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UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS

2012 LONDON’S OLYMPIC YEAR

Autumn 2011

London

FREE

By Stephen Myers

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Critical Research UNIT 1.2.3 MA DRAWING s.myers1@arts.ac.uk s.myers1@arts.ac.uk

Inside:Interviews Drawing Lab work

PART TIME

I have pursued a passion for drawing from an early age and after a long international career in 3 dimensional fashion design, working with Courtaulds, Enrico Coveri etc, I am now studying an MA in drawing at The University of the Arts, Wimbledon College of Art, London. I am a member of the London Life drawing Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

and its dystopian reality.

My work contains imagery evocative of dream like states of the city offsetting them with brutal reality. Some of this imagery includes the peripheral, the ephemeral and the multiplicity of imagery that permeates the city, often overlooked or fleeting, but everywhere present. Reflections, distortions, shadows, haze, etc.. The artists Gustave Dore and William My recent drawing work Hogarth are two of the artaims to document, satirize ists who will be informing and make a social commen- the project. Both of them tary on 21st century Londrew the subject as docudon. Its people, its places, mentation and as social its culture, its hopes, its commentary. fears, its utopian dreams

UTOPIA/DYSTOPIA The city of contrasts

Having lived in London for 30 years I have seen many changes and am interested in London’s diversity and heritage. London and its current affairs will be the subject and narrative of the project. The artists Gustave Dore and William Hogarth are two of the artists who will be informing the project. Both of them drew the subject as documentation and as social commentary.

My work uses multi media and just recently I have started to work in glass engraving.

Author Stephen Myers BA(Hons) FRSA s.myers1@arts.ac.uk

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CONTENTS PAG E S 4-5 6 7 8 9 10-11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26 27 28-29 30 31 32 33 34-35 36-37 38-39 40-41 42-43 44-45 46-47 48-49 50-51 51 52 53 54-55 56-57 58-59 60 61 62-63 64 65

SUBJECT Gallery Visit Deanna Petherbridge conversation The Peripatetic School at the drawing room Emma Robertson Workshop Drawing Lab 1 Henry V Studies Drawing Lab 3 Drawing Lab 4 Deanna Petherbridge-The exercise of skill Mary Ann Kokoska Drawing Lab 5 Drawing Lab 6 Drawing Lab 7 David Hockney “New ways of seeing” BBC3 Art London Exhibit London Photographs London People-personal experiences Pugin-Gods architect The fig leaf-the biggest cover up BBC3 London Photographs Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition Drawing Lab 8 Drawing Lab 9 LEM workshop London Photography Drawing Out conference National Gallery Debate Contemporary Australian Drawing Stephen Myers digital workshop FREIZE 2012 Stephen Farthing Talk/Tate Britain drawing room visit.

Morley engraving workshop/Engravers Guild MA Show at the National Gallery The Master Carvers Open Studio/Minmin Zhou drawing workshop Peer Workshop-Minmin Zhou Barrocci at the National Gallery Biennale Drawings at The Drawing Room Glass Museum Visits Katharine Colemans Studio Visit Farringdon London Photography Rootstein Hopkins Exhibition at Morley College All the Visual Arts Gallery Visit Kings Cross RCA Fashion Graduate Show 2013 London Photos Brixton Square Street Mission

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Gallery Visit.

A break neck tour of 5 galleries including The Serpentine, Sunday, The Tate Modern, The Jerwood and White Cube.

First stop-

The Serpentine Gallery-I will be hon-

est I was too caught up with networking with other MA colleagues that I failed to really take in much of the exhibits at the Serpentine and perhaps I need to revisit when less distracted.

Sunday-This exhibit at

the London University basement had a stronger impact on my interests.

I list work that I thought may inform my own interests.

Laurel Gitlens plastic bottle drawings were cleverly drawn with gouache or water colour on dark paper and conveyed the aspects of transparency effectively. Although of great appeal to me perhaps this work did less to challenge my own.

Francescas Minini’s work had immediate appeal in that as part of my research question

I am interested in the idea of the “Epic” drawing. Francesca has photo-montaged what seem like parts of classical Florentine drawings of landscape and blown them up into large wallpaper prints.

Michael Deans “State of being”An exhibition of sculpture ,digital images telling a story within the exhibition seems to help inspire me in the realisation of 2D work morphing into 3D statues-a concept that appeals to my own practice.

The Tate Modern

Tacita Deans “Film”. Visually stunning and exciting.

I am currently fascinated by the film archive style of French animation like “Belleville Rendezvous” and “The Illusionist”by Sylvan Chomet.

In my discourse on who informed my work I mentioned the work of Ann Magill who also has this fascination for antique cinematography.

The Jerwood gallery

I had not realised that the newspaper image I had shown at my tutorial was the winner of the Jerwood prize therefore I was pleased to see the real thing at this exhibition. What appeals to me is the use of something so every day as a biro that has produced such an epic work. I mentioned my own interest in creating an “end use” image which I have termed “The Epic” drawing.

There were other drawings also of great help to me which I have included as visuals in my critical research.

I became very aware at the exhibition of the lack of figurative work. This was mentioned at the interview with Deanna Petherbridge.

The White Cube gallery

The exhibit that inspired me most was the south gallery exhibit, the artist of which I did not make a note. It was a darkened room lit up with mirrored lights creating an illusion of corridors and windows that stretched into infinity. A strong visual which almost overwhelms the viewer with a feeling of space and light. The lines were drawn with light on the surface of the walls. There was, I feel, a strong spiritual, mood enhancing aspect to the work and I made a second visit the week after. The presence of Black and light has a natural appeal to my own aesthetic.

What informed me about it was how the artist was able to create such a dynamic effect with relatively simple means.

There were many other exhibits which I found informative

and I have included them here as visuals.

Lastly I was struck by the visual impact of the concrete floor. In Emma Robertsons workshop with us she mentioned how she often prepared the paper with textural backgrounds and this floor seemed a perfect back drop.

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CItta de Potea by Gary Lawrence Jerwood Prize winner

Above; the floor at the White Cube Gallery and Right also at the White Cube a light installation.

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Deanna Petherbridge in conversation with Iwona Blazwick at The Jerwood Gallery.

Deanna Petherbridge in conversation with Iwona Blazwick The Jerwood Gallery

In her conversations with Iwona Blazwick Deanna Petherbridge mentioned that this year’s submissions to the Jerwood prize had a sense of “New Sobriety” to them.

There were 3000 submissions and she mentioned that the reason for this was the immediacy of the medium and its economy of materials. She says “it’s a great technology ,alive and well”.

In a world where we are bombarded with photography the primitive drawn line is a compelling form of expression like writing. It gives expression to the imagination. These were in fact words I had used in my interview, especially considering that my research question touches on these subjects. In an age where the reproduction of visuals is easy to come by the last frontier of visual reference is for me the imagination which can not be copied or represented in a facile way.

The exhibition of submissions received national coverage showing an eclectic variety of forms and methodologies. This is progress away from drawing being seen as a secondary medium. However drawing has to work harder to fill a space. As Deanna says “The spectator has to work harder to fill spaces and construct meanings around drawing”Again this confirms my interest in the Epic drawing concept mentioned at my tutorial.

In their conversations Deanna did mention that most figurative submissions were of a

stereotypical almost pornographic nature. This was of interest to me considering I had already realised the dearth of figurative drawing at the exhibition and my own interests in life drawing.

There was also talk of the cross gender nature of the submissions where seemingly feminine ,over detailed work was actually produced by men and in contrast mathematical submissions were produced by women.

“We are in a tremendous time of freedom”-DP. Again these words had much appeal to me in a time when I am setting out on my MA research.

In their conversations both Deanna and Iwona touched on many facets of the work including: 1-the Utopian nature-constructing a world of your own. fantasy worlds.

2-Drawing as representationtracking movement in the city 3-The demise of conceptual art giving rise to a renewed interest in drawing.

4-Artists drawing over their own work 5-The present age is the first to want the new and the old.

Previous generations wanted to obliterate the past.

All of these concepts were informative to my own thinking backing up ideas and concepts which I already wish to pursue.

The evening was extremely rewarding and renewed my desire to pursue my research questions.

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Drawing Room.

The peripatetic School: Itinerant Drawing from Latin America.

Drawing Room 12 Rich Estate,Crimscott St London SE1 5TE

The work of Ishmael Randall Weeks appealed to me on entering the room. Although the presentation was about arCurated by Tanya Barson Tate chitecture I was drawn to the Modern. drawing table which had both 3D and 2D work as if work After a long wander and much was in process. This type of confusion I found this exhipresentation always appeals bition just off Grange road to someone who works in Bermondsey SE London. A the same manner as if “home large warehouse in an indusfrom home”. I have grown an trial compound.. interest in architecture living I had the exhibition to myself in London and what informed and was left to wander round my own work from this one without interruption. is the way the drawing of an architectural space has been made 3 dimensional by folding paper and interlinking it to “raise” the drawing from the 2 dimensions. There was also an etched map on metal on the floor which had a strong appeal again for the same reasons as if the drawing is in a process of rising up. Having been a 3D fashion designer I was interested in the 2 dimensional drawing becoming 3 dimensional like The exhibition showed the an M.C.Escher drawing.(see work of at least 9 artists and right) the theme behind it was to The work of Mateo Lopez do with the artists engagecalled “Nowhere man” also ment with the landscape most intrigued me.This was a mock specifically whilst movroom with maps and desk ing through it. This seemed objects that were not quite strangely helpful as our first what they seemed having Drawing Lab exercise is very been constructed from paper much about this subject. or wire as if drawn and then

constructed.This installation was reviewed in Time Out who said of it “it feels like the make shift abode of an itinerant diarist or sketcher”.Again the environment of the artist being of interest to my own ideas.I really feel that having seen this exhibition I was able to come at the first Lab drawing session with “new eyes” and perhaps be able to break from past habits of perceiving

and communicating.

The rest of the exhibition contained an array of other interesting works some humorous (Nicolas Paris) and some almost textiles inspired (Brigida Baltars-Floor from Sertao) My last stop before leaving were an assortment of books and brochures which gave rise to ideas on how to present my self critical work.

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Emma Robertson Associalte professor UNSW Seminar & workshop 20/10/2011.

Emma Robertson Associate Professor UNSW Seminar and workshop 20/10/2011

In her seminar Emma Robertson showed examples of her drawings for the Botanic Garden Trust as artist in residence.

She also spoke of her methodology in producing an extensive project. She formulates it thus: 1-Identify theme 2-Analyze-break it down 3-Generate ideas including composition technique etc 4-Thumbnail sketches 5-Select 6-Implement 7-Evaluate She stressed the importance of finishing early in order to be able to have quality time to evaluate.

The seminar proved extremely helpful not only in sharing her thoughts on her own ways of

working but also she introduced me to many books and websites that will inform my own development whilst studying an MA. These were; www.ted.com www.mycoted,com “The progress principle” by Theresa M Amiable “How to” books by Sarah Simblet “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell ”A whole new mind”by Daniel Pink I was also fascinated by Emma experiences at the star wars studio and her accounts of how Pixar work from concept to finished product.

She states that the artists at

Pixar value first hand drawing and also drawing on location.

She also gave insight into how the artists built skeletal structures where the skeletons are made up of diverse animals hewn together. This proess you can very much recognise not only in star war films but also in the Avatar movie.

As a technique this could be of use in my work. If I want to combine elements from different drawings to come up with something more unique both figuratively and materially.

Both the seminar and workshop were informative and interesting renewing once again my interest in the subject.

A last quote from Emma which interested me was “to remember how to perform a technique teach it”

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Drawing Lab1 27th Oct 2011.

Drawing Lab 1 27th Oct 2011 Introduction: from orientation to presentation.

In this exercise my team partner An-Jean and I decided to portray and communicate a portrait of the campus of the college. Our emphasis being on the “temperature” of the environment.

This of course was not something I had a natural inclination towards preferring to look at one of the other themes like “geography” or “3 dimensionality”. However I agreed with my partner to try to express the idea of temperature and we decided to make a reconnaissance of the campus to find a suitable area to depict. Bearing in mind we had 50 minutes to enact this project we ended up in the campus foyer discussing the idea of being inside or outside a building and how the temperature is different in each.

Whilst in the warm interior looking out, we noticed that the colours were warmer and scenery more diverse outside, while being outside in the cold looking in, the interior seemed less diverse and colours muted (colder).

The work progressed as we drew. First of all we started drawing the foyer its front door and the view outside.

Then we decided to draw exactly the same scene from outside looking in so the door area was common to both drawings. The outside view we decided to draw on tracing paper and lay over the interior view. It was later that I wished that we had done both drawings on tracing paper so

that we could alternately shuffle them around. My partner commented on the importance of the windows separating the cold of the outside from the warm of the inside. So the paper itself became that window hence the use of transparent paper.

We felt colour would be important to denote temperature difference. However taking on board the previous notation of the colours being warmer in the “colder” outside world we decided to swap the colour, hence blue inside, red/orange outside.

In presenting the work I was surprised how quickly one of my colleagues had understood the sort of portrait we had decided to depict of the campus. However in talking about the work none of the group seemed to pick up on the use of colour in the work.

The project for me was a revealing one because it helped me become aware of the importance of embarking on work outside my own preferences. It also helped me to see how thinking through a project can be a gradual thing, that just by starting a work; its evolution can take place in a surprising trajectory.

The project has made me see how I can take one of the aims of my research question further especially in the area of manual techniques being informed by digital ones. In many of the software programs the work is vectorised i.e. layers of drawing one on top of another. I feel that I want to pursue this idea and compose drawings on transparent surfaces and look at layering them one on top of another. I have been interested in making photographs of

reflections in glass and seeing the distorted landscapes that can come from this effect. I have already started doing this in my sketch book and life drawing work and want not only to look at this on surface like tracing paper but also on glass. At St Nicholas chapel at Moreton in Dorset the glass in the windows is all etched and I would like to work on etching layers of glass and layering them on top of each other. This also may help me to fulfil one of the other parts to my research question which is to produce work of a more ethereal nature.

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Propellor theatre company drawings.

Henry V by William Shakespeare.

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 Propellor theatre company drawings-Henry V by W.Shakespeare.

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 The project entailed drawing at speed whilst actors from the Propellor company rehearsed Henry V by W. Shakespeare.

My inclination was to sketch quickly in

the sketch book rather than grapple with a major piece of work on cartridge paper.

My initial sketches were with charcoal and pencil before observing that the scenes I was looking at were quite aggressive and dark. I decided that the best medium to denote this raw masculinity and

war like nature was to go blacker into an ink pen. My favourite being a Staedtler brush pen which has on one side a brush and on the other an ordinary felt nib. Making lots of scratches and lines I first of all drew silhouettes of some of the characters before moving on to draw some of the expres-

sions of the actors inciting rage and fear in the audience. Needless to say the challenge of drawing whilst being distracted by some fearsome acting was strong. The other element which I found strong was noise and chose to make the army boots of the actors much more evident in the drawing as

they clambered on the wooden floor.

Finally the concentration of the cohort of actors as they analysed their rehearsal I chose to depict through portraits. I drew them in a jumble one on top of another to fill the page with an idea of fixed concentration. Quite different from the previous

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scenes.

In reviewing them in the sketch book I realised the importance and my own desire to work in a variety of media.

Portrait studies of the actors from the propellor company.

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Drawing Lab 3.11th November 2011 Form, depth and contour.

“The branches of a tree from below” The exercise gets us to look at a complex form like a tree and map the shapes and forms with different strengths of line and varying softness of media.

In starting the exercise I realised I had become so fixated with my research into the vectorisation of drawing that I approached the drawing with this in mind. I started with strong line on page 3 of a tracing pad and worked backwards finally to the fine line branches on page 1 of the sketch pad. Then I layered all 3 pages on top of each other, this being very influenced from my first drawing lab.

In analysing the final outcome I was aware that the outcome was not as impactful as adhering strictly to the aims of the project. I felt other drawings had conveyed the depth and mapping of the tree in a far more convincing and exciting way. What did strike me was just how similar to reading a complex map was the drawing of such a complex structure. I often found myself confused and lost in the drawing.

“A folded piece of paper on white cartridge paper”. Both outcomes of these exercises though frusIn this exercise a made trating really made me white object is first of reappraise how I look all placed on a white at objects and convey background and drawn shape, line and tone. I am with line ONLY. Using determined to learn from dark lines where there this and utilise a broader is most contrast and range of techniques and light ones where there is orchestration of marks least contrast. In starting next time. this exercise I made it a point to stick to the brief and though again I felt slightly disappointed with the result I became very aware of the beauty of soft line and saw just how heavy handed my work can be. On looking at the photograph I am aware that the lines of the object are much more fluid and angular. The drawing seems to be rather lacking in flair.

After completing a second drawing this time drawing the line and then erasing it to create a subtlety of depth, I moved on to depicting the shape with tone only.

This instinctively is more of a technic that I utilise, however again I see with the outcome that the object is much more voluptuous than the drawing.

I would have been better being much more generous with the variety of tones and used the eraser with more generosity.

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Drawing Lab 4.17th November 2011 Tone, light and shade.

“Making light visible” 4.1“Making light visible by using directional marks to animate invisible energy.”

Taking a plain black A4 sheet we were to draw the light and dark using pencils soft and hard and imagine ourselves wandering around the surface of the paper as if it were a landscape.

My initial reaction to this exercise I have to admit was negative as all I wanted to do is get the charcoal out and render the black surface with a medium that I felt more appropriate to the subject. However due to past lessons learnt I adhered to the exercise and began furiously filling in black space with pencil. The longer I worked on the piece the more my natural instincts curbed and I became absorbed very much with the experience of imagining myself wandering around the sheet as if it were a large rolling field. The work built up in layers and swathes and I realised that the surface of the paper did indeed have texture movement and variety even though appearing as void. Eventually being totally absorbed in the exercise I could have continued indefinitely, finally us-

ing my fingers I decided to frantically smooth the surface to blend rough grains to achieve very much the idea of a rough surface landscape rolling smoothly from corner to corner. I also realised that these corners were darker.

What helped me see this was taking off my glasses and seeing the shape as blur. This process has often helped me in the past observe the object more simply.

The show and discuss session after is always a moment of revelation as observing how others have tackled the subject is fascinating. The conclusion of seeing my own work amongst others is once again how heavy my own rendering is to more softer sublime works.

4.2 The second part of

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I have learnt that the process of standing away from a drawing at regular intervals should be more evident in my methodology and also to fight against known habitual tendencies.

In the critique after I was struck by the rendering by a colleague of a simple object done with soft tones as if to create a haze of light as oppose to the drama of dark and the exercise was to take a with this I persevered and light. This drawing imblack object and place it on a black piece of paper only when observing the pressed me for its sublime qualities. this time rendering it with drawing when the exercise was complete did I small dots and strokes see that the result was not building up the sketch slowly and methodically as bad as I had imagined. almost as a photograph builds tiny pixels into a larger image.

I chose a stapler and decided to transform it by opening it up and pretend that it was something else. I did not want to concentrate on what the object was and I felt by doing this I would achieve a more honest result. Again I started by concentrating on a small part of the object but of course pushed myself to finish the drawing. I had throughout the exercise a huge battle against my own inclinations to use my fingers to smooth the marks. Though struggling

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Deanna Petherbridge The excercise of skill.

A punishable offence?

Although I have already covered Deanna’s conversations previously I will write this article in note form as this lecture presented to me interesting ideas which i am sympathetic to. They also show me artists I need to do more research on and concepts I could explore in my own investigations.

Quotes: “Drawing is where new ideas/thoughts are formed. It is a place where you invent” “Relativism affects art there is no right or wrong” Deanna talks of academies where individualism was taboo. They were places where you learnt the process and it was only after you left that you developed a “style”.

Modern art schools

debunked these ideas in recent years.

Nowadays the skills are expected to be apparent before art school.

“Originality is prized above skill”.

“You learnt to draw by looking. You looked at it as of you had never seen it before.”

“How many of us look with new eyes at the world?”

“Drawing has the ability to invent new things” “A drawing that grows it is not only a line but a line in time as well as space” “The opposite of skill is ineptitude.

Both words have fallen out of favour” “The linear nature of drawing is conducive to the linear process of thinking.”

“Drawing is the ex-

tension of the cognitive process”.

“Your own ineptitude affects what you decide to draw and what to omit.”

Artists to research:

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18th December 2011 ideals) Quotes of the week Charles Avery-Illus“ trative street scenes. Life has a purpose and Peter Howson-Re- grace worth writing about” Martin Simpson ligeous drawings.

Stations of the cross (folk singer) Paul Noble “The dead outnumber the Vija Celmins-photo living” Unknown realism “If you do enough life Michael Zalopany- drawing you can only get photo realism better at it” Simon Betts Kikki Smith-self professed ineptitude “Each mark you put

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Frank Brangwyn(1889-1946) Adolf Menzel (1815-1905) George Grosz Reading Percy Wyndham “The horses mouth” Lewis

by Joyce Carey CRW Nevinson (1889-1946) Otto Dix John Bratby-The kitchen sink movement Rosemarie Trockel (b1952) Michael Landy (b1963) F.Ernest Jackson RA Mark Gertier Diego Rivera(political drawings) and Gauguin(ethnic portraits as classical

down is a stepping stone from which you proceed to the next like stepping stones in a river” Simon Betts

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Mary Ann Kokoska workshop Thursday 24th November 2011 Mary Ann’s session commenced with a slide show of her work. Mary Ann currently lives in Toronto USA and has exhibited much of her work there.

Her work generally is produced in the spaces where she exhibits. Much of the work is huge filling up walls and spilling out onto the floor or ceiling.

She uses all aspects of the media including the paper she draws on which she often cuts up and re shapes. Her favourite media include Oil bars, chalk pastels, pencils, Ink, and graphite on velum. Her work utilises huge great gestural marks and she often grows the drawing from the starting point which can be the middle of the exhibit to the end.

Predominantly landscape drawings, her exhibition of water pools and waterfalls was particularly dramatic. In talking of her work she referenced Leonardo’s water sketches and you can definitely see the connection. She also referenced the fact that she can often be inspired by literature and she mentioned the novels of Annie Dillard. These were often about the American landscape. In showing us photographs of her home you can see that she is immersed in her subject.

With my own interest in drawing London I can see the necessity of immers-

ing oneself in the subject.

I may want to explore extending my city scape so they spill out beyond the papers confines. I may also want to read contemporary literature on London like “London Fields “by Martin Amis and “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman .Another book she recommends are

by tracing over a past drawing in my case a life drawing. After recording marks and different parts of this we were then asked to cut up both drawings. I decided to cut in a spiral motion and then suspended it from the wall space. I then arranged parts of the original drawing around the

“Keeping a rendezvous”

by John Birger.

Some of the artists who inform Mary Ann’s work include Clifford Skill, Elizabeth Murray, John Martin, Joseph Boyse, and Victor Hugo’s ink drawings.

She firmly believes in drawing from location though she often works from memory when working on the exhibits.

This is something I also would like to utilise in my own work. The use of the cut line is also of interest and I would like to experiment on utilising some aspects of the work shop we accomplished whilst with Mary Ann. The workshop started

spiral. In standing back from the work I was very aware of the shadows and movement. This I wished to draw into by making marks on the wall and smudging areas to create a sense of speed. I do feel that the whole morning contributed a library of ideas, and helped to loosen up any inhibitions on drawing.

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Drawing Lab 5: Composition In this exercise I took a milk carton and placed it initially directly below me drawing it as if flying above it. The brief directs that the drawing should take a short amount of time and be of a linear nature so not spending too much

time drawing out too much detail. I decided to use a brush pen as it is a familiar medium to me and one I feel most at ease with. On completion of this view I was encouraged to draw it as if from a long way as if in a landscape.

From there I continued to do another 3 drawings showing different aspects and scales of the object as quickly as possible. Once completed I placed them on a coloured piece of card and endeavoured to arrange them in a composition that struck me as

an effective use of the drawings. My first abstract trials were un-successful and in looking at the drawings I was struck that they could only be arranged in a way that suggested the narrative of tipping over and lying on the floor.

As we had little time this was

the composition I settled on.

In reviewing the work what struck me is how speed can bring out some surprising results and perhaps I should spend less time on finishing work or having a purposeful end and just quickly throw up a project and attempt to conclude as soon as possible.

Definitely a methodology worth pursuing.

The second part of this compositional project involved placing three objects in a grouping that had a strong structure/dynamic and draw it

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8th December 2011 tonally making sure the edges give strength to the composition.

In starting this part of the study I initially picked some of the three given objects which included an egg box, scissors and the milk carton.

I abandoned these and chose the drawing roll up portfolio a new black covered book and the scissors mainly because I wanted to do a sort of “Film Noir� composition that would have a sense of drama and tension. I also decided to make a frame within which I would be confined so that the final result would very much look like a view from a camera.

Again the drawings were completed quickly and I decided to draw 3 views above and 2 end views.

In reviewing the finished outcome I was content to see that the plan made sense to the audience and my conclusion was that having a plan can also be a strong method of working the important thing is to vary methodologies to prevent stagnation.

The drawing lab projects are beneficial to reviewing methods and processes.

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Drawing Lab 6: This drawing lab was executed while at Liverpool station and was focussed on exploring movement within the station and recording that movement in drawing.

A seemingly difficult task and one that once again I feel was

of the subject-people entering and exiting the station whilst fixated with the train departure board as if a religious icon. There was an experience of almost being in a place of worship. The advantage of drawing in the station is by

a challenge to my thinking and creativity.

I decided to observe the station hall from a mezzanine level above the station floor looking directly down the hall towards the main notice board and between 2 opposite exits.

I first drew out the confines of the station hall as suggested in the brief and then started to draw the movements of people in a haphazard and frenetic way, not in any way with an idea of the final outcome.

Once again this experience of being without a plan or idea, though unsettling, is such an opportunity of discovery.

What struck me while executing the work was the nature

enlarge people were too busy to notice what you were doing. My experience of drawing in public spaces is they attract a lot of attention sometimes unwanted attention.

In reviewing the work I was not in particularly impressed with the outcome but I was taken by the process and unexpectedness of that process.

The second part of this Lab was to move beyond the station to an area where an ice rink had been set up and many people were skating and observing the skaters. This was strongly lit and music at high volume-quite atmospheric!

Again here we were to ab-

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15th December 2011 stractly fix on one skater and trace their movements with a pencil almost without looking at the marks on the page. A seemingly thoughtless process which I warmed to as by this stage I was in a very passive mood and more in a mood to relax and observe the festive winter scene from above. The fact that there was a bar/restaurant next door also put one in the mood for just chilling.

With direction I persevered with the task in hand and as the drawing progressed I became aware of the shadows falling on the scarred surface of the ice and started to draw that on top of the abstract markings of the movement of the skater. I remember that I actually changed my focus from one skater to another as the first skater was skating in a very monotonous way while the second skater (younger) was giving it some enthusiasm. This was very much the direction we were given to draw and let the experience suggest ideas and develop the drawing as we drew.

In reviewing these drawings I was much more content with the outcome feeling that the

drawings could be developed to a professional and finished outcome suitable for being a publishable illustration.

What did I learn?-Firstly that not having a preconceived idea can be a healthy developmental experience with some surprising results.

Being passive about starting a project can also result in a surprising way. The depiction of movement in a specified area and mapping it abstractly has helped me to broaden my portfolio of work and direct me out of known and safe methodologies.

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Drawing Lab 7:Translation & adaption In this exercise the aim is to isolate a part of a black and white photograph which will form a new composition. Then placing a grid on it and drawing a blown up grid on the paper translate the tones and nuances to the larger grid enlarging on the original and creating a new composition. For this I decided to pull out a photograph

of Malcolm X with a crowd of followers from the sixties. The article appeared in the daily paper about Mohammed Ali the boxer. I focussed on two characters wearing spectacles and wanted to see if I could rise to the challenge of constructing a new image from what is a background. I also chose a technical drawing pencil which I found and have grown to

love after seeing the Leonardo exhibition and realising that he used something called a silver line pencil which created very fine lines. The process I felt was very constraining and methodical. A process which I thought I may tire of quickly, however I became absorbed with the exercise and aware the outcome could end up being quite effective. I was surprised by how this technical pen could produce such a variety of tone as well as its inherent line qualities.

The second part of this exercise was very similar to the first only in transposing the image we were asked to distort the grid. I decided to make the squares gradually larger to smaller and after transposing the image I became aware of the fish eye lens nature of the work.

In summing up I feel the exercise forced me into a methodical constraining methodology one which proved rewarding getting me to produce something quite different from my usual work

and a method which would have value in informing me with my project of drawing London.Perhaps from

Draawing in lead and charcoal pencil.

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News

David Hockney BBC3 “New ways of seeing” “New ways of seeing”-BBC3 Sunday Feature 15th Jan 2012.

This program went out on Radio3 and concerned the forthcoming exhibition of David Hockney’s landscape paintings of Yorkshire at the Royal Academy..

In the program Hockney starts to talk about photography and his desire to escape the fixed point of view.

He is currently painting Bridlington “en plein air”. He is full of praise for the drawings of Van Gogh

who he claims drew better than anyone (except Rembrandt).

One of his quotes that struck me was “Teaching people to draw is teaching people to LOOK” This particularly struck a chord as currently teaching myself at the AIU I have for a long time told my students that I am interested not necessarily in how they draw but in what they are looking at. In my own work I am hoping to be able to see images into other images and generate a sense of wonder at how we see into ordinary things.

Hockney goes on to talk about how he draws even with one of the apps on an apple IPAD. He is not averse to modern technology and even in the past has used Fax machines and photocopies. This I also

find useful as in my own research I want to look at how computer software constructs images.For example through vectorisation.

This inclusive approach is something that interests me.

Hockney describes himself as a depictional painter. For him photography does not do it well enough and was not the start of something but the end of it. “Photography has killed the painters hand”. He has in the past used photography but now is disenchanted with it.

He claims that artists in the past used lenses to help them make images more real. He says,”Cameras see geometrically. We see psychologically. The camera sees everything equally, we do not.” Again with my interest in layering images this viewpoint

seemed relevant.

He goes on to speak of Chinese scroll paintings. ”The idea of Chinese landscapes where you walk through them.” They did not have the lens.

The European way of looking has conquered the world. Hockney met the curator of The Met who showed him the difference between these scrolls. Again this fascinates me as I want very much to look at images within images not longitudinally but in a layered way.

There were a few quotes which really appealed to me in this interview: “Inspiration never visited the lazy” Re technology he says” If Turner or Constable had known how to use it they would have used it. As they didn’t I will do it.”

“Seeing with your memory” Lastly Hockney goes on to talk about Monet and colour which though interesting, concerned my own research in a minor way.

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Art London Exhibition Jan 13th-16th 2012 A VIP ticket to this exhibition was just what you need to be able to fully appreciate this very popular event, allowing us to enter the VIP lounge and also a seriously cool art bag in black and white in order to carry around all the brochures I have a tendency to pick up. All my career in fashion I have been a kleptomaniac in this area,using the info for presentations on trend etc.

Fortunately for us we went (Allison,Jill & I) on a Thursday as when I returned on a Sunday it was standing room only with lots of buyers, which was heartening to see in the current economic climate.

The exhibition is hosted by all the major agents of the capital and though much of the work is by relatively unknown artists there is a smattering of art from the wellknown ie drawings of Emin, Hearst, Hockney etc Having in the past

been to this event I was glad to see the works of the following artists.

Alison LambertBorn 1957 in surrey and graduated from Coventry School of Art. Her work has in the past touched on emotion and expression.

Stunning charcoal and ink portraits done on quite a large scale and definitely the sort of work that commands a focal point in any room. Alison works on very textured surfaces and probably deconstructs those surfaces to add texture and dynamic to her

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portraits which are large.

These drawings inform my own work through the exuberance of line and tone.

Although heavy handed myself with a love of strong black imagery there is a sensitivity in these drawings. and they encourage me to get a studio space and attempt to execute some large canvasses but and get messy!! is pretty much self taught.

Marks drawings and paintings are mostly figurative and vary Mark Dempsterfrom being almost Born 1963 in Manphotographic on the chester he went to canvas to then dissiRochdale Foundation pating and melting a technique that makes his work very recognisable and gives them a freshness and vitality in an area (portraiture) which can be limiting. His love of charcoal and ink is exciting and leads me to look and working with multi media within a drawing mixing charcoal/paint and ink.

Again a messy technique that will require me to work in an area fit for purpose.

Nathan FordWent to Byam Shaw School where he got a BA in Fine Art. He has won numerous awards and exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Oil painters. His work is figurative and land-

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Art London Exhibition Jan 13th-16th 2012

scape.

I noticed that in returning to the exhibition on Sunday that many of his works I had seen on the Thursday had been sold.

They had changed the pictures on show.

I can really understand the popularity of this artist as he has a strong handwriting and ability to bring out something new in what seems to be an ordinary subject.

Hockney’s quote about drawing making you able to look is applicable here as Nathans work has great perspective.

Long landscapes give a monumentous sense of perspective similar to my own work (only

longer!!)

In looking at this artists work I feel I must experiment with media and be more ambitious with all aspects of media.

Mila FurstovaBorn in the Czech republic in 1975 she has worked in Britain since 1996.She is an artist in residence at the Cheltenham Ladies college.She is the youngest academician of the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol.

The work that impressed me most of Milas is the lino prints on glass.I am already attending a glass engraving class at Mor-

ley college and Milas work has encouraged me to attempt to screen print figurative work onto glass as well as looking into glass engraving.

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London Photography The project will also synthesize both digital and manual techniques and ideas in drawing. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are programs that utilize a process of vectorisation to build up imagery. The project will crossfertilize some of these processes and examine how one could influence the other. Vectorisation being only one of these processes. In a recent interview David Hockney commented on the use of multi media in his own work.

Animate or Inanimate?

The project will contain still life, landscape and figurative subjects.

Media or medium?

A variety of media will be utilized not just drawing. These may include photography, video etc.

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London Photography

News In these photographs i hope to capture London as it wakes up or prepares for night fall.

The first 2 photos are taken at a train station in winter as the sunshine is low in the sky and blurs the vision on the platform.

Photo 3 is a shot of a tree shadow over a doorway at St Georges cathedral in SE London.

Photo 4 is of dogs waiting outside a shop in Peckham.

The final 4 photos are journeys tahen on the top level of a number 53 bus going from Trafalgar square to the Elephant and Castle.i have superimposed various shots on top of each other to chart several stages of the journey.

Photography Stephen Myers

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London People-personal experiences Heaven for me is (My idea of London): Me walking around Notting Hill area, holding hand with my boyfriend, whom I am very much in love with, no worries because I have a good job and good money and I can enjoy my life without stress and problems.

Hell for me is (My reality in London): Me, loving the city and with no desire to leave, but stuck in an ugly flat in Peckham with no boyfriend, no job, no money and no clue about how to solve the situation.

We are Roberto and Carmen from southern Italy. We have been living here just for 1 month.

Before we came we thought of London as the Dreamland, where everything would be nice and easy...but... our hellish reality is the difficulty of settling down with all our habits to change and a job to find from scratch.

My name is Keith.I came to London in 1964 as a 16 year old lad from the Caribbean to join my mother,who was employed as a nurse. I arrived with great aspirations of being a TV engineer,and to return to the Caribbean after five years, as most migrants hoped(the good old five year plan)I was also a very good track+field athlete, but I was sidetracked by the club and party scene of the 60s+70s,hung out with some American GIs who came down from the bases,found and lost many loves.

Apart from a steady job with the Civil Service,I lived without much responsibility.At that time I lived in a series of privately rented accomodations,and always had a great fear about my future residential stability.So one can just imagine the elation and joy when my then landlady(a fine christian woman)give me the deposit to purchase a flat.

That generous act got me unto the property ladder and give me peace of mind.The years went by nicely,but after reaching the age of 63 with a good healthy lifestyle and no serious health issues,I was absolutely horrified when I was diagnosed with stage two prostate cancer which required surgery sooner rather than later,this was to be followed by wearing a cafater for two weeks and self injecting my stomach for a month,plus the other side effects which I rather not going into right now.

K.R.M

My name is Jennifer; I arrived in London from the Caribbean in the Seventy at a very young age, to my surprise leaving my very bright blue sky and arrived in this very cold grey sky country I was very disappointed, I cried because I wanted to go back home to the Caribbean. After a few years in England I felt left out of my family, my mother did not bond with me, I had a stammer and whenever I approach her to talk or tell her something, she send me away and tell me come back when I could talk properly, “oh” that hurts.

My best day in England was when I had my baby boy. When a mother gives birth it’s a blessing I was very happy and I loved my baby he was and still is a very handsome young man, after five years, I had want I always wanted, my daughter.

Now I have four loveable granddaughters’ princesses, I love them very much. I am also happily married to a very good man.

My name is Simone Finaldi.

I was born and raised in London, the son of two immigrant families.

My dystopian vision of London is not particularly dramatic, Gal, a British criminal who has left London for Spain in the film Sexy Beast, sums up what London is at its worst: “People say, ‘Don’t you miss it, Gal?’ I say, ‘What, London? Nah. Fucking place.

It’s a dump. Don’t make me laugh. Grey, grimy, sooty.

What a shit hole. What a toilet. Every **** with a long face shuffling about, moaning, all worried. No thanks, not for me.”

In a utopian sense, quite simply, London is home. At its best London, as centre of empire, not exclusively of course, gave much of the world, what matters most to me, Christianity and culture.

Quotes of the week “Acting is about truth and honesty and if you can fake that you are made” Jane Collins “Everything that is not a story can be a play” Jane Collins “Time is important because you don’t know how long the observation will reveal the work.

The process is very meditative” Jane Collins

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London People-personal experiences

Raul and Erika Barriga from Colombia: We came to London ten years ago chasing a dream...finding heaven far from the hell we were living back home.

We were fascinated by the historical beauty of this great city. Furthermore, we were attracted by all the opportunities here that for us were just round the corner, perfect heaven we assumed, but how far we were of the indescribable joy of heaven. London is historical, great and splendours but can easily become the burning hell: full of traffic, expensive accommodation and horrid weather. Therefore we have to live in purgatory, now trying to adapt to this Hell that came to us disguised as Heaven.

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News

Pugin-God’s architect BBC2 Thursday 19thJan 2012

Quotes of the week “Teaching people to draw is teaching people to LOOK” David Hockney “Inspiration never visited the lazy” David Hockney “We are all the sons and daughters of catastrophe”-BBC “By drawing this way you are changing the structure of your brain” Claude Heath “If you are open to starting the process you need to own the process and its failures” Claude Heath “I don’t want to make pictures I want to work things out” Mondrian.

Pugin:Gods own architect BBC Thursday 19th Jan 2012.

Pugin wrote many books on the morality of buildings-the idea that a building should This program on sing of the glories of Pugin was of interest God and should have to my own research integrity. He loathed due to the fact that it cheap faux architectouched on the spirture especially builditual and ethical moti- ings that may look vation to the work of good but peel the surone of Britain’s great- face and they are fake. est and most influen- As a convert to Catial architects. tholicism it is interI was interested, in esting that in an age passing, in the fact of deep suspicion of that his chief builder all things catholic he was a man called was allowed to work George Myers(a with Barry on the new Yorkshireman).

Houses of Parliament

after the old one burnt down in the 1800s.His special focus was on detail and interiors.

Apparently he spent a small fortune on the Grange and St Augustines in Kent due to his determination to produce a holistic building of integrity.

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The fig leaf-the biggest cover up

News

BBC4 Thursday 19thJan 2012

of cartoons on the subject and the program looks at Victorian ideas of modesty but concludes that our view point ,particularly of Queen Victoria’s prudishness is perhaps misguided.

A fascinating program with relevance to my own research.

TEXT MESSAGES PAGE ....

He tells of the attitude to Michelangelo by his contemporaries as “the maker of pork things”. Apparently Stephen Smith uncov- just before his death there was a campaign ers the history of the humble fig leaf, open- to place fig leaves over all church statues ing a window into 2,000 years of western in Italy. In fact there was a Fig Leaf police art and ethics. force who’s job was to do this. A statue of A very amusing look at how statues caused Christ in the church of St Maria sopra so much controversy Minerva had its genidown through the talia chiselled off by ages and touches on an overzealous friar the varying attitudes to nudity in European concerned about the interest it drew from art. female members of The fig leaf-The biggest cover up.BBC 4 Thursday 19th Jan 2012

the congregation.

The program then moves on to the work of Bennini whose statues were the first to join nudity to active poses but were nearly always appropriately attired with drapery over any offending parts.

Finally we are taken to Hyde park and Stephen reports on the outrage concerning the installation of the statue of Achilles in Hyde Park funded by a Victorian female social group. There were copious amounts

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London Photography

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London Photography

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Leonardo Da Vinci National Gallery Thursday 26th January 2012 Conversation with Martin Clayton and Michael Craigmartin

This conversation at the National Gallery anticipated the exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s work.Each speaker took it in turns to discuss a certain aspect of the artists work.

Martin Clayton began talking about how Da Vinci drew portraits from memory to explore differences in mark to create beauty or ugliness both male and female.

He also drew from life working faster and faster especially in very fine materials like silverpoint.

There is a sense were he wanted to work this way so that the artist gets away from having to think about the pose that it came as second nature.

Martin showed a slide

the patterns of energy and linking disparate things like flowers and water as if there was an underlying formula inherent in all things as if as a common pattern.

In his drawings of a couple in intercourse he uses drawing as a means to explain what cannot be explained verbally.

He removes the outward things to reveal what lies below. Even his cat drawings are charged with energy. Duchamp has a similar investigative approach to his work. Powers of visualisation and making concrete an idea.

He transforms objects of hand drawings drawn he observes. In his skull in metalpoint,fluid swift drawings he makes subtle lines with a charcoal changes of position and under drawing.He exangles to get at the nature plained how Leonardo used drawing as a tool for of it. thinking things through.It is this experimental quality that give the drawings depth.This is what is special about the work. In his drawings of a sleeve you can depict the bone structure under the sleeve. He is keen to draw out of his observations the nature of what he is looking Martin explains how at –their systems. In his leonardos approach was drawings of clouds he similar to the process is striving to depict the of skating in that if you energy and its system. concentrate to hard on Nobody had done this before.They are imagina- skating then it becomes tive attempts to draw the complicated.By drawing in an immediate way potency of a phenomenon. He was interested in it just comes naturally.

When he approaches the

medium something immediately emerges.Draw things without thinking.

Very few of LDV’s drawings are studies for paintings.

papers and chalk?-Answer. Coloured papers give a certain response from the viewer. It was a half-way house to painting.

Leonardos works were kept with him all his life as a virtual archive.He often used them to look back on as a resource.He had a number of preoccupations which he revisited.Michael Craigmartin commented that this gave him an opportunity to walk through his entire life as if it had happened all at the same time.

In his work LDV uses figures to point to spiritual truths.He often leaves his works unfinished inorder to invite the viewer to go on imagining.As if asking the viewer to complete the work. He leaves it in an ambiguous state on purpose.This suggestive quality is common of the period.

Questions Why did he use coloured

At a later date I visited the exhibition and was struck just how delicate the drawings are and not as big as I had initially thought, Other points that struck me was how Leonardo taught his students the difference between painting secular subjects and spiritual ones. This is something definitely present in the work and something I would like to investigate myself. In the room with the 2 Madonnas of the rock I was struch with how Leonardo changed his views about depicting his work in a truthful way keeping accurate account of what he saw, to creating something new, by changing things. This he felt was an almost god like quality.

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Drawing Lab 8 Repetition & rhythm Thursday 2nd February 2012 The basis of this task is to procure a series of drawings on one subject.

A series of repetitious drawings to exhaust everything contained within the subject-all its attributes. The brief uses the similarity to jazz music “jamming around� with a particular phrase of music exhausting all its possibilities.

For this I decided to choose a mirror and draw an aspect of myself namely the eye. Because the time period of this project is minimal the essence of the subject is drawn quickly. I folded up paper into a booklet format and worked from the back page to the front extracting in each time frame an aspect of the eye being glasses sometimes concentration on the eye itself and sometimes concentrating on the reflection on the glasses itself.

This project was definitely a challenge truly extracting quick ideas of the subject and challenging the imaginative skills of the artist. I am aware that is a technique often used in animation and illustrative advertising. It is also a project that has varying outcomes depending on the frame of mind of the creator. Boredom and frustration can often take hold. I was determined to fulfil the brief and be

cause I had drawn from the back of the book to the front was able to use the drawings as an animation by flipping through the booklet quickly. I was struck in summing up the procedure just how successful using a very simple object like an egg can realize a detailed view of the subject and animate simole things into something very special.

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Drawing Lab 9 Reproducing realitytranslating touch.

Thursday 16th February 2012 The purpose of this exercise is to represent an object through physically touching it and depicting it through a textural equivalent.

scratching the charcoal over the surface of the paper. A random quick process, that delivered a relevant and successful outcome. I was surprised how such a simple technique, almost arbitrary, could be so successful.

During this procedure I also drew a chair with some hessian which again delivered a successful outcome.

The final stage of this project was to do a selfportrait navigating the surface of your own face using textures. I started the process going about Again a project that finding textures like requires a strong investi- metal to depict glasses gative participation from and keyholes, nostrils. the participant. Initially Having exhausted this not receptive to the brief process I actually decided my first try, I abandoned to texturize my own face and with a better unby placing paper on my derstanding of the brief face and rubbing. BeI collected a library of cause I wear glasses the textures and decided to process was a powerful go outside and try to deone in that the image had pict the texture of nature a strong shape and texture and manmade objectsof the biggest feature to namely the trees and wall the face. In a final study outside. To simulate the I decided to make the bark of the trees I used a drawing 3 dimensional reverse of some carpet I like a mask not in any had picked up on the way. way as satire but truly as This seemed to work. The a helpful piece of investiwall texture I used some gative creativity. hessian and then used an What did I learn?-To use eraser to depict the morfound objects around me tar in between the bricks, to help in the process of The pebbles and leaf tex- drawing and to not negate tures I used the pebbles the most arbitrary ideas themselves by randomly and processes.

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L.E.M workshop

Tuesday 8th February 2012

Based on the work of Jacques Lecoq at his “laboratoire de movement” (LEM) Paris this workshop experiments with perceptions of space using the body as a tool for experimental study.

Exercise one was to move around the room whilst attached to each other with rope and forming different shapes initially and then staging concepts such as “anger” ,”confinement”, “timid” emotions. Whilst volunteers offered to enact the performance others were able to draw. The drawing was to be emotional rather than observational.

This process was definitely outside my own experience and I have to admit struggled with drawing concepts though thoroughly enjoyed enacting the performances. After a process of sketching we were then invited to take a theme and portray it in sculpture. To my surprise I felt the sculpture more successful than the drawing. I chose fear and in my mind concentrated on the quote, ”let the earth swallow me” as reference for the sculpture which was made from found material in the room. I decided to split the cardboard stand and build a structure that looked like

it was disappearing underground.

The second part of the project took place in the afternoon. Here we were asked to write on a taped time line a memory from our past and then do a set of drawings to depict each stage of the memory. Finding this a challenge I decided to write out a autobiography from the start and then try to draw it. A long process I managed only the first 10 years. We were then invited to talk through the process.

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London Photography-shadow and mist.

Photographing London.

This series of photographs focuses on distortions and reflections around the city including some photos of the financial city.

The reflections are of the area around the bank of England and involve taking the shots from opposite buildings as they are reflected in curved windows of doorways and front windows.

The series reminded me of the drawing exercise where using graph paper I can change the scale of the squares to distort an image and will probably use the technique to do some distorted drawings.

The other series is a set of photos whilst on a bus. Photographing through condensation on the window I was struck by the image of brake lights of buses as they shone through the window panes.

This would be a challenge to draw but perhaps with washes of graphite or ink could be rendered successfully.

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London Photography-reflections

The other quality that i like about these photos is the changes in density of tone from one part to the next.

The opacity changes in blocks and this would be a time intensive effect to replicate but perhaps worth giving it a go.

These images are everywhere where glass is present which in the city of london is pretty much ever present.Even on buses and reflections in cars i can see imagery that is fleeting and yet has an other worldly feel reminiscent of dream scapes and fantasy scenery.Photography is such a great tool to capture these transient images and with the rise of digital photography can be of great inspiration to the project.

I am hoping to continur to capture as many of these images as possible.It would be helpful to capture a large shot which takes in many levels of imagery layered on top of each other.

Photos Stephen Myers

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Drawing Out Conference Wednesday 28th March Day 1-The National Gallery 28/03/2012

What appealed to GrayProfessor Margaret Gardson was the innocence of ner RMIT drawing. He defended the Professor Margaret Gard- With the growing rise idea of drawing realistiner RMIT in animation, games etc cally.” Real art is drawing Nigel Carrington (Rector there is a thirst for good realistically”. He also was of UAL) drawing. interested in the work of Collin Wiggins “Drawing shapes our Henry Darger and Madge Michael Craig Martin understanding” Gill.

Stephen Farthing Literacy is more than the Katherine Stout did Grayson Perry 3 r’s. ”Drawing enlivens not like the concept of Katherine Stout what can be a sterile aca“good” or “bad” drawing. demic debate” She felt it irrelevant. She Joseph Albers An introduction by Nico- “We have stopped teachunderstood the idea of las Penny Director of the ing drawing to students drawing as being a preNational Gallery when in the past it was paratory stage. She felt This brief introduction a necessity for further there was no distinction highlighted how Nicholas education.” now of drawing having Penny initiated the ima primary or secondary plementation of drawing After introductions, the role. There is potential for into the gallery when he next session was hosted individuality. Hierarchy became director. Collin

by Collin Higgins as a is outmoded.

Wiggin’s role within the debate about “What is Her examples were “Galinstitution is to increase good drawing?” axy” and “Sand” by Vija its profile. Other contrib- Michael Craig Martin Celmans from L.A. Vija utors are Rootstein Hop- started the debate by loves the idea of objects kins. The up and coming showing an image from in space. She draws Carpaccio St Jerome exhibition of Barocci Joseph Albers. To Albers delicate cobwebs, desert this year will exhibit the importance of drawspaces and outer space. affecting the interior and Maori face drawings, huge amounts of drawing was the interaction Her drawing do not focus viewer (ie St Jerome), tattoos and airplane fuel ings that sit alongside of space and colour. He so much on “meaning”. a clever and intriguing line drawings. his paintings. He often drew on graph paper.

She quotes “when you depiction.

“Drawing freezes multi drew the paintings once Martin said of his work look at them you want Stephen Farthings spoke dimensional information completed.he stressed the that at present it is very to come up for breadth”. about how the motives of in a 2D form” important value of draw- out of mode. He made She feels these drawing the drawing were impor- Another of his examples ing from the masters. an interesting comment exist for their own ends. tant to the drawing itself. was a sun dial drawing “Drawing shows how Her drawings are both “I believe drawings can out time. “The work of Nigel Carrington (Rector a culture thinks about intimate and detached. be made for good and bad the drawing is tied to the of UAL) itself” Martin placed Material and immaterial. reasons “He also felt the purpose”. He also spoke The 2nd conference of beside Albers drawing Collin Wiggins drawing author of the drawing was of “Drawings that make its nature brings together a sketch by Carpaccio as suggested by David important. His example our thoughts visible” e.g. a collaboration between entitled “The appearance Hockney who was to join was a drawing by Pimaps, signs etc the UAL and RMIT to St Jerome”. What was the event is a drawing by casso made in childhood. Grayson Perry’s good Melbourne Australia who of interest was the use of Rembrandt of 2 women The awkwardness of the drawing example is have a shared commitspace in an interesting showing a child how to drawing is appreciated from an outsider artist ment to drawing as cross way. In “the appearance” walk. This he felt was an differently by different Adolf Wolfie who was discipline. what is happening is actuobsessive drawing which audiences. ”Good drawan inmate in a German ”Drawing as notation, as ally outside the room and took a few minutes and is ing is not always about asylum. He was a comwriting and as working the drawing is of whatalmost caricature. This he winning but about learn- pulsive scribbler covering out.” ever is happening outside felt is what all great ing” He talked about any space with artwork.

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Drawing Out Conference Wednesday 28th March

Adolf Wolfi artists do in portraiture. It adds something which is a double take.

“Magic-what makes a good drawing is something we can not define”, This drawing is not a study for something else but one done “off hand”.

David Hockney describes it from a Chinese artists quote “Drawing as a combination of 3 factors.1-The hand,2-The eye 3-The heart and 2 out of 3 won’t do!.”

He continues “drawing is something that reminds me that I am human and the artist is too” The seminar concluded with a long debate between the speakers on their definitions of good and bad drawings.

Stephen Farthing brought up the eample of the drawing by Churchill of the state of Israel as a bad drawing which we have all had to live with the consequences of for decades. Grayson Perry took a dislike to this definition as being inappropriate to the subject .An animated speaker who made many

good statements including: “I am an adult. I can hold 2 contradictory ideas in my head at the same time” “You can see the era in the style” “The handmade quality is the Holy relic, the handwriting of the artist”.

“We are Holy fools producing Holy relics” “Connoisseurship is vital to culture” Drawing by Barocci “Each artist needs to rebel against the establishment” Left artwork by Vija Celmans Drawing by Picasso below

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Contemporary Australian Drawing Contemporary Australian Drawing 2 Curator: Dr Irene Barberis UAL Wimbledon campus All drawings have been executed in the last few months. All the artists were asked for a visual response to either of the 2 texts on writing/drawing taken from 2 essays

by Serge Tisseron and Michael Butor, that “all writing is drawing” and “the space of writing, what is that?”

In her speech Dr Irene Barberis spoke of all text be it Sumerian, cuneiform, Arabic, calligraphy, medieval manuscripts and graffiti are gestures and meaning just like drawing. She referred to William Blake’s thought mapping. The artist’s signature as sentence.

We think more about the artwork after reading the signature.

In her comments on the space between writing she spoke of this space being guarded like mystics in the desert. We carry the space with us in dreams visions “all forms of utopia are here” IB. She mentioned that she is always drawing in the past tense “because while I draw the drawing has changed, never drawing in the present” Drawing is time based, communication based, knowledge based, perception, information etc

Friday 30th March

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Contemporary Australian Drawing

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Digital Workshop

Thursday 25th October2012

head against a wall”-Lisa Solovieva who admitted that that was her first reaction but who now uses the program weekly.

The question was put: Does it help you to look at how you draw in any new way? The reaction to this question was negative. Perhaps with time and perseverance was a common reply. Other reactions were “I would use the program for photographic purposes or etching” Katherine Peeke.

“Use the program as a tool” was also mentioned.

“Perhaps use it and then draw manually over the Digital Drawing using shop is instructional. print offs” was another Adobe Illustrator Showing the basic meth- suggestion. One of the 25th October 2012 ods of drawing with a pen team also mentioned that tool and looking at how it did bring an element of The drawing workshop to transform the lines into surprise to the process of has been designed to look brush marks and utilize work in that very easily at 2 outcomes. different effects. Simple you could see what the fruit images were down- effects option could do to 1)The experience of loaded and drawn over. a piece of work. drawing using difficult Copy and paste functions and complicated digital were used to build up a The second part of the methods such as Adobe still life. The group conworkshop was to take an Illustrator. Can it bring sisted of about 20 memexisting drawing and use new methodologies? bers and progress was an option called “trace” 2)What using the prodelayed by a real frustra- and “expand”. This is a gram could offer in the tion, by some, to come to very quick option that process of putting togeth- terms with the constraints allows you to trace your er a portfolio of drawing of the program. Eventuown work and digitalize work? ally work produced was it so you can apply differprinted off and an overent techniques and effects Adobe Illustrator is a view of the experience to your own work. widely available program taken. used by graphic designers Feedback Feedback and packaging designers. The feedback from this It utilizes vectors to build session was very coherent The feedback here was up imagery in layers. It .By enlarge most found more favourable. The takes some time to bethe process frustrating in consensus was that it come an expert. the extreme. helped visualize options “Hated it” Martin in a speedy and immediThe first part of the work- “It’s like bashing your ate way. There was again

the element of surprise to the process. The comment was made that the digitalization of imagery and ideas can often be beneficial to collaborative works where each person could add to an idea and instantly see what the effect could be to a long term project. A conversation ensued about the importance of hand crafted work versus digital. It was felt that there is still a great interest in perceiving the personal touch in a creative idea or concept. That the computer will never replace manually conceived work.

1st drawing session by Katherine Peeke Above left by Xiao Boma

Overall the session produced lively and interesting debate with some very personal emotive reaction. For my own research there were 2 ideas that I may utilize in my own practice. One was to manually draw over a digitally initiated work and secondly to perhaps use the program in a collaborative way.

Many thanks to Kaye Pryce and Marianna Frantich in the digital suite for assistance in the workshop.

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Digital Workshop

News Thursday 25th October2012

Above digital experiments by Diogo Bolota (left) and Xiao Boma (right) Pier by Alison Carlier (left) Face by Dagmar (right) FEEDBACK “basically i felt slightly overwhelmed but you led it so well that i definitely retained things from it to the point i would like to know more...so even though i seriously struggled i really got something from it!! thank you!� h x (Helen Goodwin) Funfair by Camilla Brueton (left) Digital experiment by Minmin Zhou

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Freize Art Fair 2012

Friday 13th October2012

Anna Molska “The sixth continent”

Freize 2012.

visitors, themselves, being as interesting to The yearly contempo- view as the artwork. rary art fair “Frieze” Photographs of both took place at regents the viewer and the Park and concession viewed was a necestickets to get in were sity as much for proavailable after a long fessional reasons as period of queuing. study. Inevitably the Once in, the place was drawn work was at the packed with the small top of the list of priand the great. The orities and there was

definitely a stronger presence of drawn artwork than I have seen at this exhibition before(see photographs) Artwork that informed my own practice included the work of artists like Anna Molska with her installation “the sixth conti-

nent”. A collection of crystal found objects arranged on shelves in various shapes and sizes. I have decided to include some crystal objects in my own work with the hope to engrave them if it is possible. Other works that interested me were Zuang Huan’s

”Our parents” a monochromatic portrait of a Chinese family.

The eeriness of this painting reminded me of old colonial photographs. Valeska Soares hanging disco balls was also a draw.

Haegue Yangs “Flip fleet flow units” work depicting cascading

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Freize Art Fair 2012

venetian blinds had an elegance that appealed and was reminiscent of pleated fabric.

Freize masters was unfortunately not part of the concessions deal which was a shame as its presence was a welcome addition to this great art fair.

News Friday 13th October2012

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Stephen Farthing Visit

However this is my own conjecture. The pupils worked with stick figures and would then “flesh” them out in specific areas where necessary. Tracing was the beginning of drawing at the age of 6 or 7.The process can be compared with how it is taught in primary school.

Stephen emphasized that this is the sort of information omitted in text books which is fundamental to drawing.

Stephen then goes on to talk about the domain of 2 dimensional representaThe event started with tion.

Stephen describing the 1-The kingdom of writpoor contents of most ing-uses sequentially literature on drawing, In arranged symbols to rephis opinion he felt most resent the sound of the literature concentrated on spoken word. the materials of drawing 2-The kingdom of notarather than the motives tion-uses symbols to repbehind drawing. resent sequential relation“You can draw with ships and values ie music anything” he states. Anto our own in that the stu- notation cient Egyptians drew dents were taught to see 3-The kingdom of with reeds chewed up at the drawing as shapes and drawing-uses line, tone one end and dipped into would trace a line from and colour to represent dye. In an archaeological dig, a village of stone say the foot to the fingers relationships, values and things. masons, there were found as one line. The head was almost irrelevant, Two dimensional inpieces of stone with visperceiving to get the geformation is vital to the ible signs that drawing developed world. Now it was taught on fragments ometry and shape of the chipped off stones. These figure rather than concen- is computer screens. Then trating on detail. The idea paper. Before plaster are known as ostricha was to use a minimum walls and churchs etc (plural) or ostrichon (singular). They drew all of lines. I could not help but feel that this was due sorts of strange things to the fact that the final like animals defecating outcome was to get these or people in sexual acts.

Drawn with humour and students to carve reliefs evidenced that they were into stone and what was similar to us with humour being taught was how to make relief drawings in and pathos. There are plenty of these ostricha in stone. The drawing was part of the process before the British Museum and carving would take place. the Ashmolean Museum Stephen Farthing visit.

Rootstein Hopkins Research Chair of Drawing University of the Arts Chelsea.

16/11/2012

in Oxford. They are often overlooked as people are more interested in Tutankamun’s jewellery or bound mummies etc.

Drawing was like photography to the Egyptians.

One of the things that were discovered was that these stones were where pupils learnt the skills of drawing. It was noted that the tutor drew in red while the pupil in black.

So there is evidence of tutors amending their students work. The process of drawing was different

Friday 16th November2012

Stephen then attempts to split drawing into 6 categories.

1-Diagrammatic-This is an explanation of how something works ie an Ikea furniture assembly plan. Often completed with writing and numbers. He presents a drawing of Leonardo da Vinci’s of the act of procreation where Leonardo is trying to explain a process. It is drawing in the conditional sense where he is surmising what happens.

2-Mapping-where accurately measured events and relationships drawn as a terrain or a surface.

It needs to be accurately measured. This is vital.

Stephen mentions that in drawing the possibility of cross fertilization can exist. Improper things can happen and the author of the drawing is free to inject something different.

3-Tracing-the simplest of techniques which can trace all manner of events including the galaxy system to where projectiles land.Again the work of Leonardo was show of experimentation of canon fire.

It is noted that Leonardo did all 6 drawing types.

4-Technical-Visually communicating how something functions or is to be constructed.

5-Scoring-Here Stephen cites the example of music. Is it conceptual or pictorial. He mentions a drawing of how something is wired up which he classifies as systemic.

Leonardo combined accurate measured drawing with guess work.(estimated).Stephen presented the

work of Baude Cordier (b1380-d1440).These were musical notations which formed shapes and images of for example hearts or rounds. These were example of drawings which were pictorial and systemic. They could be read as a piece of music and admired as image.

6-Sketching-an estimated (as opposed to accurately measured) rendering of an observance.

Here Stephen says” the only reason why you cant draw as Rembrandt did is due to your lack of patience and perseverance” Rembrandt was a drawing machine. He had a perfect calibration be-

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Tate Britain Print Room Visit

tween eye and hand. This he quote is “not an intellectual process whereas mapping is”. ”It’s like the difference between a wordsmith versus someone who has got something to say” My own experience is that there is some truth in what Stephen is saying here, however for me the delivery is as important as the content. The life events that project someone into becoming a drawing machine are not inconsequential or random. I also believe that drawing is a gift. The gift is given to many but few take it up, like many other gifts.(like having something to say) You either have it or you don’t.

The visit concluded with a visit to the Print room in the Tate Britain .Here a selection of Turner’s sketchbooks were presented and there was also an exhibition of some of the drawn paper works.

This included a selection of Turners erotic artwork.

I was also interested in a drawing of Ecorche figures. These are figure that were taken from the gallows. Executed prisoners were disemboweled and used as models for students to draw. The book “The artists model”

by Martin Postle will be of interest. Another book mentioned was “Turners anatomy drawings” by Andrew Witton.

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Engraving Workshop

Morley College Glass engraving Studio Practice Aims 1.to enable the student to carry out sustained individual skills in glass engraving.

2. to encourage the student to further develop and apply appropriate skills for working in different glass techniques, visual ideas and material 3. to develop the student’s understanding of professional practice and capacity to work independently 4. to develop the student’s ability to rigorously assess studio work and to place it into context 5. to encourage the student’s participation in debate around issues pertinent to Glass engraving practice 6. to develop the student’s knowledge and understanding of professional practice 7. to consolidate the student’s learning .

8. to prepare students for the demands of professional work In this course students continue to develop a rigorous, well-managed, informed and independent studio practice.

Students further develop their studio practice directed by choices of media, studio discipline and subject/theme. Emphasis is placed both on consolidating knowledge, under-

standing and skills and on further exploring formal, conceptual and technical aspects of practice. This course is designed to enable students to establish a solid foundation to meet the demands of prfessional practice.

Monday 10th December 2012

The main beginning burrs are diamond encrusted burrs followed by stones and finished with rubberised polishers. At all times a mask is worn to prevent inhalation and also a magnifying glass is advised for detail.

It is crucial to clean and wash the glass that you are able to see any clumsy marks or scratches.

Once identified a series of options are examined to remedy the problems.

This semester has consisted of producing glass works to support drawings for an MA exhibition at the National Gallery London. Time constraints have meant the acquisiThe workplace showing water Photos above-workshop and New drill acquisition. tion of a drill. Thanks to Photos below-Examples of drawn images to be drip and wearing mask to the support of The Glass avoid inhaling glass dust. engraved.

Engraving Guild who supplied a vintage drill from a deceased ex engraver. The drill comes with its own wooden box and 2 attachments.

Although the foot pedal was broken this was fixed by a machine engineer thanks to The American Inter Continental University.

The process of drawing on glass consists of drawing in red permanent pen and then engraving.

As water is used to wash away glass dust it is imperative to use permanent ink. A series of different burrs are interchanged in order to engrave detail.

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Engraving Workshop

Photo above-drawing on glass and right final engraving with up lighting.

News Monday 10th December 2012

Below more glass engraving for “Alcohol Valley� artwork.

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MA exhibition The National Gallery

MA drawing: Private view 8th march 2013 and exhibition 4th-8th March 2013.The National Gallery.

By Stephen Myers 12 March 2013

Bolota to Zhou: Master Drawings from the MA course at UAL Wimbledon college of Art at the National Gallery March 4th, 2013 to March 8th, 2013) .

From quick sketches to elaborately detailed art works in their own right, drawings range in style and purpose from the most intimate to the

most public. This was highlighted in one artists work Utopia/DystopiaLondon by Stephen Myers whose sketches on a digital sketchbook of London’s finest and lowest to his intricately etched glass works portraying “the battle of good and evil” and his homage to Hogarth’s “Gin Lane” and “Beer Alley”. A 21st century take on the evils of alcoholic over indulgence.

These glass works are, apparently, only the 2nd and 3rd pieces executed by the artist having enrolled at Morley College to do the glass engraving course, under the guidance of Freddie Quartley.

His tutor even had to loan the artist equipment in order for deadlines to be met. ”It was touch and

go that the works are there at all” says Stephen.

“Everything seemed to work against me as I was battling personal circumstances and the lack of equipment and knowledge to get things done”.

Freddies details can be found at: http://www. morleycollege.ac.uk/ about/people/staff/993_ freddie_quartley The well known glass artist Katharine Coleman was also present. She also supported the fledgling glass artist with much good advice and support.

She was pleased to attend the exhibition and invited the artist to attend her own studio in Clerkenwell Road. Katharine’s profile can be viewed at http://craftcentral.org.uk/ katharine-coleman As well as glass, Stephen has produced a range

4-8th March 2013

of drawings on London its place and culture, its Utopic and Dystopic qualities.

Executed in pencil, pen and ink, chalk. This wide diversity of drawings is united by their support—namely by being on tracing paper and then laminated with granite powder. This means that drawings are subject to damage from handling and light, and as a result, they have been printed in poster form.

The subjects exhibited include a personal reflection of the story of Cain and Able brought up to present day with the stories of 4 infamous London murders. Also depicted are reflections on London iconography/ statuary depicting “Victory and defeat” and “love and Hate”.

The private view was well attended and the exhibition review book was full of commentary on the work.

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MA exhibition Private View

News 8th March 2013

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Open Studio-The Master Carvers

Telegraph Hill Open Studio festival New Cross London.

19-20th March 2013 As part of the The 2013 Festival runs from Friday 8th March to 24th March.

This is the nineteenth Telegraph Hill Festival and over the course of two weeks and three weekends there are almost 130 events with something for everyone.

All of the events are organized by local volunteers, most of the performers are local, and they all contribute their time and skills for free.

The studio of the Master carvers was visited on a cold Sunday afternoon but a warm welcome and even warmer cup of tea was extended. Simon Smith presented his work and explained the story of a recent commission he had finished for St Georges Hall Liverpool. The statue of Kitty Wilkinson known as the “Saint of the slums�. Kitty had allowed her home to be used as a wash house

in the time of a Cholera epidemic in the city. She also took in homeless children and was instrumental in the education of cleanliness as a deterrent for disease and death.

from historic ornament and figurative carving to contemporary sculpture.

His clients range from government bodies to individuals.

As well as working from The Master Carvers Ashis busy South London sociation include the arti- workshop, Simon is passsans Simon Smith, Phillip ing on traditional carving Surey and Paul Jakeman. skills by teaching partUnit 3, Fishers Court, time at his old college.

Besson St, New Cross Gate, New Cross, LonThe afternoon passed don, SE14 5AS along quickly and the artisans with other sculptors, allowed photographs to letter-cutters and invenbe taken and also were intors are showing work at terested to hear all about an Open Studio in New the MA drawing course at Cross.

UAL Wimbledon. They Simon Smith has worked also had attended furwith stone for more than ther education and were twenty years. taught technical drawing After serving his apskills concentrating on prenticeship at Woburn perspective and modeling Abbey, Simon went on to issues. Some photographs study stone carving and of these drawings are sculpture at the City and presented here.

Guilds of London School of Art, where he obtained a first.

Simon has used his experience in design, modeling and carving for many varied commissions;

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19th-20th March 2013

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Peer Worshop- Minmin Zhou

MA Peer Workshop Proposal Name: Minmin Zhou Introduction

What is the methodology you need the group to follow?

1.

In this drawing, try to reflect the different asMy interest is to reflect sociation, without limited the connection between objects. different entities. Even 2. Show and discuss. everything is separate, In this workshop the oband there are also some jects used were a freshly visible and invisible con- bought croissant. The nections between them. It drawing developed using is important that to trans- a new medium-the Kohform connection into a I-Noor sanguine pencil drawing language. ordered from e bay. The Aim of the workshop shape of the object was When we draw objects, its first appeal followed we often draw it follow by the texture and ringlets what we see and think. around the pastry. The Even we can not see it; medium was perfect as it there are also some asbest depicted the crustisociations between them. ness and warmth of the In these two exercises we object. Once finished the will try to visualize the exercise requested the association. addition of other objects, EXERCISE 1 Duration: which in this case includ20-30 mins ed other objects associMaterials: Pencils, charated with eating ie fork/ coal or pen, and A3 knife and spoon. The use sheets of white cartridge of tracing paper helped paper. to layer on image after Subject (if appropriate): image with a desire to One object that will inter- continue amassing object est you to draw it. imagery.

What is the methodology The second part of the you need the group to exercise brought the adfollow? dition of a given object. A 1.

Place an object in packet of noodles. In this front of you and use your exercise the composition method to draw it. and construction of the 2.

Think about andrawing was executed in other object and it has the an abstract almost arbiassociation between these trary fashion in order to two objects. become passive allowing 3.

Add second object imagination and thought on the same paper. These to re adjust and develop. two objects will compose After some time the asa new drawing. sociation with sea shells and water came from the EXERCISE 2 Duraform of the croissant and tion: 30-40 mins the wave nature of the

noodles to produce an abstract drawing involving line and shape. The other element of interest was the dapplement of light and reflection across the surface of the plastic bag containing the noodles.

A process of smear and erasing helped to convey this quality.

News 14th March 2013

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Barrocci-National Gallery

2nd May 2013

Federico Barocci ground.

Exhibition at the National “His concern is to make Barrocci’s studies of Gallery 02/05/2013 things more graceful” portraits and preliminary Nicholas Penny. Barocci sketches for paintings.

Drawings drew with colour. He reConsidered one of the alised early that this was great draughtsman. He the best way to prepare had a sketch book with for the paintings.” Colour him permanently. He he invents”(Penny) This was often seen in Urbino you can see the colour sketching on street corseems artificial and etheners and often invited real. “He experiments models back to draw with illumination” Carol them in more detail. BePlazzotta (National) ing interested in natural Hi s altarpieces were deposes he often asked his signed to take the viewer models if they were com- out of themselves .His fortable holding the pose. deposition is found at He had thousands of Perugia Cathedral. studies of hands/feet and Human and Divine heads. He experimented He was a very devout endlessly which is why man and saw no sepayou can learn so much ration from his work from them about his and beliefs.However he thinking processes for the always couched grand paintings. He was a perideas within reality. This fectionist. Spending lots he does because he unof time in preparation of derstands how people a painting. When ready behave. Better than realhe painted quickly often ity. “He made the sacred smudging paint with his convincing” Plazzotta. fingers.

In his major religious works he was wont to He grew up in Urbino include “tableaux vivant” and after spending time amongst the weighty travelling to Rome he set- spiritual concepts like in tled back in Urbino and the deposition he places worked at the court of the a hammer and nails in a Duke Francesco Maria realistic way, almost tacdella Rovere. There he tile. This was a common worked alongside a group feature to his work. of scientists and academ- He had a great love of ics who also worked children and animals under the patronage of and included them in his the Duke who amassed work. This was part of his a huge library and wrote humanistic character. himself. From Baroccis house Federico could see the Pallazzo Ducale and often painted it into his compositions in the back-

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Biennale-Drawing room/White Cube

The drawing Biennale The Drawing Room Tannery Arts, 12 Rich Estate, Crimscott Street London SE1 5TE 02/05/2013 Over 200 artists are selected to donate a drawing to be auctioned. All proceeds go to support the drawing room project. The project consists of being sent a pack of paper and materials to create a drawing. It is not clear if the subject is predetermined or of the artists choosing. For sure there is a wide array of work and varied approaches.

From a long list of artists, some known, some emerging talent just out of college. Having made a selection of work that informed my own interests I was able to check what was selected on line. The fashion designers Julie Verhoeven and Kinder Aggugini had already selected their own preferred work.

Interestingly there were similar choices to my own including Ciara Phillips, Tonico Lemos Auad, Tobias Rehberger. What of course is of interest is which artwork is selling.

Tonico Lemos Auad has the highest bid.

The portrait by Dryden Goodwin is a delicate rendering of a male portrait and the use of scrawling lines creates an affective portrait. Paul

Chiappe’s simple line of figures has a strong minimalist cinematic feel and conveys huge atmosphere for such a small drawing.

Tobias Rehnergers caricature is again delicate and full of movement for a static figure.

The White Cube Julie Mehretu Liminal Squared 02/05/2013 An exhibition of super sized paintings, mainly architectural in feel with layers of drawing conveying a confusion of lines and spaces. These were over drawn with expressive blurred marks almost like graffiti with then geometric colours on the surface of these layers. The overall colours are lack and white with small bright primary colours.

This is Julis Mehretus first solo exhibition in London. The exhibition featured 5 new works entitled “Mogamma:A Painting in 4 parts”. The work was completed just after the riots in Egypt and the Arab spring.

Julie’s interest lies in the relationship between architectural space and political activity. “I think architecture reflects the machinations of politics and that’s why I am interested in it as a metaphor for those institutions” Julies work uses similar visual references to my own in the use of layers

of architectural drawing.

However her political referencing is an interesting one. This year I did draw St Pauls cathedral when occupied by the protest camps. However my own interests lie in the spiritual context and attempts to convey a contest of dual polarities.

Julies references are similar to my own. Her body of work and critique are convincing and professional.

Above -Biennale drawings.Below-Julie Mehretu

News 2nd May 2013

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Ruskin Glass centre and Broadfield Museum

The Ruskin Glass centre Stourbridge, West Midlands 12/05/2013

uted around the museum with example pieces showing tools and burrs used in the period. There is a real idea of just how Stourbridge has been strenuous the work expehistorically England’s rience was in the period. industrial glass capital.

Hours were long condiFrom the 1600s glass was tions were hot, dangerous produced here and traded and airless. Acid cutting globally. Its presence in was probably the most British manufacturing is dangerous of all. It does largely due to the arrival not exist now in the UK of French Huguenot coal because of this. miners. The manufacture of glass peaked here in the 19th century. Companies associated with glass manufacturing here include Webb Corbett and Royal Doulton.

The Ruskin glass centre is a large modern building housing many independent artisans and glass workers who rent the space and equipment to produce their own prodBroadfield Glass ucts. However in return Museum for the facilities they Compton Drive, Kingalso provide workshops swinford, West Midto students. The Ruskin lands Mill Educational Trust is a charity that pioneers Situated within 20 minspecialist education to utes of the Ruskin Glass young people with learn- Centre the Broadfield ing difficulties. The trust House Glass Museum is promotes ideas based on a vintage Georgian buildthe ideas of John Ruskin, ing showcasing glassWilliam Morris and Ruwork down throughout dolf Steiner. the ages dating back to The site is split into many the 17th century. Its colareas and there is a part lection shows the diverdedicated as a museum sity of techniques and to show how glass was products with inspiration manufactured and cut in coming from Chinese the 19th century. There collections and antiquity are kilns with crystal with the replica of the glass in and videos of Portland vase. This is a how glass was turned and rare piece of cameo glass blown. Lathes are distrib- retrieved from a dig in

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Ruskin Glass centre and Broadfield Museum

the 19th century and kept almost continuously at the British Museum in London. Legend has it that it was found in 1582 at Monte del Grano near Rome. It had long fascinated artisans by its technique. After being exchanged into various hands it unfortunately was shattered by William Lloyd in 1845.from then many copies were made some taking years to complete. The technique behind cameo glass cutting is highly skilled. A coating of coloured glass is layered over another, the engraver has to negotiate both layers playing with the opacity of the glass to create light and dark. The museum is truly full of beautiful glass (see photos) there is a workshop. In this workshop there were artisans working on examples to be exhibited at the NECs glass exhibition. They offered much advice on the subject including what product to use to glue glass together.

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Katharine Coleman Studio Visit. 16th may 2013

Visit to Katharine Coleman MBE Studio 16th may 2013 11am

studio with great care and effort. She has invested in over 75 spindles. She admits to being a techie and Located in Clerkenwell loves the hands on mainUnit 19c, Craft Central, tenance of the lathe. After Clerkenwell. A small 3 years with Dreisler he studio with every inch of threw her out of the class space utilised. Katharine to pursue her own pracworks at a double desk tice. She recommends uses both a hand held his book “Techniques drill and a German Kelof glass engraving” by ham lathe from Spatzier. Peter Dreisler and JonaKatharine moved to Lon- than Matcham. Katharine don in 1984 with her chil- helped in writing it. He dren and Husband. Living also taught her how to in West Hampstead she photograph glass. taught Spanish American In the beginning Kathhistory at Westminster arine showed at Guild University. During the exhibitions, there were Thatcher years financial 800 Guild members then cuts were made and she and she worked on small lost her job. Whilst out commissions for various with her children she bodies some in Scotland noticed a Glass Guild for grand estates. She also exhibition at the Museum did repair work to peoof Mankind. She spoke ples glass ware includwith Johnson about her ing the mother of Emma interests to learn glass Thompson, the actress. engraving and was met In 1992 she herself took with some discourageover the glass engraving ment. She then visited class at Morley College the Glass engraving guild but,in2002, due to lack office and also received of teaching qualifications despondency from the was made redundant. She guild secretary. Her enpursued her own practice thusiasm led her to camp from a studio in London. out at Morley College to It was here working with get the only space left to glass blowers she learnt join the glass engraving some techniques in glass class under the tutelage blowing. It was a acciof Peter Dreisler and was dent of ash on some glass one of 14 students includ- that lead her to develop ing Stan Sarota. Under her own technique of Dreisler she learnt lathe etching on extra thick engraving which required glass. This technique practice and patience. allows inner reflection Dreisler admitted to of external etching and having 5 years of lathe produces a very effective tuition. Katharines lathe technique. Her glass is needed installing in her sold internationally. She

has an agent and her glass is sold here in the UK at Adrian Sasoon.It is also sold in Maastricht Germany and in Paris. She claimed that the biggest buyers of her products are in America and Germany.

The pieces sell for around £5,00 to £10,000.

Katharine continues to teach at West Dean college in Sussex and Bildwerk-freneau in Bavaria.

She spoke at length about Irvine Eisch who has a studio there. She has also worked in Japan and the USA at Corning(The Valhalla of glass).She also does commission work and is currently working on a “salt” for the Worshipful Glass Sellers Co of London.

Her advice to new practitioners in glass is to target competitions like the Jerwood prize and also to apply for residencies. Northlands Creative Glass in Wick Scotland has offered these and Katharine has done 2x6 week residencies. Other grants are available at Tiffany Glass Kunz and The Sunderland Glass centre.

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Katharine Coleman Studio Visit. 16th may 2013

Katharines sketchbook showing glass blowing information and details.Katharine uses a bespoke glass blower in Sussex with whom she has been working for some years.

More sketchbook work showing engraving ideas.

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London Photography-studies in light & dark.

London Photography.

May 2013

Images taken at various times in the day showing the effects of light on the glass of the city or reflected in water mixed with oil at a service station. At various times in the day the sun picks out certain buildings or different parts of the same building. Some buildings seem to be on fire or take the effect of being otherworldly. The city is always in transition not only in its people but also in its structure. Using glass as a medium for drawing, light will also be important to show the detail and effects of engraving. Highlighting the light and by contrast the shadows.

A high rise building at Deptford Bridge is caught in the light

The shard seen at sunset with St Pauls in the background

Skyline of London seen from South East London towards London Bridge and views of the Gherkin

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London Photography-studies in light & dark

Above.Sunset and the gasworks.Light reflected in an oil puddle.The shard at different times of the day.

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Rootstein Hopkins Drawing Exhibition.8thMay-8th June

Rootstein Hopkins Drawing Exhibition.

8th May – 8th June 2013 The Rootstein Hopkins drawing exhibition is the only juried drawing prize specifically for those in part time education in London. Judges include professor Stephen Farthing.

The exhibition aims to investigate drawing as a way of thinking, as a process and as a means of expression in all of its diversity. Over 400 drawings were submitted for the exhibition, from which 70 exceptional works were selected for display by a distinguished panel of judges.

Over 16 London colleges were represented including City Lit, Mary Ward Centre, Princes drawing school and Putney School of Art. For the exhibition 2 drawings were submitted, one being first choice and one being secondary choice. Inevitably it was the second choice drawing that was selected – London bus which looked at reflections on windows of a bus. The letter announcing its inclusion in the exhibition arrived on the 22nd March. It was submitted framed to Morley Gallery on the Saturday 27th April.

The event of the announced winners was a professional occasion with guest speakers, a marquee and music.

Champagne and canapés

were served and the evening was a success.

Letter announcing drawing had been shortlisted for the exhibition

Morley Gallery space on the night of the private view.

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All the visual Arts Gallery. May 2013

All the visual Arts Gallery.

2 Omega place. Kings Cross, London.

May 2013 Dominic McGills drawing “To get rich is glorious” is a mixture of drawing and collage.An effective compilation of visuals and words. A heavy use of slogans in colour with black and white drawings.

Seunghyn Lee- His Virus drawing 2009.Surreal studies from the Masters like Michelangelo’s creation of man image from the Sistine chapel.

God creating Man done in an epic size. The figures look made of foliage or organic matter. As if massacred by a computer virus and distorted.

Wolfe Van Lenkiewicz“Les Saltimbanques” 2013 and the Intervention of “the Sabine Women”.

These were a combination of old master paintings drawn and mixed up ,slightly disconcerting and confusing like someone telling a familiar story but getting the events and details wrong.

Impressive gallery space with interesting work of hitherto unknown artists.

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Royal College of Art Graduate fashion Show 2013

Royal College of Art Graduate Fashion Show Static Accessories Show 2013 The exhibition of footwear and accessories was held at the Royal College of Art at Kensington Gore.

An eclectic mix of product executed in a wide variety of materials including wood, leather and copper strips. Rachel Chans collection epitomizes a feeling of architecture and 3D experimentation producing a new uptake on the Geisha wooden sandal.

The most interesting and relevant range was produced in an extremely exciting and unusual material-Glass. Iva Minkova explored the use of concrete and glass and produced some really unusual shoes whereby the soles were produced in layers of glass with the heal using shattered glass.

Glass slippers!! An effective and visually exciting range.

Another designer who uses glass this time mirrored is Elena Blank.

Her Urban Heroine range is dedicated to an edgy modern woman.

Her mirrored clutch with graffiti “Your pretty face is going to hell� is not a product for the faint hearted.

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Royal College of Art Graduate fashion Show 2013

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London Photography-urban drawing vacant shop windows.

Photographs of vacant shop windows. 2013 The photographs here are taken from vacant shop windows seen through out the city. Using a water based lime wash, painterly marks are daubed over windows to signify the vacancy of the property. Eerie and fascinating, these windows are like clouds allowing the viewer to imagine scenes and visuals in the random use of mark and dribbles.

The past advertising still stuck to the windows seem ghostly with paint overlay. Broken glass can take on a jeweled aspect bringing a sense of drama and glamour to the window. This could be a new direction for drawing, which would allow a stronger sense of expression and vitality to the portfolio, bringing relief to the already established glass engravings.

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London Photography-urban drawing vacant shop windows.