The trouble with attempts at self-portraits is that I am always concentrating hard on making the images rather than on my modelling. This tension I’m beginning to now unflatteringly capture in my images. If only I could learn to relax and smile as I pose!

Got carried away with the eyebrows. Otherwise some progress.

A further experiment at woking with ink washes and coloured pencil. Obviously there is no model and this is based on a previous life drawing sketch from Tottenham Art Classes transposed surreally to our living room.

This way of working still has some way to go as I realise the inadequacies of the earlier sketches and working on our dining table as opposed to an upright easel. This makes problems with the lack of foreshortening of the figure – the legs and the sofa are too big and extended.

The drawing weirdly reminds me of naff populist poster art from the 1980’s which is not where I was trying to go with this image!

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This took a useful while to draw and suggests other ways of working from home from old sketch books and life drawings. The architect in me spent too much time worrying about planes of wall and floor shadows and not enough time on the seated figure which is loosely based on me.

Obviously I could not ‘pose’ the picture or draw it from life. Instead it is composed from other sketches which are grouped below:

Nothing like me but I like the colour. Nose has gone weird. 20 minute drawing before a cup of tea and going to bed. Will try again tomorrow!

A quick drawing early this morning. Still some way off with regard to a likeness. Yasmin thinks I’ve a thicker set jaw and neck. And the face is too long.

It felt great to be drawing again, emptying the mind to look carefully at what you see to draw and not what you might imagine.