Filed under: 2012 made in, drawing | Tags: cockatoo island, drawing, graphite, grey lead
Graphite on paper. 6 x 14 cm
I find that greylead drawings never photograph well but perhaps I am just making excuses for how out of practice I am.
Filed under: 2010, made in, book binding, drawing | Tags: artist book, colour pencil
Some hurried shots of the book I completed last week. Today I’m installing my show Delicate Territories at the Baillieu Library. It will be on till the end of May. I will hopefully get some nice shots of my works in their fancy professional display cases.
Here is a copper frog for no real reason.
Images may find their way into my work quicker than expected. Resuming the colour pencil book begun in Amsterdam, my most recent images connect with those done before through repetitious curves and leading horizontals, light and hue however are sharp deviations. A pair of cold and grey, soon a pair of hot and airy.
Filed under: 2010, made in, drawing | Tags: drawing, grey lead, ship, storm
I completed this drawing some time ago but have had to refrain from posting it till it was in the hands of its new owner. A departure from my usual style a more overt drama was necessary for the subject. Drawing from a painting rather than a photo also transformed my own style and approach to mark making. A little practice at expanding capabilities.
Drawn from A Ship in Need in a Raging Storm by dutch artist Willem van de Velde.
I recently assembled the cover I was working on in Amsterdam. Gluing together embroidered covers is always a tenuous activity, in this case it was exaggerated by the sheer volume of time and energy devoted to the work. Slapping glue around a dusty studio can lead to heartbreak, fortunately it came out well, near square too. The arrangement with drawings indicates this cover’s final role, to house loose drawings related to my travels, a miniature folio recalling those of long past travelers yet with the composition and detail of photography. More drawings to be done till this will be a complete work but the progress is happy.
Sorry for the infrequent updates, with little joy to be found in my camera I do not feel such an incentive to document my work. Here’s a preview of a super secret drawing though.
A little more drawing towards another little drawing. In the morning I’m across the border and off to Cologne for more gallery explorations.
Filed under: drawing, surrounds, travel | Tags: amsterdam, drawing, graphite, snow
The last few days have been spent in the kitchen. There have been braised greens with pasta, cauliflower soup, tomato eggplant pasta sauce, caremalised onion and pumpkin tarts and stewed apples to eat on pancakes and stirred into porridge for breakfast, all homemade. I am surrounded by pubs, cafes and restaurants but I feel no need to eat out when I can cook whatever I desire.
As well as in the kitchen I have been working at my desk filling another tiny piece of paper with thousands of greylead marks to make a picture. Grappling with flat skies, rippling water and complex rigging I think I’m managing alright.
A completed drawing to be tucked inside the blue map cover once it is a cover. The contents of the book are taking shape in my mind. Not all the drawings will have a maritime focus but they will be of places and things that recall dutch colonial history. I believe the ladies at my local art shop think I’m quite strange, recently I bought four different pencil sharpeners at the same time, not all sharpeners are made equal and you never know till you try them so I hedged my bets. Drawing may be slowed down over the next few days as I’ve hurt my back and sitting for long periods is uncomfortable.
I have developed a bit of a fascination for childrens parks while I’m here. There’s something about the geometric shapes and brilliant colours against the gloomy background.
Walking through the first snow this morning I headed to the docks around the unfortunately closed maritime museum. Enveloped in a curtain of fog were ships appearing straight out of history including a full scale replica of the Dutch East India Company ship The Amsterdam. The Amsterdam was wrecked on its maiden voyage in 1749 after the black plague broke out on board, mutiny occurred and finally the rudder broke off before the ship was hit by a storm.
I’ve begun a drawing of maritime imagery, hopefully with more to come.
