I went to a raku firing yesterday and as well as decorating and glazing some small pieces I also had a scribble. The potter spent some time on the ground, looking under the kiln. I don’t know why she was doing it, but it was a great pose to draw.
I spent a great afternoon decorating some little ceramic figures for a raku firing today. Local ceramicist Esther Ley opened her garden and studio and provided some tiny bisque-fired houses and small birds to be decorated with oxides and glazes. Once we’d finished decorating, the little clay objects were fired in a spectacular outdoor kiln, then plunged into a mini-dustbin full of sawdust and newspaper before being washed off to reveal the subtle crackling and metallic hues typical of raku pottery.
A few more sketches from the other evening of performances at Taliesin Arts Centre. It’s good to have access to bodies in motion, I usually draw people in cafes or audiences or work with life models. I worked very quickly with a continuous line, mostly.
Husb and I went to the theatre the other night for a private event which included performances by young people in the County Youth Dance Company. It was a rare opportunity to do some speed drawing with people moving constantly and pushing their bodies into poses I don’t normally see.
I was at the theatre the other evening, the Taliesin Arts Centre, in the front row, and scribbled some of the performers on stage as I had a great view. This musician had a lived-in and very expressive face. So I scribbled him.
I think I’m not too far away from the finish line with Sparta Puss’ portrait with tulips. Today I blended the highlight colours in her fur with Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber and Raw Umber, all transparent. I used Dioxadine Purple and Titanium White to do more work on the chocolate tin and tulips, and Unbleached Titanium to re-work the highlights on her face. She looks quite sulky now, but that’s normal for her!
I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint on a stretched square canvas with a variety of brushes – Daler Rowney and Winsor & Newton man-made brushes for acrylic, and a vintage Isabey squirrel hair for the very fine detailing.
Still painting Sparta Puss, it’s taking a while but it’s not something to be rushed.
Using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics and a fan brush I highlighted the areas of lighter tones on her fur in Titanium White (left); with a flat brush I painted details on the tulip leaves and added colour to the curtains in Light Green Permanent (centre); and Quinacridone Blue Violet and Titanium White to do some detailing on the tulips and the chocolate tin.
More work on my portrait of Sparta Puss today. Her fur is mostly very dark, black in places, so I’m adding layers of different transparent paints to darken it in stages. I don’t want to use black paint as I think it’s too harsh so I used Raw Umber (Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic). I also used it for the shadows on the chocolate tin, to develop depth.
A bit more work on my painting of Sparta Puss with tulips today, doing the white areas and starting on the facial features, which I did freehand with a small brush and white paint. It’s not a bad likeness, her eyes are a bit close together but that’s easily corrected. I began the details on the chocolate tin as well. This picture is as much a still-life as a portrait of the cat.
Here’s a quick sketch I made a few weeks ago at a poetry gig at the Elysium Gallery and Bar. He was very lively, great fun and I managed to keep up with him as I scribbled.
scribblah 