Day 4: After Raphael

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It’s day 4 of the Facebook February drawing challenge and I haven’t been out at all today. The weather’s been awful and I’ve been doing loads of things on computers, so not much of a chance to draw. Husb bought me a lovely book about Raphael for Xmas and as I like to study other artists for practice, I chose this drawing to work from. I used my Samsung Galaxy Tablet with a free Magic Marker app. I like the idea of using 21st century technology to study 16th century Renaissance art. Took about 10 minutes. I think I’d rather work with a traditional dip pen and Indian ink though.

Drawn In The USA

This is my first video. I took some footage during my residency at Wingtip Press in Boise, Idaho last year and edited it with stills of the artwork wthat was produced by the artists I was working with, both there and later in Swansea Print Workshop. It won’t win any Oscars but it’s nice to put up a record of all the hard work that was done and to acknowledge the wonderful artists I had the privilege of being with.

Käthe Kollwitz- The grieving parents

I’m reblogging this because it is a moving and beautifully written blog about Kathe Kollwitz’ sculpture, The Grieving Parents. It’s in a military cemetery in Flanders and I hope to visit it later this year.

Käthe Kollwitz- The grieving parents.

Day 3: A Face In The Dark

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I had insomnia again this morning and I’ve decided that instead of reading, I’ll grab my Tablet and have a scribble. This is what came out of my fevered imagination in the early hours. I’m posting a drawing a day into the Facebook February drawing challenge, ‘28 Drawings Later‘ so the sleepless scribbles will come in handy. I used a free app called Magic Marker for this.

Embrace The Blottage

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Here’s the last of the four drawings I did at last week’s life drawing session at Swansea Print Workshop. I’d set myself the task of using different materials for each drawing. In this final one I used a recycled cyanotype that hadn’t quite worked out and a traditional dip pen with Indian ink. These pens tend to be scratchy and blot a lot. I like this effect, it reminds me of one of my favourite artists, Ralph Steadman.

Embrace The Blottage!

 

Day 2: Sleepless Scribbles

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Wide awake at 4 in the morning and I reached for my Samsung Galaxy Tablet for a scribble. I’ve had insomnia since my teens and have tried everything except sleeping pills, but it isn’t too bad these days and I can usually get back to sleep within the hour. Normally I draw from life, but lying in bed this morning I just scribbled randomly and this is what came out. I think it’s a fallen angel and souls in hell. Cheerful eh? 😀

I’m going to post it onto  28 Drawings Later, the February daily drawing challenge on Facebook.

 

Big Foot

natie 2Another of the life drawings I did earlier this week, this one is in Windor & Newton oilbars and conte crayon onto an A3 size primed canvas sheet. I was trying out different media in each pose, to stretch myself and push out of my comfort zone. I had pre-coloured this sheet with Rhodamine Red oil pigment and left it to dry before using it.

I’m pleased with the way it’s turned out, particularly the foot in the foreground, not at all easy to do.

Day 1: In The Curry House

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I’m taking part in a Facebook daily drawing challenge for February and there are artists from across the planet posting work up. I try and do a daily drawing anyway but entering something like this will keep me motivated. Here’s a couple in the local curry house. It has some wild upholstery.

Not Enough Time

natie 1I had a really good run of drawings at Thursday night’s life drawing session at Swansea Print Workshop. I decided to use different drawing materials and papers during the evening to keep it fresh, otherwise I tend to slip into my comfort zone of Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens and small sketchbooks.

This is a piece of BFK Rives I had lying around, about 13 x 11 inches and I precoloured it with some blue System 3 acrylic mixed with screenprinting medium and applied with a squeegee directly onto the paper, with cardboard underneath which gives that striped texture. I worked with black and white conte crayon and black carbon. It was a 10 minute pose and I wish I’d had more time to work on that right foot – the foreshortening isn’t quite there. I might go back and rework it.

Nudity, Misery, Curry…..

31 natieI had a good session at life drawing group last night and tried out different media and papers throughout the evening. Here’s one I did in willow charcoal, compressed charcoal and chalk onto a lightweight textured paper; I don’t know the make as it was given to me and doesn’t have a watermark, but it’s obviously mould-pressed. The drawing is about size A3 and using charcoal really pushed me. I normally work with charcoal on a much larger scale, this was tight! The final result is a bit German Expressionist, which is fine by me, although I didn’t have that in mind while I was drawing. I guess that shows how much a piece of artwork can be influenced by materials. Our model is great, she holds a pose for ever….almost.

Today I’ve been a proper misery – horrible weather and loads of non-creative stuff to do which is sapping my will to live. So Husb’s going to take me for a curry at The Vojon to cheer me up.Lovely model. Lovely Husb. And lovely curry house.:D

hmmm….lamb shashlik or handi lamb polongwala?