Drawing at Speed

Perfect for putting in a handbag

So, Christmas is over for another year.  We had a lovely time with family to stay but it was cut a little short as my eldest daughter had to be back in Bristol and at work for 9.30 a.m. on Boxing Day.  My husband and I drove her to Bristol, leaving King's Lynn at 3.30 in the morning to ensure we arrived in good time!  We stayed overnight and headed back to Norfolk at a more respectable hour the following day.  As we bowled along the motorway I thought about my resolve to use my time more wisely and decided to challenge myself to do some quick sketches whilst we were travelling at speed.  The little plain paged book seen above I had bought in Bristol when I realised I had nothing in my bag suitable - the pages are slightly creamy, and a little on the thin side, but I do like the fact that it also contains some brown pages in the middle.  Possibilities for drawing with biro or fine liners...  However, I used the two mechanical pencils for this series of little quick sketches.

 

The easiest way to cope with this challenge was to focus on an upcoming hill-line.  Using the thicker Pilot Croquis B pencil I made the scribbled marks whilst my eyes travelled along the topography, only glancing at the page briefly.

 

Notes accompany the brief sketches as reminders of where we were travelling...

 

They also clarify elements - here the pale roof of a factory complex mostly hidden by raised ground.

 

Starting to warm up to this sketching activity whilst travelling at 70 miles an hour I looked to focusing closer to the motorway.  The fir tree was dramatic in its shape silhouetted against the drab grey rain-sodden sky.  The pale silver birch tree trunks caught my eye but flashed past before I could decide a shorthand method to describe them.  Fortunately another bank of them appeared along the opposite carriageway and I could quickly get the gist of them on paper. 

 

In need of a leg stretch and some stimulating coffee we stopped off at Corley Services.  I was determined to capture a figure study of some sort, even though it was fairly busy and the table we were fortunate to grab was a bit too central for my liking. I prefer to have my back to a wall and a bit of space to each side as I surrepticiously glance up and down to the page.  (This sketch was done with the Staedtler Mars micro 0.7 mm).

 

Whilst none of the drawings are of any particular future value (by this I mean as studies for developing into paintings) I really enjoyed the snatch of time to create them.  The eye and hand have to work together as more time is spent garnering the essentials than actually assessing what is happening on the page. 

 

I shall definitely keep that sketchbook and pencils handy in my bag as I go about my daily activities in 2013.  Why not try it for yourself? 

Christmas 2012

 

Happy Christmas!

 

 

Ira Glass on the Creative Process (www.getoutthebox.org)

Have been out best part of the day hunting down the elusive last minute Christmas bits.  On returning home I sat at my laptop to check emails and eventually began to follow a thread from one blog to another and stumbled across this short video of Ira Glass talking about the creative process.  He makes a lot of sense, although I feel he is referencing the written artform, the same applies to drawing and painting etc...  Sometimes people get so disheartened and think 'I'm no good' when they set out on their artistic journey. Anyone just starting to play the piano would never expect to be able to just sit down and play a tune all the way through.  So why think a masterpiece should be made each time a pencil or brush is picked up?  Take the pressure off - enjoy the process - accept that if you put the time in then there will be improvement.  And we never stop learning, evolving, mastering.

Pencil Sketches - Pheasant

As if I didn't have better things to do... I have been in the house all day waiting for an engineer to turn up to connect us to fibre optic Ultra Broadband.  He failed to show.  When I rang the company to find out what was happening they did not know 'but he may just be running late, or had to move you to a later time-slot...'  Frustrating!  In this day and age engineers are always on the end of a mobile phone surely?  So while that remains a mystery I felt I had to salvage something useful for the day and some sketchbook work was the answer.  (Housework?  That could wait).

As the weather has become colder I have been feeding the birds on the patio and feeders daily and this handsome cock pheasant has become a regular morning visitor.  As he is easily startled I grabbed my camera and took a series of photos the other day, through the window, before he took flight.  Across a double spread of my latest A4 sketchbook (Daler Rowney 150g/m acid free cartridge paper) I worked up three studies based on some of these photos.  I opted to keep things simple and just used a 2B Derwent Graphic pencil. 



Fat Freddie, 2B pencil in sketchbook

Oh, Fat Freddie - yes that's what we have named him.  He's not really fat, just in beautiful plummage and good condition.



Have you birds in the garden close enough to photograph through a window? 

Quick small pastel painting

Rabbit Size Tunnel, 11.5 x 18.5 cms
Pastel on Canson paper.





Today I was determined to get something 'arty' done.  With lots of things on the agenda I knew it would have be quick so I opted to scale down the size of the paper support and just go for the 'gist'.  I had nothing in mind initially but a scroll through some of my photos prompted me to go for a seasonal theme and I chose a view taken at the beginning of the year when we had a fresh snowfall.  When time is short this is an ideal way to use the time productively - why not give it a go? 

Still Here - Still Life: Step-by-Step

Yes, I am still here - alive and kicking.  I recall reading once that many blogs fail in the first six months.  I also remember thinking 'that won't be me'.  And look what happened...  However I am determined to redeem myself, and post consistently from now on.  So I plan to update this blog once a week, if not more.  This means I need to be more productive with my time and create more artwork to reflect upon.  As the year draws to a close I will be looking back at the highlights and planning for the new year ahead.  One aim is to draw and paint more from life and so to kick start my blog I offer a step-by-step for a seasonal still life.  This was a demonstration piece for a pastel class in the Autumn.

Materials:  White Art Spectrum paper.
                  Watercolour paints and big brush.
                  Pastel pencils.
                  Pastel sticks.
                  Viewfinder.     
                  Selection of seasonal vegetables.












Tape paper to board along all 4 sides.

1.  Set up simple still life.  Use viewfinder to decide composition?

• Consider size, shape, colour, light source, shadows, negative space.
• Ways to connect elements - overlap, use of cast shadows.

Watercolour underpainting

2.  Look at colours in arrangement - use 2 or 3 for non-specific background.

• Mix colours as separate large puddles (not too weak).
• Test/review colours.

3.  Create variegated background (use big brush).  Dry.




Draw with pastel pencil

4.  Draw composition with pastel pencil.  Check with viewfinder?




Blocking in

 

5. Use pastel sticks / pencils and start working bigger areas.

• Half close eyes to get 'gist'.
• Softly block in shadow areas first, including cast shadows.
• Indicate lightest areas.
• Darken background behind light areas to set them off.
• Ensure some of underpainting shows.

Develop work

6.  Continue to develop work with pastel sticks / pencils looking at more subtle passages.

7.  Assess, make adjustments as necessary.



 

Seasonal Bounty, watercolour and pastel

 



West Norfolk Artists at South Acre

What glorious sunny weather for an exciting time of the month.  The Norfolk Open Studio season is upon us and Friday saw myself and a group of other artists from the West Norfolk Artists Association busy setting up at St. George's Church in South Acre to take part in this event.  The venue is delightful and the Church has many interesting features.  The current trend for art to be viewed in these settings has really opened up these spaces and a lot of people get as much pleasure from the architecture as from the artwork! 

St. George's Church, South Acre

The setting up went smoothly and display boards were allocated on the basis of drawing a concealed golf ball from a bag upon which the two consecutive board numbers were written.  I was very pleased with my spot - just inside the entrance.

Putting the final touches to display

As luck would have it, once all the work was in place by everyone there was a spare board alongside my work and I had just the canvas to fill it... Kingmaker.  So the next morning (yesterday) when I returned to spend the day stewarding I brought the canvas with me and quickly hung it before the opening time.

My display area

The Church looked splendid with all our work displayed, very vibrant and 'alive'.  As early bird visitors started to arrive I set up to spend time working on a pastel portrait of the head of a sheep.  This is really class preparation so I had to keep reminding myself to photograph the stages.

At work during NOS12

I had such a lovely day.  The visitors arrived in a steady stream and I enjoyed greeting them and chatting.  The church was a pleasant temperature, even sat just inside the doorway which can sometimes be a draughty position.  It is also pleasant to be able to talk with other artists as we oversee the day.  Artists are never short of a topic for conversation!

After a productive day I was happy to head home with several more hours of sunshine ahead to relax and enjoy.  The exhibition will be closed Monday to Friday this week but reopen on Saturday 2nd June until 10th June, and be open daily 11 am to 5 pm each day - so if you are in the area do pop in for a visual feast.  West Norfolk Artists at South Acre are also part of the Castle Acre Art Trail so there is lots to see in this one small part of Norfolk.  Visit www.thecastleacretrail.co.uk for more information. 

Just needs the final highlights...

I shall leave you with the almost completed sheep portrait - a sneak preview for those on my mixed media classes...

Tall & Thin Exhibition Private View

Sunday afternoon was the Private View of the West Norfolk Artists Association latest exhibition.  The title Tall & Thin sets the scene, indeed the criteria was for work with a maximum width of 11 inches (28cms) and minimum height of 22 inches (56cms).  This certainly proved to be challenging but definitely worth while.  The exhibition contains about 30 works and encompasses a wide variety of media both 2D and 3D.  It is an eclectic exciting mix and well worth a visit.

Standing between my entries

The venue is Greyfriars Art Space in King's Lynn, a lovely white artist-led gallery which with each exhibition seems to change dramatically.  I have two works hanging, Crazy Bird (Red- Legged Seriema) and Bee Happy, and am delighted with the presentation.  During the planning we decided it would be fun to have snacks that encompess this tall and thin idea, so bread sticks and celery etc were on offer along with the usual drinks.  Let's just hope for plenty of footfall so people can appreciate the talent of artists living in Norfolk.

Anyway, no time to rest on my laurels as Norfolk Open Studios start next weekend and I have plenty of preparation to be getting on with!  Printing labels and mounting them on foamboard is the next job...

Keep The Camera Handy

Keep the camera handy - you never know when the next trigger for inspiration will happen.  On Friday evening I travelled with my husband, Paul, to Chichester as we had arranged to collect our daughter and ALL her stuff now that she has finished university.  We stopped off at Radisson Blu, the hotel in the middle of Stanstead airport as Paul and two colleagues were viewing the conference facilities for a potential venue for 2014.  As we sat having coffee and a discussion afterwards in the huge airy lounge it happened - a Sky Angel.

Radisson Blu Sky Angels

In the centre of this communal space is a towering column housing the wine bottles.  In the evenings, when wine is requested, it is retrieved by beautiful graceful acrobats - also known as Sky Angels.  The one I witnessed clipped herself to suspended wires and rose effortlessly off the ground.  And guess what - I actually had my camera in my handbag!  Without a moments hesitation I jumped up, requested permission (granted) and with my simple Canon Ixus 120IS snapped away merrily.  The acrobat may just have been warming up or practicing a routine but she obligingly performed some stunning moves high in the air.  Even as I was taking photos I was aware of the reflected light bouncing off the glass that encompessed the space within which the wine tower resides.  This only added to the effect, I feel it adds a layer of intrigue by masking some of the clarity.  Fragments of mental pictures hovered at the edges of my consciousness as I wondered if this unexpected encounter might lead to an interesting series of work.  Only time will tell, but with the Summer Exhibition looming it could be the perfect time to experiment.  Watch this space!  I'll leave you with another tantalising image...

Sky Angel performing

The moral of this post is definitely 'always be prepared' - so keep that camera handy. 

Starting a Blog

How do people start a blog? 

I love reading blogs about creative people - artists, textile designers, illustrators, crafters, photographers - but they are usually well established blogs and I never get to see that crucial first post! So, being quite a logical organised person (professionally speaking) I shall set out my aims and hopes for this blog.
Deep breath; here goes...
My aim in this blog is ultimately to chart my journey as an artist as it unfolds.  The ups and downs of living a creative life.  The little seeds of inspiration - where do they start?  Often they pass unoticed and then arrive onto the scene, sometimes fully formed but also sometimes as elusive intuitions that can cause muddled thinking and confusion in the work.  The passage of time, along with reflective thinking, can create new directions.  Or maybe just a diversion.  A mini project which may run alongside the main threads of the artwork generally.

Looking back can help an artist move forward.  Sounds like a contradiction but it has helped me in the past, especially when I have felt 'blocked' or my confidence has dipped.  So, from time to time I will introduce you to a piece of art I have created in the past.

a blast from the past

However the most important thing is going forward.  My two daughters have just finished university and my son finishes his college course next month.  They are all making plans for their futures.  It's time for me to do the same.  I have happily settled into a little niche and need to spread my wings a bit more - get some interesting projects on the go.  The art classes I teach will continue but I must make better use of the time outside of these.  By writing about my hopes and dreams they should encourage me to take positive steps in making things happen. 

studio view through the window 

Finally, my blog title is Creating Art and I plan to show work in progress, plus sketchbooks.  I love the process of making art.  Because of the classes I teach I freely work across a wide spectrum of art materials and with a range of subject matter.  I offer my work, philosophy, hints and tips and reflections to you in future posts.  Please join me on this amazing journey - I would love your company and feedback!

I'll leave you with some more views of my gorgeous studio...

studio in winter

 

interior view

hard at work