PLEIN AIR ACEOS

It's been lovely to get out into the garden and make a few studies again.  I haven't drawn in the garden from life since last October, the sun was really warm yesterday, it felt like summer was on its way at last.

I've made studies of Mom's old stone cast animals and gnomes over the years, some of them are a little worse for wear, the tortoise above has lost its head but it's still recognisably a tortoise.

This time I'm disciplining myself to producing mainly ACEO sized studies, some I colour indoors after making the line drawing outside, but the 2 little ACEOs above are completed entirely plein air.

ACEO sized drawings

Four of the ACEOs I've sold through Ebay, where I'm selling small sized artworks via Itsypics.

The ACEOs are shown with their Certificates of Authenticity, which I provide for each piece.  The matchstick symbol on the front of the COA is a Logo I designed for my Itsypics sales, an 'i' for Itsypics.  The flame stands for the spark of inspiration which I am eternally hopeful of.

A mixed media piece I've been working on (and off) since before Christmas.  It's pen and acrylic ink with airbrushed acrylic ink for the larger coloured areas.  A combination I still haven't got right yet.

I like the discipline of the ACEO size (3 1/2 x 2 1/2in) so much that I've begun to make a few ACEO sized drawings around the house.  It's been too long since I drew from life, so this will bring 2 aspects of my work together hopefully.  I intend to make a series of these drawings in every room of my home over the next few months and display them together as a complete piece.

The drawing above shows my Mum's slippers where she leaves them in the hall.

The drawing below shows Mum's tatty old shoes stuffed with wool and old Jay cloths, left again as she always leaves them, in the hall by the kitchen door.

Mom leaves things habitually anywhere and everywhere.  She stuffs her shoes with wool because she says it makes them more comfortable.

RBSA OPEN ALL MEDIA

I'm really happy to have 2 pictures accepted for the RBSA Open All Media exhibition.

G and me went along to see the exhibition on Sunday.  It's a good exhibition as usual full of varied styles and subject matter.  There were quite a few collages, many using photographic material, and a nice selection of abstract work.  There was a huge pastel study of a lady in a bath by Graham Kershaw, larger than life size I would guess.  A very audacious piece beautifully rendered.  There were quite a few pastel pieces at this year's open and one of my favourites were a couple of landscapes by Janette Summerfield which I really liked.  Artists who's work I'm familiar with from previous shows and who's work I also really enjoyed were June Dudleston's painterly landscapes and Paul Hipkiss's vivid linocuts.  I also enjoyed Rob Perry's intense painterly landscapes. 

On handing in day the queue was longer than I'd ever known it before, so I'd guess that the RBSA had quite a few entries this year.  The lady I was queuing behind showed me the piece she was handing in, a pretty cream coloured ceramic vase inspired by sea froth.  Her piece made it into the exhibition too, Sea-Foam Vase by Katie Robbins.

This Dwarf Iris is one of my ACEOs which I am currently selling on Ebay.

Artists & Illustrators Letter of the Month

Although I'm late posting about this I'm still thrilled that the letter I e-mailed to Artists & Illustrators Magazine was chosen to be letter of the month.

It gives me a nice feeling of completeness to the project I set myself last year of the exhibition at Central Library, Wolverhampton.  A real confidence booster.

Studio Shots

As well as the ACEOs I have been working on larger pieces and experimenting with using colour more in my work.  I am using mostly FW Artists Acrylic Ink or Liquitex Acrylic Ink with dip pen for these drawings and using coloured line.  The drawings I am working on mostly at the moment are urban scenes which include trees or some natural form.  I am also exploring an old favourite of mine, the use of words or letters in my artwork, usually in the form of grafitti, though I have an inclination also to include drawn versions of printed matter, posters etc.. The drawings in the photograph below are a simple landscape (bright and cheerful) and the tree beside Tipton Baths that I made a drawing of previously.  This time I am using coloured line, and thinking about how else I want to use colour so as not to swamp the drawing.

I am trying really hard to divide my precious time between my creative work, my work on ACEOs (and other Itsypics projects I would like to tackle) and everything else.  I am keeping a note of time I spend on each task, you can see it below, next to my precious old marble mouse which I've owned for about 15 years now and it's been invaluable to me.

 What I look at when my eyes drift away from the computer screen (like now).

I visited the Rembrandt exhibition at the National last year and it was packed to capacity.  Someone actually fainted when I was there and everyone had to wait until the man had recovered.  Rebel Visions was an exhibition of CRW Nevison's work of the First World War which I saw at the Barber Institute this January.  The Barber Institute has a wonderful collection of art, including a beautiful Gainsborough.  You can see many of the pictures in the Barber's collection on-line at the BBC Your Paintings website.

ACEO Studio

 I have been working on my ACEOs and have (joy!!!) sold a few at auction via Ebay, where I am selling as Itsypics.

I am so happy that someone likes my work enough to bid for it.  I have had some really lovely feedback too, which is very nice indeed.

The ACEO above is based on a photograph I took of Southwold Lighthouse while on holiday there in 2009.  Southwold is a lovely seaside resort with a glorious pier.  There was a quirky amusement arcade on the pier when we visited which was full of crazy one-off amusements made by a local artist.  G and me spent a fun filled hour or so in there.  Don't know if it's still there now.  David Morissey married Esther Freud on Southwold Pier, Esther Freud has written about Southwold where she spent her childhood holidays.  Her novel The Sea House was set in the area.

I keep the materials I use for my ACEOs together in this old bag.  It's one of my countless attempts to organise myself so I can stay on track with my creative work.

And here is the old WH Smith filing box I keep my finished ACEOs in, along with the tiny easel I photograph them on and the little plastic sleeves I ship them out in.

I am designing a Certificate of Authenticity to send out with the artwork I sell.  This is the one I am creating for my ACEOs.  I have never produced one of these before, but I have read that they are valued by collectors so feel that I should try and produce something along these lines.  It will be the size of an ACEO but folded like a greetings card, with the information printed across the inside of the certificate.

ACEOs and Urban Trees

This week I've been working on drawings of urban scenes.  The drawing above is called Souper (it's the word on the poster) and it's based on a photograph I took in Birmingham just after christmas.

I cropped the photograph quite severely to print out, then cropped it again on paper for this drawing.  I plan to do a second drawing with the design extended upward, following the trees in their journey alongside the windows of the modern building.  I deliberately kept the drawing as minimal as possible and used dip pen and coloured acrylic ink.


I'll be posting another couple of my tiny ACEOs on Itsypics soon.  One of them is a drawing I made from a photograph I took at Burnham-on-Sea of the Low Lighthouse  (also known as the Lighthouse on Legs).  I love walking on Burnham beach when G manages to drive us up there for a daytrip.  I love the space and the light bouncing off the wet sand and the mudflats out to sea.

There are people all around but there's still space enough to be alone.