I am calling this piece a study but I don’t suppose it is – very rarely am I drawing from life at the moment – all sketches so far for this piece have been from my head, but i like something about the style of botanical illustration that is leading me to think I should take a sketchbook out or a pad and make some small drawing studies of plant life.  Almost frightened to say that I like the way this is developing but i have become a bit too precious with the piece – ideally t

Reviewing yesterday’s drawings always seems slightly more satisfying.  There are elements that have appeared from the marks that I am pleased with and 2 of the large scale pieces seem to have escaped from the restraint of those made earlier in the day.  After posting yesterday’s pieces i began work on a more detailed piece exploring leaf forms in place of muscle structure, so I’ve included a couple of images to start things off for today… #gallery-67-4 { margin: auto;

More of the same and a quite frustrating day, feeling a lack of direction and having real trouble with the scale of work.  Much more comfortable with smaller scale pieces today and seem to be obsessed with the details of images rather than the whole. . .  . #gallery-56-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-56-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-56-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; }

Well the nibs arrived so I thought I’d have a quick scribble and write, the holder for a copperplate nib for the uninitiated is offset at a strange angle and takes a bit of getting used to – the effect from the nib is quite nice though and does alter the marks made quite dramatically, tomorrow I will attempt some pages of automatic writing to see how it feels with a dip pen.

A couple of small studies experimenting with new inks – & I also found out today that the new set of copperplate writing nibs are on their way in the post to experiment with so i’m looking forward to seeing what effect these have on the work. Quite pleased with the studies but really need to begin work on some larger pieces with more impact.  The thinking at the moment is that I will combine floral patterns with a theme of harvesting and gathering. #gallery-45-6 { m

Not me – the piece – sometimes knowing when to stop is the key.  I was pleased with new textures applied to the previous image and retrospectively I tried to apply the same to this image but ultimately I overworked the face and the image became far too dark, on the plus side – i discovered that the blend of blue and brown inks on the hand produced some interesting shadow effects when used minimally – I may rework this piece from scratch or i may just move on.. #gallery-41

My work seems to be swinging between figurative and abstract at the moment and I have no inclination to choose between the two, maybe the decision should be to allow what comes naturally for each piece. The image below is work in progress and as yet untitled. #gallery-36-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-36-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-36-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; }

This is the 3rd piece in the 100sqft exhibition – again exploring mark making and narrative from the emerging marks. Pen and Ink drawing with clear water washes.

Another piece from the 100sqft exhibition, exploring abstract mark making with influence from human forms and exploring  the creation of forms with annotations.

First post on the blog and I have decided to kick things off with a few new drawings made for the 100sqft 3rd exhibition Brown & Blue ink with water washes