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.

Gosh, isn't it dingy today?

I found it hard to get going with my drawing this morning. Every week I set myself an aim, this week's was to finish my long mossy tree drawing. All was going well until this morning when I sat down and I guessed straight away that I'd struggle today. I have this creeping fear sometimes that makes it difficult to work. I've had this both with my drawing (not so often) and my writing (often), basically I get so indecisive that eventually I end up faffing about for hours and the precious day trickles away.

Luckily today music came to my aid. I've loved music all my life; classical, rock, indie, folk. When I was in my teens and twenties I was heavily into the music of my parents' generation - the 50's and 60's. Now I'm in my 40's I suppose you could say I'm into the music my kids would be into (if I had any). I've never believed in pigeon holing anyone. I hate to be categorized myself (when people try to do it, they invariably get it wrong) and I do my best not to do 'unto others' as I'd rather not be done to myself. It goes against my grain to see anything as simple. If I hear one other person say 'women can't read maps but they are naturally caring...' I'll scream...

I've continued preparing some paper for a drawing I want to make. It's another experiment, and a development of the drawings I made last week of my Poinsettia.

Here's the last drawing I made, before it began shedding leaves and curling up at the edges like a well read paperback.

And here is something very old.


In fact, I've no idea how old it is as in those days I don't seem to have either signed or dated my work. It's an old oil painting of my Mom, and judging by the settee (the one before the one we have now) it could have been done anytime pre 20 years or so ago. As you can see from the impasto I was heavily into Van Gogh at the time.




Van Gogh is still one of my creative heroes. His writing, like his art, is full of compassion, endeavour and honesty. Three things I value very highly indeed.

Seeing the Van Gogh letters exhibition at the Royal Academy is definitely on my 2010 to do wish list.

Something new, some things old

'Running Away', my current work in progress.

I didn't start work on my drawing today until the best part of this precious November daylight was already burned out. Yesterday I found it began to get difficult to see what I was doing as early as 2 o clock, today was a little better but not much. There was plenty strong sunlight this morning as I painted the inside of our front porch doors, so much so I actually had to work wearing sun glasses to stop my eyes from watering!

But I guess I'm getting to that age now when I need more light to see the fine detailed pen and ink work I like to do and also to make sense of the messy photographs I tend to work from, they're printed out on my desktop printer and my current piece is proving a real pain to make sense of, I can tell you!

I had an idea that I'd like to post an old watercolour here to complement my new drawing, I couldn't find it amongst the inch of protective dust on top of my mother's wardrobe, but I did find these oldies instead. I'm sorry to say they're not in a portfolio but an old carrier bag, still, they don't seem much the worse for it.

Morcambe Seafront, 2004. Mixed Media on Watercolour Board.

It was on holiday in the Lake District in 2004 that I began to find my old enthusiasm for visual art again, it was October and the colours of the changing trees, the evocative mist and the sunsets were just glorious. One evening we drove down to Morcambe, it was out of season and the sprawling sea front was down at heel in the way I always find gloomily attractive. The sunset was a glorious thing. A few days later I bought my first serious coloured pencils, the ever so expensive (and now discontinued) Signature range from Heaton Cooper, a truly wonderful artshop in Grasmere. When I got back home I began these pieces, though I put them away in disgust some time later, totally disatisfied. Now I come across them by accident, they're not so bad I suppose.

Morcambe Sunset, 2004. Mixed Media on Watercolour Paper.

I think these two charcoal drawings date from around 2001/2? I'm really not sure. I know that I hadn't drawn much for a while and they're quite clumbsy.

Graham Snoozing, Charcoal and Conte Crayon on Cartridge Paper

When I was at Poly' I began a practice of doing a Christmas self-portrait. The best one is hidden away somewhere, I'll have to try and find it out. I used to draw myself quite a lot in those days, usually in charcoal and Conte crayon. I exhibited one of them many years ago (not a Christmas one this, but a summer self-portrait) at the Mid Art Show, which was then held at the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery. When I made the drawing below I hadn't drawn for a while and I had problems maintaining my confidence as well as my motivation. It's a pretty lame drawing really. But I have been thinking that I'd like to make a December self-portrait again this year, time allowing. Maybe I'll blog about it here. Maybe.

Self portrait, Charcoal and Conte Crayon on Cartridge Paper