A week of working across media

Sound of Alcina

I discovered that I sold both of the fused plastic pieces I was showing at the gallery in Bermondsey earlier in the week. It was timely because I was in the process of trying to make something for an open call and working in fused plastic is usually fun but sometimes is confusing in that trying to say something too specific feels forced and at the same time, I can't necessarily believe in something that comes absolutely intuitively. A sale can be a reminder to trust your instincts.

C of plastic

Sorting Plastic

You'd laugh if you walked into my studio… it is about as chaotic as it gets.  I am literally stepping on top of plastic. Things are balanced all over the place and I have many tea cups, some still full, scattered. 

I seem to be moving from one idea to the next without a pause. Yesterday I was in London all day so today, after showing the recent egg tempera to Mick and Louise for feedback, I had some ideas and wanted to work on another panel to test them out. 

Yesterday I drew in Trafalgar Square in my silent traveller in london sketchbook after spending a very enjoyable few hours with Fig's friend Jonny and went to life drawing with Mick. 

Panel 2 (day 1)

I wanted to set up something without strong darks that I could build up with lots of layers to see if I could acheive a sense of luminance that I guess is the real point of egg tempera. Mick told me Ruth uses big brushes so I blocked in very pale colours to begin with. I guess it feels more like a water colour as it is.  I have fewer small marks and more variety, I suppose, but it may be a little saccharin. It got too dark to work anymore on this today, so we will see what happens tomorrow, maybe if I can deepen the colours it will feel stronger.

Matthew, monotype 

Below quick sketches in a small sketchbook to warm me up.  My first print was a bit of a failure, but I may work back into it… I was nearly late to drawing as got so involved trying to see everything in the dark in Trafalgar square (including the colours of the pastel (no head torch) that I was horrified to see it was 5:45 when I looked at my watch.  I was convinced it wasn't even five yet.

5:45 pm Trafalgar Square

Monotype experiment after London

Nightlight with Zinnias and Cosmos, monotype with pastel,  10 x 15cm

I took some work down to London for one of those open exhibitions yesterday and had a ticket for  Matisse in The Studio as well.  The drop-off was quick so I was able to visit many galleries on the way and after my visit to the RA. I went to London in a problem solving mood so was looking at technique and approach as much as enjoying the art. One of the artists I found at Panter and Hall was Christine Woodside. http://panterandhall.com/artist/christine-woodside/Available-or-Enquire I can't see the exact paintings online - the ones I saw were painterly and joyous and featured colourful flowers - they were strong.

I saw Matisse twice and ranged from Renoir to Lucas Arruda and Emma Stibbon, through the Mayfair galleries. 

Back home in the studio today I wondered what would happen if I put some clear gesso on top of a monotype to create the nightlight behind a vivid bouquet; I wondered whether I could suggest the joy of both nightlight and that thing that flowers do to me. With Matisse's Middle Eastern delight  in my head, I explored the possibilites. I found that the monotype didn't change and the pastels went down well. I'll explore this again.

Marks, Tone and Monoprints

There's an essay in Alice Mumford's book: Colour From Coast to Coast, which talks about colour versus tone and the tension she has felt to deal with both in her work.  She explains that if you look into light you can see more depth of field but that you will not see colour in such intensity and if light is behind you, you will see the colour but the view will appear more flat. Bonnard painted from his drawings and they are effusive with colour even though he looked into the Southern light because he seperated form and colour by drawing tonally and painting the colour. In life drawing I tend to draw tonally. With monotype you can't help but combine line, light and tone. I've always said that I need to work in different media to say things differently.  alice mumford has helped me to name it.

Today I took my 'monotype kit' to life drawing.  We had a new model, had 5, 10, and a 25 minute pose. Last week I drew Erin.

Experiments with AKUA

Emily Looking left: monotype 10x15cm, Akua ink on zinc

Emily On the Stool monotype 10x15cm, Akua ink on zinc

First time back at life drawing for the season.  I arrived having forgotten my elevated drawing board so was stooping over the table. I had packed in ten minutes, throwing in a little of this and little of that.  I grabbed my traveling watercolour set at the last minute.

I had a big long table to myself; this is unusual, so I was able to spread out.  Sue organised Emily into ten minute poses and I decided that would be enough for some monotypes. I had forgotten my roller and I mixed greys with white and black for the first few.  They weren't very strong.  For the third print I decided to see what would happen if I used my watercolours with the AKUA ink. I diluted it with water and blending oil and painted it onto the plate, which I had rubbed release agent onto (leaving the ghost underneath). I mixed ink with watercolour, wiped areas away, used my fingers to dab. Logically it shouldn't have worked, but it did.

For, the final monotype of the day I worked only in black, but my palette was filthy and I seem to have picked up a bit of a pinky tint. By this point I was finding drawing backwards easier and someone in the class  had challenged me to put the whole body in the image.  Initially I wasn't all that interested in the pose, but the more I looked the more I saw.  This was almost a half hour pose and as sometimes happens, I seemed to channel Matisse.