#Inktober2018

#Inktober2018 - "flowing"

 Click for my Inktober album on Flickr: CH Inktober 2018

This month is "Inktober", a daily drawing challenge taking place on social media. Jake Parker started this back in October 2009 to practise his "inking skills" and it caught on. He publishes a new prompt list every year to help everyone find ideas and motivation here: The Official List

I had never participated before but after following last year's submissions, I couldn't resist trying one or two of the prompts. After that, it's difficult to stop. In my opinion, they are designed to keep you going: easy ones interspersed with more difficult ones. Some people stick to a particular theme or style while others use alternate prompt lists. In my case, I'm just experimenting with some supplies I own but seldom use and trying to make it to the end of the month.

Flickr groups displaying work by other participants:
  Inktober 2018
  Flickr Inktober 2018

Virtual Paintout - Amsterdam - September 2018

As usual, I spent hours looking for the perfect Google Street View scene and finally settled on one of the first ones I found: 570 Prinsengracht

"Bike Tour"
15x10cm oil on canvas panel

Street View Malta - September 2018

This is the final version of the painting started when the Virtual Paintout was in Malta back in July 2017.
Based on this image:  Google Street View

"Marsaxlokk Harbour"
13x18cm oil on canvas
(private collection, Naples)

Virtual Paintout - U.S. Virgin Islands II - August 2018 (first stages)

After concentrating on urban sketching in coloured pencil for months, it was nice using oil paints again. I plan to continue working on this painting but had to sign and photograph today in order to meet the deadline for Bill Guffey's VPO site.

Here's the link I used: Google Street View

The three previous stages:

Link to final version

"Clouds at Isaac Point"
8x10inch oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

Virtual Paintout - U.S. Virgin Islands - August 2018

What a great surprise this month: the Virtual Paintout is back and Bill Guffey selected the US Virgin Islands for his first paintout in nearly a year. 

As soon as I found out, I began visiting St. Croix in Street View. The Google images date from summer 2016 so a year before Irma and Maria struck the island. I didn't want to paint views of people's homes while wondering if they had resisted the category 5 hurricanes, so I settled on some quiet beachscapes. 

Here's the Google Street View link: The beach at Sandy Point 

“Sandy Point”
13x18 cm oil on canvas panel

Virtual Tour of the European Union

3/2018: I've just published the first draft of my "28 Member States of the European Union" page:

Link to EU 28