'A Scholar' in Lindisfarne sketching in an old book

Near the Sea

We arrived in Lindisfarne just as it was safe to cross onto the island, Tuesday evening 6:30ish. Patrick and I hadn't left East Anglia since February and most of the time we were home or at a food shop five miles from our door. We had both wanted to go to Holy Island since seeing it from the window of car or a train on our many trips to Scotland. Louise Kirkbride organised a painting week with Mick Kirkbride teaching, and that was perfect.  

There were five artists (plus Mick) and a few partners (jincluding Patrick) as well as Jacob, Lou and Mick's son. For a few others, Covid stopped play and they were missed.  

I got ready for the trip by preparing a book to draw in. This title was appropriate, as I had been the NEAC Scholar and Mick had been my mentor. As I drew, I found that the words on the page were also apt and they became my titles.  I have not finished the pages as I like to whiten the areas around the specific words I have chosen, I may try to resolve some of the drawings that haven't quite worked, yet, but I fear that my list is so long that may takes weeks so thought I'd show you my progress so far!

In the Sedgy

This was my first drawing, made in the harbour; it was the perfect place to begin. I was determined not to dwell on my drawings.  I can see some lobster pots but doubt you can...

It Established its Right

This was my last drawing, looking across a pool of seawater in front of the lime kilns, with the castle to the left. Patrick and I were driving back to Suffolk.  The water gave me a very hard time, changing from almost white to dark blue as the clouds went in and out.  

Rain Near Priory

Rain Near Priory was not made in my sketchbook.  It was raining too hard and I worried that the wet might damage the drawings I had made earlier in the altered sketchbook. I faced the storm which pelted down rain and puddled the pastel.  I used a rag to wipe everything off a few times when I thought the storm was abating, it never did while I sttod there. In the end I kept what I could and gave into the chaos, smudging with my fingers the pastels disintegrating in my hands.

So Far as Distance Goeth

From the harbour you could look ahead and see the castle and the boats, look left and see the tussled hills and sheep, or look behind or right to see buildings. This is unfinished, delighting in one of the other less iconic views.

Standing at the Boundary Wall

Standing at the Boundary Wall was made before Near the Sea.  For me, one of the most striking things about the view was the blue, almost black, of water. People walked out onto the ledge and I could just see their stick figures in the distance.  The tide was coming in as I finished the drawing and deciding where I should freeze it in time was one of those variables of plein air drawing that it's hard to get right, for me.

Tales of the North Country

This is the only page I drew on in my second sketchbook, (same name). This was another quickie, to capture the flavour of the layers of landscape and the buildings I saw.

The Opening

Our experience was that it rained when the tide came in and as the tourists raced to get home across the causeway. The opening was made as the rain died down, shortly after Rain Near Priory. When the rain returned and we were ready to head back I had only noted the gesture of the harbour from behind the Priory gate. It wasn't a really quick sketch, instead I held back defining it. The light was viscous. The following day there would be archeologists with the Big Dig on the other side of the wall.

The Sound of the Bell

This was from the first morning of drawing.  The tide went out, the tide came in and the confusion of what was water and what was mud is all too apparent!

We Must Cross the Water

We were high up and the wind was blowing in my face.  My hat blew off, but the downward road caught my eye and I unpacked my easel. I think the fixative made this even darker than it already was.  The relationship between the wall and the water was constantly changing and my final marks made everything worse.

By the way, my new website is live.  There are still quite a few improvements to make but let me know what you think in the meantime! https://www.rebeccaguyverart.com
 

What is it about drawing in a book?

so far as we can judge, pastel on 'opened book', 40 x 35 cm framed,

This drawing in the book English Wildlife (I found the book in Needham Market car boot sale), was one of a few images I made while thinking about the word 'Borders' with reference to The River Stour. The Colchester Art Society together with Ipswich Art Society is exhibiting at Firstsite, in Colchester.  Borders exhibition details

 

As I was drawing, I thought about a 'walk and draw' I took with Ruth Philo from Flatford, some years ago.  Ruth introduced me to Rebecca Solnit. Rebecca Solnit mentions the blue of distance and it was that ‘blue of distance' that Ruth saw in my drawing. I am interested in the place where the horizon extends. I wonder how far it goes, or I can see. For me that border is a border of suspended disbelief, of longing, of hope, of ambiguity.

 

When I get a book that I think might inspire me, I look at the words at the top and bottom of each page, hoping that something will give me a starting place. 'so far as we can judge' was perfect.

 

I worked from drawings, memories and fragments of photos to try to conjure the Stour, as that is one border which separates Essex and Suffolk and was the essence of the Firstsite collaboration. I was delighted to learn that the drawing sold last week. If you are interested in seeing more of my drawings on books you can find some on my website. More 'opened books'.

Firstsite exhibition 

day after day without, pastel on 1/2 an opened book,  

This has been a busy family week and because of the heat (and lack of rain), my garden has needed lots of TLC so less time in the studio than usual. But while I watered etc… I was thinking of new ways to make book pages and managed to do a few drawings. In this one, 'day after day without' I took a book apart and glued part of it down onto half of the cover. I want to have the option of making portrait drawings without having to make two related drawings.  I like having the cover as part of the piece. The image is my front garden and I was thinking about lockdown and how I have noticed so much more of what is nearby.  I am attuned to nature in a heightened way.  These are CHANGED TIMES and it is a little day after day without.

Flowers and Food, pastel on book pages. 

I have noticed how bleached everything has become because of the heat and drought. Even some of my bright flowers seem muted.  The potentilla was peach and is now almost white. Having said that, some flowers are eye-poppingly lurid.  I love magenta! This still life was a response to the bleaching of my world in the hot sun. It is also narrative, a response to the words on the page. 

 

And in other ways of playing with the media, the lavender at the bottom, which I hope reads as a book cover, is not really a book cover.  I made book cover facsimile with bookend paper and card. The drawing is not glued down yet.  The drawing was made on three book page-spreads glued together. These experiments will go somewhere, I hope.

Selecting work for national open exhibitions

We Know That Light, pastel on altered book pages, 44 x 35cm (framed)
based on drawing in sketchbook of Preble Beach, Cranberry Isles, Maine.

Bring Back the Golden Days,pastel on altered book pages, 44 x 35cm (framed)
drawn on site outside Ware House, Cranberry Isles, Maine.

I am submitting for the Discerning eye open exhibition again this year.  I have never got my work accepted, I believe I have submitted four times. Above are the two pieces I selected and will carry down to London o Friday.

Here are the rules:

RULES

1. The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition is open to artists born or resident in the UK only.
2. All works must be for sale.
3. All works must be within the maximum size limit of 20 inches (50cm) including frame.
4. All works must be an original creation by the artist; prints (including prints from i-pad drawings), photographs, and sculptures are acceptable.
5. All entries must be accompanied by a fully completed, signed Entry Schedule and a fully completed Discerning Eye Work label.

As you will notice, there are no particular rules about what to submit. the exhibition has a particular way of selecting work and usually I google the selectors and think about them when I choose what to submit.  this year I have only just done that.

SELECTORS

The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition is selected each year by 2 Collectors, 2 Critics and 2 Artists.

Artists

Gill Button – Painter & Illustrator

Charlotte Hodes – Fine Artist

Collectors

Kwame Kwei-Armah – Young Vic Artistic Director

Tim Rice – Author and Lyricist

Critics

John Penrose – Past Chairman Discerning Eye

Louis Wise – Critic & Writer, The Sunday Times

I'm submitting two pieces because I think a pair is stronger than a single and although I agree with 'art tax' and don't object to paying to enter, I think it can be a bit like being a gambler… it's easy to add ad believe you will have a better chance with more. Because I am exploring opened books at the moment, I hoped I would make two of these for the exhibition. I haven't had much time lately but time pressure can be useful.

Having looked at the selectors… I think I might have chosen a different strand of my work… Below are the three opened books that I didn't choose. Wish me luck! I've already booked my train down to collect unaccepted work so don't fret on my behalf, though.

The Gathering Storm, pastel on altered book pages
Based on drawings made in Kenya

Lost in the Woods, pastel on altered book pages
drawings made in the Rockefeller Gardens, Mount Desert Island

Britains Structure and Scenery, pastel on altered book pages
drawings made on IBBAS paintout

Opened Books

Touched with Poetry, opened book, pastel on prepared book pages

I'm not sure what drives me to glue the pages of books together and then to draw on them but for the past few years that has been something that I have loved to do. Mostly I use the title as a theme and the glue pages together, gesso them and use a tinted ground so I can use it as a sketchbook.  I think doing this narrows the parameters of what I am looking at, and I love having an artifact that says something more than the pieces. Lately I have been trying to make pieces on the book pages that stand alone.

The most interesting part of this project may be that in some cases I have worked from drawings instead of from life which is something I find problematic.  Maybe it's the playful nature of the book surface, even if it takes a long time to create,  that helps me to 'let go?' 

The top pages are what I might do in an altered sketchbook, two drawings side by side that are related and work together (for me). The bottom image is a vista, a drawing made from drawings and photos taken while climbing a mountain in the lake district. 

I am trying to decide what to submit for the pastel society annual show.  I am feeling poor so will only choose a couple this year, entry is £18 per item! I can't make my mind up about whether to choose what  I do or the other thing I do… I will find it hard to sleep tonight even though whatever I do is bound to be not quite the right thing for the group of people in the room who select.

Fairfield and her Friends, opened book, pastel on prepared book pages