Recently I was down in Brighton for a week and I took my drawing kit and a couple of photos to work from with me (England is cold at this time of year and I didn't expect to get out much!) I was staying at my mother-in-laws house and she has a good collection of drawing and painting books left behind by my father-in-law who was also an artist.
Flicking through them I realised how much I could learn by copying some of the paintings in pencil, as I didn't have any paints. It was a good exercise in seeing and drawing tones and textures, and learning as I went along how the masters before us were able to construct such wonderful pictures. Here are just a couple of examples - Carmelina by Henri Matisse and, by way of contrast, Lady in a Rocking Chair by Pablo Picasso.
Inspired by these I then worked from a photo I had taken in Northern France a few years ago of the massive statues at the Canadian war memorial. I've called them Brothers in Arms after the Dire Straits song.
A handy tip - if you draw in pencil and don't want your masterpiece smudged afterwards, just spray it with a cheap hairspray to fix it. You can even spray it as you go along and still draw on top of it. Much cheaper than the fixer you buy at an art shop, and just as good!
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