difficult and wonderful

Intaglio Printmaking

2011-09-27T22:46:00.001+01:00

I had planned to get stuck into screen printing this autumn and go back to Life Drawing class. However my plans did not work out and the screen printing will have to go on hold for a little while longer.

I have enrolled instead back at the Prince's Drawing School but to do a 10 week etching course. I first tried etching four years ago. I liked it but unlike screen printing where you can work at home, for safety reasons you need access to an established etching print studio and this put me off.

For me Intaglio Printmaking is the medium that best displays the qualities of the practice of drawing. Even a poor drawing can look wonderful when you add the process of having that work printed from a plate.

The ten week course started last Thursday and above is the image I have etched with a hard resist process into a zinc plate ready for printing this week. The zinc plate has a mirror surface which is why I have photographed it again from the side with the reflection of the ceiling in it.

Simple Tool

2011-09-19T21:58:00.000+01:00

At times like this I can appreciate the simplicity of a pencil, even a mechanical one. The printer I use is playing up. It is one of those all singing and dancing printers that copies, scans and faxes too. It wasn’t so long ago when you had to get all these machines separately and then your computer crashed at least once at day. Technology is better now but when it goes my patience is tested. I have learned a lot of basic tricks but right now I cannot even access the web site where I can get another printer driver. I have discovered through trial and error if you download a driver it is good for one use only and then if there are problems and you have to reinstall you have to get another.

As I can’t do anything until tomorrow when I will need the printer for my day job I can calm myself down by sitting and drawing. If the pencil breaks I can use another from my collection or sharpen the point. The printer went down before I could scan the second drawing but I can take a photo with my phone and just upload it to the laptop.

The benefits of a printer that isn't working is that I can stop doing the day job and draw for a while.

Studies for 'People on the train'. A5 graphite on paper.

Seeing what is there

2011-09-18T05:56:00.000+01:00

Now that I am learning to see how the marks I make create harmony or disharmony I understand why I didn’t see this before.

First, I had stopped drawing with graphite and when I used graphite I used it in the same way I used ink.

Second I was learning to see space and line. Getting the proportions right and this a a vital and necessary step and I could only do this with ink. In order to get a drawing, an image that worked because I could not rub it out and start again I had to find those boundaries and discern those spaces and make choices over what I was going to include.

Third I fell in love with the quality of the ink line. A line in drawn with a dip pen in india ink gives a dark yet undulating quality because of they way the ink flows from the nib. You can’t control it. Gel pens, some but not all, give a fraction of this quality. I also liked the spidery quality of a very fine pigment pen. Because the nib is so small you have to go over and and the effect is interesting. Also with a smooth pen and going slowly and following every variation in a boundary can provide a similar effect to india ink.

I stopped learning how to use graphite when I gave it up sometime ago. The funny thing about drawing media. As simple as it is, they all require learning how to use them. Just because you can use one media it doesn’t mean you can use another. Like those who use oils will need to adjust when it comes to using acrylic and work out strategies to get the same affect. Sometimes you can’t and then you have to find what works for you within the limits of the media you have.

Coming back to graphite I have looked at the drawings of others and dug up my drawing books. Using ink I had trained my eye to see uniform black lines and with graphite it works best if using the strength of the media I create dark when I needed to suggest ‘closer’ and light lines when I wanted to suggest distance.

Of course this is obvious when you do it but strangely enough very little reference is given to this in most drawing instruction books. I am not saying it isn’t there, it is just a passing note comparing to the acres of information on how to build up gradation of tone on spherical balls and draw value scales. All very fine if you intend to work in tone and values but not if you don’t.

When I started using graphite the lines were flat and uniform and not what I wanted. Now I am starting to adjust and each drawing there is another ‘oh I see that’.

The drawing above is another from the People on the train series. I have drawn it from the photo but it is not finished. Because I work small and up close taking another photograph as the work progresses helps give distance and you can see if it is working. It is the equivalent of a painter jumping back and forth from the canvas to see the whole.

Section from drawing. Original size 20cm x 20cm, (8 x 8 inches). Graphite on acrylic on canvas. - ‘People on the train’

People on the train - She wonders

2011-09-15T22:47:00.000+01:00

A5 Sketch book study. Acrylic and graphite and graphite.

People on the train - Man in hooded jacket

2011-09-09T21:44:00.000+01:00

I am trying out different drawing styles in graphite. I was inspired after visiting the last day of the MA Degree Show at Camberwell College of Art. I went to look at the work of the Printmaking graduates but I liked the work of the Illustrators and Book Makers more. I saw only one student work that was painting based. Lots of students use drawing as the basis of their practice. This is a big change since I was a student and another example of the resurgence of drawing in disciplines other than Illustration.

A5 Sketch book studies. Acrylic and graphite and graphite.

Screen printing

2011-09-08T07:51:00.001+01:00

I have wanted to do prints of my drawings for some time. A while ago I tried Intaglio printing at the Princes Drawing School but while I like the effects I wasn’t able to put in the time to improve my skills and intaglio printing requires you to have access to a print studio to do anything. It is also a process that means working with dangerous chemicals which I was not entirely happy with.

I had recently seen some screen prints or serigraphs as they were originally known, at the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy and this pushed me to go and get a Speedball home kit and enrol on a taster course the Print Club which I went to at the weekend.

Good workshop. I have done screen printing before but so long ago I cannot recall anything meaningful and I certainly didn’t do any of the technical work around preparing the screen with photo emulsion. I am now eager to try out the photo emulsion work at home. I am also thinking about becoming a member of Print Club where for a monthly fee I can go and print as much as I want. But Print Club advise you to think about this first before you rush out and pay for screens and ink. I also have wait until the decorating is finished at home (end of October) and I will hopefully have the space to spread out and print.

One of the things I learned at art school is that as an artist you are always learning new skills and new disciplines.

Sketch book work - People on the train

2011-09-07T21:53:00.000+01:00

I am now using my September sketch book. The last sketch book was completed at the weekend. The decorators have arrived and so drawing and making art is going to be tricky over the next two months. But I will continue to collect photos for the People on the Train series.

I am still hoping to get to enrol in a drawing class too but as usual I have left it late and all the classes that I want are full up.

Drawings - Studies for People on the train, A5 sketch book. Graphite and acrylic and Pigment pen.

Watching people

2011-09-02T23:27:00.000+01:00

I took the photo for this drawing a few days ago. The photo is a little burled but I liked the look and the pose and decided to use it anyway. I started the drawing on the over ground train this morning while traveling into London Bridge. I continued on the underground at Baker Street Station while waiting for the train to go to Wembley. A woman sat near me and looked across as I took photos of the start of the drawing by holding up my iPad.

So why am I interested in people I see on the train? It is like being in a car at times. We think that because we are in our space no one sees us. People think that no one notices what we are doing, but we do. We rely on other people being polite enough to look away. But just look slyly out the corner of our eyes, or I do in any event. This afternoon a woman sat opposite and put on her make up in front of me. She thought I was reading and I was but now and then I took a quick sneaking look as this process took ages. Full foundation to cover blemishes, eye shadow, mascara and lipstick. She was chatting to her friends as she worked. I took a quick photo on my phone just before the end because I was amazed by her sense of feeling so comfortable. Perhaps she believed that I had not noticed or maybe she thought it didn’t matter if it did.

The photo for the drawing above was taken a few days ago. This woman was carrying shopping bags that said that she had just spent a lot of money but I didn’t notice her at first because I was more interested in the couple in front of me. She was fiddling with her hair and staring. I like those moments when you can see people are there and yet far away in the heads. I think that this happens most of the time when we travel. We are projecting into the future or past and if we are present we are occupied with the music being piped in our ears or the books we are reading. Never really present and trying to be in our own safe space.

Drawing in A5 sketchbook. Graphite & acrylic.

Drawing people who travel on the train

2011-09-01T20:03:00.000+01:00

I have started a new series of drawings in my sketch book of people I see on the train while I on the way to and from my work. The drawings are done from the photos I quickly take on my iPhone. The best place to do this is on the underground train and no one notices because every other person is looking at their ‘smartphone’.

I then adapt the photo into a drawing in my sketch book. Sometimes the photo is a little blurred but there is enough for me to work with. I usually do the sketch on the overground train as there is very little shaking. When I get home I then add background colour, gouache or acrylic. But today’s drawing I did at my table after finishing work, (I was working from home.)

Drawing in A5 sketchbook. Graphite & acrylic.

August Break - Last day

2011-08-31T22:37:00.000+01:00

This bee and his friends were feasting on sunflowers in the middle of a traffic island at the Elephant and Castle roundabout surrounded by traffic.

August Break - Street Art

2011-08-30T21:57:00.000+01:00

I had to go to Atlantis art shop on Hanbury Street and I saw these wall murals on the way.

August Break - Trip to the Southbank

2011-08-28T20:55:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went to see the Tracey Emin exhibition at the Hayward Gallery based in the South Bank complex. The Gallery overlooks Waterloo Bridge and the South Bank area.

August Break - Acorns

2011-08-26T08:44:00.000+01:00

I can’t believe it. Autumn has arrived.

August Break - Standing at the RA Summer Exhibition

2011-08-15T07:04:00.001+01:00

I went to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition yesterday. You are not allowed to take photographs of the work, but I could take photos of the visitors’s feet.

Verdict on the show. I preferred it last year but I did pick up a monograph on David Remfry of the drawings on his large scale drawings of dancers.

August Break - day 3

2011-08-09T21:32:00.001+01:00

Deadheading and pruning.

August Break - day 2

2011-08-08T21:14:00.011+01:00

Waiting for lunch.

On another break - sort of...

2011-08-07T12:55:00.004+01:00

I am cheeky. I have just had one break and I announcing that I am on another. This is a working break as devised by writer photographer Susannah Conway. She calls it the August Break and it is a chance to recharge your blogging batteries by just giving yourself permission to do less. I have already started this on my cycling blog and I am moving it over here. I will post photographs this month. I am still drawing. In fact I am drawing everyday in my sketch book and really enjoying it having got a boost from the Life Drawing Class at the Princes Drawing School.

The photo above I took of the bee is one the many bees I am so l glad to see around in my garden and on the hedges I pass when I am cycling.

Back from my break

2011-07-17T22:05:00.001+01:00

The Life drawing Class finished two weeks ago and until today I haven’t picked up a pencil. I have been trying to draw on my iPad using the ASKetch app but it is a little tricky. I have also been making very short videos with the 8mm HD app also on the iPad. I will enrol in another life drawing class in the autumn but in the meantime I will go back to filling a sketch book during the course of the month. If I don’t stick to the routine of drawing every day it is easy to find I haven’t done anything for a month.

I also plan to go to Tracey Emin exhibition and the Royal Academy Summer exhibition before they close.

Life drawing class week 5

2011-06-12T08:20:00.001+01:00

I’m struggling at the moment to do something different while working with charcoal. I am becoming more confident drawing larger but I find it difficult to get modelled form.

Drawing of life model - 42 cm x 59 cm ( 16.6 x 23. 5 inches) in Charcoal on cartridge paper.

NB. White flash is lens flare.

Life drawing class week 4

2011-06-05T20:31:00.001+01:00

Drawing of life model - 42 cm x 59 cm ( 16.6 x 23. 5 inches) in Charcoal on cartridge paper.

Life drawing class week 3

2011-05-31T12:02:00.002+01:00

So busy I forgot to post but I did go to class and will go again today.

Decided to use coloured chalk for a change.

Charcoal & pastel (coloured chalk) on cartridge paper, 42 cm x 59 cm ( 16.6 x 23. 5 inches)

Tracey has a new exhibition

2011-05-19T10:21:00.008+01:00

Tracey Emin has a retrospective exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. Just finished listening to her being interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Women’s Hour.

‘I’ve spent seven years going to life drawing classes. I can draw’. Tracey Emin talking on Women’s Hour.

I always have time to listen to Tracey Emin because of her work and she is such a champion of drawing and being able to draw.

I will be going the show. I haven’t been to the Hayward since the Anthony Gormley show in 2008.

Drawing. ‘Tracey is an artist.’ - Drawing is A5 sketchbook in wax pencil. Image of Tracey Emin adapted from photograph (Pal Hansen/Contour photos).

Life Drawing Class Week 2

2011-05-18T11:15:00.003+01:00

I really like this drawing. I did it and I like it. It doesn’t completely work but that doesn’t matter. I like it because there was a point when I was drawing when I had just to draw what was in front of me even though my brain was saying something else.

The skill of learning to draw is ignoring what your voice tells you should be there and actually drawing what you see.

The definitive guide on this is ‘The Zen of Seeing’ by Frederick Franck which I am going to have another look at to remind me.

I also like the drawing because I can recall when I couldn’t draw like this. Progress!

Drawing of life model - 42 cm x 59 cm ( 16.6 x 23. 5 inches) in Graphite pencil on cartridge paper

Life Drawing Class

2011-05-11T08:16:00.001+01:00

I have enrolled in a life drawing class. The last time did a weekly life class was in 2004 and it was hard work. That class was an all day class and it was difficult to get time off work to attend.

I am back at The Prince's Drawing School in London which is an art school dedicated to the practice of drawing. This time around I have opted for an evening class.

Doing a class helps with developing my hand eye skills. I go to class and I want to do more drawing at home. I am also not confident with charcoal so this is a good opportunity to learn more.

Drawings all charcoal on cartridge paper, 42 cm x 59 cm ( 16.6 x 23. 5 inches)

Art Fix Art Residency is over

2011-04-25T21:07:00.002+01:00

I haven’t posted images because the work I made is just an exploration of ideas and media I haven’t tried in some time.

So what did I learn? I had to make extra time to get more work done. I found that making more work is a better way of resolving unformed ideas rather than thinking and doing it once. Repeating the work, helps build on it. You rarely get it right the first time.

The Art Fix residency helped me focus on gathering work for a portfolio for a postgraduate course. Working intensely when you have a day job is a tricky balance at times and the Art Fix Residency gave me a reason to just keep making work even at the beginning and the end of the day.

Because I was working I then opted to do a short residential course last weekend on ‘exploring colour’ in any media of your choice at West Dean College.

So what did this in house residency teach me.

I have more materials then I think.
Going through past work and sketch books provides ideas for new work.
It is ok to throw out art work that really doesn’t work or teach. But only after you have lived with it for a long time.
Go and do more courses to build skills and it help the momentum of making work when you have a full time job.
Just keep making work.

Update: Forgot to add a thank you to artist Kesha Bruce who is the originator of the Art Fix In House Art Residency.

March sketch book is full up

2011-04-03T23:35:00.002+01:00

The March sketch book project is done and I have started a new sketch book for April/May. I am giving myself two months to fill up this one because I have other art work to get done.

I have started using charcoal in this new sketch book. I tend to avoid charcoal in a sketch book as it is just going to get smudged when you travel. I will be trying out the various charcoal pencils I have as they tend to be harder than pure sticks and the charcoal is less likely to move around on the paper.

I am still doing the Art Fix residency which is another reason why I may not fill up a sketch book this month. For me the residency has become a review of past work as well as making new work.

As for making art with my day job. The longer daylight hours is a big help. I can do some drawing very early in the morning and after when I finish work.

Shell. Charcoal, graphite, A5 sketch book

Looking back

2011-04-01T20:42:00.003+01:00

I am in the middle of preparing an application for a post grad course and I have dug up my old A1 portfolio and discovered drawings and work I have not seen in 15 years.

It was like going through an old diary or a collection of old letters. I am not that person/artist any more but it was good say hello to her again.

I still like these two drawings. This was the time when I was using lots of oil pastel, a medium for a long time and then I just stopped.

Oil pastel on paper A1 - 594 x 841 mm - 23.4 x 33.1 in.

The woman on the train

2011-03-27T21:01:00.002+01:00

The dark haired woman sat on the train watching other people in the carriage.

Watercolour and pigment ink in A5 sketch book and watercolour paper, 5 x 7 inches.

The 2011 ART FIX In-House Residency Challenge

2011-03-16T18:41:00.003Z

I am on art residency! It is one that will take place in my own studio and will last until April 14th.

The residency is the great idea of artist Kesha Bruce and is a challenge for artists like me to get on and make more work using the supplies you already have. I am still doing my monthly sketch book challenge but I want to do work based on the ideas in my sketch book.

As always I am pressed for time because I have to meet deadlines in the Day Job but I am trying be more focused in my priorities.

In the ART FIX In-House Residency Challenge Kesha started out by going through all her art supplies to check what she already has and sorting out her studio. I am not going to do that just yet because for me this will turn into a major excuse to reorganise rather than working. I will do some drawings first and then go through the shelves.

The photos above are of watercolour drawings I am developing from the sketch book in an attempt to use up all the lovely watercolour paper I have.

Picasso to Julie Mehretu at The British Museum

2011-03-09T19:32:00.003Z

I went back to the British Museum at the weekend to see the exhibition of drawings from their collection of artists works from the 20th century, entitled Picasso to Julie Mehretu. It is a rare treat to find a drawing exhibition of so many artist so it was worth a second trip. Plus it is free to enter.

After a long look I spent time focusing on three drawings and did some sketching. Unfortunately there is a no photography policy and there isn’t a monograph to buy either. (I hate it when you can’t take photos in galleries and they don’t provide postcards or books for you to buy.) The two drawings above are copies of works by artists Abraham Walkowitz and Judy Pfaff. I couldn’t find the images on the internet to give a link so it is likely that the British Museum owns the only copies.

The exhibition runs until 25th April so I may drop in again to make some notes on the other artists.

Ink and watercolour in A5 sketchbook.

March sketch book project

2011-03-04T14:41:00.003Z

I have started another monthly sketch book project for March. I will fill up a sketch book by the 31st March. The last sketch book took from December to end of February. I am cheap and cheerful soft cover sketch A5 size sketch books. They cost a £1 but the paper is tough enough to take water colour paint, markers, ink, and iron on transfer. They are light enough to throw in my bag but unlike Moleskines there is no elastic band to hold it together. I use a strong hair band instead and I stick an envelope on the back cover to hold any loose papers. Best of all there are not too many pages so the I should complete the project.

I am currently using a tiny box of Koi watercolour paints by Sakura. The set comes with a water brush that you fill up and this allows you to mix the colours. I also have a Pentel water brush which does the same thing but is larger than the brush that comes in the Koi set. The water colours are student quality and good enough for working small in a sketch book. Using watercolour with drawing is a break from my usual style. With my clear pencil case from Muji which is big enough to hold the colours I am ready to draw on the go.

Monday

2011-02-28T19:45:00.002Z

Photos of people on their way to work.

I played all morning with my iPhone camera, sneaking ~~seeking~~ quick shots. I thought ok, it's Monday and I have got to do the day job, but I can still collect images.

Photos help me see again

2011-02-27T18:04:00.002Z

One of the ways I get out of a dry spell is to take photos in a different way. The Hipstamatic iPhone app has just produced a new black & white filter and I am snapping everything. Funny how a black & white photo of a dull day can be more vivid than a colour shot. Now I’m drawing imaginary trees in the sketch book. No reason, I just like them.

I took these photos from inside my car during the long wait for the lights to change.

Scan of sketch book. Ink & graphite

One sketch at a time

2011-02-21T22:28:00.001Z

I have slowed down since the end of drawing class. But I am back drawing everyday even if it is just for 10 minutes in my sketch book.

Tools to help to regain momentum:
Draw for a minimum of 5 minutes every day
Listen or watch the podcasts of The Accidental Creative and Art 21
Read The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp
Read The Creative Licence - Danny Gregory
Go see Art
Look for another drawing class.
Restart the sketch book challenge.

Quick drawings in sketch book using marker and pigment pens.

The drawing class

2010-12-19T14:37:00.042Z

For five weeks I have been going to a drawing class. It is now finished and I am now starting to appreciate what I learnt and the work I did.

The class was run by the art school Central Saint Martins, which run a number of courses and workshops for people at all stages of their artistic careers.

The course was called Experimental Drawing. I wanted a course to shift me out of old habits and make me rethink my drawing style. Our wonderful course tutor was artist Jane Grisewood who throughout the five weeks was keen to ensure that we each developed our own style as well as stretch out of old comfort zones.

Week One

Charcoal on A1 paper

Lots of large scale drawings done fairly quickly and it was important to learn to look at our subject. Drawing in charcoal is not one of my favourite things to do but it was good to push this medium for myself.

Week Two

Ink, wax, bleach, crayon on A3 sketch book

Drawing in ink. We did wax resist drawings which I came to love and filled my sketch book with them in the following week.

Week Three

Charcoal on cartridge paper, various dimensions

Drawing the moving figure. It was a cold Saturday but our very experienced life model helped us bring to life the various poses. I have done life drawing in the past but most classes focus on the long pose. We did drawings when the model was slowing moving and this means you just go for the essence of a pose.

Week Four

Ink in A5 sketch book

We spent the day at the British Museum which was as much as exercise about learning to draw in public as it was drawing the various objects. It is has been a long time since I have been to the British Museum and I loved the space. My own theme for the day was animal artifacts that caught my eye. I will definitely be going back. Brilliant drawing exhbition on the top floor which runs until 24 April 2011, called ‘Picasso to Julie Mehretu’. I will also go back to see this as it is free.

Week Five

Block print ink on A4 paper (watercolour, cartridge, tracing, brown)

Mono printing. This is the second time I have tried mono printing and this time it worked. (I have done a course in etching but found that I loved the outcome more than the process of getting a print.) Mono printing works for me as a process as it is entirely within your hands and immediate.

What I learnt

Apart from new practical skills, wax resist and mono printing, I learned that classes help you to just increase the volume of work you do and provide necessary feedback from other students and tutors.

I am looking for another course to developing the ideas I explored during these classes.

Completed the November sketch book project

2010-12-03T07:35:00.001Z

I filled the sketch book ahead of schedule and I have started a new one for December. But with the holidays on the way I will not have a sketch book challenge this month.

The goal to fill the pages of a sketch book I had started last year was not as difficult as I expected as I was not overwhelmed by having a completely empty book. What I now have is a record of my changing style and increased confidence. Most drawing that works comes from confidence.

Drawing in public is getting easier. A couple weeks ago I was nearly late for an appointment for work when I missed my stop when I was drawing on the train because I was lost in the sketchbook.

Over the past few weeks I have moved from focusing entirely on the line to drawing with light washes of watercolour paint and I plan to do more watercolour.

November Sketchbook

2010-11-05T21:13:00.002Z

I have started to fill my November sketchbook. I am using a medium size Moleskine sketchbook that I started in November 2009 a year ago and a third of it is already used. I stopped working in it because although Moleskine sketchbook paper is thick and smooth, it repels paint. Funny as it was made strong enough for you to do whatever you want including paint. If you want to paint in a Moleskine you need the watercolour paper sketchbook. The one I have is is fine for graphite, ink, coloured pencils and felt pens which are my materials of choice at the moment.

Completed the October sketch book project

2010-10-31T21:00:00.003Z

I set myself the goal of filling another sketch book by the end of October and it is done. I chose a sketch book with fewer pages so I wasn’t under pressure to do so much work each day. However I soon found that I didn’t really like the sketch book I had chosen. Had I not made the commitment to fill up the book I would have put this one aside.

Why I didn’t like this sketch book

I chose an A5 (14.6 x 20.3 cm) Daler Rowley sketch book with smooth cartridge paper. The weight of the paper was 150g/m2 or 90lbs. It was ring bound so I could flick back the cover and use it as a base. I liked the paper. I liked the slight off white tone and the weight, but what I didn’t realise was that the paper cover would split within the first few days.

I had always planned to re-cover the front cover and I have done this before on other generic sketch books but even with the cover reinforced it didn’t stop the tearing of the paper around the rings. This is not the fault of Daler Rowley. It was me not realising that I would need a more sturdy sketch book that I can throw in my bag and not worry if the pages were going to get torn or the cover come off. I should have chosen a hard back sketch book.

What I found out about working in this sketch book

I learned to work with the limits of the book and that I still like to scan and copy drawings made elsewhere and stick them in. I ended up doing a lot of small drawings in my small Moleskine lined note book which made me look for my old medium size Moleskine book that I had started using a couple years ago. It is getting easier to draw in public. Once I get going I find that no one really notices or if they do they don’t say anything. I am now able to do very quick gesture drawings of peoples feet or I draw from a print of photos I have in my collection.

Making mistakes

I am getting used to working with my mistakes but still not used to other people seeing the mistakes. This is the old myth that if you draw you should be good at this straight away. I just remind myself of the early drawings of Van Gogh. You can see the difference in his drawings of a Carpenter, 1880 and Woman Mourning, 1882. He made lots of mistakes that he learned to overcome through just doing more drawings.

Time to give up moaning and get a life or make more art

2010-10-24T21:34:00.011+01:00

On Friday I spent a whole day on the phone moaning about various work hassles. At the end of it I didn’t feel better, in fact I felt worse. I had got things off my chest but because I was still riding on the fuel of righteous indignation it then spilled over into my private life.

If I didn’t spend so much time complaining what would I do?

I would have to move on and actually do something else. Either work at changing the situation or doing something else. Easy to say but tough to do. But I am getting fed up of being a grouch as people stop listening to me. (I don’t want to listen to me either.)

I did this drawing from a photograph I had taken a while ago. She was talking and he was elsewhere.

New motto, ‘create first, complain later’. Which means get out a sketch book and do a drawing before I open my mouth.

Another reason to give up moaning according to marketing expert Seth Godin is that your words become a self-fulling prophesy

‘Did you hear me?’ Study in A5 sketch book. Pigment ink, felt pen, graphite mechanical pencil.

Drawing, blogging and the October sketch book challenge

2010-10-22T22:49:00.001+01:00

I have been drawing but as usual not posting on the blog. I found that I didn’t really like the sketch book I had chosen for the October sketch book challenge and I have ended up drawing in other note and sketch books and then copying and posting the images into the October sketch book. I have a week to go and I need to make sure those final pages get filled.

I have been carrying a zip lock bag of pencils and felt pens so that when I am on the train I do a drawing and then add colour to it. Or I start a drawing at home and then add the colour while I am on the train. Most of the drawings will be scanned so that I have a copy to play around with.

The craziness of the day job goes on and I just can’t seem to focus at the moment. Drawing and colouring in between the lines helps me switch off. I have fallen in love again with felt pens and it’s just like playing with colouring books.

The drawing above is at the moment called ‘Glasses’. I copied it from a photograph I had taken. The photograph was reduced in size and stuck into my small Moleskine note book which often doubles up as a handy sketch book.

As for blogging, I am going to finish off the half written entries I have started and just post them.

‘Glasses’. Study in gel pen in small size Moleskine note book

What does this mean?

2010-10-13T03:38:00.001+01:00

At work there is the ongoing worry about what you are doing and the implications for decisions that are beyond your control. This week at work I have been ‘blind sided’ by the consequences of decisions made by someone in a management role which I have had to resolve before I can resume my own work. I have been angry since but I have used drawing to distract me.

What does this mean? - Shirley ( 'People who worry' series) Indian Ink on Sketch book cartridge paper. Approx 6 x 6 inch.

Consume Me

2010-10-03T23:47:00.001+01:00

I am starting to collect drawings about spending and consuming. (An ongoing theme of how much stuff I have and want to get rid of.) I found a drawing of a Prada shoe I did in a sketch book from last year so I redrew and reworked it in the new sketch book.

‘What I tell myself’- pigment ink on paper, A5 sketch book.

Completed the sketch book project.

2010-10-01T06:17:00.001+01:00

Just after midnight I completed the final page of my sketch book and completed my goal to fill up a sketch/note book in one month.

It was a harder challenge than expected because using an exercise book meant I had a lot of pages to fill. Eighty pages means 160 sides. Plus I had the psychological resistance to face making marks on the pages and allowing mistakes. I got around this by drawing on other pieces of paper and then sticking the image into the sketch book. In fact I used a variety of methods to fill the pages, this included photographs and some writing. I wanted to work out ideas as well as just draw.

This project made me see how few sketch/notes books I actually fill up. I tend to get to a few pages left and then because I need a new book I start a new one.

Or I start a sketch book and the momentum goes so I leave the book for maybe a year and just start another because I want a larger or smaller sketch book or different paper. The sketch book will be left until I am hunting around for another sketch book and discover an old nearly empty book and I just start again where I left off. It helps that I date everything so that I can see when I left the book.

Knowing that I had to fill up the book in a month forced me to work in it every day. For the first week I added a couple images from previous work just to get over the anxiety of the blank book. But by day 8 I was beginning to do more. By day 12 I could see that I had about a hundred pages to fill and I would have to step it up. This forced me to be less precious about what went in and it meant that I had a spend quite a bit of time during the day making work for the sketch book. It also provided down time from my day job. When I needed a break from the day job I would add a drawing or work on a drawing in the sketch book.

Towards the end of the month I was trying new ideas & styles just to help me fill the pages. This provided potential ideas for future work which is the point of the sketch book.

So I am going to do it again this month. But this time I have chosen an actual sketch book with smooth cartridge paper and fewer pages.

People passing by

2010-09-24T18:26:00.003+01:00

I have been working hard to complete my goal of filling up a sketch book during this month. I have been drawing but too busy to post to the blog.

Today I made studies of photos I had taken of people passing me by while I was waiting in a shop. I like the compositions and I wanted to explore drawing using the felt pens I have recently acquired.

After I completed the studies in the sketch book, which is just a lined exercise book I copied the drawings, then added the colour to the copies. Finally I paste the drawings into the sketch book.

Thanks to the reminder on Katherine Tyrrell's Making a Mark blog I have been watching the Life Drawing series that Channel 4 showed last summer. Not quite the same as a class but a good inspiration to get out the pencil or pen.

Can I do this again?

2010-09-17T21:48:00.002+01:00

Can I do this again? - Linda ( 'People who worry' series) Indian Ink on Sketch book cartridge paper. Approx 6 x 6 inch.

I need to do more

2010-09-13T23:22:00.001+01:00

I am half way through the month and I am only a quarter of the way through filling up this sketch book.

September means school

2010-09-01T20:54:00.001+01:00

September has arrived and I feel like going back to study. I have been making lists of things to do and reviewing lists of things I still haven’t got around to doing, like finding a drawing class.

I hated school until the final year. I was teased for years but managed to deal with it through wise-cracking humour and pretending it didn’t hurt. But I did like September. It was the month I got new exercise books, pencils, pens, uniform and shoes.

Goal for this month. Fill a sketch book

Thirteen years old in school uniform - Study in Indian ink in Sketch book

What comes next?

2010-08-18T19:20:00.001+01:00

With this drawing I first did a series drawings from the original photograph which I was not happy with. In the end I used a Camera Lucida to get the proportions right.

What comes next ? - Carl. Indian Ink on Sketch book cartridge paper. Approx 6 x 6 inch.

Don't look

2010-08-15T08:55:00.004+01:00

Still working on drawings of people who are worried about their work.

'Don’t look' - Fran. Indian Ink on Sketch book cartridge paper. Approx 6 x 6 inch.

Worry

2010-08-14T20:59:00.003+01:00

I came across a series of photographs I took of people for a college assignment I did ten years ago. These were people I had met in the course of my work and some I knew and some I didn’t know very well. All had some concern about whether they were doing their job right, as I was too. The photographs don’t show that they were worried but I brought that hidden anxiety to the drawings.

These drawings are in a large fat sketch A4 book (cartridge paper, 135 gsm) that I got from Atlantis Art store. I drew a square frame (6 x 6 inch) then copied the photo and then added a title I think suits the expression. I used a dip pen and Winsor & Newton black Indian ink.

Why worry? It can be comforting when facing too many unknowns.

‘I need to go now - Andrew’. Ink on paper approx 6x6 inch

Working even it isn't good

2010-08-09T19:05:00.002+01:00

In her book, The Artist in the Office, Summer Pierre writes that we often think that when we make art the work we produce must ‘be good’ and we must always produce ‘heroic’ work every time. I can relate to this because the idea that that I must always produce something brilliant stops me from doing anything at all. The advice from Summer Pierre is to take small steps in the direction we need to go.

Recently I produced two drawings of shoes. I wanted to draw but didn’t have any new ideas. I thought that if I waited until I get the next great idea then I wasn’t going to get much drawing or any art making done. So I just drew the shoes and I did it twice. I also realised that at the moment I like drawing shoes but think that this is too mundane a subject.

Lessons to myself: 1. Just start with anything and ideas will come and if not then I’ve got some drawing practice in. 2. Repetition is not a bad thing. Remember Giorgio Morandi painted bottles again and again.

Drawing of Plimsoll with pigment ink pen & acrylic paint in small size Moleskine note book

Fuzzy blurry world

2010-08-07T10:31:00.001+01:00

While I want my drawings to focus on the line I prefer my photographs to be random, blurred and vivid with colour. Life is like that. At times it needs to clear cut but you learn that everything is mixed up and there really isn’t such a thing as boundary. When you get right down to smallest particle, everything is shifting, changing and merging.

Update: Forgot to add that the photos were taken with my tiny Harinezumi 2 camera in the macro mode which gives you blurry images.

Drawing practice - Drawing breakfast

2010-07-24T23:34:00.003+01:00

When in doubt about what to do, I draw what ever is in front of you, even breakfast, as a practice. I wanted to draw my tea and toast but I was hungry and I didn’t want it to get cold, so I drew the empty cup and crumbs instead.

Cup and crumbs. Indian ink on paper, 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm). Photos taken on iPhone using Hipstamatic filter.

Drawing practice for today

2010-07-23T23:46:00.002+01:00

Simple. Drawing in pigment liner in s/s Moleskine note book

Image taken with Hipstamatic filters on iPhone.

Update - 24.7.10. I forgot to add that I had been working all day on completing a report that is due next week. When I took breaks from the lap top I would play with a camera and draw.

Taking photos and drawing

2010-07-23T06:43:00.001+01:00

As I got a new camera last weekend and a new iPhone camera app I have been taking dozens of digital photos this week.

I have always enjoyed taking photos and at one time I wanted to make this my main practice. It didn’t work out. While I like the look of wet film I found the processing and printing tricky. I wanted to do it myself but really didn’t have the time and equipment to learn to do this properly. In the end I realised that I didn’t love photography enough to put in the time to produce the work. (If you love it enough you will find the time. ) As I am impatient I got instant print cameras, Polaroid and Fuji instax mini and used them for a time. My instant cameras are over 10 years old and cheap at the time they were brought. Not any more.

Then I got a digital camera. At the time I never really believed it would take over from the standard camera I got into the habit of just taking photos for myself and I rarely print them.

I now take lots more pictures with digital cameras. (Doesn’t everyone?) As they are now affordable, I now have four. Five if I include the iPhone. One is a tiny box type which I don’t use anymore because the focus is not good. I generally use one all the time with my iPhone as backup. I always carry a camera, this even takes precedence over carrying a note book to draw in.

What has taking pictures to do with drawing? Everything. I learned to compose and to notice detail through taking photographs. I am not a confident sketcher so the days when I feel able to sit in public and stare at other people and things while drawing them is rare. Which is a why I draw my feet a lot. Taking a photo allows me to get an image quickly and then use it later. Plus I am usually rushing from one appointment to another in my day job so while I see many interesting things I can’t stop to draw. More recently I have taken pictures on my camera and because of the large LED screen I can draw from the screen. Something I can do while I am waiting for the train.

As much as I love taking photos just for my image bank these images are not the same as drawing. When I draw I am always amazed at how you create something with your own hand from nothing and see it all happen right in front of you. A struggle but with wonderful results. This is still better than taking a picture.

The cameras above are the ones I am currently using

The silver camera is Fujifilm Fine Pix F30 and now 2.5 years old. It has a tough metal body and until I got the Samsung in June it was the main camera I used
The Samsung PL150 has a LCD screen on the front as well as the back. This allows you to take those portrait shots and you can see the picture before you press the shutter.
The small camera that looks like an old fashioned 120 film cartridge is a Harinezumi 2++. This takes photos that are washed out in some areas and highly saturated colour in other areas and the effect is a cross between an old fashioned toy camera and a Lomo camera.
This photo is my iPhone 3G in the guise of the Hipstamatic camera app. I love this camera app. I have never liked the quality of the camera on the iPhone. I think it takes poor quality photos but handy for taking visual notes. But the whole point of Hipstamatic is to take faded photographs so now I will be using the iPhone more often.

A cup of mint tea to soothe the nerves

2010-07-21T13:21:00.001+01:00

I liked the drawing of the cup of tea and decided to rework it in oil and acrylic for ‘The Lack of Confidence’ series I am gradually building.

‘A cup of mint tea to soothe the nerves’. Indian ink, acrylic, oil on hardboard. 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm)

Seep

2010-07-19T22:09:00.001+01:00

Seep - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Prune - One of the things I did today

2010-07-18T10:09:00.002+01:00

I’ve decided to return to this series of ink drawings. This time I will occasionally do a drawing and not a daily drawing for the series. It was a good idea when I first started the series because I was very busy with my day job and at home. I didn’t have the time to think about what I wanted to draw and I knew if I stopped it would be months before I would start again. Drawing a postcard image of a daily action kept me going. After six months I realised that I had come through and didn’t need to do this anymore. On the one hand I am sorry that I didn’t make it through to a year but that was never my intention. I was surprised that I made it through to a month and then I just kept going.

I use what works for me and when it doesn’t time to let go.

I’ve been doing a lot of gardening this month following the renovation of my tiny space by a local gardening service. So first thing in the morning I have to get up and check the tomatoes, sweet corn and flowers.

Prune - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Collage and Cutout Dolls

2010-07-17T23:13:00.001+01:00

I have been battling with a headache all day but I have been playing with the little girl ink drawings for fun to distract me. I’ve been running off copies of the original and then cutting out the figures and putting them into a new background. It’s a mini collage and I am reminded of the cut out dolls I used to make when I was 9. I used to cut out the people from old catalogues but then I moved on to drawing girl dolls and clothes. I made my last cut out doll when I was 12 and she had a great wardrobe. I still have it somewhere safe. So safe I can’t think where she is.

'Two girls in garden'. Collage on paper. 6x6 inches (15 x 15 cm)

Disconnected

2010-07-16T14:42:00.000+01:00

Can’t post any drawings because I’ve got no broadband. Ouch : (

Drawing from the imagination

2010-07-15T00:00:00.002+01:00

I am currently reading ‘The Confident Creative - Drawing to Free the Hand and the Mind’, by Cat Bennett. It is a book to help you get over the anxiety of drawing. There are lots of how to draw books out there but very few tackle the issue of the anxiety of drawing.

I am trying my hand at drawing from the imagination (one of the exercises in the book) which is a tricky one if I try to plan too much.

‘Two girls’ - Indian ink paper. 6 x 6 inch (15 x 15 cm)

Drawing practice - yesterday

2010-07-14T00:12:00.012+01:00

Quick gesture drawing after Sally Mann ‘Face series’. Graphite Pencil on paper, 6x6 inches (15x15 cm).

Sometimes gesture drawings work but mostly they get overworked. ~~Just keep doing them.~~ I will just keep doing them as through volume there will be some that I can keep.

Sally Mann- The Family and the Land - The Photographers' Gallery

2010-07-13T22:33:00.002+01:00

I took a trip to the Photographer’s Gallery in the West End of London last Thursday. I haven’t been to the Gallery since they moved from Covent Garden a few years ago. (I used to love photography and it was my main medium for a while. But that is another story.)

The main exhibition is work by the photographer Sally Mann. It is a combination of four works, ‘Faces’ and ‘Immediate Family’ which are eerie photographs of her children when they were young. ‘The Deep South’, ghost like images of swamp land and ‘What Remains’, which are disturbing images of decomposing bodies. I have mixed feelings about the exhibition. I think Mann create images that you cannot help but stare at but you also want to look away. A kind of beautiful repulsion. Mann uses large antique cameras glass plates to create the images.

Out side the exhibition the gallery is a still a great space to sit around in the cafe and look through books. (These are smaller than at the old gallery.) There is a good range of quirky wet film cameras in the shop, Polaroid, Holga and Lomo which made me wonder where I have put my old Polaroid 600.

Drawing practice - today

2010-07-09T08:32:00.002+01:00

Decided to do something first thing in the morning before I got going with the day.

'Did I brush for two minutes?' - (A lack of confidence). Graphite, oil on heavyweight paper, 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm)

Drawing practice - today

2010-07-08T23:13:00.001+01:00

I did this drawing while on the train travelling home. The shaky line is partly me and partly the train.

Right foot in sandal. Pigment liner pen on small size Moleskine note book paper.

Drawing practice - yesterday

2010-07-07T22:38:00.004+01:00

Sometimes when I don’t want to read on a train journey and the ride is smooth I will get out something from my bag and draw it. Of course this is better in a quiet carriage when no one can see me. But I have drawn while squashed in a corner. I did the drawing on the way to London Bridge station yesterday and put some acrylic on it today.

‘I always carry hand cream’. Study in small Moleskine sketch book.

Drawing practice for today

2010-07-05T22:49:00.002+01:00

'Ironing is easier'. Graphite, acrylic on heavy weight paper. 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm)

Drawing practice for today

2010-07-04T09:25:00.002+01:00

This drawing is a copy of a drawing by Rubens of a Lady-in-waiting to the Infanta Isabella. It is in the 150 Masterpieces of Drawing - Selected by Anthony Toney and published by Dover books. Dover publish reference books for art students but they are becoming harder to track down in the UK. It is not fashionable to learn to draw like old masters or even modernist artists anymore. I got this book at the Museum of Modern Art in New York while on holiday a few years ago. While I have enjoyed life drawing classes, I have learned more from copying old drawings. I don’t want to draw like Rubens or any classical artist but the practice hones your hand and eye.

After Rubens Lady-in-waiting. Graphite and gouache on bristol board paper. 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm).

Drawing practice for today

2010-07-03T22:53:00.001+01:00

Cerulean Blue. Graphite and acrylic on watercolour paper, 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm)

The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy

2010-07-03T12:18:00.006+01:00

I went to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy last week. This was a surprising show and full of a lot good work. More drawing than I expected and I would have happily brought a number of prints if I could have afforded them. It has been well over ten years since I went to the Summer Show at the RA as I had always thought it was a bit of a jumble sale and you could never get to see work properly.

The RA has become more discerning about the work, how it is hung and placed which is much better. Only the small prints and small paintings are bunched up together but you can still see the work clearly. However from looking through the catalogue you notice a lot of work on show is by established artists and I wonder if the RA has made decision to increase work by this group over the work by other artists.

The work that was the weakest was by some Royal Academicians. Some now have very dated styles or the work was poorly executed. If they had been members of the public I wonder if the work would have been accepted. Having said this even this work sold so what do I know.

I loved this piece by Grayson Perry, called ‘Personal Creation Myth’. It was one of the few ceramic pieces in the show and wasn’t for sale. I like his work in general because of his narrative drawings. I am currently reading a monograph I got from the library on Perry by Jacky Klein.

Verdict for the show. Worth the money and I will go again next year.

Not having a CV

2010-07-03T07:20:00.001+01:00

It is has been ten years since I left art school and I still don’t have a CV of any significance.

One of the few things you learn in the last few weeks of college is about the need to start writing your CV. You start with any exhibitions you did whilst you were at college and then you are supposed to rush out and get work accepted anywhere to build up the list on the CV.

But as an artist what is the purpose of a CV?

I can see that if you are applying for an artist residency which is essentially a job where you make art because those hiring you will need to have some idea of your consistency.

I can see that if your are applying for grant to help you make work then those giving you money need to have some idea that you will use the money to make the work.

I can see that if you are applying for a teaching position those hiring your skills and experience need to know you have the skills and experience.

But if you are not doing any of these things why do you need a CV?

I guess it is about a record of commitment to your practice and it is used as an indicator of how good other people think you are. Long CV equals important artist. Short CV not important.

Luckily the internet has dispensed with the need for a CV if you are not a teacher, or applying for a grant or residency. You just put up an online portfolio and the work is your CV.

Keep working while waiting for the next idea

2010-07-02T23:26:00.001+01:00

There a times when I get lots of ideas but dismiss them because they are not ‘big enough’. Which means that a lot of work doesn’t even get started. Then there are the dry times when I have no ideas and again nothing gets done at all. Of course when I look back ideas tend to come when I am doing something. So even if there is no big idea it is better to do something everyday.

‘You learn how to make your work by making your work and a great many of the pieces you make along the way will never stand out as finished art. The best you can do is to make what you care about and - lots of it!

D Bayles & T Orland

‘Permanent Sap green’. Graphite pencil & oil on bristol board paper, 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm)

Being late because you cannot decide on footwear

2010-06-14T22:34:00.001+01:00

Graphite and gouache on Moleskine s/s sketch book.

Staying right here

2010-06-13T16:13:00.000+01:00

I have decided not to close this blog after all. I needed to explore a new way of working and I thought that I could not do it here. But this blog has always been about keeping going and learning so it seemed wrong to let it go. The blog did need a revamp and so I have done that and will keep adjusting until it feels right.

The important thing is I kept drawing and now I can get back to posting right here.

Coming to the end

2010-04-05T20:56:00.001+01:00

I have a new idea for a blog and this one has served its purpose for now. I wanted to see if I could keep doing drawings and making art. I also wanted to explore what kind of art work I wanted to do and how best to work while balancing other responsibilities.

This blog will remain here for a while until the new one is up and running and then I will decide whether to keep it open or close it to the public. I will not have time to keep both art blogs going alongside my cycling blog. (I have a huge admiration for artists like Katherine Tyrrell who maintains a number of well researched blogs and still produce art work.)

I sometimes come across blogs that have just been abandoned. No explanation. Like a deserted ship, there are the signs that someone was once there and you wonder what happened to them. Did they get sick or did something worse happen? This is different blogs that are abandoned after a couple months. I read somewhere that a lot of blogs don’t make it beyond three months. I can understand that because it is harder that it appears. I started a gardening blog a couple years ago. It wasn’t open to the public as I just wanted a record of what I was growing in my tiny garden. You would think that someone who enjoyed gardening and can take a decent photo would find it easy to do this. I struggled and finally gave up after about a year. I barely posted. I like to garden but I not that interested in writing about it.

Natural endings happen all the time and we resist them or deny them. We change and what was important to us has also changed. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just being human. But the stuff we did and the experience will remain with us even if it is just a memory.

Thank you to those readers who have stuck with this blog. I will leave a note about the new blog soon.

Totter

2010-04-03T21:57:00.003+01:00

Totter - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Bless

2010-04-02T23:42:00.001+01:00

Bless - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Stopping and starting

2010-03-28T17:40:00.001+01:00

Sometimes it is easier to weather a big loss than a little one. I got through bereavement and family crisis but the thing that stopped me posting my drawings was the loss of my printer/scanner. I got a new one straight away but in truth I had little energy to sort out the new machine and scanning was the last thing I wanted to face as well.

With the help of a large dose of cycling to clear my head I am back at the table, with sketch notes, paper and inks.

I have also worked out how to use the new printer/scanner.

Journal

2010-03-13T21:59:00.001Z

Journal - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Break

2010-03-12T21:21:00.001Z

Break - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Fawn

2010-03-11T22:11:00.001Z

Fawn - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Squander

2010-03-10T23:59:00.001Z

Squander - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Imperil

2010-03-09T23:59:00.001Z

Imperil - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Shield

2010-03-08T23:59:00.001Z

Shield - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Avoid

2010-03-07T23:12:00.000Z

Avoid - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Found

2010-03-06T23:59:00.001Z

Found - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Spray

2010-03-05T23:59:00.001Z

Spray - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

File

2010-03-04T23:59:00.001Z

File - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Daydream

2010-03-03T20:50:00.002Z

Daydream - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Sail

2010-03-02T23:19:00.001Z

Sail - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Primp

2010-03-01T11:50:00.001Z

Primp - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Hoard

2010-02-28T23:59:00.001Z

Hoard - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Laugh

2010-02-27T23:59:00.001Z

Laugh - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Exchange

2010-02-26T23:59:00.001Z

Exchange - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Comply

2010-02-25T23:59:00.001Z

Comply - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Squeeze

2010-02-24T23:59:00.001Z

Squeeze - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Clean

2010-02-23T23:59:00.001Z

Clean - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Drain

2010-02-22T23:59:00.001Z

Drain - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

Prepare

2010-02-21T23:59:00.001Z

Prepare - One of the things I did today. Ink on Bristol board paper, approx. 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm (4.1 x 5.8 inches).

difficult and wonderful

More posts on the way

Intaglio Printmaking

Simple Tool

Seeing what is there

People on the train - She wonders

People on the train - Man in hooded jacket

Screen printing

Sketch book work - People on the train

Watching people

Drawing people who travel on the train

August Break - Last day

August Break - Street Art

August Break - Trip to the Southbank

August Break - Acorns

August Break - Standing at the RA Summer Exhibition

August Break - day 3

August Break - day 2

On another break - sort of...

Back from my break

Life drawing class week 5

Life drawing class week 4

Life drawing class week 3

Tracey has a new exhibition

Life Drawing Class Week 2

Life Drawing Class

Art Fix Art Residency is over

March sketch book is full up

Looking back

The woman on the train

The 2011 ART FIX In-House Residency Challenge

Picasso to Julie Mehretu at The British Museum

March sketch book project

Monday

Photos help me see again

One sketch at a time

The drawing class

Completed the November sketch book project

November Sketchbook

Completed the October sketch book project

Time to give up moaning and get a life or make more art

Drawing, blogging and the October sketch book challenge

What does this mean?

Consume Me

Completed the sketch book project.

People passing by

Can I do this again?

I need to do more

September means school

What comes next?

Don't look

Worry

Working even it isn't good

Fuzzy blurry world

Drawing practice - Drawing breakfast

Drawing practice for today

Taking photos and drawing

A cup of mint tea to soothe the nerves

Seep

Prune - One of the things I did today

Collage and Cutout Dolls

Disconnected

Drawing from the imagination

Drawing practice - yesterday

Sally Mann- The Family and the Land - The Photographers' Gallery

Drawing practice - today

Drawing practice - today

Drawing practice - yesterday

Drawing practice for today

Drawing practice for today

Drawing practice for today

The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy

Not having a CV

Keep working while waiting for the next idea

Being late because you cannot decide on footwear

Staying right here

Coming to the end

Totter

Bless

Stopping and starting