Weekly drawing 35 second drawing: Hot in pursuit of litter bugs

"Hot in pursuit of litter bugs" I thought this could be great premise for a Children's story

Weekly drawing 35: My Bed is a Boat

My Bed is a Boat
by Robert Louis Stevenson

My bed is like a little boat;
Nurse helps me in when I embark;
She girds me in my sailor's coat
And starts me in the dark.

At night I go on board and say
Good-night to all my friends on shore;
I shut my eyes and sail away
And see and hear no more.

And sometimes things to bed I take,
As prudent sailors have to do;
Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake,
Perhaps a toy or two.

All night across the dark we steer;
But when the day returns at last,
Safe in my room beside the pier,
I find my vessel fast.

Weekly drawing 34: The Little Warrior

Two sketches drawn from my daughter's bedside in intensive care.

1. The Little Warrior returns
2. The Warrior grows up

Weekly drawing 31: Hope

CICU - Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick. Little babies hooked up to monitors with hundreds of chords. No parent wants to see their child like this.

This is a hard ward, but I wouldn't want our poor little baby anywhere else. These people are saints.

Weekly drawing 33: Today was the 23rd day of our adventure in the Congo.

This drawing is based on an amusing story written by Anna Roberts for our daughter in hospital.

"...I am now sure that Africa is the finest continent for breakfasting.

We washed our dishes and then mopped them dry with the fine and shaggy mane of a passing lion. His long tail flopped languidly from side to side as we dried first our saucers, then our goblets, then our crab forks and so on in the approved fashion. He was very gracious about it, with only a few gentle claw swipes if we reached for the gravy boat before the largest of the frog trongs..."

Anna Roberts

Weekly drawing 32: Trust

..."trust me Little one, I'll get you back home. So rest yourself there's plenty of time" ...

The Elephant and the Baby
By Joel Tarling

Weekly drawing 30: Blue Banded Bee

Amegilla cingulata Blue Banded Bee, an Australian Native Bee.
We recently had six of these little pollinators in our Marrickville garden enjoying the tomato plants.

Weekly drawing 29: An Australian ABC of animals

Illustrated Alphabet of Australian animals, pen and ink

Weekly drawing 28: Stonemasons building the Papal Palace, Avignon

Stonemasons building the Papal Palace, Avignon

This drawing is based on a model I saw last year in France at the Palais des Papes (Papal Palace) in Avignon in southern France. I wanted to pay tribute to the highly skilled 13th century stonemasons who built this awe-inspiring structure. Their story isn't celebrated enough! With only simple tools and lots of elbow grease they achieved a monunental work of art.

13th century stonemasonry tools

Photos from our visit to Avignon in September 2010.

Weekly drawing 27: Luna Park resident fairground artists Arthur Barton and Fred Schweickle

Arthur Barton and Fred Schweickle painting
"The building of Luna Park" mural. Coney Island

This drawing was inspired after watching "The Art Of Fun" a documentary funded by the Library Council Of New South Wales. The Documentary is a history of Luna Parks art and artists. The artists include Rupert Brown, Arthur Barton, Fred Schweickle, Martin Sharp, Peter Kingston, Leigh Hobbs and Ashley Taylor. I thought it was a great insight into the many creative people involved in making Luna Park shine.

"You often see Arthur and Fred Schweickle walking around. They both had white overalls and hats on... Always looked dapper, had his little hat on. They were special"....  

                                        Tony Maloney Special Projects Manager Luna Park, 1961-2007