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!

'Tear'

'Tear'

Graphite, pastel and gesso on paper

60cm x 50cm

Here is my latest drawing...it's about private moments...the pain of youth. A tear is shed whilst reading a text. It is how, much of the time we receive our messages these days...good news, bad news all channelled through the mobile.

Hope you are well...and happy like me that the Spring is here...yay! :) 

More drawings soon...

Mother and Infant

paint and charcoal on paper

50cm x 70cm

Still on the theme of archetypes, this piece represents 'the nurturing mother'. Following in the footsteps of the many and varied historic Madonna and Child representations, this image illustrates our idealised concept of motherhood. My subject, I must tell you, is not from imagination but taken from life...it's my daughter-in-law and grandson. They'd eventually fallen asleep on cushions on the floor having spent one of those 'typical' never-ending nights that parents inevitably experience with infant babies! 

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'.

Steps leading into a wood

charcoal on scored paper

130cm x 70cm

This is another drawing I came across when I was sorting out my studio space. It's a large piece that I made on a trip to Germany. The drawing is of a wooded area that was close by to the house where I stayed. Finding the drawing again brought back some fond memories of my stay in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Lincoln's twin town. I spent a week at an artists' symposium making work in a glorious studio environment with 11 others artists from all over Europe. I stayed with a lovely and very hospitable family who provided the opportunity to experience a little authentic German living. Ahhh...happy memories :)

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 :) 

'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.

Juno

charcoal and pastel on scored and cut paper

30cm x 40cm

As promised in yesterday's post, here is the piece that I have most recently finished. I'm continuing to work with the idea of mosaic remains and the de-construction and re-construction of my drawings. It's an interesting process and I am getting quicker at making the pieces, so...I believe It's time to go larger!

Epona - Celtic/Roman Goddess

charcoal on scored and cut paper

30cm x 40cm

It's been over two weeks since my last post as I'm in the throws of moving house and am up to my eyes in packing boxes! But in between juggling time and boxes I've somehow managed to put together another piece for my show! My aim in these recent pieces is to create a series of images that embody the essence of the gods or goddesses but that depicts them in a form that reflects human mortality. This piece portrays Epona. Epona (also known as Rhiannon) was a Celtic goddess whom the Romans adopted as their own. She was the goddess of horses and of fertility.

This might have to be my last post for a while as moving day is next Monday from which time I will be offline and won't be back on until the 12th November :( Will get back to you then :) 

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!

My entry for an exhibition.

'Looking Back'

50cm x 40cm

I took my entry over today for submission to the open show at Ropewalk Gallery in Barton-on-Humber. This piece, 'Looking Back', is from my 'Modern Woman' series in which the image has been scored into the paper without any preliminary pencil marks. It's a very risky way of working as the image made with the scored marks only becomes clearly visible when charcoal is applied over the surface of the paper. I then work with the resulting image. It's risky but exciting to work in this way as it provides an element of unpredictability and the freedom and opportunity to move right away from the starting point. You can see another piece from the series, 'British Girl in Turkey', if you go to my Facebook page and look at the cover photo at the top of the page. Click here for the link.

Hope you're all having a great bank holiday weekend!

'Jo' preliminary drawing

Pencil drawing

12" x 8'

I recently began a painting of Jo (another of my class members), but decided to abandon the painting in favour of a preliminary drawing instead. The painting wasn't achieving enough of a likeness and I felt I wasn't getting anywhere fast! So in order to fathom what was eluding me in the painting, I made an exploratory drawing. Preliminary drawings are always a valuable way of making discoveries and extracting information about your subject. I'm reasonably happy with this outcome, having moved closer to an accurate likeness and also managing to express a little of her individuality. I will now return to the painting and try to push it in the right direction!  

'Notre Dame' in charcoal

'Notre Dame'

80cm x 60cm

charcoal on paper

I used an old photograph that I took a long time ago to make this drawing, in the days when there were only reels of film and disposable cameras! In those days our films were sent away to be developed and all we could do was cross our fingers and hope...hope that we got our own photos back and not someone else's! It's hard now to imagine a world without digital cameras, phone cameras and instant results! I have to say making the drawing (this is the second version by the way) brought back some great memories of being in Paris. The one thing I remember above all else was the creative and artistic graffiti dotted about everywhere...wonderful stuff! 

Not sure whether we'll be snowed in by tomorrow. At the moment it doesn't look too bad out there. But whatever it's like, we'll be venturing out as we have our grandson's first birthday party to attend, so come what may we will get there somehow!!

Have a good weekend whatever the weather!