What I found in January, pastel on tinted paper 16 x 16cm |
Sunday, January 13, 2019
January objects and artifiical light
Friday, January 11, 2019
Zooming, changing the focus, abstracting shapes
charcoal on paper, 16x14 cm |
B & W print of oil pastel, crop |
B & W print of oil pastel, crop |
B & W print of oil pastel, crop |
B & W print of oil pastel, crop |
watercolour and gouache on book page |
pencil on paper 16 x 25 cm |
oil pastel on paper 17 x 12 cm |
Monday, January 7, 2019
Distemper as a medium
Capricorn Bouquet, distemper on panel, 20 x 25 cm |
I loved the start of the distemper process. Everything was loose and exciting. The rabbit skin glue mixed easily and the light was good. As the day wore on the glue got pesky (I think my studio was a little cool), the light faded and I tightened up. I think the main problem is I wasn't sure what I wanted to accomplish, not knowing the medium, it's hard to know how to use it. On top of all that, I had a bouquet of flowers I bought on sale from the grocery store ( three days ago) still in their wrapping, in the sink, and although I wanted to find an interior, I felt I should use the flowers. Also, when distemper doesn't cooperate, it REALLY doesn't cooperate. At first I thought of it like working with monotype ink - fighting the medium - In the end I had to get out a hotplate to keep the glue and the mixed distemper warm enough to use and then it dryed out and flaked off the piece of glass. Glass is cold, so perhaps not the best surface to mix on.
I have some other ideas and motifs I want to explore with distemper and it was only my first effort but I have the sense that it may be an uphill battle. You never know I might get up tomorrow and have a way to strengthen this, on the other hand it's probably best to move on.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Armchair travelling
January Road Trip, pastel on paper, 16 x 16 cm |
I sized both sides of the paper and then gessoed one side before tinting the 'drawing window' with some ultramarine, yellow ochre and pastel ground. I was too impatient to locate my erasers (rubbers in the UK) so used the one on my crossword pencil when the pastel got too thick.
I wanted to have a good first drawing experience of 2019. I have done a few quick sketches in between things, but this is truly the first opportunity to do anything sustained for weeks. As you can imagine, this didn't draw itself at all. As usual I nearly gave up a few times but eventually I began to feel I knew the objects and they were beginning to speak to each other. At first the colours were a bit too bold for my goal - to create lush but subdued colour. Layers and patience prevailed.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Capturing the Weight of Flesh
Erin is an athlete. She is tall and slim with broad shoulders. As I draw I try to show the weight of the pose and that weight can be in the feet, the hips below the frame, forward or backward. Esme is petit, slim and athletic. Erin (above) and Esme (below) are the models we drew at Sudbury life drawing this week and last. Because I've had a headcold and been very busy preparing for the Heart of Suffolk Exhibition, my expectations for product have been even less than usual. I have tried to do one thing… to show the weight of flesh. Colour, line, marks and gesture are some of the tactics I have used.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
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 |
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
One More Summer
One More Summer, altered book pages with pastel, 19 x 27 cm |
In this, I glued pages together in a book I began altering ten years ago. It was no longer relevant and I didn't feel I needed to preserve the pages any longer. I could imagine the name and some of the words on the page in a double page spread - it could be something relevant now, something intentional that would use the surface to say something more. I went through my sketchbooks and found a drawing that felt like the title then I found some photos from the area to change the composition and choose some specifics from. The original drawing is vertical. I know this scene. It is a windy day and the summer is ebbing so I was looking at the pastel and making choices from my memory mostly.
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