Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci

I hadn't bothered going to see the exhibition of ten drawings by Leonardo that is currently showing at the Ulster Museum.

I thought that they might be a selection of his less wonderful drawings, and maybe I thought it wasn't worth bothering over just ten pictures.

Anyway, I went yesterday when we were up in Belfast and had the kids over to see a Dinosaur exhibition that was also on at the Museum.

I was so thrilled to find that this extraordinary sketch of a man on a rearing horse is one of the ten drawings in the show.

For me, it was worth going just to see this picture.

This sketch was in a fantastic book about Leonardo that I had out on almost permanent loan from my school's library, and it always stood out for me as one of Leonardo's most sublime creations.

I stood and looked at this little drawing for a very long and happy moment.

So if you are in or near Belfast do go and visit the exhibition. It's on until the 27th of August.

The rest of the Museum is wonderful too.

My Digital Christmas Card

I was a slow starter when it came to computers, but, when I discovered what could be done in Photoshop, I really got into it.
I haven't published any images that I have created in photoshop, but at some stage I would like to do a whole book digitally.



This image, which is based, of course, on Leonardo's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, is typical of the jokey kind of personal work that I have created on my computer.
I made this one as a Christmas card in 2001, when our first son was about nine months old.
This was pretty much an indulgence, but it was also a great way to learn blending techniques.
You can see how I use photoshop when I am composing a picture in one of my step by step videos, "Making Fairy Tales" with Full Commentary Part 1