Drawing Class, Work In Progress and Seaweed.

Monday:

Well here I am 21 months into doing my daily blog, it maps out my daily output to show that art is not all about glamour or wafting around with an ego. I am sure both have their place in the art world but I am just an artist trying to find my way through in a complicated world and to keep up my practice and get my work more out there. So I try to draw every day I possibly can, I carry such a wealth of ideas and I do a lot of thinking whilst working on a drawing. In truth ideas for each drawing comes quite easily and is generally a reaction to the previous drawing or drawings. So above is a new work in progress that has taken two sessions so far, I reckon that is about 7 or more hours work so far. I tend not to take much notice of the time actually taken on each drawing, maybe I should document a whole drawing in that manner. That is something I played with for a while when I was doing a series of drawings on wood and they would have the radio and television programs that were on whilst I was drawing. I very rarely draw in silence unless I am drawing in the outside world which does happen more these days.

So Monday starts as Monday does, that phrase is becoming a bit of a mantra in my life as is the regular start the week drawing class I attend and very occasionally lead that my wife Zoe Eaton generally does. Today's theme was 'Ink, Seaweed and Bleach' and in this session I didn't get to grips with the bleach to well but I was in love with the seaweed forms and ink washes, so below are my experiments from this morning lovely session.

Seaweed with Inks and Fine Liner

Seaweed and half a Quince.

Towards the end of the session I ended up experimenting with Quink ink and a small but wide brush and drew/painted these three slightly abstracted seaweed pics and I really enjoyed them, it was pretty liberating and I must try and find more time to explore this.

Since the I have done workshop work, website and things and above is random pic of the day, our bulbs have started to sprout in the back garden. It always surprises me slightly how far ahead the growing season is in the far south west.

The St Ives Society Of Artists, new works etc

Saturday:

Above is a drawing I started a couple of days ago and as you can see it is now finished and I have now started the next drawing in the book and I should bring you progress on that tomorrow.

This afternoon I went up to the workshop on the way to the private view at The Mariners Gallery and yet again we both have works in the open exhibition. The viewing at The St Ives Society of Artists was a busy affair as usual. It is always nice to bump into familiar faces at these things, Marie Keeling, John Watson etc. It is always nice to see unfamiliar faces too.

Above is my wife's sculpture that she put in and he it is looking good on Marie Keeling's table, they look good together.

Above an below are my two entries and I think they look and different to any of the other works in the show, fingers crossed I might sell them, I have had a reasonable hit rate in the Society shows so far so hey you never know. The exhibition is on until the beginning of January and it is good to have work on show again. I always find it interesting to be in a show in a gallery that has so much history and such big names that were once members, The Society was started in 1927, that is 90 years ago.

Here is a brief history.

"

ST. IVES SOCIETY OF ARTISTS 1927-2008 

On the 26th January 1927, the marine artist Commander George Fagan Bradshaw proposed the foundation of a society to raise the standards of the colony and to exhibit works which ‘mattered’ in artistic circles. Lanham’s Gallery was the temporary home of this fledgling Society, but by 1928 it had moved to Julius Olsson’s old studio in Back Road West. The following year all the studios were offered for sale and Moffat Lindner purchased the whole block to avoid them being turned into shops. Borlase Smart said that Lindner had prevented what might have been a serious crisis in the history of St. Ives art. Lindner was very supportive and enabled the Society to continue to use Olsson’s studio at a very favourable rent. In 1932 the adjacent studio, number four, was also rented due to the growth of the Society. Lindner became President and remained in the post for the first eighteen years. 

 

Many Royal Academicians became members of this new Society: the leader of the Newlyn School, Stanhope Forbes, Lamorna Birch, Julius Olsson, the Principal of the first private art school in St. Ives, Adrian Stokes, Dame Laura Knight, Sir John Arnesby Brown, Algernon Talmage, Sir Alfred Munnings, Sir Stanley Spencer, Sir Frank Brangwyn, Sydney Lee, Dod Proctor, Bernard Fleetwood-Walker and many other notable artists including John Park and Borlase Smart. 

 

The decision that transformed the fortunes of the Society was a brave one, taken in 1931 at the height of the Depression. This was to stage a series of touring exhibitions at municipal art galleries around the country; the first, in Huddersfield, was very popular. Subsequently over twenty-five separate art galleries hosted shows by the Society between 1931 and 1947. In 1947 a touring show was even staged in South Africa to coincide with the King’s visit. 

 

Borlase Smart, Secretary of the Society from 1933 until his death, was also its later President. He was the driving force behind its astonishing early success."

 

If you want to read more see their website on this link http://www.stisa.co.uk/history/ 

Above is one of Graham Dilley's works in the 'open' it and another one are companion pieces to the ones we saw at yesterdays opening at The PZ Gallery and it is nice to see his work in town too.

Above is a pic I took from the far end of the gallery to give you an idea of the scale of this exhibition.

I have had a nice quiet day and now I am off to draw more and get ready for a day guitar course I am giving tomorrow.

Cheers.

Barbara Hepworth Museum, Work in Progress and an Art Tour.

Tuesday:

Above is that drawing I have doing in small grabbed session but I have now completed the monochrome under drawing I now have colour to add, which will I am sure take some time but that is within the nature of most of my work, a pure simple idea that creates many hours work.

This morning I did and art tour and draw for two and we had a very pleasant time pottering around town drawing as I filled in with some art history of the town. We started by heading up to Alfred Wallis's grave and then out and about around the town and finally ended up at The Guildhall for a bit of 19th Century art gems upstairs.
 I then went to meet my wife Zoe and our friend who is staying with us, then back up to Barnoon Workshop after picking up the remainder of 'stuff' from Erin's Pick Pretty Paints in The Sloop Craft Market.

We finally headed off back into town to get a few things to find out that my friend has finally sold his shop. I am very pleased for him but it is sad that we will lose the best grocers in town. Above is a pic of the scaffolding going up so they can re-roof The Barbara Hepworth Museum. It does seem that it is not open again until March 2018.

This afternoon after sorting out some new events for the workshops in the future I had a coffee outside in the back garden and found this on our garden table, how natural and beautiful is this sycamore seed.....

I am off to get some drawing done and get ready for tomorrow.

Work In Progress, Monday Drawing at Barnoon Workshop and 40,000 views.

Monday:

 Above is a drawing that has been slowly evolving over the last few days as I have worked on another drawing for the Christmas open which I have been getting ready for framing. I also have another to frame ready to put in.

Today started as Monday does with my wife running the drawing group at Barnoon Workshop and today we started drawings inspired by Jean-Michael Basquiat. Above is the first more literal drawing I did playing with some of his themes.

It was a hearty group today and we then got into some other drawing spinning the theme in a more personal style so above and below playing with ideas. I love attending the drawing group it helps me try new things and also to weave my own style out of it too.

Above is the drawing I completed yesterday and is now called 'Repeater' after the new Teleman song that was featured in Mary Ann Hobb's Art is Everything program on 6 Music which I have now uploaded onto the Art Is Everything platform on the 6 Music website.

The rest of today has been spent getting ready for our visitor who had originally intended to come and stay with to build a new large lantern for the Lantern Parade but we have had to not be involved this year because of many things and personalities. More of which I will not divulge at the moment but needless to say I was quite annoyed and upset about as we started the St Ives Lantern Parade and ...........
Still our friend is now down here for a couple of weeks on holiday.

I have also noticed that my blog has now reached over 40,000 views, thank you all.

I will be off to draw shortly and to catch up with world news and how nuts this world seems to be at the moment. I am pleased to be in the 'Penwith Bubble' which actually helps me not get over involved.

Cheers.

Whole sketch book work and progress.

Tuesday:

Above is the my new drawing and the 12th in my new whole sketchbook work, I have a lot more to do to this one so after doing this blog I will be getting on with it.

Today has been a busy day getting on with new events and website work for Barnoon Workshop in St Ives just behind The Tate....

I really have to start thinking about finishing off some work for the next open exhibition at The Society of St Ives Artist and have just over a week to get my work in. I have been fortunate to have been accepted for the last four exhibitions there. Last time the curator was Anthony Frost, son of Sir Terry Frost both abstract artists that I have a lot of time for.both.

So amid all the others things we have to do for our business I seriously need to get some other work done than in my new book work but for tonight that is what I am doing.

Below are some of the other drawing I have done recently in my whole sketch book work. When the book is complete it will have 70 drawings so quite a way to go.

I think this 'book' is coming together well.

Cheers!

New work on the go, Line and ink wash and Barnoon Workshop.

Monday:

Above is the drawing I started working on in last evenings drawing session, obviously it is not completed yet but I will be getting on with it later.

Today being a Monday started with our drawing class at Barnoon Workshop, this morning it was led by my wife Zoe Eaton and the general idea was to draw and then add a signature colour or in my case three different ink washes. As we had had a sculpture workshop yesterday Zoe decided that we should draw some of the tools. I don't think I have ever drawn a hammer so my completed work after a couple of formative drawings was this below.
It was a fun session with plenty of banter and chat as we all took on the task and two hours just flew past.

Since then we have been around town distributing leaflets for future workshop and I also popped in to see Carl from BID to discuss a few future plans and projects and also to give him our future workshops so he may place a journalist or more with a future workshop to get the town some good press to show we are more of a town over beach, shopping and The Tate. We didn't get any placements last year but hopefully we will this coming winter. He is trying to show off the town is not just for summer.

Well I am off to draw not and watch Andrew Graham Dixon on Scandinavian art... He always does a good art doc.

Cheers!

Sculpture Workshop, new drawing etc.

Sunday:

Above is the drawing I managed to complete in last evenings drawing session and so I have a new drawing to get on with after I finish this blog.

Today we have been at the workshop doing a 'breeze block' sculpture workshop, I seemed to have made to complicated a design to complete it in one session but I really enjoyed doing and will finish it off a soon as I can. It is based on one of my drawing styles.

 Above and below two other sculptures from the workshop today.

Above and below are just a couple of pics to give you an idea of the weather today. The wind was pretty fierce at  times and whipping up the sea so today I didn't see one surfer and I really don't blame them either.

On the way back we did a bit of leaflet distribution, first to The Tate and nice to see our friend Jordan manning the front desk. We then went around the town a bit more sometimes finding shelter and sometimes finding it hard to walk.

It is now time to watch Blue Planet II another wonderful David Attenborough series, the first two have showed some amazing sights. I will start to draw.....

Cheers.

New Drawing and some of today....

Friday:

So above is my latest completed drawing that I managed to finish last evening, another variation on a theme. I am now about a 7th in to this project of a whole sketchbook.

I went up to the workshop this morning it was quite cold and windy, thought I would show this garage in a green lawn, which I have never seen used, would love to use the door as a 'canvas' to draw all over....

I spent nearly an hour at the workshop and started this drawing above which I may work on further tonight.

After that I headed off to take some more posters around so out past Porthmeor and then to Norway Stores, The Sloop Craft Market, The St Ives Society of Artists and more....

So uneventful day really going to meet my wife off the train soon. It will be nice to her back, we spend so little time apart it is always a bit odd being apart. We have worked together since 2010 and are now on our second business together.

The evolution of a drawing, Hand Held View and Peter Saville

Friday:

Today we have been manning the last day of our Hand Held View exhibition at Barnoon Workshop and a lovely day it has been and quite a few visitors and inbetween  all that I have been doing a drawing, no surprise to my regular readers I am sure. Having spent about four hours or so drawing I will show you below the eveolution of this latest drawing in my new book.

Above is the start of the drawing that was started the evening before last.

Above is how far I had got with the drawing after last evenings drawing session and as you can see it had grown quite a bit.

Today I then got it all filled in by half way through the afternoon and then my thoughts turned to colour.

 So I turned to my Berol watercolour pens that my son gifted me when he was last down. They are part of a box of his pens from Middle School and first part of secondary that he doesn't use anymore so he brought them down for me, very thoughtful. He knows I like pens and would get a lot of use. So I added some turquoise.

I then added some yellow.

Then some purple.

Then finally some orange, mind you some more to do later.

This evening a few of our pals turned up as we we starting to get the exhibition ready for taking down and to get ready for tomorrows Patrick Heron painting party. Jordan Laurence Jackson arrived and shortly after we had a little flow of his fellow Tate workers popping in. He had already taken his photos off the wall and his Father had taken them back with him. So when one of Jordan's co-workers arrived he tried to show a photo of them in situ.

My wife then found a skull in the pop corn.

Above are our merry little band near the end of the day. Erin Lacy, Jordan Jackson, Marie Keeling and my lovely wife Zoe Eaton.
 
When I came in and started planning my blog tonight I went on to my blog 'reading list and found a nice thing about Peter Saville and how he had fabricated 3D versions of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album cover. I won't say anything else but give you the link so you can read too. http://artistsbooksandmultiples.blogspot.co.uk/

I have always had a lot of time for Peter Saville.

Well I am off to continue with my evolving drawing. Cheers!