Cool patterns

A few Saturdays ago I spent the afternoon hanging out with my friend Heather in her studio. My intention was to just relax and catch up, while she did a bit of pottering around. Thank goodness I brought my sketch pad though. After an hour of sitting with my feet up watching Heather industriously churn out these little purses (OK, it would seem that they were for NY Times readers), I started feeling like a big sloth. A good thing too, because instead of just admiring the cool patterns made by the rafters overhead, I actually got off my butt and captured them with a pencil and a camera. I'm quite keen to turn these into a painting.

Artists I like: Bernd and Hilla Becher

It is not surprising that I was awestruck the first time I stumbled across the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher.

Coal Bunkers, 1974, Tate Gallery

Pitheads, 1974, Tate Gallery
I'm not going to waffle on about what they're up to and why I like them, it's quite obvious.Click here for more images  and interesting clip on youtube where they talk about their work. I thought again of their work when I looked at this pic I took the other day. Could not resist the pale metal against the pale sky.

And here's a quick sketch. Driving in the Drakensberg a few summers ago we skidded to a halt on a lonely dirt road when we came round a corner and saw this watchtower on a hill in the horizon.