Chilly sunflowers

It's hard to believe that just 3 weeks ago I was sitting in the sunshine attempting to cool down with orange ice lollies and filling my glass with ice cubes before adding water that melted the ice cubes within minutes.  Today I sat in the garden wrapped in sweater, cardi and body warmer as I tried to draw the sunflowers I've managed to coax into some sort of life this year, despite snails, wasps and gale force wind.

It's been so windy!  One poor sunflower snapped in two, others have toppled in their pots so many times that they crushed and snapped their lovely heart shaped leaves.  For much of this week I've spent running about in search of a sheltered part of the garden, wedging the pots with bricks, other pots and whatever else I can find to stop them toppling! 

And now, I attempt to draw the survivors.  I feel I owe it to them, if just to record the proof of the fact that some of them have actually survived and grin at me with their lovely yellow faces.

 I love these Teddy Bear sunflowers, but this is the only bloom I've managed to coax into life so far.

This is a Little Leo.  Just like me.

I wanted a break from working with fine dip pens so I've been trying out these marker pens.  This one is a chunky nib.  The sketch book is A3 size.

I bought these Sharpie markers a few weeks ago and I think it's about time I tried them out.  This is on an A4 sketchbook.  The Sharpies are spirit based so they bleed through to the next page in this sketchbook.  I like the mirror image they cast through the paper.  The left hand image has bled through from the previous page, the right hand image is the new Sharpie drawing.  I think it might be nice to experiment with combining the two effects on the same page.

Another double page spread with Sharpie drawing and bleed through from previous page.

I used the chunky marker pen for the foreground sunflower and a finer marker to roughly sketch in the background.

I had some great news yesterday.  I have had a drawing accepted for this year's Open Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art.  It's a drawing I made in 2010, so it falls just within the 5 year span required by the Society for entries.  It is, I think, one of my best pieces, I exhibited it a few years ago at the RBSA and at an open exhibition in Worcester.  It's called PW PW 2001.

DOG ROSE

Here is a small pen and ink drawing I've been working on, it's almost finished. It's more stylised than my usual work, and I gave the flower a coat of iridescent ink before drawing on top of it with dip pen and ink.

And here is a new seed I planted yesterday.  It's a rose bejeweled with rain/teardrops.

 

I regained some of my time 4 weeks ago when I was made redundant from one of my 2 part-time jobs.  I am still trying to get on my feet at the moment, but I dived into my new treasure box of time by signing up for and begining various courses and projects.  I've signed up for an on-line IT course with Vision2Learn and a Photoshop course with Wolverhampton College.  I  had my eye on a couple of on-line art courses but couldn't afford them, so I invested a little money in purchasing a course in book form.  I think I need to free up the way I approach my drawing, developing the imaginative side in a more obvious way.

I made a start on it last week.

I'm hoping to use some of the concepts I encounter in this book in my serious artwork.  Time will tell...

One other project I've been dwelling on and working towards this year is an exhibition, which I am hoping to mount of my work later this year.  Hopefully around December time.  As I have focused on flower drawings mostly though 2014 this will be the subject of the exhibition, which I hope to hold at Wolverhampton Central Library. 

Prize Exhibition

I have 2 drawings in this year's Prize Exhibition at the RBSA.  The exhibition runs until Saturday 12 July.  You can view a short film of it here.  You can see my picture in the corner in one shot, and then just after it there is a short of the wall with Frou Frou hanging on the left hand side.  I've not managed to get to the gallery to see the exhibition yet, but hopefully I will get to see it within the next couple of weeks.  It looks good from the film.

Here is a quick sketch I made of the lovely plant known as Lamb's Ear.  I bought one of these plants after looking for some time for one, I've seen it in gardens and loved the silky silver texture of it.

Mine's in a container and I've had to treat it for a fungal disease, it keeps going spotty!  I don't know how long it'll last in the polluted Black Country air. 

And here is some more progress on my rose drawing.  All is done in FW Acrylic Ink, red for the rose, payne's grey and black for the background. 

I'm still listening to Wolf Hall while I work.  So I guess this drawing will be forever linked in my mind to the ambiguous character of Thomas Crowell and the bloody glamour of Tudor England.

Flowers Against A Wall

Here's the finished pencil drawing I began a couple of weeks ago. 

And here's recent progress on a new pen and acrylic ink drawing. 
 

Working as usual from one of my digital photographs, and working directly from the screen this time (as I did with the pencil drawing above) I lightly sketched the rose in pencil, then added a wash of pearlescent acrylic ink.  Over this I began working in red acrylic ink, occasionally sketching in pencil to guide my pen marks.  I'm working on heavy watercolour paper.

Listening while I work still to Wolf Hall.  And enjoying the lovely sunshine.

OVER THE BROADWAY MOON!

I was really over the moon tonight to learn that I have sold the piece I had on show at the Broadway open.

I'm really really pleased about this, it is a much needed confidence boost at a time when I can really do with it.

Whoever has purchased my drawing THANK YOU!  I hope you get much pleasure from it.

Pencil dust

I've been working on this over the past couple of weeks.  I found a piece of mount board which I had painted with Pearlescent FW acrylic ink.  It gives the surface a nice brittle glow.  I'm not sure the orange colour works for the flower, but there are some nice-ish textures and ebbs and flows of light in the background, which it is taking me forever to achieve.

I tore myself away from my pen and ink today to begin a pencil drawing.  I realise now how addictive working in pen and ink is for me, it's both a comfort and a puzzle, repetetive, hypnotic and frustrating.  I need a change though, even if just for a short while.

This is very small and I've only worked for a couple of hours so far.

I'm having a break from Radio 4 as well, which is my usual sound wall of choice whilst I work.  I've been listening instead to audio books which you can download for free via (in my case) Wolverhampton library's website.  I've listened to Jo Jo Moyes Me Before You and today I began listening to Wolf Hall.  The quality of these recordings is very good and the actors convey the action excellently.

A little more progress

Almost finished now I think.