'The Ending'

graphite, pastel and gesso on paper

40cm x 50cm

'Silently, reluctantly,

Break free from tomorrow'

The contrasting layers of dark and light are less integrated and more apparent in this piece. It appears as if the white that masks the subject is dissolving away and revealing the person behind which I hope captures the sense of meaning in the line of the poem. When I'm working in this way, I have to build up quite a bit of courage at times in order to paint over what I might feel is an already successful drawing. I'm making the under drawings with as much consideration and resolve as I would if I wasn't intending to paint over them. I can't afford to 'skimp' on the preliminary drawing as it just wouldn't work. Sadly, I do have a failure or two along the way which just so's you know, go straight in the bin...!  :) 

'The Secret'

graphite, pastel and gesso on paper

65cm x 45cm

'I look across the space and see 

A whole new world that I could be

a part of...'

I've used the ancient symbolism of the rose in this piece. The rose has been used since ancient times to denote secrecy. In mythology Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros as a sign to keep her indiscretions hush hush! I've also attached to the drawing another line from my poem. 

'Facing the Truth'

80cm x 60cm

charcoal, pastel and gesso on paper

'And while I sit here wondering why, 

My time without a trace runs by, 

And I am left forgotten' 

I've used the above lines from the end of a poem to capture the feeling in this piece. The subject is taken from one of my much earlier series of drawings which I've always promised myself I would return to, to develop the drawings further...and now at long last I have! And I must say it's a very satisfying feeling to fulfil a promise!  The lines of poetry fit nicely with the image and add another dimension to the work. I attributed the lines after I'd made the drawing, so they have in a sense, become an extension of the work. 

By the way, in case you were wondering...the lines are not appropriated, they are taken from one of my own poems...so no ensuing copyright issues on the horizon! :)

New Work

'Travelling Alone'

Charcoal, pastel and gesso on scored paper

65cm x 45cm

I've used quite alot of gesso in this latest piece which has resulted in the female figure in the drawing seeming as if she were transmuting into sculptural form. The ambiguity of this I like, and brings me closer to where I want to be with my work. And where is that I hear you asking...if only I knew is my answer to that!! But that's what makes creating art exciting...it's never quite knowing where the creative process will take you and at which destination the work will eventually arrive!

'The Birth of Ophelia'

'The Birth of Ophelia'

60cm x 1200cm (24" x 48")

gesso, charcoal and pastel on board 

This last piece, which I am pleased to tell you is now complete... :) has been influenced by Sir John Everett Millais' 'Ophelia'. The painting by Millais depicts a scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet in which Ophelia's father is murdered by her lover Hamlet and as a result Ophelia drowns herself in a stream. My Ophelia on the other hand, is in the process of rebirth! She represents the feminine and creative aspects of water in the way that for aeons water has been equated with the feminine aspects of creation and nature. There is a common and recurring image in many cultures, that of the Goddess emerging from the water. So here, my Ophelia is emerging from the water only to be reborn as a Goddess..don't you just prefer happy endings!...:)

'Joan'

'Joan'

120cm x 60cm

charcoal, pastel and paint on board

Meet Jeanne d'Arc or as we know her Joan of Arc! She is also known as the Maid of Orleans and represents here the archetype of 'heroine' or 'woman devoted to a noble cause'. History states that Joan denied her femininity in order to fit in with the 'boys' on the battle field There are other 'heroines' in history whose story is similar, (Camilla for one, who fought in Italy against the Trojan hero Aeneus ) which might lead you to the conclusion that heroism is a male prerogative. Now we can't have that can we!  In my version she is portrayed as a strong, determined but nonetheless very feminine woman. She wears part of her coat of arms (a lily) on a pendant around her neck symbolising her devotion to duty and her willing sacrifice to the belief that she was to be emancipator of France. 

This piece will be part of the show in September. I have just one more piece still to make to complete the body of work for the show...nearly there!

'Helen of Troy' Archetype of beauty or scapegoat?

40cm x 50cm 

charcoal, pastel and paint on board

Here is my version of a modern day Helen of Troy. Helen is a character that I find fascinating and who I tend to think has had a raw deal! Over the centuries she alone has had to shoulder the blame for the Trojan war having been arguably accused of being the sole reason for the battle. We know Helen was not squeaky clean but the accusation is just a little unfair as the Greeks and Trojans jumped at the chance to go in there and do battle with each other! They had their own political agendas, but they've been allowed to escape scot-free and haven't had to accept any responsibility!! So here is my homage to Helen as archetype of beauty yes, but also as long-suffering scapegoat who now deserves to be liberated :)

Second piece for 'Healing Fibres'

'Veil 2'

40cm x 50cm

mixed media

This is my second piece 'Veil 2' for the exhibition 'Healing Fibres' and my last post before I go to Spain for a week. It's a working holiday but here's hoping it will be more holiday than work! :)

'Eve'

charcoal , pastel and paint on board

50cm x 40cm

This is 'Eve', mother of all mankind...or as Carl Jung described her, biological woman. Jung introduced us to the anima, the unconscious feminine side of man's personality and divided the anima into four levels, one of which was Eve. Jung's Eve is a fascinating character as she is a woman of infinite faces...this is just one of them! 

Charcoal and paint

70cm x 50cm

charcoal, pastel, paint on paper

I've been continuing my exploration into combining charcoal and paint and have come up with this piece for my show 'Aspects of the Feminine' for which I'm now in the throes of making work!  I'm looking at the feminine archetype and searching for suitable characters. I love this character, she's going to be my woman of wisdom, 'Sophia'.

Movement in line

'In Rehearsal 7'

charcoal on scored paper

50cm x 50cm

The 'In Rehearsal' series came about because of my love of dance. I was lucky enough to be invited to sit in and make drawings at a rehearsal session. As you can imagine the speed at which I had to draw was frantic as the dancers of course were constantly moving! There were very few moments of stasis! I ended up with energetic line drawings of at times, incoherent figures writhing about on my paper surface! Back in the studio I selected the more coherent figures and put together compositions attempting to depict the dancers' exquisite poise and expressive emotion and the wonderful shapes they create with their remarkably supple bodies. This is one in the series, the other I have already posted when it was showing in the exhibition 'Bodylines'.    

'Sub Rosa'

'Sub Rosa'

Charcoal, acrylic and gesso on board

60cm x 60cm

Since ancient times, the rose has been widely used as a symbol of maternal creativity, love and beauty. However, it has also been used as a sign of silence and secrecy. I discovered that 'Sub Rosa' means 'under the rose' and is used to denote confidentiality and secrecy. In the middle ages when a rose was hung from the ceiling of the council chamber, all those present at the meeting were pledged to secrecy. I found being 'under the influence' of the rose an intriguing idea and decided to make some work about it. I hope you find this piece equally intriguing. 

Next body of work

oil paint and charcoal on board

60cm x 60cm

This is the first piece of my next body of work. I began making it a while back whilst working on my mosaic drawings. It's for the exhibition in September titled 'Aspects of the Feminine', an intriguing subject and one I'm going to enjoy working with. I'm exploring the use of oil paint and charcoal together. They're my two all time favourite media so I'm finding the process very exciting! 

I'm at Caistor tomorrow making a drawing in the gallery (and probably doing alot of chatting!) And then Monday we're off to our house in Spain for a few days, spending time with family and carrying out the usual annual maintenance (that's the down side!)  Hopefully though, there won't be too much to do when we get there :)

I'll be at Caistor Saturday

'Fragment'

charcoal on scored and cut paper

30cm x 30cm

box-framed

I'm back in the gallery at the Arts and Heritage Centre, Plough Hill, Caistor on Saturday. I shall be there between 10.30am - 2.30pm to meet and greet visitors. I look forward to meeting all those that can get there :) 

Fragment of a mosaic (drawing)

charcoal on scored and cut paper

30cm x 30cm

Although you can't see it in the photo, this drawing is in relief and stands about 1 cm proud of the surface. I've made it to go into a deep box frame. It was problematic attaching it to the surface and at this moment in time it's clamped together and weighted down to keep it flat whilst the glue dries! Ok...deadline approaches, I've no time to lose so it's head down and onto the next one!

'Bodylines'

'In Rehearsal 3'

50cm x 40cm

charcoal on scored paper

This is one of the pieces I have hanging in a joint exhibition of work called 'Bodylines' currently showing at 'Gallery at St Martins' 37b Hungate, St Martin's Square (behind the Cheese Society), Lincoln. The exhibition is on for this week only and finishes on Sunday.  If you like figurative work you'll love this show!  So please come along and take a look if you are in the area! There are drinks and nibbles on offer this Saturday afternoon 8th March 1pm - 4pm.

Large mosaic piece finished!

30" x 21"

Scored and cut paper

Yay...the large mosaic piece that I've been working on is finished at last!!! It's been a fascinating process watching the drawing taking on a life of its own with patterns and rhythms emerging from the surface. I've been using varying sizes of tesserae throughout and it's this that has generated the patterns and rhythms and on this larger scale they become more noticeable. I feel the drawings are taking on added strength through fragmenting and rebuilding them. I've planned one more large piece and two more small and with my deadline approaching there's no time to lose! I'll keep you posted on my progress but in the meantime I'll be posting some more tablet drawings, so look out for those.

'Girl in Blue Jumper'

40cm x 30cm

oil on stretched canvas

I've been working on this piece this afternoon, getting it ready to put in 'Borrowed Blue' at Sam Scorer Gallery in Lincoln. It's an interesting show to take part in because the requirements for the show are as follows: four pieces in total from each artist - one has to be an older piece, one a new work, one borrowed from someone else and one containing a blue element. I couldn't resist when I was invited to participate! The painting above is my 'blue' piece and the drawing in the painting that you can see on the wall on the right of the girl will be my 'borrowed' piece. It's a charcoal drawing by a friend and artist Rosie Burke. I love the drawing and was delighted when Rosie agreed to hang it in the exhibition!

'Borrowed Blue' 

Sam Scorer Gallery

Drury Lane 

Lincoln

2nd September - 15th September  

All those who can get along to the 'invitation do' on Sunday 8th September 2.00pm - 4.00pm are very welcome. Please come if you can. There will be yummy tubs of ice cream (dairy and non-dairy) and lots of soft drinks too. Should be a fun afternoon! :) 

'Market - Saturday Morning' finished

20" x 30"

oil on canvas panel

Click to buy

I think I've pretty much finished this painting now. I'll check again tomorrow incase there's something I've missed.  I've spent three sessions working on it. You could probably carry on forever with a studio painting like this but you have to call a halt at some point and sooner rather than later before it becomes overworked and laboured. Some of the fruit and veg are invented because the boxes that were visible were mostly filled with vegetables in plastic bags and I wanted more colour. That's the magic of being an artist...if you don't much like the reality around you, then you can change it!! 

Drawings from yesterday's life drawing session

2 x A2 

graphite on paper

                SOLD

These are two 20 min drawings from yesterday evening's life drawing session that I attended. I had twice as much time for the last one of the evening and didn't get it finished! I clearly work better under pressure!