Feeling a bit poorly today, might have caught the family stomach bug so I haven’t done any drawings so here’s one I did earlier, a couple of weeks ago when Husb and I were in Vienna. We were exploring and stopped to rest a while under a scented tree, a tilia I think, in a small square around an ancient church. I had a quick scribble into my A6 spotty sketchbook with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen size S. The church has flying buttresses. I’m a sucker for flying buttresses.
Husb and I have been out this picking elderflowers to make cordial. It’s an annual ritual and makes the house smell lovely. It’s been a fine evening and a lovely way to spend a few hours. I did this sketch a couple of days ago in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna. It already seems like an age has passed since we were there.
I stopped for some time in front of this self portrait by Egon Shiele at The Leopold Museum in Vienna. I have seen it many times in books but was fascinated when I came face to face with it. The brushwork is so fluid and he creates light and dark and the flow of the material on the clothes by simply using brushstrokes. I made a lot of notes around the quick sketch.
Viennese architecture is spectacular and it was a joy just strolling around the city. We hung out a while at Café Museum, where Shiele and Klimt used to eat.
Husb and I just got back from our few days in Vienna in time for the last episode of Game of Thrones Season 4. Ooooof!
Yesterday we went to the Upper Belvedere Gallery in Vienna to take in the permanent collection of Secession, Expressionist and Impressionist art. Marvellous. I drew this sculpture of a panther by Franz Barwig the Elder. It’s a large piece and completely black and shiny. Very hard to draw just using pen, without ink wash or charcoal to get all the tones. Good practice though.
Then we went to the Secession building to see The Beethoven Frieze. I was overwhelmed by Vienna. I’ve read about these artists and places connected with them for years and it’s been such a privilege to be able to go there.
Yesterday in Vienna Husb and I spent most of the day in The Leopold Museum wallowing in Egon Shiele’s art. And other Secession and Expressionist artists. It was an amazing experience.
Husb and I are the sort of people who upset the gallery staff by standing as close as possible to artworks to try and work out how the artist did it. I got told off! I studied this hand, Schiele has drawn in pencil and overlaid with translucent oil glazes. The drawing is clearly visible and enables far more detail than possible with a brush.
Afterwards I did a bit of scribbling at the tram stop; people are too busy with their smartphones to notice me.
Husb and I are having a few days in Vienna. It’s so easy to get to most of Europe and it’s wonderful to be able to see places that I’ve read about. First off though, I had a scribble at Heathrow, a big boned bloke sitting opposite, absorbed in his Tablet so he didn’t notice me scribbling into my little A6 sketchbook with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen size S.
Getting from the airport to the hotel was a bit confusing but the public transport is great and we got on a tram and went for a walk around part of the Ringstrasse down to the Secession building and Nachmarkt where I spotted this other big boned bloke with an enormous kitteh.
You can just see the Secession building in the background. Today it’s Egon Shiele at The Leopold. I’m so lucky.
To own one of my series of silkscreen portraits celebrating great but often neglected women artists please click the image.
To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left.
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