La Haut

I finally saw UP-it still hasn't been released in the UK but I caught it last weekend while in France. It's one of Pixar's best-had me crying with sadness & joy. The (beautifully) stylized design of Carl & Russell must have proved awkward to pose but the animators worked wonders wringing emotion from their stumpy limbs! As others have noted the flights of fancy give the film a Miyazaki quality. To enjoy the picture you do have to buy into the conceits of the floating house, canine thought vocalizers, giant birds & dogs piloting aircraft!

On a side note did anyone notice the similarity between Muntz and the Kirk Douglas inspired character from the BIG STORY? I' m not implying any plagiarism but it was great to see the Douglas physiognomy applied to a CG design too.


As usual with Pixar movies the French dub is excellent. Charles Aznavour voices Carl in the version Francais.
I can't wait to see the film again in English & in 3-D!



At the cinema I learnt there's a live action Lucky Luke movie coming soon starring Jean Dujardin. Watch the trailer here. It's only been a couple of years since the last animated version.

Life Drawing pt.11

Final session of life drawing until the new term begins in September.

Warm up sketches of the other artists, students and colleagues.




1 min. gesture sketches.

Bristol environ

Bristol is an interesting city to live in with lots to sketch. I had the pleasure of sketch-crawling with my talented French colleague Monsieur Zebe. We passed a couple of lazy Saturday afternoons sketching people & buildings around town.



The Llandoger Trow pub is apparently where Stevenson was inspired to write Treasure Island & Defoe came up with Robinson Crusoe.


Check out Zebe's version.


Now the summer is (sometimes) here the riversides are full of people relaxing & drinking in the sun.



Around the harbour close to Aardman there are lots of stationed train wagons, cranes & crusty old boats to sketch.


See Zebe's sketch of the same crane here.





The Bristol Mod-Squad often bring their customised Lambrettas down to the harbourside to show off. One of them has the Godfather theme as a horn tune.


You can't beat some good old traditional Morris dancing!




On a day trip out of Bristol I visited Wells and drew the famous Cathedral. Later that afternoon I climbed up to Glastonbury Tor.


Bath and Wells are very close to Bristol & both towns offer great architecture to sketch.

Life Drawing pt.10

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Managed to loosen up a bit this week. I worked at A3 size with an assortment of brush pens and dried out calligraphy pens.


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By the final few poses I was having fun and exaggerating the proportions. After 10 weeks we're starting to see the models repeat their 'stock' poses so caricature can help liven things up.

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Life Drawing pt.9

Today's Nude

Last week several of us took part in the life drawing initiative tied into the Channel 4 series Today's Nude. Free life classes were staged across the country to encourage people to start drawing & of course we couldn't resist going along to the Bristol class as it was just down the road from the studio.










The first episode of the series is online here. It features Maggi Hambling talking about her approach to & philosophy of life drawing. She's a terrific artist & it's fascinating viewing.

Those of us in the 'Arthur Christmas' story team have started a blog dedicated to the life classes we've been attending.


I've added some recent sketches to the Urban Sketchers blog here. There are more here too.

I've also put up the first part of my report on my last visit with Ronald Searle.

An afternoon with the Searles

Last weekend Uli & I flew down to the French Riviera for a very special rendez-vous. We had been invited to lunch by Ronald Searle and his wife Monica. Excited and nervous we made the drive up into the mountains to the remote village where the Searles have lived for 40 years. We were to meet them at their favourite restaurant at noon on Saturday.


I had met Mr Searle previously but not his wife & Uli was only known to them through my written introduction. However the Searles soon made us feel like old friends as the anecdotes flowed as easily as the champagne. Ronald and Monica entertained us with tales of travel adventures, ghost-stories and famous friends. Amongst a wide range of subjects we talked about Fabergé eggs, a Welsh version of King Lear,Tony Curtis, cemetaries, Albrecht Durer and Diaghelev, the eskimo technique to cure seal skin with urine, sketching in the theatre with a telescope, Viennese ballet and both World Wars!


I realised meeting Ronald Searle previously on his own is to know only half of a couple that are inextribably linked & depend on the other for support, physically & emotionally. Monica is extremely charming company-a vivacious, strong woman who adores her husband and his art (and an accomplished artist & jewellry maker in her own right). It was clear that they're still very much in love after 50 years. They're a couple who value their privacy highly & welcoming us into their home was a rare privelege. Both Uli & I felt honoured to spend time with them. Ronald told me they had set aside the entire afternoon to answer our questions. Later at the house we were delighted to be able to peruse a couple of sketchbooks that Ronald had brought down for us. A rare treat for any Searle fan.


What's more Ronald presented me with a lovely gift - a cel set-up from Mr.Magoo -originally given to him in 1957 from the UPA crew. Monica also gave Uli & I a copy each of the catalogue from their joint exhibition held at the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum in Hanover.


The day was sheer joy for two Searle fans but it was Ronald & Monica's generosity & kindness that made the meeting so memorable & enjoyable.

Uli & I are both writing down as much as we can remember & plan to make further posts on our respective blogs. Ronald kindly allowed me to photograph the pages of his sketchbooks so I have a wealth of material to come on the Searle Tribute blog . . .


I could never have predicted dressing up like an eskimo in Ronald Searle's lounge!