Hitchin is in Hertfordshire, HERTS.

You could hitch-hike to get there. This girl did and got to the outskirts but struggled with a lift into town.

But it was OK, as she had her grapes with her.

Moving Things Forward, Newhall Street, BIRMINGHAM

She must have been 6 foot, waiting for her man to park his car. I was pleased to see he was as indecisive about this as i am. Going back to the car 3 or 4 times to move it a bit, put something in it or take something out while she waited under the umbrella.

She didn't seem to care though, he had her quickly by the hand and an arm around the waist, corralling her into big bar. She looked very happy with this. I don't fancy drawing him :)

Red, Black, Yellow, Newhall Street, BIRMINGHAM

While waiting for the repair man to fix the broken motorbike,

this woman came into view.

Another approaching the ideal. Didn't ask to photograph her, will next time.

Big Red Flowers over Heels, BIRMINGHAM

I spent more time behind this woman than in front, in a good way, so i'm not sure if she had a cardigan on, i think she did.

Anyhow, she said she was in a hurry to get somewhere, so couldn't snap her unfortunately but she looked great.

Those red shoes were real too.

Pink and Grey, Newhall and Edmund St, BIRMINGHAM

Think i'm just going to do streets of the business district. Hone the vision down a bit and try and find the business woman ideal.

This very smart and neat lady in Pink and Grey said no to a photo, but was very OK about it, especially as i must have looked like a nut in my shorts and motorcycle jacket and dirty old boots.

Saw at least three other great business women this evening.

To Snatch or not to Snatch, Holborn, LONDON

I saw this woman about 3.5 years ago, i couldn't get to her before she disappeared down a Tube station.

I think i had a massive camera with me at the time, but wasn't sure about snapping her without her permission.

I went back the next day to see if she was retracing her 7.30am footsteps, but if she did, i didn't see her.

So 3.5 years later, I've done a sketch and I'll keep looking for another one.

White Shirt Dress, Black Patent Shoes, LEAMINGTON

Saw her stoop to clean a bit of muck off her new shoes, but didn't camera it, so drew it later and snapped the scene later too.

White Shirt Dress looked good.

Red Shoes/Black Leggings, LEAMINGTON

Going out clothes, Saturday night, belting down the road going somewhere.

5:1 Skirt:Model Rotation, BIRMINGHAM

I bought an ebay skirt, grey, very short-unfashionably so, which makes it a good idea to photograph it as there are not many around in Brum at the mo' and when that happens things get interesting again.

It should arrive soon. If i can find 5 different models to wear it, would be good to see it on 5 different bods.

Back Against the Wall, WARWICK

 

My bad luck with women and photography is increasing. This lady said 'Oh No' when i asked her if i could take her picture, and she looked pretty uncomfortable with it too. So I backed down, gave her my card, for Karma reasons, so she could check there was no evil plan, and she said thanks and so did I.

Purple Satin Cocktail Dress under Blazer, WARWICK

Must be prom time as this wasn't your usual Warwick Woman Walking outfit, unfortunately.

No camera meant I went home to get one hoping i'd bump into her again. No luck meant i didn't but i did a drawing while waiting instead.

Continental Style, BIRMINGHAM

A smart Italian style here, or maybe hold it, Brazilian, check that thick hair. So continental could now mean South American.

Thanks to her.

More Maxi Movement, BIRMINGHAM

Lavendar Maxi Dress.

Thanks to her!

Sketchbook entities, BIRMINGHAM

From the right : A very smart woman in stripey sweater, then a couple of maxi girls say 'no' so i rolled them into one super-being.

In the middle: A business woman walking off to the business district would have been great to photograph against some office buildings, so i stayed rooted on the refusal place and did my time sketching her as best i could.

Second from left, a Princess Pippa look-a-like, my approach faltered so i lost sight of her in the food festival.

Then a woman who i was a bit cheeky with but who i realised could of easily kicked my arse and i got away lightly.

A couple of others who said no but i gave cards to anyway who were nice about it...hi, hope you check this out and see it's all OK.

Under Pressure, Garage Forecourts, SOMEWHERE

Well, I've never seen it, the only people i see checking tyres are retirees and taxi drivers, but somewhere a glamour gal must be inflating some rubber.

So maybe one day, until then...

Pump Action, BIRMINGHAM/STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Driving around and filling up little and often I notice others doing this too. Big cars, 30-40K cars, getting £5 to £10 worth of petrol.

Not sure how much these ones were taking though.

This was an MX5 during the day.

Filling her Range Rover with diesel, suited her clothes and car choice, oily black. Not too far from the Land Rover factory from whence it came.

And the last was a greeny hatch, getting a bit of juice before the night out.

Interim Ideas, BIRMINGHAM

The lady in the Polka Dot, told me to do an Interim Sketch of her while considering my request to photograph her! Hope she complies :) I can't remember a few things, the shoes weren't as high, the handbag might have been dark, not sure about the straps on the dress. she had great hair though, you couldn't see it from the front |(as in the sketch) but she had done an elaborate thing with it down her right side.

The Twin Towers need a great pair of legs to go with them and there was a very modelly type who might.

And the ladies in the wide trousers below, it got me thinking about how to photograph wide trousers!

That's it, thanks to Birmingham's finest for letting me snap them and hoping to do shoot some more next week.

Playsuit, BIRMINGHAM

I think this could have been the playsuit i saw in Milano last week but this time worn with 'gladiator' sandals instead.

Thanks to Jenny for letting me photograph her in it, and putting up with my confused direction :).

She said she always wears bold and bright and she mixes it with natural accessories too, which adds interesting details.

(I showed Jenny the black trouser suit from earlier in the day and she said it was 'Mint'-so i used that word in the header!)

Wide Leg Trouser, BIRMINGHAM

Super cool linen wide legged trouser with a classic vest over peachy heels. Great silhouette, great stance.

Thanks to this lady!

Mint PlaySuit/JumpSuit, BIRMINGHAM

Fantastic, wind catching massive legged trousers over platforms, brilliant to watch walking or just as static as they weren't staying still on this incredible sunny/breezy day. Looks so swish, sophisticated and smart.

Reminds me of this, Boccioni's Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913.

Thanks to this super stylish lady :)

Ice Cream Narrowboat, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON.

To my eye, this looked like theatre. Like a stage where a woman would come out with an ice cream and hold it up like the Statue of Liberty-with the looks to match. But it wasn't of course. It was a commercial venture not avant garde performance art.

It is a very busy Ice Cream barge/boat moored up on the waterfront selling ice cream to the Tourists in Stratford.

I heard a dad remark to his kids who were eating her ice-cream "how nice it is to buy ice cream from a pretty smiling young woman, not a fat miserable old man".

In an hour and a bit, there was about a 30 second break for her when I could ask her if I could take a picture. She made perfect 'twirls' each time.

(Oh, that ICE CREAM is on the boat and isn't from Photoshop, least not my Photoshop.)

Thanks to her!