Contemporary Abstract Drawing and other gubbins.

Wednesday:

If you read yesterday's blog and the day before you would have seen the first two evenings work on this drawing and now above is the drawing after three evening sessions and it is what I am getting on with later. I am quite pleased with the progress so far.

Today we went up to the workshop to sort a few things out and then went off around town delivering leaflets. It was a very still morning and above and below are a couple of pics above looking out over the bay and below is the plaque giving you a little slice of art history and some of the artists that kick started what was to become the St Ives 'art colony' with their visit. Of course this is now used to promote a holiday business and why not.

This afternoon website work was done and we also followed up some leads for some school visits to our arts workshop next year.

Above is a drawing I did a couple of months ago or so and is in the series of 'Grid' drawings. The genesis of this work and many others is because I lived on the outskirts of Milton Keynes the grid city. I always seem to come back to this theme in many different ways from time to time.

I am off to draw.....

Draw! Drawing, Drawings, Abstract Drawing and Tate St Ives.

Monday:

As usual my blog starts with drawings I did the evening before and I have started working on the covers of my now finished sketchbook work which still doesn't have a title, hopefully that with come to me when I get drawing later.

The week starts as it does with our Monday morning drawing class and today I led the session and as the weather was so nice we took our opportunity to get up on the Tate roof garden. These two photos reference what we got up to and the two main drawings I did.

Above and below was my output from this morning.

Above is another drawing from the group that was done in the last 10 mins by one of our regulars Sue Hopper.

Above is a little art drop I did today all the others over the last couple of weeks have been collected/found. I must try and do a few more this week to replenish.

This afternoon I manned our exhibition and we even had a sale.

You may wonder what this is a picture of and I would if  I hadn't captured it on my phone. This is the 'stuff' under the glass of the light catchers above the new underground gallery at Tate St Ives.

Since then I have done some website work and helped design a new course for the workshop, more about that later.

I am off to do somethings and then to draw. I draw nearly every day of my life and it has become very much a part of me and what I do as an artist but I also fit in a lot of other creative activities which you have to do if you help run a 'creative workshop' space in St Ives Cornwall.

New work and a busy day.

Wednesday:

Above is the drawing I finished last evening and it took time to 'max' it out but I got there and happy with it/them.... Below gives you a bit of a close-up of what went on the page.

As I have most of my art drops have been found I thought I would do more but I only had time to do one little one as we had a busy day at the workshop today. In the morning we had seven for a portrait drawing session myself and my son became models for them to draw.

This afternoon gave us good weather and we were able to utilize it so we did having plenty of drying space for our 'Shabori' workshop and this afternoon was sold out and below are some of the results.

After the workshop I was greeted by this image in our cleaning bucket, multi-coloured bubbles, you don't see them everyday, well I don't....

After the workshop, I had just started another drawing in my book but the pens I started it with has run out so change of plan is in order and a change of pen too.

This evening I have been back out doing a guitar lesson and am now back writing this and thinking about how my latest drawing will continue.

A good day today.

Cheers.

New book drawings, art drop found and a drawing tour.

Tuesday:

Last night I carried on with my latest drawing and this is how far I got hopefully I will get to finishing it later but whether that will be tonight or not I know not yet.

Today was a busy morning for me, I had six on my Tour and draw today which was fun and my son came along too to document it and do some photography for his 'A' Level.

Unfortunately I haven't access to those pics so I can't show you a flavour of what we did. We started at Barnoon Workshop at 11am and went up to Alfred Wallis's grave and then around town bringing in facts about various locations and artists from the past but also some current ones too.

After the tour we went back up to the workshop and had lunch we then got ready for Zoe's afternoon Resin Charms session and then I went around the town again and went back up near the end of the session to drill some small holes in some of the shell charms so they could be used as pendents or key rings.

We seem to be having a little outbreak of fungi coming around town and I found this rather large example today it was nearly 5 inches in diameter.

I also took this shot above over the top of The Tate and Meadow Flats out to the sea beyond Porthmeor. Not bad weather and temperature.

I also discovered that most of my recent 'art drops' were found today apart from one........

I am off to draw soon but I will share a few other pics out of the book I am still working on with the drawing at the top of this blog....

Cheers.

Starting the week again, Work in progress and Barnoon Workshop etc etc.

Monday:

Above is the start of my latest drawing a two parter so to speak. The same premise for the top and bottom but a potentially different outcome from the same rules. I like that kind of idea.

As I probably say nearly every Monday it starts with the Drawing class at Barnoon Workshop run by my Wife. Today we had a larger group than usual and our session was about drawing with felt tipped pens markers and other contemporary pens and above and below are the two examples I did. There were more than usual in the group today so we had to use both ends of the workshop.

 Above and below are a couple of photos from my day and not too far from our Barnoon Workshop. It might not look sunny but the temperature was really quite warm for the middle of October.

Since then I have helped clean up at the workshop after this afternoons watercolour class and I started to strip the varnish off my son's skateboard deck so I can get it ready for me to draw on.

I also did a small art drop today which I know has already been found.

Well as usual when finishing the blog I am getting ready to continue drawing and tonight I will continue with the drawing at the top of the page. I am going to enjoy how each of the two patterns evolve.

Cheers

My work continues with new drawings, Tony Eastman works and Tobes Rainbird.

Thursday:

Above is the drawing I had started in the previous evenings session that I showed yesterday and last night I finished it.  I am happy with it as an addition to the book I am working on.

 Above is the drawing that I then started after finishing the previous but I didn't get too far with it but whilst manning Hand Held View the exhibition I continued to draw and managed to get it finished. It was quite a quiet day mainly due to rough weather which sounds like it might be getting worse.

Also today, inspired by someone finding one of these a made a new one a placed it in the same spot.
 

Whilst manning the exhibition I took four pics of work in the show, above is 'Asparagus From Memory' by Tobes Rainbird. I love the title and the painting, mind you I like his other two paintings in the show a lot too I just didn't take pics of them.

Above and the two below as promised are the works in the show from Tony Eastman, which I equally love. They make me think of my friend and artists work Steve Groom although not very similar except small and with a certain sense of humour and joy. Above is Bamboo Forest which seems to be one of the most popular within show, I am surprised it has not sold yet.. Below is Beach Cone and the one with the blue light is 'a little cinema', lovely.

Well I am off to think and draw but whilst I have been writing this blog I have been re-imagining the back cover of a Japanese book. It has been giving me ideas on how to progress with it, if it looks interesting I will show tomorrow. I had better get concentrating on finishing my other book first as I have already started the next drawing in it. I am also considering writing some sort of narrative or statement or something in the back cover.

Cheers!

New drawing on the go, Tony Eastman and Chris Packham.

Wednesday:

Above is a drawing that I started working on in last evenings drawing session, I was also watching a program on Chris Packham and his autism. Very touching it was too and also revealing some traits that I possess, not surprising really when I look at the kind of work I produce. I wouldn't be shocked if I appeared on the spectrum somewhere.
I have found Chris Packham always informative and always worth a watch ever since his early days but I had never realised what a struggle life had been for him and his family and in many ways continues to be. I admire his complete honesty in this documentary, I have continued to think about this hour of viewing all day on and off.

Below is a close up of the work I started last night and have continued to work on for a couple of hours today.

This day has been a good day it started by me manning the exhibition at Barnoon and we had quite a few visitors including exhibitor Tony Eastman it was a pleasure to meet him and I highly recommend you take a look at his work on his website http://www.tonyeastmanartist.com/ 
It is also a pleasure to have him in the show, I will get better pics of his work in our show that my wife curated for tomorrow's blog.
This afternoon was part workshop and part gallery as we had a wire drawing workshop that my wife led, I joined in but helped with visitors to the Hand Held View show. We closed the workshop later than we were intending to as we had a few visitors from the show.
Since then all the ordinary things have happened and I received a communication to say someone had found one of my 'art drops'. It is always a nice moment for me when someone finds one of my free art pieces and even better when they let me know, a little happiness has been spread.

I am off to draw.

Cheers

Contemporary Abstract Drawing, RIP Sean Hughes and an Art tour.

Tuesday:

Above and below are my two new drawings in my latest whole sketchbook work which is yet untitled. I am as ever pleased with these drawings and they fit in the book nicely with the previous drawings, you may think otherwise. You may also think what the hell is he doing and not work out what I have been doing all these years. I believe and assert that I am doing something that could be entitled as contemporary abstract drawing, you may also not think this but there you go!

 As I hadn't brought my sketchbook back from the studio I contented myself by doing some small drawings on these sea pottery shards. Most of the time I leave these around for people to find and from the responses I get from some of the people who find them they spread a little happiness and that is just fine by me.

Today I have given an art tour of St Ives for two lovely people from Reading. I really enjoy doing these tours whether it is a big group or otherwise. What a nice way to spend a bit of my day and also gives me the excuse to sketch and here is a quick one from down on the harbour today. Part of the drawing tour thing for me is to get people drawing which hopefully they will continue after today and fill the sketchbook, I have many some are abstract and others have scenes from my adopted town.

Above is a pic of a largish ship that sheltered in the bay yesterday but by this morning it had continued on it's journey to wherever, I am guessing either out across the Atlantic or to one of our ports.

Yesterday I was shocked to hear of the death of comedian Sean Hughes at the tender age of 51, I only saw him live once at The Derngate Theatre in Northampton somewhat over 20 years ago and he was a remarkable talent who will be sadly missed by many. I was also a big fan of Sean when he was on the tele. Sean's Show especially and as a captain on Nevermind The Buzzcocks. RIP Sean.

Well I am off to have my dinner and then get on with a few things before I start drawing.

Helen Birch - Freehand, Starting the week

Monday:

I have probably started most Monday blogs with something like this, and this is no real exception. Monday starts as Monday does with my wife's drawing class at Barnoon Workshop, I have taken the class a few times myself but it is really Zoe's domain. Today we we working from the Helen Birch book 'Freehand'. An excellent book that we picked up at the Tate St Ives bookshop yesterday. We had a lively group this morning, one newcomer and a German lady on holiday four regulars and me.

The two hour session shot past with us all taking something from the book and going with it under Zoe's gentle guidance. I think we were all pleased with what we had done, some serious work was done and a few flippant fun drawings too. I am going to delve a lot deeper into this Freehand book, it features many many different artists, the narrative is straightforward, simple and direct. As a small reasonably priced art book it is a bit of a gem.

We had lunch at the workshop and then in the afternoon I went home to do some Barnoon admin whilst Zoe delivered a watercolour session.

I have not managed any new pics of my new drawings, two done last night and a few sea pottery shards that have been put out for art drops.

So I am going to show some recent works.

 Above is 'Red Hollow Dots' on found sea washed plywood and is one of my enteries in the Hand Held View Exhibition.

 Above is an A2 drawing also themed up with hollow dots.

Above is an A2 on a stained glass window grid.

 Above is another A2 from a series I did in the summer.

Above and below are two more from the same series.

Above is the final one for this blog and was also from this series.

I must also mark that this daily blog well I have missed 1 day in nearly 600 has reached 30,000 plus views, so thank you for reading.