Sketchbook November.

 

Top to bottom: Parliament Oak, the Major Oak, Byron's Oak, (Newstead Abbey, only the stump remains), Lightning Tree (Thoresby Park), and felled tree trunk.


All artwork copyright ian gordon craig

Sketchbook September, Thoresby Park.

 

Sketchbook pages from my walks around Thoresby Park.


 All artwork copyright ian gordon craig.

A chance poetic encounter.

 Today I made a trip into town to place copies of my book inside those venues I once frequented, and wherein some of the inspiration came from. The trip resulted in an encounter which left a lasting impression.

I don’t give money to the homeless, but I always buy them a sandwich & drink lunch if I see them outside the store I get my groceries from. The guy I came across today was situated nowhere near a food store. So, in high spirits, I asked him if he read poetry, and gave him a copy of my book.

It transpired that not only does he read poetry, he writes it as well, and commenced to recite two for me. They were incredible! So there were, exchanging poems on the pavement. Good times.

I encouraged him to self-publish. But I don’t know how the homeless could access that facility.

All text copyright ian gordon craig.

Hari Krishna.

 Strolling around town today, with no particular intention. A young Hari Krishna guy asked me for a donation. I have no cash on me, not that I would have donated anyway, but offered a verse of the song instead. So, there I was, middle of a busy central city side-walk, singing a verse of “Hari Krishna, Hari Hari”. (You know the tune). His face lit up.

 All text ian gordon craig. 

Aliens.

 

Some silliness on Twitter / X, when I know I really should be writing. This is the problem with social media, even when one is not really sociable. The urge to get noticed overrides all sense.

All artwork copyright Ian Gordon Craig

My garden.

 

Top: If garden benches could only speak, what stories they could tell.

Bottom: I had to replace the heavy stone with an alternative arrangement in my tree-stump sculpture.

All photographs copyright ian gordon craig.

Spring.

 

All artworks copyright ian gordon craig.

Looking at things a different way.

 

A change from observational drawing, I decided on marker pens, imagination, cardboard sheets, and see what happens.

All artworks copyright ian gordon craig.

Landscapes in March.

 

March is my favourite month. The bleakness of January and February hopefully passed.

All artworks copyright ian gordon craig.

My first book's reception.

 I personally regard my first book as the most important thing I’ve ever created. In my own opinion, my artworks aren’t always as successful in achieving what I was trying to say. I like to think that those persons I especially wanted to read it, did so. Little else matters. Certainly not any hopes of commercial enterprise.

The reception was positive, albeit rather silent in some quarters close to home. If you actually knew me in the real world, between 2006 and 2020, you would have totally “got” it. Feedback from those who have “known” me via the internet in more recent times, has been positive. Those who had formed opinions of me over many, many years, may have found it harder to assimilate and comment upon. I understand that. C’est la vie.

I am now intending on a second book, either 46 short stories or (more likely), the novel I’ve been toying with for years. Art is now taking a back seat called sketchbook, rather than canvas and exhibitions.

All text & artwork copyright ian gordon craig.

Pastels in the Park.

 Weather was fine enough to visit Thoresby Park. I needed a bit of an art reset. So, oil pastels on large, cheep brown wrapping paper was the challenge of the day.

All artworks copyright ian gordon craig.

Published!

 

One might think that having done all the writing & editing work, then the Kindle Create and upload stage would be easy. No.  However, all is done now. I am published: "46 Contemporary Poems in Various Styles".

My original idea was to include 47 poems, the family's lucky number, but I rejected one piece. Reading one’s words on Kindle, as opposed to all the weeks of reading through them on my laptop, is a little odd at first. Seeing them through the "lens" of a Kindle screen, as indeed the audience will, takes a bit of getting used to. But by bedtime, I got over that.

All art and text copyright ian gordon craig.

Writing through October.

  I have spent the past couple of months preparing for self-publishing an eBook of my poems.

I think the earliest piece comes from the late-80s, but all the rest certainly from 2007 – 2020. However, everything chosen has been re-edited and improved. A lot of my writing used to be basic, stream of conscious stuff that I put on Blogger or sometimes even set to music. Those original posts provided just a starting point to now edit, embellish, or indeed mix together to make new works.

Today, after reading various self-publishing guide lines, I reached that point where all are now “ready to go”.

All text & Photographs copyright ian gordon craig.

October sketchbook.

 

Bridge over River Maun, Ollerton; clouds over Thoresby fields; Thoresby Park country lane. On the look-out again for new subjects. It's getting tricky!

 All artwork copyright ian gordon craig.

September sketchbook.

 

Top to bottom: Clootie tree, Newstead Abbey grounds, Oak Apples, Silver Birch.

I enjoy my sketchbook, and still have no plans at all to ever return to painting. Also, it keeps my Twitter page active, which might be useful to publicize my intended poetry book.

All artwork copyright ian gordon craig.

46 poems.

I set myself a target and a deadline, and I made it.

47 poems was the idea. (The number 47 has a family history). I had a lot of writing to sift through, much of it was intended for song lyrics, or basic "stream of conscious" pieces from old blogs. It all needed a lot of editing and re-writing. It became 46 poems. (One was rather too vitriolic).

Break now to do some sketching for a while before getting my head around e-book self publishing.

All text & images copyright ian gordon craig.

Looking for subjects to sketch.

 It's getting difficult to find new places to sketch. Seen here are a lightning tree in Thoresby Park, Nottingham Rock Cemetery, a bench on a hill in Thoresby Park, and a path leading to Perlethorpe Church.

All artwork copyright ian gordon craig.

July sketchbook is full of cakes.

 

All artwork copyright ian gordon craig