Derry Sketcher

@derrysketcher.bsky.social

826 Followers 800 Following

Near-Derry based artist-illustrator. Mainly work with pet and animal portraits. Email: derrysketcher@gmail.com

A cinema sign says “Next week, Spiderfella. No Parking”. And of course, inches away from the sign there is a black BMW car parked…
A bumblebee, with legs heavy with pollen, hovers over blue hydrangea flowers in the summer sun.
A small garden pond in the summer sunshine. A little water fountain sprays water into the air and sits atop duckweed and waterlilies. Blossoms can be seen in the water.
A coloured pencil portrait of a Black and Tan King Charles Spaniel called Penny
Kinnagoe Bay in Donegal on a sunny day. Grassy verges in the foreground are followed by sandy beaches behind and all underneath a blue sky. In the front of the photo, the #WildAtlanticWay sign spells out the location.
The waves come crashing into the shore on a beautiful sunny, but windy day at Kinnagoe Beach, Donegal.
Progress photos of the coloured pencil portrait of a black and tan King Charles Spaniel called Penny. As the images progress, more of her features appear, starting with her eyes, then nose, tongue, muzzle, forehead, chest and ears. Finally, we can see the portrait framed.
A coloured pencil portrait of a Black and Tan King Charles Spaniel with her mouth open. She looks out at the viewer and looks happy.
This photo shows a print out of a John Connolly quote about history and a printout of a David Lynch quote. John Connolly states: ‘I was curious about that idea of history layering itself imperfectly, and leaves these kinds of bubbles, and that you can breach that crust, and that all of this stuff seeps out. These kinds of historical bombs, these little ticking devices that are filled with pain and loss and hurt that has never been recognised and never been dealt with, and how that then might seep into the present day world.’ David Lynch states: ‘You’ve gotta get your butt in gear and do it. And don’t take no for an answer. Translate those ideas to cinema, or to a painting or to whatever. And figure out a way to get it done.’
Two bullfinches sit in a barren cherry tree. This is the first time I’ve seen these birds in my garden after living here for over twenty years.
A wooden bridge in the foreground crosses a small stream that lies below a nearby waterfall. To the left and right are trees and steep bankings. There are blue skies and warm sunshine shines through the trees.
Snow falls outside a window. In the background is a bare tree.
A short video of snow falling outside my window. Also, I’m glad I’m not going out anywhere today. Drive safe to anyone braving the icy, snow covered roads.
Two robins sit amidst red roses and greenery, arranged in a circle. One robin sits on top of a garden spade and looks down towards a lower robin who is also looking up. The robins are looking at each other and are intended on being a memorial piece for a husband and wife who passed away within a few months of each other. The piece has been painted with watercolours.
A short video of Sheep Haven Bay taken at Ards Forest Park in Donegal. A sandy beach is in the foreground while the waves come in and hills and forests are seen in the background. It is a beautiful sunny day and the beach is empty
A close up of an oak three in the darkness. The branches are in dark silhouette while a street lamp illuminates the orange and golden leaves against the night sky.
A screenshot of the bottom of my phone wallpaper that shows Tom the cat from the Tom and Jerry cartoons looking worried
Rebecca from Ted Lasso enthusiastically agrees and nods her head
A process photo of the digital drawing of drag queen Latrice Royale. You can see how the drawing comes together and in what order everything is drawn, starting with the eyes, then nose, lips, skin, hairline, jewellery and chest, hair and finally, the graphic background/frame.
A digital drawing of drag queen Latrice Royale complete with pink graphic design
Phoebe and Joey from Friends discuss what’s really wrong with the UK. Who gave us austerity? The Tories Who gutted NHS funding? The Tories Who sacked 20,000 police officers? The Tories Why is everything in the UK broken? Immigrants!
A peacock butterfly rests on a side panel in our back garden.
A solitary pink lotus flower sits in pond water surrounded by lily pads and duckweed.
Dennis, the shop owner from the tv show Derry Girls looks perplexed and wears a yellow top underneath a black leather jacket.
Inside a wooden carriage of the little train that takes you around the park. It’s a great way to see the park before you head off to explore on foot. Red leather seats rest against warm wooden panels and an old fashioned sign for the Donegal Railway hangs above the seat. Through the window, a gorgeous wildflower field can be seen. The sunlight also streams in through the windows
A photo showing pond water with lily pads, duck weed and a beautiful pink water lily blossom
A pond filled with duckweed and lily pads. In the foreground there appears to be a flower bud protruding from the water
The signed page of The Children of Eve by John Connolly. The dedication says “To Laura, ‘The Messenger’ is still on our wall, so thank you! Best, John Connolly.
The drag queen Bianca Del Rio wears a ginger wig, has dramatic makeup on and is laughing with her mouth open and wide. She wears what looks like a jesters bib and while she’d be displeased at being called a witch, she’d likely say it was a fair roast. I love her absolutely devastating take downs of people around her and think she’s a fabulous drag queen.
Wilbur the cocker spaniel lies on his mistress, front legs in the air, back legs akimbo. He is asleep and his mouth lies open, his ear dangles to the side as he lies on his back breathing dog breath at the camera. At least his teeth are clean
Wilbur the blue roan cocker spaniel looks back over his shoulder towards the camera with a judgemental look on his face. This boy did not come to play, he came to slay!
A cocker spaniel has been drawn in the style of Celtic dogs, like those who feature in the Book of Kells. It is highly stylised and has been coloured in the traditional Kells colours of greens, blues and gold
A portrait of two black labradors completed with polychromos pencils in various shades of black and grey coloured pencils.
A woman stands inside a wooden structure that has been lined with hay. She extends her hand out to touch the sides while a beach can be seen in the background.
The crashed remains of a car sits in a local nature reserve, showing evidence of how nature has reclaimed the space for its own. The drivers seat and steering wheel are covered in vegetation whilst the engine has been disemboweled in the background.
The interior tower of Castle Roe in Donegal. A silvertone filter has been used to emphasise the gnarliness of the stone and location
A tree stands in silhouette at Navan Fort in Armagh. This was at the top of a steep hill that my knees neither appreciated or hairstyle survived.
A panoramic photo of Slieve League in Donegal. The cliffs are visible in the background with the sea in front and blue skies overhead.
A tree stands in silhouette against the early morning mist in Gosford Park, Armagh.
Uncle Colm from Derry Girls talks but no one knows what he’s saying because when Colm talks, you die from boredom
Aunt Sarah from Derry Girls holds a deck of cards and says ‘I am psychic Erin. I did a course. I got a certificate.’
This is Salmon Leap Waterfall in Ramelton, a fast moving section of water on a bright sunny but cold day in Donegal.
A coloured pencil sketch of Katie, a tortoiseshell cat as the portrait was completed. This image has nine smaller images of the portrait as it progressed.
A coloured pencil portrait of a tortoiseshell cat called Katie. Sadly this is a memorial portrait and honestly, she was the best cat. I personally am a dog person and I’d have stolen Katie in a heartbeat. She’s sadly missed.
A partially completed illustration in coloured pencil of my friend’s tortoiseshell cat that passed away recently. This cat was the bees knees and fully deserving of this portrait.
A sparrowhawk sits on a branch in a cherry tree. It’s yellow eyes looks over its shoulder back towards the camera.
This is a partial pet portrait of a tortoise shell cat. The eyes, nose and part of the forehead has been completed.
Ryan Gosling as Ken in the Barbie movie says, so cool. He’s trying to look cool when he’s saying it. I can’t tell if he’s successful or not because I’m distracted by how pretty he is.
Indiana Jones holds a historic artifact in the rain while shouting ‘that belongs in a museum’ at another figure on screen. Quite frankly, he was right but bad guys are gonna bad guy. Greedy brute!
Long sands stretch off into the distance while waves come crashing into the shore. Some cars are parked on the sand while others walk their dogs
A red dinner candle, a leftover from Christmas, sits inside an enamel mug having just burnt the fingers off myself melting the wax in order to stick it to the bottom of the mug.
A video of a vehicle driving down the lower section of the Mamore Gap in Inishowen, Donegal. Part 2 of video
A video of a vehicle driving down the Mamore Gap in Inishowen, Donegal. Part one
Yorkshire Tea have created an advert with Sarah Lancashire reprising her role as Sergeant Catherine Cawood from the tv show Happy Valley. In this ad, Cawood is investigating the disappearance of some break room biscuits, interviewing suspects, making people nervous and ultimately catching the culprit thanks to some handy CCTV footage.
Snow falls in slow motion outside. View is through a window with tall trees in the background and snow flurries abound. I’m very glad I stocked up on milk and bread
A close up photo of barren trees near my home in the warm winter sun. The colours are vibrant and warm despite it being Winter and the missing foliage. I prefer this time of year to the Spring and Summer because the sun is low enough to create warm colours in nature as opposed to the bleached out pastel-ness of summer sun. That and I can’t bear the summer sun and heat being a bone fide Irish woman who’s entire being is milk-bottle aesthetics.
A little white dog lies on her side, sleeping in an awkward position.
A Die Hard themed sweater in black with a print of Nakatomi Plaza on it. It states, “Never Forget. Natatomi Plaza, Christmas Eve 1988, Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi Memorial Fund”. Some crotched cherries have been included in a light hearted attempt to make it look festive even though people died that night and we’re sad about that. Except Ellis. Ellis sucked!
A woman sits the dark holding a lit match. From out of the darkness to her left, a pair of disembodied hands appear and clap right next to her ear in a scene that made me have an absolute episode of ‘shite-the-tights’ terror.
An image of the cover of the album Bing Crosby - Christmas Classics with a Spotify link below that will take you to the track The Littlest Angel.