Contemporary Drawing Sketchbook : final results

I'm rather pleased with  the artists' book  based on the theme of positive/negative I produced as a result of the Contemporary Drawing Sketchbook  course at City Lit. I'd done a lot of preparation in advance of the class : painting the cover and stitching and drawing a variety of pages  so what I did in the final session  was draw with white ink on the cover and tracing the same pattern on the reverse but write the text associated with 'the elusive spark'.  

cover -  based on  fold out etching in book from 1787

inside

inside showing pamphlets attached to accordion

cover folded up

cover laid out flat

Inside with pamphlets towards centre

Inside  with left hand pamphlet opened

Inside with right hand pamphlet opened ( showing reverse of stitched page)

inside with text

However my sketchbook practise  itself hasn't altered that much from the start. Seeing what other  students  had achieved in their sketchbooks was very interesting, with  one page leading  to another, inserts, collage,  space left to add additional material , pages altered.  Overwhelmed with all the techniques demonstrated  and  with so many ideas to explore I tended to work on large separate bits of paper rather than in the sketchbook itself. I'd do it differently if I did it again!

 One of the reasons I chose this course was to bridge the gap ( ok chasm!) making links  between my observational drawings and paintings and the design work for my textile pieces .  It's certainly given me a lot  to think about in regards to my sketchbook practice. I've written before  comparing my lab book  records to my sketchbooks. Now I'm no longer working as a scientist , I'm not sure the lab book approach is as appropriate and I'm in the process of reviewing  how to make my sketchbooks work better for me as I develop as an artist.

Maggi Hambling Walls of Water and Society of Designer Craftsmen.

After a  couple of weeks stuck in the house with bronchitis  it was with great excitement that I headed up to town last Friday with Sue. I had an invitation from Alice Fox to the preview of the Society of Designer Craftsmen at the Mall Galleries ( she had a piece in the 25 x 25 x 25 project as did fellow Rydal Hall  retreater Julie Bunter) ).

As it didn't start until 6,  we fitted in the 2 linked exhibitions by Maggi Hambling 'Walls of Water'.I'd already seen the paintings at the National Gallery and was a bit underwhelmed so I was interested to see the monotypes  at the Malborough Fine Arts Gallery . As I'd suspected, far more interesting! The range of marks was  amazing - very aware of the fingerprints etc.  (read the interview about the  processes here) Also the compositions, especially those with a diagonal ,  were far more satisfying.   





Malborough Fine Arts was also the venue for the John Virtue paintings I saw last year. These  black and white seascapes on very different scales , draw you i to the picture , you can  feel the splash of those waves 



Slightly less  interesting to me were the monotypes done with silver ink - partly I think due to the black  paper they were printed on but mainly because the range of tones wasn't so marked and that horizontal line more obvious.

 It was interesting to compare similar compositions in monotype ( above  with an accidental touch of blue)  and  paint (below).   Besides the difference in size and colour, I think the processes used  also contribute. The print making is one-off  and  deductive, taking ink off the printing plate ( hence those dense velvety blacks) . When I did a printing course a few years ago at City Lit that was a revelation

Whereas the painting is additive  and  I know how easy it is to go too far.

 More food for thought at the Society of Designer Craftsmen show. For all the colour and diversity   my favourite  was a large quiet  piece by Beverly Ayling-Smith composed of a multitude of tiny mended pieces of cloth ( she had a similar piece in the Prism exhibition which also caught my attention.) A lot of her work is  based on ideas around shrouds and burial traditions. Interestingly she also has a background in science, trained as a microbiologist:  

"   I feel that the scientific way of working (making small changes in experimental processes and the documentation of these experiments) has spilled over into my artistic life"