Michael Gage

Falcon Point Piazza, London
Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm. Click to enlarge.

Hoardings around the building site for the Tate Modern extension.


Man (pushing a tuba on a trolley): "There's not a single German artist that I don't know."
Woman: "That's probably intentional, isn't it?"

Girl on mobile: "You're in Stratford, aren't you? When I heard you drop the money, I thought, she must be in Stratford."

Tenby, from the Castle Hill
Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13cm

Great view of the town and harbour, but really needed another half-hour to finish it properly.

Click to enlarge.

This morning: rain and wind over Strumble Head and grey drizzle at Fishguard; this afternoon: hot sunshine and clear blue skies. Steep road down to the coast: grass touches the car on both sides. Honesty box in the car park. Ruined church at Cwm yr Eglwys; only the west wall still stands, the rest swept away by the sea which is just below the bench on the left.

So hot now, my watercolours are going soft in their pans.

Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13 cm.

The Blue Lagoon, Abereiddy
Ink and watercolour, 43 x 13cm

Abandoned slate quarry, opened up to the sea. Ruined buildings. Dogs splash in the green water. People jump from the ledge into the lagoon. A girl plays folk tunes on a penny whistle.

Ink and watercolour, 43 x 13cm.

Grey day in Hay-on-Wye.

Ink and watercolour, 42 x 13 cm.

Looking down the main street from the market cross. White and blue flowers recreate the water flow from the defunct pump. Three people argue over whether to have chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Two coaches ignore the "No coaches" sign. A red Mercedes parks inches away from me, on the double yellow lines. In the churchyard, a woman touches the moss on the gravestones.

An English woodland in spring... sunshine dappling through fresh green leaves... nettles pushing up enthusiastically, birds singing, and squirrels running round... Does this count as "urban" sketching?

Possibly not...

...except that this was painted at the end of a pedestrian tunnel under the M23 London to Brighton motorway, and the birdsong was drowned out by the roar of lorries and cars passing overhead...



Ink and watercolour, 30 x 23 cm.

(First in a series: Click here to see the rest)