and Jon Scully on trumpet.
Jazz Paintings
Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan
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Happy birthday, Bob Dylan. Thanks for all the great songs.
Rush Hour Jazz
Drawings from the recent Rush Hour Jazz gig at Seven Arts, Leeds. John Settle on vibes, Will Powell on guitar, José Canha on double bass, and Dom Moore on drums.
Coquet Island, Northumberland
Had a few days away at Amble, on the North-East coast.
Five minutes walk to the sea – how happy can you be?
The Mersey Gateway
Opened in 2017, the Mersey Gateway Bridge spans the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal between Widnes and Runcorn. The new bridge is as mesmerising to me as the old Silver Jubilee Bridge was when I was a kid.
Nikki Iles Jazz Orchestra
Some drawings from the recent gig by Nikki Iles and her amazing 20 piece Jazz Orchestra. At Seven Arts, Leeds 7.
World On Our Doorstep III
Three of the amazing performances at World On Our Doorstep festival in Leeds recently. Here is Panjumby, Des Hurley and Friends, and Claudio Kron.
World On Our Doorstep II
More drawings from the World On Our Doorstep Festival at Seven Arts in Leeds last month. Here is Ali Bullivent, Paula Ryan, and Satnam Rathore.
World On Our Doorstep
A recent festival of local music from around the world. Appearing here – Manouche à Trois, Sugarwell Hill, and The Bhangra Duet.
View from the M56, Helsby Hill
A painting from memory.
Helsby Hill overlooks Frodsham Marshes and the River Mersey. Welsh hills in the distance.
Stormcloud Over Norfolk Gardens
This afternoon, about 4 o’clock. Walking home, I was hailed and rained on.
Eastertide
Shibden Valley, Looking South
The footpath heading south from Corporal Lane, Queensbury, BD13.
Shibden was formerly spelt Schepedene – the sheep vale.
It’s high up and my brother lives nearby. We joke about how it’s always 10° colder there than in Leeds – even though he’s only 20 miles away…
Snow and No School
Despite the ongoing difficulties, people of various ages have
been out enjoying the snow.
Or in my case, watching people of various ages enjoying the snow…
This was last Friday afternoon, in Chapel Allerton Park, LS7.
And it was a beautiful day.
Still Life with Witch Hazel
New paintings for a new year…
Witch hazel is said to have various healing properties – something
we could all do with right now.
After Mystic Nativity
After ‘Mystic Nativity‘, a painting from 1500 by Sandro Botticelli.
The Mystic Nativity is said to depict the end of the world, even though the main theme is one of peace. Happy Christmas, one and all.
Under Lockdown Skies
This second lockdown is hard.
The longest month in history? – and still 12 days to go.
Self Portrait 2020 – Coronavirus
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Catching a Pike
A fishing memory… from 1972, summer holiday on Lake Windermere.
It bent the rod double – nobody thought I could hold it…
Woke up recently with this in my head.
I asked dad about it, and he sent me the slide below…
We gave the pike to the girls on the next boat,
and they cooked it for their tea.
Plague of Locusts
Locusts like damp conditions to lay eggs. Heavier rain than usual has caused a boom in the locust population. The swarms are devastating crops across East Africa and the Middle East, threatening the food supplies and livelihoods of millions of people.
Use of pesticides is the only way of controlling the locust outbreak, but current flight restrictions due to coronavirus are impeding supplies to the region.
Leaving the Pub
Not the only one leaving.
House Portrait #58
A recent commission was to draw this house in Chapel Allerton, Leeds.
It was built 200 years ago, in 1820 – the same year that Anne Brontë was born and HMS Beagle first launched.
Anne Brontë
HMS Beagle in the Strait of Magellan
Click here to find out more about my House Portraits.
Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
Drawn in about 3°C last weekend. To the north, St Mary’s Lighthouse and wind turbines. Looking south, Cypriot registered cargo ship, Imavere, at anchor.
Emley Moor Transmitters
Repairs are currently being undertaken at Emley Moor transmitting station near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and there is a temporary mast alongside the 1971 concrete construction.
This is the tallest freestanding structure in the UK (1,084ft). Also a Grade II listed building.
The antennas broadcast digital radio and TV across the North of England – reaching Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York, and even Manchester, across the Pennines.
It takes 7 minutes in the lift to get to the top – I hope to take that ride one day.
Wind Turbines
Woke up with this in my mind’s eye a couple of weeks ago. Not surprising – turbines are on the increase!
Below is a view from East Leeds, looking West – turbines are part of the landscape, near and far. You can also see the new Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF) building in LS9.
Further North
A local bar in Chapel Allerton, LS7.
Fire
The fires in my garden were festive, exciting –
Stars and sparks mingling
Woodsmoke a spicy scent, in your hair lingering.
The fires in my fireplace were friendly, inviting –
Warming and mellowing music and wine
The glow in the hearth made your eyes gleam and shine.
But this was a fire that was bitter and frightening
It came uninvited
Rapacious as lightning
Tore through the house, left my life dark and hollow
Its flames soon extinguished
Then long-lasting sorrow.
Weeks of toil, months of mourning, confusion and grieving
And realisation of what is not here –
Then sweep up the ashes and dump what we’re leaving –
We’ll build a new bonfire
The first of the year.
Poem by TW
Liverpool Cathedral
‘One of the great buildings of the world’
– Sir John Betjeman
A dark and rainy winter afternoon last year. Liverpool Cathedral is a complicated and difficult building to draw. I was in my hometown to show paintings in ‘Who is My Neighbour?’, an exhibition about migration and refugee issues.
Isle of Tiree II
The Isle of Tiree is the most westerly island of the Inner Hebrides.
It is relatively small – about twelve miles long and three miles wide
– and very flat.
View from Pasture Lane, LS7
My new view walking home, looking across Chapel Allerton Park. I moved across the border to Leeds 7 a few weeks ago. The house is on a very steep hill but so far I’ve only fallen over once. There are lots of dogs and cats here.
View from the lay-by, A82
A82, 14 mls N of Tyndrum.
Willow Tree, Chapel Allerton
It’s dark at 4 o’clock.
The willow tree is adorned with fairy lights
for the festive season.
Cars and people are on the move and
I’m drawing in a doorway.
Public toilets, Bramhope, Leeds
Today is World Toilet Day, a UN initiative to highlight the global sanitation crisis. Over 4.5 billion people around the world live without a household toilet that safely disposes of their waste. The consequences for health and child survival are severe.
These public toilets are in Bramhope, Leeds.
Data from the Great British Public Toilet Analysis indicates there are about 9000 public toilets left in the UK. Find your nearest convenience at The Great British Public Toilet Map.
See also:
Public Toilets, Woodhouse Moor
Public Toilets, New Brighton
House Portrait #45
Had to stand on top of step ladders leaning against the ivy hedge for this one, it took nearly an hour. Managed not to lose balance or get arrested for snooping.
Roundhay Artists Open Studios
Over 20 artists living in Roundhay invite you in for 2 days this weekend during the annual Roundhay Artists Opens Studios event.
I’m one of three artists who will be showing our work at St Edmund’s Church, Lidgett Park Road, LS8 1JN.
Open: Sunday 30th April 1pm – 5pm
Monday 1st May 11am – 5pm
Wheelchair accessible.
House Portrait #35
An art lover’s house in Roundhay, Leeds. The owners requested a drawing in colour and I was happy to oblige. Painted last week on watermarked T & J H Kent paper from c.1950.
Emley Moor Transmitter
Emley Moor transmitting station in Kirklees, West Yorkshire. The tallest freestanding structure in the UK at 1084 feet high, and a Grade II listed building.
Here’s a 5 minute video showing the history of the mast and the incredible view from the top.
Jo Dunn Local Artist
My stall at Oakwood Craft Market
Oakwood, Roundhay, Leeds 8 ~
once a month, usually the last Saturday.
This was a particularly windy day
~ and I did not blow away.
Pet Redbeard
A local Viking who kindly agreed to sit. Pet has striking features which I am drawn to draw.
House Portrait #18
An art lover’s house in Oakwood, Leeds – early one morning, the end of August. The trampoline is going soon, but the owners and I were glad it features in the drawing. Can you see the Witch on her broomstick weathervane?
Sunday afternoon, Roundhay Park
The last day of the summer holidays…
warm, sunny and showery.
Walking and scooting round the lake,
having a good time and
eating ice cream,
feeding the ducks and
holding hands,
looking at the clouds and
drawing pictures.
House Portrait #199
Our house, is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy, ’cause of you…
Black Woods
Late August, the leaves seem more black than green.
I don’t want to go in the woods when they are like this.
Flies buzzing.
Heavy and sweet smells of rotting.
House Portrait #40
“I believe that much unseen is also here.”
Jo Dunn 