This screenprint represents a very specific slice of time. Some years ago, there was a Woolworths store opposite the Waterstones bookshop in Swansea. I used to sit in the window of the bookshop cafe up on the first floor, with a pot of tea, and scribble the pigeons that sat on the Woolworths signage opposite. It was large and red and stood out from the wall, giving the pigeons enough space to sit and groom themselves comfortably. It was also lit up day and night, which gave them warmth.
I found the pigeons hard to draw because they constantly fidget so I had to develop a quick impressionistic style to capture them. I wrote down my thoughts and combined them with some of the drawings to create the photographic silkscreen.
This is a poem.
Oh, I hadn’t thought of it like that, hmm. Your dog loves and trusts you, if it didn’t know you it would get nervous, animals that stare are usually predators. Perhaps your son thinks you are going to have him for tea lol 😁
Animals are fun to draw. They keep us sharp because they can be very unpredictable models. Like the drawing/letter combination — it has a certain special charm.
Thanks Aletha. Animals can get very agitated when they know they’re being drawn, except cats. Cats pose.
My dog is keen on drawing. If he thinks I’m drawing him, he comes over, noses my hand and tries to get involved. On the other hand, if my son thinks I’m drawing him, he hides.
This is really interesting – I don’t draw but write and doing a quick word sketch of someone before they notice I’m observing them is similar to trying to ‘capture’ the pigeons! Love the drawings!
Thanks Lois. I hadn’t thought about people doing word sketches, I wonder what musicians do
Well what do you know a Woolworths god does that take me back the one I went to had a neat soda fountain with a counter and those swivel seats grilled cheese or a hamburger wow I was in the big leagues
Yes, they had nice cafeterias up until the 18th.
That should be the 1980s. Darned predictive text!