5AM period pain and drawing

That title just about sums up my week so far. A lot of the unexpected keeps on happening and my body clock is all out of whack – daylight savings! Title of this post courtesy of waking up at 5AM in a lot of pain, with the cat jumping on my face and me finding off the drawing above.

I’m working on bigger drawings but needed a little break from them so decided to do a little series like some of Dürer’s hand studies. He is a favourite artist of mine, I thought of two things while researching him recently.

1.) In the past it was perfectly acceptable for an artist to draw, etch, paint, sculpt, woodwork etc while these days I feel the pressure to do ONE or the OTHER.

2.) MASTER artist is definitely a word reserved for male artists.

Yesterday I had a very big day in Melbourne looking at a lot of art. I really want to write about that but my thoughts are still formulating also I am running out of time as today is also a big day and then Friday I will DO NOTHING.

 

Weekend in drawings

Daughter wants to go to a birthdya party dressed up as a fridge.

 

 

Little puppy that we a minding for the week.

 

Went to see Aunty Marlene Gilson’s paintings at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and came across these two women who talked and looked for so long I thought I’d capture the moment with a quick drawing.

 

I’ve been having some struggles so gardening and quick drawing is bringing me back into focus and calming me down.

 

A tired, beautiful little face.

 

Not every drawing has to come out as you planned, not every drawing has to be ‘finished’. Art is such a unique window into the human experience – I have to remember that.

bird of paradise

Earlier in the year I ran an observing nature drawing work shop at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Each class I would bring in seeds, flower and leaf samples. In the end, as it was getting colder and my flowers were not flowering I was sourcing from florists.

Teaching drawing is pretty amazing, but it’s also a battle as I just really want to sit down and draw too. I took in two birds of paradise flowers to the final class and decided to also draw it – after the class, of course 😛

This was months ago but I forgot about it and just came across it in my sketch book last week. I think it is pretty good.

Inexorable – new drawing

Inexorable, 105x75cm by Lily Mae Martin, ink on cotton paper- 2018
Drawing photographed by Gene Hammond-Lewis .

 

I did various studies for this drawing, and then I took my time rendering and rendering and trying out a slightly different technique to the usual. Then my kid got sick, I got sick, kid got sick again and it seems like I had been working on this drawing for so long I couldn’t see it anymore. In fact Gene and my kid both told me that it was finished and I didn’t believe them for about a week.

Titling this work was hard too, I had read various poems and birth prayers to try and convey what this work is about in one or few words, what a job.

I loved these lines from Plath’s Three Women in regard to birth

I do not have to think, or even rehearse.
What happens in me will happen without attention.

And the line from the birth prayer by Louis Macneice

I am not yet born

Judith Wright’s Women to Child

You who were darkness warmed my flesh

But as with the work and the title I have to accept them for what they are – a piece of a larger conversation, all of my works. And to not put so much on one work, one title that I can’t move forward.

When I accepted this I was happy again, though I must say the difficulty also comes from a year of very little recognition, little positive feedback – or any feedback. It gets very easy to get lost. I don’t expect to be in everything but nothing is a little tricky to navigate. So this too – makes it very hard to see my work and to keep on going.

Anyway, here we are – I did it and I am digging extra deep to keep on keeping on.

 

Little drawings for sale!

Hello – I am putting together a post of all the little drawings that are available for purchase from Scott Livesey Galleries

Delicate, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2018

 

Envisage, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2018

 

Claw, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2017

 

Tweak,  Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 19x14cm 2018

 

These hands, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 14x19cm 2017

 

This corner, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 15x19cm 2017

Stretch, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2017

Remission, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2017

Hands, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 15x19cm 2018

Feet, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 15x19cm 2018

Softer Softest, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 15x19cm 2018

Hand study, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2018

Foot Study, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2018

Bend, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 15x19cm 2017

Nipple, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 15x19cm 2018

Somewhere Near Linda Valley, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 14x19cm 2018

Werribee Gorge, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 14x19cm 2018

Dinorwic Slate Quarry – Wales, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2018

Black Hill, Ink on cotton paper by Lily Mae Martin 18x25cm 2017

For interest contact the gallery on T: +61 3 9824 7770 or email at info@scottliveseygalleries.com

Thank you!

New little drawings

Hello – I have been working hard on making more little drawings to take down to Melbourne to sell. I have a folio there with smaller, unframed works. They have been going at a steady rate so it is time to make some more. Here’s a sample of some that I have completed so far..


Hands
Ink on cotton paper
19x14cm
Lily Mae Martin


Softer, softest
Ink on cotton paper
19x14cm
Lily Mae Martin


Feet
Ink on cotton paper
19x14cm
Lily Mae Martin

 

 

I may frame this one –


Delicate
18x25cm
Ink on cotton paper
Lily Mae Martin

 

 

I’m trying to make my work not so dark.. Which doesn’t always go to plan. I seem to have ways I do things even though I want to change them up a bit, it’s hard to break habits.

Any interest in any of my work please contact Scott Livesey Galleries – they are awesome – at info@scottliveseygalleries.com
I also have a number of works hanging on their walls at the moment as part of the WINTER SALON 2018 and some in the stock room there.

Also –


It’s school holidays so I’m off to try and be a fun mum / person for this fortnight.

x

Winter Salon 2018 & works currently for sale


Reawaken, 56x76cm, Ink on paper, 2018

I have a number of drawings at Scott Livesey Galleries – A few of these are on view as part of the Winter Salon Exhibition
WINTER SALON 2018
.
A rotating exhibition, ON VIEW from this Saturday 16th June, with drinks between 1-3pm.
.
To view: CLICK
.
Opening hours:
Tues-Fri 11am-5pm and Sat 11am-4pm.
.
All queries:
T: +613 9824 7770
E: info@scottliveseygalleries.com

Below are a few works that are at the gallery currently:


Ride, 30×30, Ink on paper, 2016


Dancer, 30×30, Ink on paper, 2016

The Longest Shortest Time ink on paper 75 x 105cm 2017

Seated Nude ink on paper 75 x 105cm 2016


Waterloo State Forest, 105x75cm, Ink on paper, 2016


Enrapt, 56x76cm, Ink on paper, 2018


Mungo NSW, 23cm x 31cm, Ink on paper, 2018


Mungo Sunset, 23cm x 31cm, Ink on paper, 2018


Turn, 15x19cm, Ink on paper, 2017 – unframed


This Corner, 15x19cm, ink on paper, 2017 ( unframed )

Drawing Language – Artist talk

From This Wild Song website:

Can’t wait for our next forum Drawing Language with artists Filomena Coppola, Lily Mae Martin and Charlotte Watson! Join us for a lovely afternoon at The Art Room ( in Footscray ) and learn more about these artist’s work, their drawing language, and their experiences as women in the arts.
Afternoon tea is provided, please bring your questions!
Places are limited

CLICK HERE

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I will talk about at this forum and am really looking forward to it. It’s been an interesting process stepping back and looking over my drawing career, there’s a lot to say. I’m also excited to meet the other artists and hear what they say too.

On Saturday – I went to an artist talk by Megan Evans at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and it was truly fantastic. Artists talks are so important – if you are an artist or interested in becoming one or just interested I think these experiences are truly valuable and totally worth attending.

See you there 🙂

Meanwhile I am working on this large one, at the kitchen table as I had to keep an eye on kids who also kept an eye on me 🙂

The Good Room

Of late, I have let too many things that do not matter -matter. After a good few weeks off doing things that are not Art I feel like I’ve had my time and now it’s time to get back to it.
I forget how good it is for the art and for the soul to just stop every so often. Break bad habits, shut the socials down and do life things like garden and cook and sometimes laying on the floor and having a good cry. But also, boxing! I’ve taken up boxing and I am completely in love with it.
KA-POW!

But today I wanted to write and talk about The Good Room. Gene and I were lucky enough to buy our first home about two years ago. The house we got defo was in need of some TLC. It’s still got a long ways to go, but it has already come so far. Gene’s been woodworking and he’s so very clever while I’ve been gardening and learning the art of not killing plants, but growing them and growing them well. We are so lucky we get to share this with our almost eight year old daughter. She’s helped paint and wood work and garden and chooses things out also.
There’s a big room out the front of our place that we just used to store and dump stuff. When we moved out from Melbourne a number of years back, it was pretty sudden and up until a few months ago we still hadn’t unpacked a lot of that stuff. So we got in there a number of months ago. Pulled things out, cleaned and sorted and delivered unwanted but good things to the op shop. Luckily when we had first moved in here it was one of the few rooms that we had professionally painted, so after we cleaned up it was time to source some furniture.
It took a while to work out what kind of style we wanted to go for. After a visit to a very wonderful writer’s house in Mildura earlier this year – I knew I wanted to head towards mid century style of furniture. Gene agreed, but on the condition that we do not get those fuckin spiky clock things. ( Which I had spent the day looking at on eBay! )
After lusting after things on pinterest I simply googled ‘mid century Ballarat’ not thinking I’d have any luck but what came up was Pamo Industries. I was very, very excited when I found this. We went to their showroom and lucky for us they had chairs already restored but also a coffee table and a sideboard which had yet to be restored. It would take some time for the table and sideboard to be finished so we looked for a rug that would fit in with it all in the meantime, which we did. ( The whole house will need to have to floorboards re done at some point, but that’s a thing for the future.) When the furniture arrived it was better than Christmas – it is so beautifully restored and looks beautiful. Kidlet, Gene and I sat in there just marvelling at it and the space and laughing together. Perfect. We also sourced a couch from gumtree and have art from other artists and myself to hang on the walls.

The Good Room still has a ways to go. The plan is to find a few more lamps and side tables for it, that will take some time to hunt and find. We would also like to build a unit to store all of the books. There’s a TV port in the room but we’ll leave that, this room is for reading and crafting and tea drinking. Kidlet calls it the ‘Relaxing Room’ – it really, really is.

( L to R ) Small painting by Nadia Toukhsati, drawing by Lily Mae Martin, painting by Monique Revell, painting by Nom Kinnear-King.

Furniture by Pamo Industries.

OK, now time to get to the studio and see what I can do. See you soon.