Scandimania cafe, Uppingham, late afternoon

January 30th 2025

Version 1, a quick sketch in situ

Version 2 - a quick second effort later on

Leonie

 From a photograph taken by Harry in April 2024

Eilidh in Jan 2013

 I had a go at the head from the previous sketch

Girl in tree

 From a photo of Eilidh, taken in Prospect Park in, 2013. 

Table and hands

 Kino Cafe, Kettering, Jan 2025.

Kettering & District Arts Soc holds a sketching morning each month at the Kino Cafe.

The Advent musicians 23 and 24

 Number 23 - drum kit - Brian plays drums. He used to play in a punk band (Killifax) in New York.

and finally number 24 features Hazel on the keyboard

The Advent musicians 21 and 22

 Number 21 - the present parents dread?

Number 22 - an awkward one, based on a photo of Kathryn Tickell, playing the Northumbrian small pipe.

 

The Advent musicians - 19 and 20

 For number 19 I used a picture of Angela Hewitt, but made no attempt to make the face recognisable. Harry plays a lot of piano, Dan used to,  I dabble a little on a keyboard, Esther used to play electronic organ, etc.

For number 20 I went for a simpler online reference and tried to get an idea of movement

The Advent musicians - 17 & 18

 The sitar in number 17, taken from a photo of Anoushka Shankar

and in number 18 the harmonica/ mouth organ, based on online reference for the figure and a poster of Larry Adler for the face.

The Advent musicians - 15 and 16

 Number 15 - castanets, from an online reference - brings memories of an evening in Córdoba

Number 16 - our village silver band comes round the village playing carols. This year it was a cold day! The euphonium player was the basis for this drawing. Dan also used to play the euphonium when he was at school.

The Advent musicians - 13 and 14

This isn’t anyone I know. We have been to performances by Catrin Finch, and more recently Oliver Wass as part of the Wiggin Was duo.

Number 14 was taken from Watteau’s Le Lorgneur (the Leerer/ Ogler)

The Advent Musicians 11 & 12

 The guy with pan pipes and guitar was busking/ entertaining people in the main square in San Pedro de Atacama.

My original sketch from 2016

Number 12 from an online photograph

The Advent Musicians - 9 & 10

 Number nine was copied from a greeting card. I rather like the fantasy aspect and the lively pose.

Number 10 is drawn from an online photo - both Adrian and Rose play the clarinet, but thus is neither of them

The Advent Musicians 7 & 8

 Eilidh plays the cello, but this is not her .

For the flute player I copied the image of a statue, hence the blue look

Adrian used to play the flute, but it certainly isn’t him.

The Advent musicians 5 & 6

 Leonie plays the trumpet - recently in a klezmer band. This is not a likeness of her, though the hair could be!

The pose is copied from a photo online.

Esther plays the flugelhorn - this is from a photo of her - again face not an exact likeness!

The Advent musicians 3 & 4

 Grandson Joseph is developing into a mean sax player, though this guy doesn’t look like him.

Hazel is a guitarist - this is based on a photo but the face is a not very good approximation

Harry, Aneurin and Isaac also play guitar.

The Advent musicians - numbers 1 & 2

 A rather rapid pencil sketch, of a random recorder player, possibly me

and a ukulele player to accompany me - Harry in reality, but not in the picture.

Horst Graff from Weintraub’s Syncopators.

 After reading the story about the reappearance of a painting of this band, I had a go at drawing just the figure of the saxophonist.

Jewish Museum in Berlin buys painting of Weintraubs Syncopators, who played the soundtrack to the Weimar cabaret

Max Oppenheimer’s 1927 painting of Weintraubs Syncopators. Photograph: Roman März/JMB

A musical interlude for Advent

 From December 1st to December 24th, I did mini sketches of musicians as an Advent Calendar. Some from photos, some from reference drawings, including cartoony figures.