Life Drawing 11 March 2009

Only four drawings last night, not sure why it worked out that way. All 62 x 42 cm 180gsm paper, compressed charcoal and soft pastel.

I tried cropping the figure for some. Have been happier with such drawings but don't find it easy to decide what part to put in and what to leave out!

The model pointed out to me that I'd drawn a map of New Zealand on her pubic hair in the reclining drawing haha. Not intentional. Just my little scribbles that I put on the drawings.

I asked her to stand with her hands up and I was quite pleased with that sketch. Its an idea I've had for a while, to take through to a painting.

Drawings of musicians....a couple more...

Very soft thick pencil....now that they don't allow smoking in bars in New Zealand, there are no ashtrays into which I can sharpen my pencils! I tried to draw the top person several times, couldn't capture his face. The flute player, well I think I got him ok. And the third is a singer guitarist and artist, Robyn, whom I also think I captured fairly well.

Sketching musicians in a bar

Last night I took a sketchbook with me to The Burrowing Bully where they have open mic regularly. These people are great...they don't seem to mind me sitting in front drawing them.

Can't say I always get a perfect likeness but it's good fun.

Life Drawing 4 March 2009

These are done on 180gsm paper in compressed charcoal and conte. We had two models though I concentrated on the male model mainly. The red and blue is a drawing done while the female model turning and moving her arms.

Life drawing 25 February 2009

These are the drawings from this week's group. All done on 150gsm grey paper, in compressed charcoal and pastel, 62 x 42 cm.

Life drawing 18 February 2009

New model this week who hadn't modelled before but she was very good. And yes, I did draw her in an exaggerated style in some of the drawings. These are all large drawings, mainly compressed charcoal or conte, some pastel, on 180gsm white or buff paper.

Life drawing 11 February

It's been a couple of months since I went to life drawing, a bit otu of practice. Here are four of the drawings, the quick warm ups at the bottom. The others were about 20 minute poses though I usually stop before then. Compressed charcoal and conte mainly on 170gsm paper.

Autumn Fall

is the title of this painting which is one of those I've sold in the last month. At life drawing group, one of our models was lying on the floor, in this pose, and the idea came to me to compose this image of her as if she is part of the hills. At the time I'd travelled down to Wellington a couple of times on the train and it's fascinating seeing the changing landscape through the North Island of NZ. In the lower part of the island there are beautiful rolling hills that fold in upon each other. It fits in with my frequent theme of the body as the land and the earth mother.

Photo isn't fantastic, it isn't quite the finished painting... but you get the idea...

A painting to complete

I'm busy working on collages for the 2009 International Collage Exhibition and Exchange. Finally I've settled to an idea and so far so good. And sitting on my easel looking at me is this painting waiting to be finished. Its large, 90 x 60cm acrylic on canvas. I've drawn in the basic picture, and blocked in the colours with acrylic paint, ready to work on with. Trouble is I get engrossed in some of the paint effects and hesitate to cover them over. Hopefully by the time I get to it I'll be over that.

2009 - First post of the year

No post for a while I suddenly realised, so its about time I logged in and wrote. But about what? I have been creative...but in a different form...editing a book that I' m close to finishing. All hours of the day and night. The last few days I've been searching for all the -ly words in the manuscript and I can't believe how many times I use the word "slightly". And I use a lot of words that tone things down, so it's a major exercise finding all those -ly words and rewriting. And this is just the start of the process. The eyes are very very tired.

I have been in the studio a little. A friend has been a few times and been creating works that she may enter into the 2009 ICE. I started working on making collaged paper that I will cut up and collage. Its clean up time. By the end of the year it looked like a bomb had hit it. I'm not a tidy worker. Each burst of creativity brings with it a chaotic mess to clean up afterwards. This holiday period is my traditional time for the big clear out..hasn't happened but the pressure is on now. And that's what I always need. Deadlines. Targets. Due dates. You think I'd have more self discipline by now.

Knowledge which is acquired...

It's that time of year again when I need to get busy and create the thirteen works for the 2009 International Collage Exhibition and Exchange. It'll be the fourth time I've participated and yet again I've left it to the last minute! But this time I have an idea! Previously, I've rummaged through looking for inspiration to come from a piece of text or an image, or a drawing or photo, but this time I know what I want to do for the whole series. I wonder if it will make the process any easier!

The image is from the 2006 exhibition. It was exhibited in the 8th International Collage Exchange exhibition at Turchin Center at the Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I started with the drawing of the baboon (white pencil on black paper) and added the bars (like teeth). Quotations printed on computer, magazine collage, and some text from my own teaching materials. It's a probably obscure comment on compulsory eduction. The title of this post is the title of the work.

To see previous exchanges look:

here for 2006
here for 2007
here for 2008

there's a link on the sidebar for how to participate but you can click here

The exchange and exhibition is organised and run by Dale Copeland...and she does an amazing job. There's an online exhibition of pieces for sale, one from every artist. One work from every artist is exhibited overseas somewhere. And the rest...well, Dale sorts through them and every artist receives a package of 11 (or 12 if the sale pieces doesn't sell) collages back.

Artist, Friend and Wild Horses

I'm kind of cheating this week ... haven't got anything new to post so I'm posting some links to the blogs of a friend, artist John Mulvay, who writes rather interesting posts. He's got three blogs so take a look around all of them. He's very active in the local arts community...mural artist and life drawing tutor, has exhibited, won an art award (probably more that I don't know about) and been a guest exhibitor. I added the Sundays' version of Wild Horses to my music playlist here in reference to a print he has just put on one of his blogs. So, in the absence of artwork from me, have a look at John's recently mounted mural, his own life drawings and his very pregnant looking goldfish.

Oh, and that's a very quick and rough sketch I did of John listening to music at Chambers one Friday night.

Mixed Media Life Drawing 10 December 2008

Our group met for the last time this year and again I made some took some collaged printmaking paper along, A2 size. I spend so long picking out particular pieces of paper that I want to put on these, forgetting that much of it will be obscured with paint and then dry media.

I used compressed charcoal and conte mainly.

Mixed Media Life Drawing

Again I prepared some collaged printmaking paper. I used a French Grey Conte pencil for much of these. The sheet with two figures on it is smaller, A4 size, and I used a black Artline pen which, amazingly, did not seem to mind being used upside down. I was using an easel.

Life Drawing 26 November 2008

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I've been meaning to create some collaged paper to take to drawing and finally I managed to throw some things together yesterday. I used a good quality printmaking paper to have sturdy background, and used binder medium to apply old text (from my collection of 100+years old books acquired specifically to use in artworks), and papers from magazines and scrapbooking materials. On top of that I quickly brushed some acrylic paint with medium to thin it down. Because it was done in such a hurry there are wrinkles and lumps.

I did three drawings using some of these as a base, and it was an interesting exercise. I can see I have to take care about where dark pieces are placed. I had one interesting dark piece of paper that I don't want to obliterate, but to enhance the drawing I'll have to lift that area out with light media of some kind. I might work on with these pieces at home, using modelling paste and paints, pastels etc. The bases are sturdy enough for that. I used a stick of graphite which was good to work with but doesn't photograph well and tends to reflect light. It might be a better idea to begin with willow charcoal and then moved to a more solid media once the basic drawing is blocked in, willow would wipe of the surface quite easily if I wanted to make changes. I'm thinking 'aloud' here.

The other two drawings are on A2 cartridge paper, the warmup drawings and then one quick drawing blocked in roughly with soft pastel.

Life drawing 19 November 2008

All done on brown or buff paper in mostly compressed charcoal and pastel. I scribble over the paper first in colours then draw on top of that. Mostly I block in the form lightly with a short piece of compressed charcoal, using it on its side. I then begin to draw, aiming to get one line...to look, commit and draw.

The painted sketch is done in a new product I picked up yesterday...can't recall name (my materials are still out in the car)...its watercolour in a tube with a brush, you take the lid off, turn the collar to 'on' and paint/draw. The brush isn't the best (they're for children...) and if you squeeze the tube ink can run down the page - though that could be used to effect. It was interesting to try them out, but difficult to control, and a limited colour range of red, yellow, blue and green.

The scribbly sketch is five 1 minute poses drawn in Crayola Twistables on white cartridge paper. All drawings are on A2 size paper.