dmclwriterandartist

Cambridge Drawing Society Membership

With their Spring 2023 Exhibition, the Cambridge Drawing Society elected me as a new member. Said to be one the oldest of its kind in the UK, the society was founded in 1882. I love their motto – Nulla dies sine linea – which translates from the Latin to “Draw a line every day”. InContinue reading “Cambridge Drawing Society Membership”

An April Fool

Here’s one of my flash stories published by the lovely people at Visual Verse: If you fancy some quick instinctual writing exercises, Visual Verse is a wonderful place to look for intriguing writing prompts. Have you tried this yet? Let us know in the comments, if so, so that we can have a look atContinue reading “An April Fool”

Dream Wally

Dream Wally is my pareidolia drawing of Wally’s world, which shows what he was eating and, perhaps, dreaming about during his southern shores adventure. Wally-the-Walrus, probably of Svalbard, made a heart-warming 2021 tour of coastline, well south of his arctic home, before heading back up north. One day, when he was hanging out off theContinue reading “Dream Wally”

Dried Mushroom and Lentil Soup (inspired by a Ruthenian Mushroom Soup recipe)

This sugar-free, oil-free, vegetarian (also vegan) recipe was invented by Donna McLuskie on 27 Feb 22, lunchtime, using foodstuffs in the larder on the day. Rinse 2 cups dried mushrooms. I used oyster, shitake, porcini and boletus mix. Soak for about one hour in hot water. Then remove shrooms and chop them to bitesize andContinue reading “Dried Mushroom and Lentil Soup (inspired by a Ruthenian Mushroom Soup recipe)”

On the Science of Pareidolia

In their 2017 publication called Characterizing the response to face pareidolia in human category-selective visual cortex, scientists Susan G Wardle, Kiley Seymour & Jessica Taubert aimed to study how human brains process face perception. They used this series of images for their study and described them thus: “We collected 56 photographs of naturallyContinue reading “On the Science of Pareidolia”

Smoothing

Some sounds evoke a happy place, don’t they? Perhaps a particular noise reminds us of joyful springtime, a lazy summer day or a cosy moment during winter? I painted Smoothing to capture the mesmerising sound of pebbles on Shakespeare Beach in Dover. As I stood there watching at the shoreline, each swash of incoming seaContinue reading “Smoothing”

Hot Stuff

Here is an unusual memento of the 2021 volcanic eruption that first showed itself in Geldingadalir in Iceland. This limited-edition collaboration print features a photograph taken by Ægir Thor of Lífsbjörg ICE-SAR team, alongside a pareidolia drawing by Donna McLuskie of http://www.hiddencreaturesart.com. Pareidolia drawings show faces and hidden creatures perceived by the artist in unusualContinue reading “Hot Stuff”

For The Love Of Trees in the news

Here’s another collaboration print awaiting collection : ) Our limited edition collaboration prints are available here and can be purchased with postage worldwide or with free collection from Cambridge: Cambridge Collaboration Prints Shop This week I’m in the news. Our local paper, Cambridge Independent, has published an article, which I’m happy to see confirms thatContinue reading “For The Love Of Trees in the news”

What Is A Bear?

There’s a bear in my latest drawing and I’m calling him Ísólfur for reasons probably only Icelanders and, moreover, only some Icelanders will know about.I’m still looking into this myself but, anyway, here’s Ísólfur. Isn’t it interesting how few features are needed to describe a bear? This reminds me of a scene in one ofContinue reading “What Is A Bear?”

Spotlight on Cloudscape

Cloudscape is my first collaboration print. Positioning the photograph used as inspiration alongside my drawing provides a much deeper insight into pareidolia and also makes the artwork more interactive. Do you perceive what I do or do you see it differently? During the 2021 Cambridge Science Festival (affiliated with MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts), the festivalContinue reading “Spotlight on Cloudscape”