Pictures by Derek Bacon
A date with Pablo Picasso and David Hockney. Nice. But who’s the third person in the illustration, the one sketching these two giants? Why, that’s you dear viewer. You!
This is No.2 in my series of date nights with people I’d like to meet but obviously never will.
Illustration of a dream I had when I was 17. In the dream I was in some kind of scene from the Bhagavad Gita. There was this gorgeous Indian-music version of ’Ticket to Ride’ playing, as I emerged through a manhole into the street. All true folks.
Cycling through the Amsterdam rain is no fun.
A drawing of Edmundo drawing. This was in a restaurant at the Zaanse Schans (on Gail and Dudley’s combined birthdays). People are particularly good to draw when they’re also drawing. Their minds are on their drawing, so they are quite ‘real’ for a change.
Drawing made in ink, pencil, gel pen and graphite. The yellow background is with one of those highlighter pens, but it ran out towards the end, which is why it’s a different yellow on the right.
Quick brown ink (plus grey pencil) sketch of the Kalverpolder, near the Zaanse Schans.
Drawing of Jisp, which is between Wormer and Wormerveer (not far from Amsterdam). Drawn in red and purple ink, with colour pencil and gel pen.
Two quick ink and pencil sketchbook drawings of Gail’s plant (from when Gail was still staying with me in Wormerveer). I was a little bit drunk when I made this. Is it OK to admit that? Normally I wouldn’t make a point of combining the two things.
This ink and wash sketch, with red pencil and black ink pen, was drawn really quickly in the near-dark outside Café Batavia in Wormerveer. At the time I felt it was a bit unfinished but it turned out to be one of my favourites. It has a sort of Japanese calligraphy look to it, which I like.
Ink painting of Westerpark in Amsterdam, yesterday. Painted in Cobalt Blue fountain pen ink by Graf von Faber-Castell—my favourite ink ever. Available as a print here.