Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 18

Week 18: Grandmother.

"Nanny vs the Komodo Dragon." Charcoal pencil sketch with green watercolour pencil shading. Based on a vivid childhood memory, a family anecdote often recalled. My photo albums are in storage and the only reference photo I had of Nanny was tiny. I was almost tempted to do the scene from the other side of the glass. But I needed the two main characters to lock eyes. That's me to the left, barely able to see above the window ledge.

Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 12

Week 12: Non-dominant hand.

"Komodo dragon." White opaque Signo ink on brown paper, with black ballpoint detail, drawn with my left hand. Based on my own photo of a garden ornament.

Update:

Week 12: Non-dominant hand II

"Easter Bunny". Watercolours on watercolour card. Based on my own photo of my grandmother's rabbit ornament. I am a leftie; his was also with my weak right hand.

Rock out with your Spock out!

Yesterday, I got on a train to Petersham, just as I did one month earlier, to attend a meeting. A heavily-tattooed and facially-studded blond guy with a bicycle came into the carriage. He was in his 20s and wore a T-shirt with Leonard Nimoy on it, and the legend that read, "Rock out with your Spock out". I remembered seeing him in the same outfit four weeks ago, on the same train. A ponytailed guy in his 30s immediately complimented him on the T-shirt and engaged him in conversation about "Star Trek" - and soon they were trying to out-trivia each other: eg. Zachary Quinto had to cheat to do the Vulcan salute in the new movies; "The Wrath of Khan" and "First Contact" were the best films; "Nemesis" kinda sucked but they both liked it anyway, etc.

I chimed in with an anecdote about the Vulcan matriarch in "Amok Time" needing a piece of cotton round her fingers to do the salute correctly.

"Oh, you mean T'Pau?" they both asked. The younger guy had a thick Irish accent.

"Did you know that 'The Wrath of Khan' was on at the Dendy in Newtown a few weeks ago?" asked the Irishman.

"I was there," I boasted.

"I'd never seen it on the big screen before," said the Irish guy. "Hey, I remember you!" he said to me. "You were wearing a Starfleet uniform. You were in my row!"

"That's so cool," said the ponytailed guy. "I wish I'd been there."

Whoever said Trek geekdom was dead?