The Big Draw

The Big Draw 2010 is in full progress. It started as a national campaign to encourage everyone to draw. Now it’s expanded to an international event throughout October.

I’ve always felt it was a worthy endeavour. The benefits of regular drawing go beyond the acquisition of skill and have a recognisable psychological benefit! It’s more than a co-incidence that Art is used as a therapy.

Which is why last week saw me at an event in the Old Gaol in Buckingham. Sitting around drawing views in the gaol itself and helping visitors with drawing issues.

The options were mostly building interiors, but I was keen to draw some people! Trouble is those available were all moving! For a while I drew the mannequins, before heading for the coffee shop. Several failed sketches later I gave up and went to talk to the artist painting out front. She was painting the gaol using a heavy impasto technique in oils.

She was just finishing and offered to pose. This was the result of the 10-15 minute pose. It’s in charcoal so has the inherent properties of medium i.e. tends to smudge!!!!! Aaaargh! Looking back at it, it has a charm but needed more time.  I still feel self conscious drawing with the subject present. It’s an issue I must overcome, as I tend to rush and “finish” not because I’m worried about drawing, just self conscious about the subject. She has a gypsy look about her, what with the hair band and loop earrings!

Painting has been a bit limited this week. I’ve been completing submission forms. Rowan’s gallery, Beaconsfield art fair, Mooch Gallery in Manchester and Bafa “Inspired by a poem” exhibition. Just delivered my first consignment to Rowan’s gallery, I’ll let you know how it goes!

Next week I’m going to finish a Graham Norton Pose, might be a caricature, or I might do both! You’ll have to wait and see…

How to grow as an artist - daily Sketches!

To really develop an artist you must push yourself! It’s easy to do the same thing day in and day out producing work that looks “nice” but never moves beyond the comfortable. Which is why I’m on a “Sketch a Day” challenge while we’re travelling the canal.

The trouble with challenges though, is you can’t always predict where they will lead. So what did I learn from yesterday’s challenge for my sketch a day.

1. Sometimes we moor somewhere spectacular when it seems you’re spoilt for choice. Then the next day the surroundings seem really mundane. There are a lot of fields and sheep by this particular canal, so do I do lots of fields and sheep. Well…I get bored, but because I get bored I look for interesting angles. I found this stretch of fence intrigued me. It led into the canal and was a bit run down but still functional. What you can’t see from this angle is just how pristine and precise the left hand mesh fence is behind the large post. Contrast that with the old gate stuck in, presumably to fill in the huge gap between the planks. I liked the barbed wire tied in knots on the post, serving absolutely no purpose at all. I can see a farm hand trying to put it in and ending up with this mess- a bit like when Homer Simpson does DIY!
2. I had to work at speed, there was no choice other than to work quickly. We were due to move.
3. Some of the detail and scaling is wrong as a result. I’m getting more relaxed about imperfect work.Don’t you just Love artistic licence, you can use it to explain anything!
4. Living moving animals included! I put some sheep in. I’m still worried about sketching moving animals. I think the nearest one has distinct piggy tendencies and the whiskers are a real worry!

But here’s my sketch near Long Buckby.

 

Sketching on Holiday! – sketch a day challenge and life aboard.

I’ve always found a sketch helps me remember a place or location far more clearly and in much more detail than photographs. More so the with the advent of digital imagery.
We regularly travel on a canal boat and, on a trip last year, I set myself a challenge.To do a sketch a day in my Moleskine.
After a rocky start I settled into the routine. Those pictures were the unlocking of a key. I can’t quite describe how significant they are but I’ll try. I remember details about the weather, which way the wind was blowing, moments when I realised a shape was a roof or a pile of boats, where the errors are, which colours I chose, where I was sitting on the boat. I look at these sketches and I’m back where I was when I was drawing them. I’d finally mastered the concept of the quick sketch.
This year I set myself the challenge again. On Monday, we set off and are currently heading North on the Grand Union Canal. But what to sketch? It was too dark to sketch outside by the time things we’d stopped. So the bottle of beer I was holding became my subject. I’m not sure the quality really lives up to my standard. But quality has a tendency to decline the more beer is imbibed! Hic!

Yesterday morning I was surprised at breakfast by a swan appearing at the side hatch. I considered for a nanosecond I could sketch him…
But, he was looking for food and more than a little bit scary! You try eating you porridge with a swan’s head craning over the hatch opening - a hungry one at that… Beak at ear level! Who just happens to be testing everything to see if it’s food…Believe me you’ll appreciate my dilemma!
A photo opportunity seemed a safer option. I present the Evil Swan! (Pronounced Eeeevil as in Austin Powers Dr Evil!
 
I know, I’m a wimp but he reminded me of that sinister looking penguin in Nick Park’s “The Wrong Trousers” It’s the eye, it’s always the eyes AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
So I wimped out and produced this little sketch! Sitting on the roof as the children climbed up and down. I spent most of the time expecting to hear a splash as one of them fell in. Several false alarms later I was finished.

Though looking at it now, I think I just stopped! It’s the same thing isn’t it?
What do you mean “NO!”

Why bother to use a sketchbook? – Works in development versus a record of travel and experience.

Every artist should ask themselves “Why use a sketchbook?” Is it as:

- a memory jogger, a working tool to aid the creative process?

- a nostalgic record which allows you to recall happy times?

- a means to experiment with a new media?

- a workhorse, with great swaths of pencil/ink showing the finer nuances of you creative process?

- a handy means to keep all you paintings in one place?

How you use a sketchpad depends on your answer to these and other questions. In many ways it is easier to just take a photograph! There are many transient moments that can only be recorded by a photograph. But a sketch is more personal, more intimate. It bestows some of the character of the artist in ways a photograph cannot.

In the past two days I’ve produced 2 sketches. This one last night during “Earth Hour”.

I had some time – about 20 minutes - enough to achieve a level of completion, however flawed I might feel it is.

The second was a five minute creation while I was standing waiting for my children to go on a ride at Legoland in Windsor. I had to stop before it was anywhere near “completion” However it still had value as a thumbnail sketch. On this occasion I also took a photograph. Which is a backup practice many artist’s now use. But I still have this sketch. I took many photographs today. I may not remember all the details surrounding them in months to come. But this sketch is carved in my memory in a way no photograph can or will ever be! So yes, it may be incomplete, but it has so much more value than the corresponding photograph.

So why do you use a sketchbook?

 

How to go from sketch to finished painting?–part 1 – Documenting a Church to Youth Centre Art project.

How do you change a church hall into a teen friendly social club? This how we’re doing it!

Our local Youth group needs help to counteract the look of churchy building where it’s moving to.  To help create a youth friendly feel, the working party have made 4 panels to cover the windows. I’ve been asked to decorate one as inspiration and the youth are going to be encouraged to decorate the rest. The panels are 6 feet high by 5 feet wide, a big project!

So, this is my “canvas”!

Scary isn’t it!

Stage 1

Design!

The brief was for the design to appeal to young people i.e that it should be “Cool” sorry “kl”. It also needs to be accepted by the church.

OK, I need to find out:

1) What is the “in thing” with teenagers nowadays?

2) What would the church be willing to accept

In addition I need to consider

3)My budget is zero! So I’m relying mainly on freebies of household wall paint for the large areas and acrylics- Galleria system 3 – for the details. And anything I feel inclined to donate.

4)Where will it hang? In this case – quite high so needs to be visible from a distance.

So, back to first question- What is the average teenager interested in? TV programmes, computer games, Manga, Steam Punk or something else? I did some research into Manga and Steam Punk and decided they might be OK for a targeted group e.g. teenage boys who played lots of games. But it might not suit a generic youth group. The trouble is, it’s been a long, long, long time since I was a teenager!

Then my thoughts went to gaming consoles either the controllers or buttons. Would the buttons be better? As they weren’t going to be specific to one company – can’t be advertising, not in a church. (No, that wouldn’t do at all!)  I finally remembered the recent ipod adverts with figures dancing and that a silhouette would look quite effective from a distance. I’d also thought about urban text styles such as found here

Stage 2

After playing around with these themes and ideas for most of yesterday, I finally came up with the following thumbnail sketch. (Some of the detail has been lost in the photograph.)

My plan was to stick with a bright colour, green was my first choice, and paint the rest of the design in black keeping lots of visual pattern – a distressed look.

Stage 3

Next I roughly pencilled in the design and painted the background.

As with many projects subtle things change between the design and the execution. Well they do with me as I think of refinements with the design or sometimes just change my mind. Which is why I’ve now gone for blue as the background colour. Purely from the practical point of view – there wasn’t enough green but plenty of blue and red - I preferred the blue. So this is the work so far. I’m letting it dry tonight and will continue the project tomorrow!

As usual I’ve practically obliterated all the preliminary marks. It looks a bit like a snow spirit dancing against a frozen sky.

So, that’s my progress so far. Tune in tomorrow to see the next exciting instalment. It’ll be as exciting as watching paint dry!

How do I sketch? Quick drawing of Buckingham Coach house.

A Sketch is one of the hardest types of drawing to master.
As an A level student, sketching was something that I did very little. I couldn’t see the point, or rather I couldn’t see the difference between sketching and drawing. So every time I set about “sketching” it would have to be done as a completed drawing. Looking back at these sketch books I see pages of skeleton drawings- abandoned before they were begun.
Sketching requires a degree of abandon which most people are reluctant to achieve ie they fear failure. I was such a person. When I decided to become an artist I knew it was something I needed to address. Having Read Doug Eyre’s book “Drawing Caricatures” I had started with his daily exercises, which were invaluable.
But, my lack of Art school training was felt acutely. Where and how could I find out about this elusive artist tool – the sketch? Books on art abound in copious quantities. Books on sketchbooks are virtual Hen’s teeth, or so I thought. I finally discovered what I needed on Amazon and then ordered it from the Book Depository (I’ve found they’re cheaper but use the reviews on Amazon to identify useful books).
 “An Illustrated life” by Danny Gregory is beautiful book crammed full of information. It looks at the sketch books of a variety of different artists and how each artist uses his/her sketchbook. Some are complete books in their own right and others show the workings of the creative mind at it’s most dynamic. He even has a superblog called Every Day Matters for those wishing to walk the walk!
I now Sketch daily. Not always well, but the habit is there. I’m less anxious about their imperfections, they are learning pieces. Because I’m learning I force myself to do the subject I detest! Buildings are my particular “bête noire” so they appear frequently. Sketching informs my artistic style and hones my drawing skill like a knife on stone. The only thing I regret, is that it took over 20 years to make this discovery.
This sketch was done earlier in the week, I see many flaws, but that’s OK, I’ve learnt so much!

So, how do you sketch? Do it often, do it quickly, do it habitually, do it happily and whatever your mood, just DO IT!

More Barack Obama, this time a pencil sketch

I started the day determined to be far more productive than yesterday, a good night’s sleep always helps. The morning was so so but by the afternoon I was back on track. I used some self-levelling gel on my canvas abstract and spent ages using acrylic inks and a cocktail stick creating a lovely pattern in yellow, gold, silver, orange and red. As I was able to apply some texture to another area without touching the gel I decided to crack on. Everything was beginning to come together and I decided to take the colour over the edge of the canvas. That would have been fine had I not tilted the canvas to a 45 degree angle. I realised what I’d done quickly enough to prevent the entire gel ending up on the table, but not before the pattern had morphed into something else. I tweaked it as best I could but it’s not what it was, sigh. Note to self engage brain before and during painting. On arriving home Ewan couldn’t resist touching it so it now has added texture. Such a helpful boy!!!

Whilst waiting for Ewan to finish his swimming lesson, I managed a sketch of Barack Obama. It took slightly less than an hour. The skin tones are better than my last attempt so overall I’m a happy bunny.

This evening was life drawing class. My quick studies were much better than the detailed one today. Coincidentally I heard an interesting debate on Premier Christian radio about whether Christians should do life drawing. I’d never thought of it as an issue, but for some it apparently is! The topic came up this evening because the art school is moving to using a church hall and they want to continue to offer life drawing, but need to check permissions before they can make arrangements.

Sketches at home

Today has been a bit unplanned. I’ve managed to get some painting done, but nothing finished so I’m posting an ink sketch I did at the weekend. It’s a view I see regularly when I draw other things, so I thought why not draw it.

 

Today seems to have been lived without my having any influence on it at all. I ended up waiting in for someone who didn’t turn up until after Lunch. I then had to go out to shop, on the way back I remembered I was supposed to be at a special assembly at my daughter’s school. Then after the school run, I had to go back for a parent teacher evening. It’s all been rather frenetic!

I think I might finally have my website up and running properly. The new site is currently at cathyread.co.uk I’ve just managed to link up the art for sale with payment and sort out the last of the teething problems –oh, I think there’ll probably be more of them!!!!! Anyway, once I’ve had a few people look at it I’ll redirect the cathyread.com traffic to it as well.

Finally, I’ve  discovered that I’m on the first page on google search if you type in my name. Wahay! who needs SEO companies!!!!!! I’ve been pestered by a few of them recently. I’ve come to a conclusion. If they don’t come up when you google SEO companies, then they’re probably not that good.

Let sleeping dogs lie! Well at least in pencil sketches

Today has been busy with a gallery meeting and finalising details related to that. The plan is to go live in March so time is of the essence.
It’s not all been admin, I have managed to do some painting but it’s not dry enough yet to post. So, I’m posting yesterday’s doggy sketch. Not complete as he moved… but I’m getting more of him done before he moves!!!!

A Springer spaniel doing his third favourite activity. First running free, second eating, third sleeping!

And it was all going so well!

Up until 5 minutes ago it was all going so well then I muffed the inking in. I’m not sure I will be able to resolve the errors but I’m waiting until the morning. Hopefully sleep will help me solve the issues.

This was a quick sketch I did waiting for my youngest to finish his swimming lesson. The perspective’s a bit off but it’s a pleasing effort. Might try it again next week- fills the time.

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

...and we DID! Went to some friends' church Fireworks event - did I mention he's the minister? Anyway we ate then stood around in the, not so, cold, watching some impressive fireworks being set off. The competition was pretty immpressive as well. What's more... it even stayed dry, well almost. The drizzle started about 10 minute before the end but the actual rain held off until we were going back indoors.
Finally went to the "Aim" gallery in Milton Keynes, so long since I last went there. Some really nice work on display... and I've just found out one of them is the mother of one of Andrew's schoolfriends- small world! I'm working on the networking.
Sitting in John Lewis' cafe I did a sketch of the Helter Skelter in Middleton Hall - Christmas display is due to open tomorrow.
After I returned home I decided to crack on with the commission, using what I have. I think I've made some progress with composition but nothing inspirational is crying out yet... It all feels too disconnected. So I sketched Ewan's old car seat... the last of the baby seats! I heard this song this morning, it had me in tears!

"Slipping through my fingers" by Abba. I think I should stop now.