Drawing Tuesday: Coral and RA Abstract Expressionism

  Drawing Tuesday this week   was at the Natural History  Museum , an afternoon session to try and avoid the hordes of school groups. It was still pretty busy though  and 3 of us found a quieter spot at the end of a corridor   and drew an enormous coral . It was very easy to get lost in the folds  but it was very rewarding to see it gradually take shape on the paper.  I used just a 4B pencil but wished I'd left  more areas undetailed like the drawing of the vase at the British  Museum.  I did  a quick sketch  ( below)  of some of the texture- so  much inspiration for stitch!

In the morning I went to the Abstract Expressionism  exhibition at the RA. Absolutely fantastic and worth the steep entrance fee  to see work on such a grand scale -  photos just don't do them justice . I didn't pick up an audio guide as I wanted to discover them for myself and walked quickly through the whole exhibition before zoning in on what grabbed my attention and why.  I made lots of notes and have ordered  the catalogue .  Meanwhile , do look at the teachers resources ( primary and secondary ) for the exhibition , so many good ideas. There were quite a few school groups  there - it was interesting to contrast their behaviour in different galleries - they were  lively  observing the Jackson Pollock and   calm and meditative   in the Rothko room, (  I could have spend all day there)  

Among the artists whose work I already knew there were several new to me, the one that intrigued me most  in terms of techniques to try was the collage work of Conrad Marca-Relli.

I wonder what the term is for artistic indigestion?! I've seen so much wonderful art and exhibitions over the last few weeks , I'm having difficultly concentrating, my head is so full of ideas I don't know where to start