Inktober

So after starting this new blog I have, rather quickly, neglected this new blog. But I have my reasons. October onwards is my 'busy time' as you'd imagine with the build up to Christmas. As such I have been busy trying to produce some new prints for clubs I have not yet got in my collection. I am delighted to say that during this month I have managed to do Norwich City's Carrow Road along with two ground no longer with us; Cardiff's Ninian Park and Southampton's Dell.

However, I also decided on the whim of a whim to have a bash at Inktober this October. Inktober is basically an excuse for artists, be it professional, amateur or aspiring, to have a go and penning some doodles during the month. The whole Inktober thing is something I have seen others do in the past and in time people have begun to bend the rules and do work as they see fit. An old fashioned ink pen and paper is not everyone's way to produce masterpieces (or questionable doodles - see one or two of my piece this month).

So I started the month with the best intentions to do everything the old fashioned way. But I quickly learnt that I didn't feel anyway near as comfortable as I once would have done. My Jurgen Klinsmann and Gianfranco Zola drawings were both done the old way as well as my Ciao (Italia 90 mascot) and Armchair Andy piece. The rest however, were done in the medium by which I now work for the rest of the year; a Wacom Cintiq in Photoshop.

So here are a few of the pieces I have done. Some I did trying to be topical. For example, the day after England players were subject to racist abuse in Bulgaria I drew Raheem Sterling, a man who is shining light in the English game and carried himself with an immense dignity despite the various forms of abuse he has encountered during his short career.

I also stayed topical when England's Rugby stars saw off New Zealand in the World Cup Semi-Final drawing Maro Itoje. I don't know much about Rugby but I know enough to realise the guys was an absolute rock in that England side.

Inktober has also seen me try new styles, brushes and approaches to my work. For that, the whole process has been great. Some of the drawings in question would have taken me a day or two in the past but all of these were done in a relatively short time; the black and white drawings limited to half an hour each even if the adding of colour took me over the half hour time I had allowed myself each day.

So here are a selection of my pieces which prove I have a real thing for 90's football and hopefully these are some ideas that I will be able to use in future with different works.