I spent last Saturday drawing in the street at A FAB Intervention, a public art event in Fringe Arts Bath. I am part of an ad hoc group called The Plebeian Scribblers and four of us drew in unison in the centre of Bath, giving passers by the opportunity to see artists in action. I did 8 drawings in all, here are the third and fourth, a generic street scene and a close up of fellow Plebeian Scribbler, Patricia McKenna-Jones, who happened to be wearing a fox mask by Swansea artist Ann Lucas. I prepared my sketchbook in advance by pasting in pieces of brown wrapping paper. We stuck to a very strict timescale, changing position every 7.5 minutes so each drawing was done quickly which forced me to focus on the absolute essentials of the subject. It’s good practice for not getting too precious about your work.
A FAB Intervention was organised and curated by Swansea artists Melanie Ezra and Tim Kelly.
I’m currently working on a series of expressive drawings of ancestral sites and if you want to see some of my other artworks, please click here.
just great drawings, i wish my sketchbooks looked as alive. Your drawings look like they just flow from you Rosie, you just get out there and draw and what could be better than that!
Thank you, Phil. I think that sketching helps to push me out of my comfort zone of very tight, realistic drawings. It’s challenging drawing in the street but it pays off.
I love that you live your art.. or rather that you are steeped in it…
That’s a great way of describing it!
It is, Leonie. I have been drawing as long as I can remember, before I could write. It’s a fundamental part of me, I am calm when I draw, it’s a meditative and absorbing process.
Thanks Helen, it’s a bit like a compulsion. Totally skint mind, but making art keeps me calm in a crazy world and that’s worth it.
Fabulous drawings Rosie
Thank you, Susie