More Pastel Drawings

Continuing with my pastel drawings, I am really enjoying doing these at the moment, I needed a little break from painting.

Detail

Detail

Pastel Drawings

I felt like a change from painting today so decided to do some quite large pastel drawings. The paper measures 57cm x 77cm, quite large for me. I managed to do three but have only photographed two of them, it was getting dark by the time I finished the third. I really enjoyed doing them it was quite exciting just to let go and have fun.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

Inspiration

I frequently check out the Porthmeor Studios renovation site, I find the photographs by Graham Gaunt really inspiring the empty worn spaces are so evocative of a time passed and so full of history. Interestingly I find the earlier photographs before the renovation started more beautiful than the more recent photographs, I just love all those worn surfaces, rusty nails and broken windows. The film below is by Graham Gaunt and shows the studios in November 2011.

Work in Progress

I am currently working on a series of paintings so am pretty busy at the moment. I only have two or three days free to get into the studio so that leaves little time for anything else, I haven't done any photography in ages so I might have a painting break next week just to gather some inspirational material. Here are a few detailed photos of the paintings, I don't feel ready to share the whole paintings yet.

Callum Innes

I have been a fan of the Scottish abstract painter Callum Innes since my University days so was very excited to here about his forthcomong exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, starting on the 2nd March and finishing on the 16th June.

He will be showing a number of paintings from his ongoing series of Exposed Paintings which are made by a process of addition and subtraction. All the paintings start of as solid black oil paint, he then uses turpentine to remove the black then adds colour and removes this. He also paints in watercolour using the same process of adding and subtracting, this exhibition will show a selection of new watercolours made especially for the Whitworth.

The following Tate Shots studio visit shows the process of making the watercolours, his studio looks amazing, I wish it was mine.

If anyone is local to Manchester you might be interested in his artists talk which is at the Whitworth on the 2nd March at 2.30. You can also see more work here.

Josef Albers

Josef Albers en Amérique - du 8 février au 30... by centrepompidou

Love this short video of Josef Albers colour studies taken from a touring exhibition that started at The Pompidou Centre in 2012, Josef Albers in America: Paintings on Paper. See more here.

The Language of Thought

' The problems of inventing a new language are staggering............
The interest in language so dominant in modern art is not an interest in semantics per se:
it is a continual interest in making language ( whatever the medium )
to fit our real feelings better...........'

Robert Motherwell 1965.

When I am working I always have a sheet of paper at hand to test out colours, marks and scribbles, how to harness this I don't know!!