Viking study for next print

This is a study to work out what I'm doing for the next print. I love the original photograph which shows all the different types who participate in the Jorvik Viking Festival, and also how good their costumes are, most of which are made especially, no fancy dress shops here! Specialised leather workers and blacksmiths are involved as everyone takes great care to make their costumes as authentic as possible.

This drawing is made with watercolour and colour pencil and is 30x30cm.

Here's a link to a great set of viking festival images:

Jorvik Viking Festival 2011 | Flickr

Vikings

Hello,
I realise I've been neglecting my blogging duties, so here are a couple of new drawings.

They are studies for etchings involving the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, a large group of history fans who like to dress up and recreate the days when York got its cultural identity ;-)

This is a group of 'Viking' lads waiting for the signal to march into battle against the 'soppy Saxons'. I really like the interaction between them, as one guy tries in vain to get a note out of the authentic horn two stand round laughing, and the other looks out at us.

This is a very rough watercolour painting which shows a plan for the next print. Its quite basic and gestural because I was trying to understand the essence of the image. Actually, as I'm typing an idea has come to make a smaller secondary print in this style as the various marks and roughness would work at about 15x15cm (I'll keep that one running in the old subconscious, usually the answer pops up like toast).

These are my favourite photos taken that day: