 |
| lifeblood 3 300x300mm oil and charcoal on canvas |
Showing posts with label charcoal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charcoal. Show all posts
Thursday, 27 September 2012
lifeblood 3
Friday, 17 August 2012
Preview of forthcoming attractions
I am embarking on a new series of works. It began with the simple idea of combining horns and thorns, ie cattle with large horns and those wonderful large paired thorns you find on Acacia Karoo trees, which bear a striking resemblance to each other. It quickly morphed (as these things tend to do) into a series of ideas around the thought of protecting what one holds valuable, and the fact that those items are relative depending on who you are.
If you are a Dinka Tribesman, your cattle are literally your life, of the greatest possible value, and due to cattle fueds and raids, it is no longer enough to protect them in kraals of thorns. In Southern Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, cattle wars have led to the death of literally thousands, and herdsmen protect their cattle with AK 47s. By contrast, in 1st world countries, we see cattle as just another food commodity, and can take a more flippant approach to depicting them. Our valued possessions often revolve around our fixed property, and we protect it with razor wire and alarm systems.
In a society where respect for women and life is being constantly eroded, there is also a need to protect ourselves. So the range of images emerging is already quite wide, and I will be combining painting, drawing, photography, and ceramics. WATCH THIS SPACE! :)
If you are a Dinka Tribesman, your cattle are literally your life, of the greatest possible value, and due to cattle fueds and raids, it is no longer enough to protect them in kraals of thorns. In Southern Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, cattle wars have led to the death of literally thousands, and herdsmen protect their cattle with AK 47s. By contrast, in 1st world countries, we see cattle as just another food commodity, and can take a more flippant approach to depicting them. Our valued possessions often revolve around our fixed property, and we protect it with razor wire and alarm systems.
In a society where respect for women and life is being constantly eroded, there is also a need to protect ourselves. So the range of images emerging is already quite wide, and I will be combining painting, drawing, photography, and ceramics. WATCH THIS SPACE! :)
 |
| cow in kraal, photography and charcoal drawing on canvas, 1600x1600mm |
Sunday, 06 May 2012
Karoo National Park
 |
| Karoo National Park - charcoal on Fabriano - 430x620mm |
Friday, 13 April 2012
new works in various media....
Hi, I have been so loving having more time to be in the studio lately, and while there are still many interruptions, I am getting a lot done whenever I am able to spend a while there.
I have been enjoying using different techniques to express the mood in each picture, so they are an ecclectic mix of faily standard oil painting, some mixtures of paint and charcoal drawing on canvas, and some very transparent layers of glaze coats and wet into wet on smooth boards, which gives a deliciously seductive result. And the the small charcoal drawings are ongoing too.
One thing I have not featured on this blog yet is my photography, but it is another medium I am busy with, and I am delighted with some large prints I have had done this week, ranging from A4 to a gi-normous A0. I'll show some of those pics in another post, but seeing them small on the computer screen really does not do them justice, they have such a presence in the big prints.
This is the daughter of a friend of mine... and I found their holiday photo of her dipping her toe tentatively into the water very touching, so I asked permission to paint it. It seems to me to be about so much more than a physical testing of temperature... it recalls all the insecurities of adolescence, being on the brink of the adult world, with all its possibilities and attractions, but also dangers and fears. Wanting to jump in, but being so very unsure of what one will find, or how one will be received.
Istanbul, it features in my thoughts, longings, reading and painting.... what a magical, mystical, contradictory and altogether enchanting place!
I have been enjoying using different techniques to express the mood in each picture, so they are an ecclectic mix of faily standard oil painting, some mixtures of paint and charcoal drawing on canvas, and some very transparent layers of glaze coats and wet into wet on smooth boards, which gives a deliciously seductive result. And the the small charcoal drawings are ongoing too.
One thing I have not featured on this blog yet is my photography, but it is another medium I am busy with, and I am delighted with some large prints I have had done this week, ranging from A4 to a gi-normous A0. I'll show some of those pics in another post, but seeing them small on the computer screen really does not do them justice, they have such a presence in the big prints.
 |
| testing the waters 100x800mm oil on canvas (SOLD) |
 |
| New Mosque Istanbul 250x250 oil on board |
 |
| strolling in the rain, 250x250mm oil on board |
 |
| Galata tower, Istanbul 250x250 oil on board (SOLD) |
 |
| Rainy night in Istanbul 250x250mm oil on board |
 |
| Rainy night in Istanbul 2 250x250mm oil on board |
 |
| Be my Shelter 1000x800mm charcoal and oil on canvas |
 |
| lifeblood charcoal on Fabriano 230x240mm |
 |
| rainy night in Istanbul 230x240mm charcoal on Fabriano |
Sunday, 08 April 2012
Working while being sociable: some drawings.
A slight drawback of being an artist who is married is that art is, essentially, a solitary occupation during which one retreats into an inner world of right brain activity, oblivious to time and the world around one. Mealtimes and appointments come and go unnoticed. This is fine on days when one's partner is at work, but unfortunately when the muse is dancing attendance, it does not always coincide with those times. So what does one do in order to remain relatively sociable, but still allow the creative flow?
For me a solution has been to mostly do my big oils in the studio during the week, and if I am still on a roll over the weekend, I work on small oils or charcoal drawings at the dining room table, so that Max and I can be companionable, but still get on with our various creative pursuits at the same time. (He will generally be found doing his photography or writing during these times, or recently, sorting through old slides to scan.) This Easter weekend has been a case in point, and so far, between movies, meals with the kids and an Easter egg hunt, I have managed to almost finish a few small paintings, as well as these 5 little charcoal drawings... the paintings will follow when complete.
For me a solution has been to mostly do my big oils in the studio during the week, and if I am still on a roll over the weekend, I work on small oils or charcoal drawings at the dining room table, so that Max and I can be companionable, but still get on with our various creative pursuits at the same time. (He will generally be found doing his photography or writing during these times, or recently, sorting through old slides to scan.) This Easter weekend has been a case in point, and so far, between movies, meals with the kids and an Easter egg hunt, I have managed to almost finish a few small paintings, as well as these 5 little charcoal drawings... the paintings will follow when complete.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
the joys of drawing...
Yesterday I touched on the subject of drawing... so today I thought I'd tell you something about the Greg Kerr workshop which brought about the desire to draw more and more... and show you some of the results.
If you have not had the opportunity to study formally in the subject you are making a living from, you often feel at a disadvantage. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you have to have an art degree in order to succeed as an artist, but there are times when you feel a bit of training and background knowledge would make the process a lot easier. There is sometimes a temptation to doubt one's own judgement because it is not based on academic study, but often on raw instinct.
To overcome this, I have made a point of attending whatever suitable workshops I have been able to manage (time and cost often being the main limitations.) But having said this, you have to be selective. There are unfortunatley a lot of people who, having spent a year or two producing reasonable facsimiles of magazine photos, and attending a few classes, set themselves up as art teachers. It is important to know, if spending valuable time and money on training, that the classes are run by someone with the credentials to take you further and give informed input and guidance, not by the blind-leading-the-blind.
In Port Elizabeth, we are very lucky to have a retired painting professor, who is not only a leading light in his subject, but also a brilliant teacher. As a bonus, he is widely read, appears to have total recall of every word of every book and poem he has ever read, and knows just about every worthwhile piece of music ever composed. He is, into the bargain, a not-too-shabby singer, so his classes are a stimulating mixture of art tuition, pushing our boundaries all the time, with loads of song, poetry, pithy quotations and laughter thrown in.
Last year I signed up for my first full year course with him. It was called Dark Cloud, and was geared towards establishing, amongst other things, an understanding of tonal vales, and generation of evocative images. The workshops consist of 4 full days, spread in 4 groups throughout the year (16 total) with assignments and preparation in between.
During the first 4 days, we had to produce a triptych of large charcoal drawings inspired by photographs we had prepared in advance. They had to show a progression from bright, more or less happy, through light puffy clouds, to a dark and ominous mood in the last one. Being me, I felt obliged to have some sort of cause or message within the pictures, and of course went over the top and did 2 seperate sets of 3 based on 2 different ideas.
The first one dealt with the sad state of decay of 2 of my favourite old buildings in PE, the derelict old Milling/Brewery buildings. Here is the result:
ignore the blue tinge, caused by bad white balance on the camera, the paper really is white.
The second triptych showed churches, mosques and a synagogue, and basically expressed the idea that while all the major religions are fighting amongst themselves, the people they should be there for are dying... either directly as a result of the fighting, or perhaps just spiritually from neglect...
After the first workshop we were given a task that turned out, for me, to be a turning point in my approach to art... we had to produce 25 tiny delectable little charcoal drawings based on the reference material we had first generated in our photos, and bind them into a little A5 sized artists book. I chose the buildings, and found the production of these little drawings totally compulsive. Here are some of them:
I just loved the process, and it is finding its way into my current work in the form of charcoal and conte crayon drawing incorporated into some of my paintings on canvas. (I have done this before, there were some in about 2008 that I did with sketches included on the canvas, but it is now happening more regularly.) However it is taking so long to upload and they are all already on facebook so here is the link to the tiny drawings album.
The remainder of the workshop was about painting, and I learned a lot, but for me the drawing was a highlight. This year I am attending the Dinner Party workshops, and will share some of the insights and results in due course.
If you have not had the opportunity to study formally in the subject you are making a living from, you often feel at a disadvantage. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you have to have an art degree in order to succeed as an artist, but there are times when you feel a bit of training and background knowledge would make the process a lot easier. There is sometimes a temptation to doubt one's own judgement because it is not based on academic study, but often on raw instinct.
To overcome this, I have made a point of attending whatever suitable workshops I have been able to manage (time and cost often being the main limitations.) But having said this, you have to be selective. There are unfortunatley a lot of people who, having spent a year or two producing reasonable facsimiles of magazine photos, and attending a few classes, set themselves up as art teachers. It is important to know, if spending valuable time and money on training, that the classes are run by someone with the credentials to take you further and give informed input and guidance, not by the blind-leading-the-blind.
In Port Elizabeth, we are very lucky to have a retired painting professor, who is not only a leading light in his subject, but also a brilliant teacher. As a bonus, he is widely read, appears to have total recall of every word of every book and poem he has ever read, and knows just about every worthwhile piece of music ever composed. He is, into the bargain, a not-too-shabby singer, so his classes are a stimulating mixture of art tuition, pushing our boundaries all the time, with loads of song, poetry, pithy quotations and laughter thrown in.
Last year I signed up for my first full year course with him. It was called Dark Cloud, and was geared towards establishing, amongst other things, an understanding of tonal vales, and generation of evocative images. The workshops consist of 4 full days, spread in 4 groups throughout the year (16 total) with assignments and preparation in between.
During the first 4 days, we had to produce a triptych of large charcoal drawings inspired by photographs we had prepared in advance. They had to show a progression from bright, more or less happy, through light puffy clouds, to a dark and ominous mood in the last one. Being me, I felt obliged to have some sort of cause or message within the pictures, and of course went over the top and did 2 seperate sets of 3 based on 2 different ideas.
The first one dealt with the sad state of decay of 2 of my favourite old buildings in PE, the derelict old Milling/Brewery buildings. Here is the result:
ignore the blue tinge, caused by bad white balance on the camera, the paper really is white.
The second triptych showed churches, mosques and a synagogue, and basically expressed the idea that while all the major religions are fighting amongst themselves, the people they should be there for are dying... either directly as a result of the fighting, or perhaps just spiritually from neglect...
After the first workshop we were given a task that turned out, for me, to be a turning point in my approach to art... we had to produce 25 tiny delectable little charcoal drawings based on the reference material we had first generated in our photos, and bind them into a little A5 sized artists book. I chose the buildings, and found the production of these little drawings totally compulsive. Here are some of them:
I just loved the process, and it is finding its way into my current work in the form of charcoal and conte crayon drawing incorporated into some of my paintings on canvas. (I have done this before, there were some in about 2008 that I did with sketches included on the canvas, but it is now happening more regularly.) However it is taking so long to upload and they are all already on facebook so here is the link to the tiny drawings album.
The remainder of the workshop was about painting, and I learned a lot, but for me the drawing was a highlight. This year I am attending the Dinner Party workshops, and will share some of the insights and results in due course.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
