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Ferry Folk

Richard Bell’s nature diary Saturday, 12th July 2008, Isle of Man, page 2 of 2

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IT’S BEEN FUN touring about this week, seeing some of the sights of the island but, from the point of view of drawing, I really appreciate being stuck in one spot for three hours, here in the lounge/restaurant on the ferry. I start by drawing the man sitting opposite me, reading his newspaper, then people snoozing or playing cards. Anyone who looks likely to stay in approximately the same pose for 5 or 10 minutes is a suitable subject. I feel everyone is fascinating in their own way to draw.

As with almost every drawing I’ve made this holiday, these are drawn with a free-moving rollerball pen. I enjoy adding watercolour; colour adds so much information and brings the character to life. I thanked the women with the stripy jumper for being such an appealing subject. She liked the drawing and called her other card-playing friends over to see themselves in my sketches.

They say that if you’re writing fiction, even if one of your characters has only a walk-on part, you should know something of his or her background - what they ate for breakfast, for instance. These real-life characters on the boat all look to me as if they’ve got interesting stories to tell. I could imagine them having bit-parts in a movie or in a television drama or comedy.

Link: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company