Drawing – Page 3 – bexODESSA

It’s official, I’m a bird-bore with a rock collection!

That’s the conclusion my fella reached after I sent him the 5th video of my family of choughs (Kylie & Jason and their kids, Harold and Izzy) sitting on the foghorn. To be fair, they are freaking adorable – just look at Harold and Izzy peeping over the edge!

I also sent him several photos depicting different angles of my latest beach-rock find, which, according to a local expert (that expert being our friend Debbie, who likes a rock or two), is actually a fossil.

Isn’t it a beauty! I was beyond thrilled when I found it. I absolutely love spirals, and this one is glorious. The fact that it came from the sea makes it even more special. The spiral is the Celtic symbol for the sea, and I can’t help thinking if a local Celt had been walking on Cranstal beach 3000 years ago, and found this same rock, they would’ve been just as thrilled as me, and probably would’ve picked it up and taken it home too. And who knows, they may have even thought it held special meaning (as I also do), if not magical powers (a bridge to far for me, though you never know).

It had to happen sooner or later, I’m back on the Weight Watchers. Rock bottom this time was yesterday’s breakfast.

I spent most of my studio hours this week drawing. I don’t enjoy drawing as much as a I do painting, but not drawing limits what you can paint, so I am trusting the effort will be worth it. I mostly drew people, my favourite of which were a bunch of old ladies, a man-baby, and some buxom women who are perhaps not averse to cake and ice cream for breakfast either.

As a treat, I resumed painting this weekend, developing the lace-like technique I want to use in the paintings for my course project. I was happy with the results, and really enjoyed the process.

Summer – Week 2 experiments

Experiments, Process Deep Dive

Monday, 27th June

No.88 – A few strange paintings this week, including this one.

Tuesday, 27th June

No.89 – I really like this one, especially the way the image is suspended and emerges from the darkness.

No.90 This was a struggle, especially the shell-like casing on the back of the bug. I got there eventually and really like the result, although the image as a whole is a bit too static.

Wednesday, 28th June

No.91 – I tried this fellow with various backgrounds. With the last one, I used middle-grey, as in film/photography, and although the colours are truer, I still prefer a black background.

Thursday, 29th June

No.92 – An experiment with a figure. It gives me hope that if I keep practicing my figures over the summer, I could have some really interesting paintings. Here I used a fashion model as a reference for the body – I love the stance.

Friday, 30th June

No.93 Experimenting with colour here. I like the colour of the thing the bird is standing on, and think that’s probably as blue as I should go for these paintings. Not as keen on the light blue in the bird. I think I’ll keep blue I use in these paintings to a minimum – less is more. For example, in the painting above, I used blue for the woman’s eyes, and a tiny bit to the right of her shoulder and feet. That’s enough.

Sunday, 2nd July

No.94 – Obviously, I didn’t make the decision about blue for these paintings until after I painted this. I do like the colour of the hare, just not so much of it. I love the colour of the owl, which has a hint of Indian yellow. The little dots in his wings is sufficient blue.

It’s a renter’s life for me!

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Holidays, research paper

I have called some unique places home – a Kombi van, a disused ugg boot factory, a broom closet in a rundown theatre – but nothing compares to the one-of-kind magnificence of Anam Cara. I am utterly in love with this place and would gladly sell my soul for it. Unfortunately, no one’s in the market for a slightly jaded, long in the tooth ephemeral essence, so I won’t be possessing it anytime soon. Not that anyone can really possess a place like Anam Cara, it belongs to the sea, and the sea is coming for it. That’s what makes it such a beguiling place to live, its fragility in the face of the big blue wobbly thing.

Although I’d dearly like to stay here until I’m a little old-biddy without a tooth or sensible thought in my head (or until the wobbly thing is lapping at the front door, whichever comes first), it doesn’t belong to me, so I have to content myself with my apportioned time, which I’m thrilled to report has been extended for another year. That my apportioned time has coincided with doing my masters is a remarkable confluence of my heart’s desire, and I can’t ask for better than that!

It’s been a productive week in the studio. I finally started drawing figures, and discovered that the best time to draw them is when I am talking to my dearest friend, Lauren, in Australia.

These little figure-drawing exercises are very handy to do, as they get you used to human proportions and where to put everything to convey a given stance. It’s only now that I’ve uploaded them that I’ve realised that the middle picture looks a little risqué, that was completely unintentional…honest.

I also managed a figure painting this week. I particularly like the stance, which was referenced from a fashion model picture I found. It’s not perfect, but I like most of it enough to not meddle with it. It’s a good start, and gives me hope that if I keep practicing my figures over the summer, I’ll likely have some really good paintings at the end of it.

Let the good times roll!

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Holidays, Week in Review, Workshops

This week I reached the significant milestone of completing the first year of my masters. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone, but I have definitely made the most of every minute. I now have 3 whole months for summer break. That I get to spend the summer at Anam Cara is a gift beyond measure. Though it won’t be all lolling about, as I have my research paper to write, paintings to paint, massages to do, and sandwiches to make for my fella.

When we were first considering renting Anam Cara (aka paradise by the sea), I regaled said fella with visions of romantic strolls on the beach, and sandwiches. We’ve managed a few strolls, but he’s yet to see a sandwich. It’s time.

Speaking of walking on the beach. I made a few trips to the Point of Ayre this week, to visit Kyle, Jason, and baby Harold, and guess what, Harold has a sibling, Izzy. I wasn’t able to get a photo of all four of them together, but I did get this lovely shot of Harold.

On one of my treks to the Ayres, one of my jandals broke, but some good old Kiwi ingenuity soon fixed that. As good as my repair job is, their days of getting me to the foghorn and back are sadly over, so they shall now spend their retirement as my studio boots.

I’ve been painting my little heart out this week, and have made further progress. My favourite thing I painted was of Colin the long-legged guinea pig.

My last workshop for the year consisted of listening to Spanish poetry and drawing. I’d actually done the course in the first term, but it was so good, I decided to repeat it. I’m glad I did, as it was the perfect end to what has been a wonderful first year.

I’ve loved all the workshops I’ve attended this year, especially the drawing ones. They have helped me both loosen up and grow in confidence. So I don’t loose the momentum of the course over the summer, I shall be attending the Anam Cara School of Drawing. My idea is to spend my afternoons drawing en plein air (fancy for outside).

To aid me in my endeavour, my sweet-hearted fella bought me a gazebo, so I can sit outside to my heart’s content, even in the rain. Naturally, the gazebo will double as a drinking den in the evenings.

Everybody needs good neighbours

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Green, project 1, Project 2, research paper, Week in Review

I have new neighbours, Kylie and Jason and their little baby, Harold. They live in the Point of Ayre foghorn. I realised Kylie and Jason had a chick a couple of evenings back when I heard him squawking inside a hollow in the foghorn. Then last night, my fella and I saw Harold for the first time, it was beyond exciting. I wasn’t able to get a photo of Harold, as we didn’t want to get too close, but here is some footage I managed to get of Kylie and Jason last week.

The painting breakthroughs kept coming this week. A distinct style for the green paintings is emerging, and I love it. I feel like I have been given a small glimpse of what the paintings can be, and although I take nothing for granted, and realise there is still a possibility I can’t pull them off, I have reason to be hopeful.

The main focus again has been painting bigger. With the drawing practice I have been doing, it has proved much easier than I thought it would be. It’s also far more interesting painting bigger, as it allows for more detail.

To help with the bigger drawings, I bought a ginormous sketchbook, and so far I have found drawing big just as easy as drawing small.

I have also started a daily reading discipline, without which I would never get through all the books/papers I have to read for my research paper this summer. Don’t feel too sorry for me though, as this is where my reading discipline takes place.

There’s a reason my nickname was dumb-Beck

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Painting, Week in Review

My favourite uncle coined the name, not to be mean, but simply to describe what he saw in front of him – a little girl who regularly failed to comprehend the bleedin’ obvious. It was an affectionate nickname that also happened to be true, and now and then, continues to be so. Case in point, this week it finally dawned on me that if I want to paint bigger, I’ve got to draw bigger. Instead of doing this, I’ve been scratching out wee drawings in my wee sketchbook, hoping that when it comes time to paint on a big canvas I’ll magically be able to paint bigger.

Armed with this realisation, I gessoed (applied base paint that makes it easier to draw on) some A4 sheets of paper this morning, and rather than squishing multiple things onto a small page in my sketch book, I drew one thing on one sheet of paper. Currently, I am drawing hares, and I’m pleased to say, that drawing them 4 sizes bigger was no trouble at all.

I also decided to apply the same reasoning to the painting experiments. However, instead of painting a whole picture on big pieces of paper, I thought I would concentrate on painting particular elements on medium-ish pieces of paper (such as the eye below). The hope is to get better at the individual elements and eventually start piecing them together on ever bigger canvases. The great thing about drawing and painting larger things is, you can add more detail.

The weather on the Isle of Man this past week has been absolutely glorious, which has made being at Anam Cara nothing short of heavenly. My fella and I have been taking long evening walks to the Point of Ayre lighthouse, naming all the landmarks on the way, such as:

Speckled-ridge Highway (the pebbly beach leading to the lighthouse).
Smugglers Cove (a suspiciously abandoned jerrycan and buoy near the cliff edge).
Last Chance Rise (the last place you can leave the beach and ascend the cliff to the lighthouse).
Lovers Lookout (a discarded set on concrete steps that lead nowhere but provide a glorious vista looking back to the hills surrounding Ramsey).
Little Rock Cafe (a patch of ground between the heather that is scattered with little pebbles)
The Corryvreckan (a spiral like feature in the landscape that you have to circumnavigate, named after the Corryvreckan whirlpool off the west coast of Scotland, which, incidentally, George Orwell nearly drowned in 3 months before he finished 1984).
The Devil’s Garage (an abandoned concrete structure that looks like a car mechanic’s pit).
The Badlands (a wide, barren area with no vegetation but plenty of donut marks, of the car-wheel variety).

There’s other features too, but those are the main ones (or at least the ones I can remember). Naming them has made the walk a lot of fun, and it also makes me feel safer when I do the walk on my own, because if I come-a-croppa, I’ll be able to call my fella and he’ll know exactly where to find me. Though I don’t suppose telling emergency services that I’ve taken a tumble at the Devil’s Garage, between the Corryvreckan and the Badlands is going to be very helpful.

Walking in the Ayres is very inspiring, and I always have lots of painting ideas (most of which outstrip my current abilities, but I’m working on it). Having the walk right on my doorstep is, apart from meeting my fella, the most fortunate thing ever to happen to me.

Birds of a feather

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Painting, project 1, Week in Review

It was another good week in the studio. For most of it I carried on with the seawater paintings, which was very enjoyable. However, I took a break from them on the weekend and returned to the figurative paintings.

I still feel like I am a long way from figuring out what kind of paintings I want them to be, so I think the best thing I can do in the meantime is to keep experimenting. It’s like the big little-man said:

Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.
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To that end, I’ve been noodling around with some small paintings to see what might pop out. It turns out, an owl and a pussy cat!

The most important thing I can do to achieve my goal for these figurative paintings, is draw, which I am still doing every day. This week I drew birds, and I have say, they are my favourite thing to draw so far.

Drawing in general still has the sense of an arduous task about it, but drawing birds brings it close to pure enjoyment. They are such delightful creatures, and have so much character.

By way of demonstration, when I was drawing birds outside on Thursday, one left a little gift on my page, which I took to be a very good sign indeed!

While on the subject of birds, I thought I’d share The Wisdom Daily video I made this week, until I remembered I made it about a fish not a bird. But it’s such an amazing fish, I may as well share it anyway.

Painting with my soul-friend

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Painting, project 1, Research Project, Week in Review

It was a beautiful day on Friday, so I decided to spend the afternoon painting with the sea. Similar to the rain paintings from term 1, I put blobs of paint on various pieces of paper and canvas, and then then let the sea swish it about. I then painted and drew into the marks left by the sea. The results so far have been really promising, and I am keen to experiment some more with this method.

The reason I was able to paint with the sea, is I am now the proud owner of the most marvellous art-supply trolley (courtesy of my fella), that I can fill with everything I need and wheel outside nearer the sea, which saves me wandering inside to the studio every 5 minutes.

I attended an excellent workshop (notes below) this week, called “Joy Division into Research into Practice” with Clem Crosby. It explored a creative and organic way to approach research, sort of following a line of thought and being free to see where it takes you. I’m so glad I did the workshop, as I have been struggling to find a topic for my research paper, and it gave me an alternative way to approach my dilemma. I shall apply what I learned and hopefully come up with a good topic.

Also this week, instead of drawing horses, I have been drawing chairs. They are very enjoyable to draw, though some are obviously easier to draw than others. I love the aesthetic of chairs, and think they are very satisfying things to look at. I could go on and on about them, but I think it best I eke out my chair babble over the coming weeks, so as not to bore anyone rigid.

As well as drawing chairs, I have also been painting them (as below).

All in all, it was a very productive week painting-wise. It is amazing how much more time I have now that I have finished the Ann painting. Hopefully, with this extra time, I’ll be able to really develop the paintings for the Confluence project. Oh yes, and it was my birthday this week. It looked set to be one of those middle of the week, non-descript ones, but with a few visits from friends and family, some beautiful, thoughtful gifts, and my friend’s first chick of the year being born on the same day (to be named Rebecca, but it was a boy, so they named it Geoff) it turned out to be one of the loveliest I’ve ever had.

Never enter a river alone!

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Painting, project 1, Project 2, Research Project

Term 3 began this week, which means it’s only 10 weeks until I have finished the first year of my masters. It is scary to think how fast the time is going, especially as I feel so faraway from achieving the creative goals I have set myself, especially related to my water-paintings project.

I am hoping I will feel a bit better about things once I have finished the Ann painting. I thought I’d finish last week, but alas, that was not the case. The hold-up isn’t for want of spending endless hours painting it each day, it’s just that it’s such an delicate, time-consuming painting, and I keep under-estimating how long it will take. Thankfully, I truly am nearly there.

While I’ve been on the home-stretch the past couple of weeks, my fella has effectively been banished from the studio, as I’m paranoid the painting will be knocked, so it’s just too stressful to have anyone around. I’m sure if he was telling the story, banished would be changed to steering clear of that mad woman and her “delicate painting”!

I continued drawing horses this week, which has been a pleasure as usual. My goal is to include a horse-like figure in my water paintings, a Kelpie to be precise. The problem is, a Kelpie is a malevolent water-horse that preys on people and drowns them, and my horses all look cute and cheerful. When told my fella I was having trouble making them look sinister, he suggested adding eyebrows. I think you’ll agree I nailed it.

I find the idea of a predatory, human-killing horse fascinating, considering that they are a prey animal, and left to their own devices, wouldn’t come anywhere near us. This contradiction is precisely why they are the perfect representation of the dangers of water, particularly rivers.

It cannot be over-stated how dangerous rivers are, especially ones that look calm and benign on the surface. For lurking underneath, you’ll often find a strong current that will easily knock you off your feet, making you vulnerable to shock, jagged stones, tangley weeds, to name but a few perils. Even a shallow river can be dangerous for these reasons, but if its deep, you’ve almost got no chance.

It is no surprise then, that the ancients told the story of a friendly horse by the riverside, that offered a group of children (or a lone adult) a ride. Once they mounted it, they were stuck-fast, and the Kelpie transformed into a malevolent spirit, and leapt into the water and drowned them. The warning being, children should not play unsupervised in rivers, and adults should not enter them alone.

Another glorious groundhog week

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Week in Review

I could copy and paste my last post, as this week my day to day life pretty much followed the same routine. There was painting, horse drawing, seal watching, massaging, and fella loving.

There was also a few anomalies, like how beautiful the weather was on Friday. It gave me a taste of what summer will be like out here at Anam Cara. Mum popped out in the morning and agreed that the summer here will be glorious, and picked a spot for her and Dad to sit and watch the sea.

When it’s sunny, the studio is filled with beautiful diffused light, making it a pleasure to work in. Even so, Friday was so lovely, I finished my afternoon Ann-paint early and sat outside and drew horses, which was heavenly.

The course starts again this coming Tuesday. It will be lovely to catch up with everyone, and get stuck into my water project again. Once I have finished the Ann painting (hopefully by the end of the week), I’ll be able to devote most of my time to it, so hopefully there’ll be more progress this term.