Degenerates

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I’m working on a new drawing installation for a Commensalis group show at Fringe Arts Bath opening on May the 23rd. It’s based on the concept of ‘Degenerate Art’ which the Nazis used to discredit many artists in the early 20th century. This work portrays artists whose political views, subject matter and/or techniques would be criticised as degenerate by the Nazis now. Although I am using some paint, I still consider these to be drawings because I am slapping a bit of acrylic colour on with my fingers and bits of rag, to colour in the larger areas. The detail is being drawn with charcoal and oil bars.

Practice Makes Perfect (Maybe)

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I’m having a quick scribble with Husb sat opposite on the settee. I’m using my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note with the free Markers app.

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One advantage of doing a digital drawing is that I can save the stages to show how the drawing develops.

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It’s not a good likeness but daily drawing is about practice, not perfection.

Big Appetites

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Just been for a Handi Polongwala to our local curry house, The Vojon and I scribbled this group of men at a nearby table. Big men, big appetites. Drawn into my little A6 sketchbook with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen size S.

New Homes

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I’ve been collating the little pastel drawings I did into 2 Khadi handmade paper sketchbooks while I was travelling throught Pakistan and I’ve sprayed them with acrylic fixative to stop the fragile soft pastel from rubbing off  the surfaces. I needed to raise some funding for my residency and before I went, I offered sketchbook drawings in return for sponsorship. I was lucky enough to raise what I needed and these little drawings are my thank you to those individuals who helped me.

group 2It was a challenge for me to do all these drawings in such a short time and also to use pastels in this way, in such a small format, but I’m really pleased with the outcome and it’s opened up a new way of working for me. And next week, these little drawings will be winging their way to their new homes along with my thanks 🙂

Preparing For The Show

Public Gesture

I’m putting up a double printmaking show this weekend; ‘Leftovers 4′ and ‘Public Gesture‘. The first has over 160 miniature prints from the USA, Canada, Wales / UK, Israel, New Zealand, Norway and Australia. The second is a small portfolio of 13 monotypes that were a collaborative project between artists linked to Wingtip Press in Idaho, USA and Swansea Print Workshop.

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I laid them out on my kitchen table earlier to take a look. They’re lush. If you’re in the Swansea area next Friday (May the 16th) from 7pm, please pop in for the opening. The show runs until early July at The Cove, 36, Castle Street, Swansea. It’s open every day except Sundays.

Two More Mountains

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I’ve been carrying on sorting through the pastel drawings I did on my recent residency in Pakistan, tidying some up and spraying them with fixative. Here are the last two of the mountain drawings. I did them with Daler Rowney soft pastels into my Khadi sketchbook. They were done very quickly on a car journey from Lahore to Rawalpindi, just very quick impressions.

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Big Little International Prints

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Friday the 16th of May from 7 til late at The Cove, 36, Castle Street, Swansea.

Please come along to the opening of these two international printmaking shows in one! And a great venue too. Now in it’s fourth year, ‘Leftovers 4’, organised annually by Wingtip Press, Idaho has travelled all over the world and this is the only UK venue for this big show of little international prints. ‘Public Gesture‘ is a collection of monotypes created during a collaboration between printmakers from the North West USA and Swansea Print Workshop. Over 150 artists are represented including Hannah Frederika Lawson, Patricia Mckenna Jones, Lynne Bebb, Kara Seaman, Gayle Rogers, Chris Williams, Chris Harrendence, Sally Price, Cassandra Schiffler, Mary Donato, Tyler Hackett, Karl LeClair, Gale Everett Stahlke and Lisa Flowers Ross. Oh and me 😀

The show runs until early July.

 

Preseli Rain

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Husb and I set out from Swansea this morning to visit friends living in the Preseli Mountains in Pembrokeshire. It was a glorious warm, sunny day when we left but within a couple of hours of reaching the Preselis, we were hit by severe gales and torrential rain. We managed a quick walk before the deluge but cut our visit short to get back before nightfall. I drew this into my little Khadi sketchbook, using Daler Rowney soft pastels (artist quality). This is quite an accurate drawing; the wall of water reduced the visibility to a blur of greys and greens.

Mood And Mosquitos

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I’ve been sorting through the stuff I brought home from my recent residency in Pakistan. I left some of my prints behind in an exhibition at the Satrang Gallery in Islamabad but I also did a lot of drawings and I’ve been photographing and cataloguing them.

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I did around half a dozen quick impressionistic sketches at the Rawal Lake in Bani Gala in Islamabad. The sun was setting over the mountains in the distance and the colours were extraordinary. I sat with friends and sipped lemongrass tea as the dusk descended. Then the mosquitos started biting and ruined it all!

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I scribbled these with artist quality Daler Rowney soft pastels into a Khadi handmade paper sketchbook. Each sketch took around 4 or 5 minutes, maybe less.

 

My printmaking residency in Rawalpindi was supported by Wales Arts International and Arts Council Wales.

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Quick Scribbles

03 beachWent for a good walk today, taking in a couple of parks and the beach and we stopped at the little cafe on the promenade where I did a scribble into my small spotty sketchbook. Then took a walk around the city centre where I scribbled a few people standing at a traffic crossing.

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They’re not great works of art, but doing these quick sketches is a regular part of my practice. I think it’s important to draw every day even if it’s just for a few minutes. Drawing quickly in public helps to focus on the most important features and trains me to get the details down quickly.