Indulging Myself

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Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop. I really like this model because he’s as thin as Egon Schiele’s models and I came all over German Expressionist. We had one of the spotlights on so I was able to indulge myself with some chiaroscuro. I also love extreme foreshortening like this. Great evening 🙂

I drew onto an A3 size canvas sheet that I’d prepared with an acrylic yellow ochre wash. I’d used it previously for drawing but I didn’t like it so I drew this on top. I worked with black and white conte crayons, white oil pastel and a stick of carbon.

Day 5: I Don’t Care!

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So continuing with the 28 Drawings After challenge on Facebook and practicing drawing from established artists, I took up with Raphael again. Husb gave me a lovely book on Renaissance drawing from The British Museum that I’ve been meaning to draw from for ages. I’m using the Samsung Galaxy Tablet again with a free Magic marker app. It’s probably very old-fashioned, but I think it’s important for artists to study those who have gone before. I think that’s part of learning the craft in art, although that also seems to be an old-fashioned concept at the moment. Ah well, I don’t care 😀

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.