Approaching 50 (Self Portrait)

12 x 9 inches, charcoal, 2016.


I turn 50 later this year. No big deal. What is a big deal is the decision I made with my consultant a couple of weeks ago to start dialysis and have my kidneys removed. I have Polycystic Kidney Disease, a hereditary kidney disease  where cysts grow on the kidneys (and sometimes other organs).  The kidneys grow in size and eventually stop working. My kidneys are still functioning (about %25) but are now so large they are causing a lot of discomfort and are squashing other organs. Hence the decision to remove them. So, by the time I hit 50 in December I will be dialysing three times a week and may well have had both my diseased kidneys removed. It will be a big change but hopefully I will feel more comfortable and have more energy. Maybe by the time I'm 51 I will have had a transplant. There is always hope - roll on 50!

Life Drawing Session 7 : Clowning Around

So at last night's life drawing session, after a few warm up drawings, Nikhil painted a clown face on the model, which added some drama and a little creepiness to the drawings :). All drawings are in charcoal and from 5 - 15 minute poses.

Life Drawing Session 6 : Fun With Dummies

This week's session involved ropes and dummies! The gentleman who stepped-in to pose last time agreed to model again. After some 10 second poses we settled into 10 - 15 minute poses for the rest of the evening, tied him up, then tied the dummy up and created some scenarios. Another fun evening!