Many many works in progress

I've changed the way I work in quite radical ways recently.  Rather than power on with one piece covering paper until it's finished, as I do with my pen and ink drawings, I'm working on several pieces at once.  Working with airbrush and stencils is much faster than my pen and ink drawings, yet it involves much more conscious contemplation.  It's quite a neurotic way of working if I think about it, making notes about each piece, listing ideas for process, writing a 'to do' for the next day on a post-it, ticking off stages in the process as I go along.  I've been a great list maker for years now, but never in my art, until now.

I make a sketch on greaseproof paper of one of my photographs, make a tracing (or several) of the sketch, cut a stencil.  Maybe transfer the drawing onto the paper I'm going to work on (the piece above is watercolour paper, the piece below is Ingres paper) and paint out what will become highlights with masking fluid.  Then I spray a layer (or several) of liquid acrylic ink over the stencil.  Remove the stencil.  Begin the process again.

This piece above is a second version of a drawing I made a couple of years ago.  I really like the crumpled texture of the tree in the foreground.  I began this second version drawing as a pen and ink piece earlier this year and lost interest.  The addition of airbrush layers (and other multimedia elements) is an on-going experiment.

 

I love the smell and the light reflecting qualities of wild garlic.  I took this photo' above a few years ago and made a graphite tonal drawing of it last year.  For this new piece I made this quick sketch on greaseproof paper.  I want this new airbrush piece to be painterly and full of light and shade.  More when more's done.

The chaos of what passes as my computing work space where I plan new pieces from the pc screen, print off photographs etc...

My real-space work space.  Work in progress.  Many many works in progress...