I did more sketching towards the end of my recent holiday in Italy, in Bologna, than earlier in Florence, mainly, I think, because making art is my profession and drawing while I’m on vacation feels like work. But after a few days I had itchy fingers and started to scribble in my sketchbook again.Continue reading “Saint, Sunlight And Scabby Exterior”
Tag Archives: @Waleslover
The Skinless
Another quick sketch from my recent trip to Northern Italy, this one from the Anatomical Theatre in the Palazzo Archiginnasio in Bologna. The theatre, built in 1637 by Antonio Levante, is a beautiful room in carved wood which looks, to me anyway, like a classical anatomy theatre should. There are two wonderful life-size wooden statuesContinue reading “The Skinless”
Bokashi!
Husb and I spent a few days away in Northern Italy, exploring museums and galleries on a guided tour arranged by New Scientist magazine. We took in a fabulous exhibition, “Beyond The Wave”, of Japanese Ukiyo e printmakers, Hokusai and Hiroshige in Bologna. I was fascinated by their process. To my surprise, the artists themselvesContinue reading “Bokashi!”
Drawing Blood!
I draw lots of things. Today I drew blood! I’m back to reality after our short break to Italy and cracking on with carving my large woodcut (80 x 120 cms), a commission from Sky Arts TV channel. One of the occupational hazards of carving blocks for relief printing is the razor sharp tools thatContinue reading “Drawing Blood!”
Galvani
It’s tiring going round museums and galleries and churches, so Husb and I had a bit of a sit down in the Piazza Galvani in Bologna, which has a large statue of Luigi Galvani, the pioneer of bioelectromagnetics whose work inspired Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. When I draw statues, I try to get them fromContinue reading “Galvani”
It’s All A Bit Zen.
The carving begins! The final drawing has been transferred in reverse onto the MDF block in compressed charcoal. Then I redrew everything with a brush and walnut ink. And now I’m cutting. After all the rush and stress of the past few weeks, it feels a bit Zen to quietly carve into the wood,Continue reading “It’s All A Bit Zen.”
Getting On With It
I’m on the last leg now with “Here Be Dragons”, my commission for Sky Arts, getting my final design transferred into a large sheet of MDF. I’m back in my studio at home, with Helen Finney’s portrait of me looking down as I work. I transferred it using detail paper, that had a tracingContinue reading “Getting On With It”
Still Slogging Away….
Still slogging away. I have redrawn this yet again and now I think I’m finally happy with the way the textual imagery flows. This is the third version that I have worked up, and I did it lightly in graphite first. Then I covered it with detail paper (tracing) and copied itContinue reading “Still Slogging Away….”
Back To The Drawing Board
Literally, back to the drawing board. I worked up a full scale drawing yesterday, ready to transfer to a block for cutting. But I’m not happy with it. There’s so much text to fit into the space and I think it’s too busy and cramped so today, back to basics, redrawing each word so theContinue reading “Back To The Drawing Board”
And Nearer ……
Moving into the final stages of my commission from Sky Arts ART50 now, drawing up the design to full scale before transferring it onto a wood block for cutting …..
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