the art of not giving a f*ck while drawing

For each of three twenty-minute life drawing poses, I drew first in clean water so I could not see an image, then developed this by dragging a conte crayon (hard pastel) down the paper so the water caught the pigment to create a rough shape. I then drew into and around that shape.

In the second drawing, I also used opaque Inktense water soluble paint to draw in a sense of her tattoos.

I was trying to liberate my drawing over an obsession with accuracy. I succeeded at that at least

The warm up 2, 5 and 10 minute poses I focussed on just her feet using a soluble graphite pencil and water.

Bric a brac sketches

Following a theme from the start of the week, here are sketches of assorted objects: volcanic rock, a cream jug, a carved stone elephant. Each piece started with a hard conte crayon scraped downward over paper on which water and dry areas set out the basic shapes in the sketch. I like the magical sense of the picture revealing itself. The picture was built with crayon, Inktense water-based paints, white acrylic ink and water.

Altered mind state

High on serotonin, oxytocin, endorphin and chocolate I found random objects, lumps of volcanic rock and an ornamental polished fossil, and drew on toned paper, with the vague idea that these were both boundaried within and breached the boundaries of drawn frames, as in a graphic novel, except I then coloured in these rectangles.

What began as

What started as an online collection of strangers in lockdown, became the ebb and flow of a friendship group.

I came to meet friends in a pub in London, but first I spent three hours drawing in the British Museum.

I drew the noble faces of others’ civilisations hacked and stolen by an empire of vandals.

Strangely, four times I was interrupted so people could photograph my drawing in progress.

Happy New Year, fellow artist bloggers.

Cross hatch

Two composite life drawings and a sketch started at New Street Station and continued on the train and later in a travelodge.

Sunday life drawing

Miri

Small miracle

two days ago I became a grandfather

less is more

I used photos from a gig I went to last Tuesday in a series of watercolour exercises aimed at gradually reducing the amount of line and paint I apply to the paper. The top two were the last I did, the rest are a jumble of earlier attempts. The more white paper I leave the better the effect. The gig was by the fabulous Bonfire Radicals, an experimental folk band.

More life drawing

A switch back to dry media for these hurried sketches after working in gouache the last few life drawing sessions.