A while back I set myself the task of drawing 100 people, relatively quick sketches, 30 minutes maximum into my sketchbook. I wasn’t sure at first how I would choose 100 people. Would they have anything in common? Would they be just random? Eventually I decided to draw my generation and I started just over a year ago, building up a portfolio of ‘Baby Boomers’, people born between 1946 and 1964.
Eventually, these will be used in a large scale installation about my generation. I haven’t decided exactly how I’ll do it yet, but I’m thinking along the lines of developing the drawings into printmaking media like silkscreen, woodcut or stamp and using these to build up small and large iconic images from our era.
It’s something that I can pick up and put down according to how much time I have and whether there’s a venue available. This month, I have been offered some days at the lovely Galerie Simpson in High Street, Swansea. It’s a gorgeous contemporary gallery and a great place for people to sit for me, have a cup of tea and a slice of cake and a chat about what it means to be a Baby Boomer. The conversations I’m having are an important and fascinating part of the process, these will inform the exhibition work that I will eventually do .
Recently, I have also been travelling across South Wales with Rhondda-born archaeologist Dewi Bowen and Swansea film maker Melvyn Williams in all weathers with my portable drawing board, portfolio of Fabriano paper and a bag full of assorted artist’s materials. Dewi is researching his latest book on Neolithic monuments and Melvyn is making a documentary film of our literary and artistic adventures.
I’ve done around 50 drawings now and these will be exhibited in my solo show in The Worker’s Gallery in the Rhondda Valley in September. Please click here to find out more about it.
And if you want to see some of my other artwork, please click on the image below.
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Wonderful – such character! I feel I could have a good guess at the way she speaks from seeing this.
Thank you Michael. She is such a great person 😀
I need to come down and sit for you before you finish your 100 Rosie !
That would be wonderful Helen 😀
I really enjoyed watching your videos on your last link….very interesting and inspiring. Many things that you said resounds within me. I think sometimes I paint or draw with anything other than doing it just for myself, ultimately it has to be for myself and expressing what I see or feel. If someone appreciates it, fine, if not…fine, it is for myself, first and foremost. Your videos helped to remind me of that. 🙂
Thank you Margaret. You’re so right, art is something that comes from within 😀