YOU'RE BEING FRAMED

Today I delivered my long mossy tree drawing to a picture framer. I've never had a picture professionally framed before as I've managed to find ready made frames fairly cheaply for my drawings, but this latest drawing is such an eccentric size I just can't find one 'off the peg'. It'll be ready in about 10 days, hopefully in time for the deadline I have in mind for it.

I've got to deliver my 2 pieces for the West Midlands Open this weekend. The largest of the two is almost A1 in size, so I had to dig out my old A1 folio, which I haven't used for mmmmm years. I had a surprise when I opened it, as this drawing was taped to the inside.


I think I made this drawing in about 1995 or 6. I hadn't made any drawings for some time, and then there was a space of several years following this date before I began to make my pen and ink drawings. It's a (rather flattering) self-portrait drawn in charcoal and Conte crayon. I've made quite a few self-portraits over the years ever since my teenage years, partly because I always used to enjoy drawing people, people interested me, but I knew so few people and I was (am) shy so finding subjects has always been difficult for me. It's always been the usual suspects for me I'm afraid, my parents or myself.


These pieces are from the period 1988 - 1990. During 1988-89 I worked in our veranda whilst subsisting on an Enterprise Allowance Scheme as a Fine Artist. Thinking about it now my naiveté (stupidity I would even go as far as calling it) astounds me. I had no idea what I wanted to do with these pieces. I was like a dog running with a bone. I was an artist and that was all that mattered.




I wonder now if I'm really any more savvy or 'grown up' despite being 20 years older. Maybe I just haven't got that gene.


I don't remember when this last piece was done, but it looks so lame to me. I don't know why I kept it. It's gone now, anyway.