More leaf drawings

The latest additions to my collection of leaf drawings. Rowan, and Chestnut this time. A bit trickier as they are of course constructed from multiple leaves, so smaller and more detailed. Still more to come…

Artefacts for Abundant Living

At the Bath Artisan Fair today I saw the work of Asa Bostrom, who was showing wonderfully textural pieces of assemblage, with an arcane and esoteric feel to them. There were a few 3D pieces, objects adapted and added to, creating evocative and attractive antique artefacts. Then there were paper-based works, folders collaged and covered in collected papers and images, beneath layers of wax. Whilst wonderful in their own right, they also suggested possible avenues for my own work.

Asa is a Swedish artist, who has come to Bath recently, and has a multitude of skills and talents; writer, designer, yoga and writing teacher, as well her mixed-media art work. Her website has some wonderful imagery and art works, and links to her blog www.asabostrom.se

Painted cutlery

What to do when you are sitting behind a stall at a vintage and flea fair. Decorate the cutlery of course!

And Finally…St Ives Holiday Scrapbook 2012 Day Seven

Finally the last page of the St Ives Holiday Scrapbook 2012. Sad Saturday!!

We had time for a trip into St Ives in the morning, for brunch by the beach at Porthminster, a purchase of some art, and a general browse around the town. We stopped off at the newly-opened Heartlands, a converted old mine, for lunch and a look around the craft workshops, and Urban/Street festival(!!). And then the long drive back, and home, just in time for Dr. Who on the telly.

More painted wooden utensils.

I do find it difficult to stop myself from sketching on found things. So when I find myself with a minute or two off I go. I always carry a pen or two, and a small sketchbook. But sometimes it is nice to work on something different. Here are a couple of lolly pop sticks that were lying around while I had a minute or two, and some sunflowers were growing nearby. I took them home and painted them later. As you do!

Shock and Awe

Another double page Apocalyptic Illuminated Initial. I have drawn these more fully in pen prior to adding colour. It was started a while ago, along with several others, and I am in the process of attempting to complete them before I start new works.

I have it in mind to make a colouring book-An Illuminated Apocalyptic Colouring Book, of depressing and fatalistic images.

Art in Bath

After my post on Art and craft at Just make, in Wells yesterday, here are a few photographs of pieces in Rostra and Rooksmoor Galleries in Bath today. Most of the work is by artists we are familiar with, but there are occasional surprises.

These ceramic figurines are by Jo Lucksted.

These, and other, paintings hung over most of the walls are by Christina Holvey. They have a lovely textural and painterly quality, and a detailed and decorative homely imagery. They have a simplicity and engaging freshness. 

These small paintings by Nicola Cooke of the beach and coast made us long for the Cornish Coast. We hope we might make it there before the end of the summer! They have the simplicity and lightness of sketches done on the spot, and not unlike something I might do.

The creative process

Purchased an interesting book the other day, Artwork-Seeing inside the creative process.

Written by Ivan Vartanian and published by Chronicle Books.

The book investigates the creative working practices of several artists, in the fields of photography, film, dance, sculpture, fiction and fine art, through journals and other physical evidence. It is a fascinating look at the way artists work, and how ideas are formulated and developed. Particularly interesting is the similarities and differences between different art forms. It is a very visual book, with copious illustrations, as well as interviews and explanations of different artists’ practices.

Recent work

More about my pen sketches of leaves in books.

These are sketches I completed a couple of weeks ago, trying to develop some of my ideas and images to a resolution. In these pictures I continue to be preoccupied with leaves, trees and imagery from nature, and with the formal and associative possibilities of the book form. What can the double page spread, the curve of an open book, the layering of sheets of paper add to my images? What added meaning and depth can the observed text, the associations with a fictional or factual text bring? So, more leaves in a book!

At present the idea has reached its fullest form in the book below. Leaves drawn in cross-hatched pen marks, sprouting from the spine of the book, raised above the level of underlying pages. These are also intended to be three-dimensional and sculptural objects, to remain open to view. Still to be completed and resolved-watch this space. The first image is zoomable.

Prior to the sketch above the leaves were drawn in a “moleskin” sketchbook, cut and folded to give an effect of growth and motion. I envisage the books as displayed open with the leaves becoming tree-dimensional. The impact of a strong directional light source creates drama, and emphasises the three-dimensional structure.

An Apocalyptic Alphabet

Here are a couple of pages of my initial letters. As I have said before I was exploring the use of words around the trees, selecting words primarily on a gloomy and pessimistic theme. In the first ones the lettering is a fairly standard heavy font. In subsequent examples I started to use lettering that is intended to be recognisable. These two are almost finished. A little tidying up is needed, and replacing of the words at the top, with APOCALYPTIC ALPHABET, I think.

Once again, if you click on the image then zoom in you get a version as seen through a magnifying glass. Really quite interesting.