I’m comfortable with the techniques that I have established for drawing the different aspects of the castles. Things like vineyards, stone walls, deteriorating walls, thatched roofs, trees, atmospheric perspective, to name a few. Although I’m far from finished le Chateau d’Aigle, I will be starting the next drawing which will be le Chateau de Vufflens.

The imposing fortress Vufflens represents the most striking example of a small group of Romandie castles dating from the late Middle Ages, characterized primarily by the fact that they were built in brick. Vufflens sits on a small hill overlooking Lake Geneva (Leman), near Morges.

I have made some good progress on the Chateau d'Aigle drawing that I started during the first week of January. I have around 30 hours into the drawing. The project is working out well. I needed to work out some problems for textures and realism but overall I'm confident that I will get a good result with this first drawing. I anticipate the drawing to be finished for the end of February.

Clearly I need some better lighting in my studio for taking pictures, but this shot should give you an idea of the progress.

I'll be looking forward to finishing those grape vines, they are a real pain to draw!

I have decided to draw three large castle drawings for my "Chateaux de la Romandie" project. These will be the foundation of the collection. I will then proceed to draw 10 to 15 supporting drawings of other castles and views from castles.

The first drawing will be of Chateau d'Aigle.

The château is an impressive example of medieval castle building, founded and expanded by the advancing Savoyards in the thirteenth century. The Bernese burnt the place to the ground in 1475, rebuilding and redesigning it to serve both a defensive function on the fringes of Bernese power and as a residence for the installed bailiffs. Following the Vaudois revolution of 1798, the castle reverted to local hands, and remained the town’s prison right up until 1972, when nobody could be found to take on the job of jailer and so all the resident convicts had to be transferred to Vevey

I had the occasion to do a little fan art for Christmas. This portrait of Hugh Laurie was done for one of his biggest fans in Switzerland. I think that she is sleeping with the thing.

This was done on 50 x 70 cm 260 gsm Bristol paper using 6B, 3B, F, 4H graphite.

I had one principle goal when creating this portrait. Make him as romantic and serene as possible. The use of the denim shirt and leather jacket give him a younger rebel look. I also smooth out the skin and did not draw all the wrinkles making him appear 10 or 15 years younger. I also trimmed the stubbly beard to give him a cleaner look. The result is a Dr. House that any woman could love.