Category Archives: #drawing

All the drawings

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untitled2015_lilymaemartin
Untitled
By Lily Mae Martin
77 x 57 cm
Ink on paper 2015
( This is the smallest one )

emerging_lilymaemartin
Emerging
112 x 76cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper
SOLD

grappling_lilymaemartin
Grappling
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

untitled_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper
SOLD

may2015_Untitled_lily_mae_martin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

Ive_never_had_a_friend_like_you_lily_mae_martin
I’ve Never Had A Friend Like You
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

01_lily_mae_martin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

workingtitle02_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

workingtitle03_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

workingtitle04_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

TheLongestWinterIHaveKnown_lilymaemartin
The Longest Winter I Have Known
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

bloodbonesheart_lilymaemartin
I Am Blood and Bones and A Beating Heart

Artist statement

As an artist, I have always been interested in exploring representations of femininity, femaleness and the female body in my work. One of the primary preoccupations of my work to date has been the internal world of women as communicated by the body. This is in part a response to contemporary representations of femaleness: the female body is ubiquitous, presented visually everywhere, in contexts that range from the crassly commercial to the sacred and divine – and yet these representations, to me, have always felt devoid of the female experience as I know and understand it.

In this series of drawings, I propose to examine and represent aspects of the female physical and emotional experience through the medium of ink on paper.
The composition will isolate full-length portraits of nude women within the negative space of the paper, simultaneously drawing attention to the details of each individual body, (toenails, hair, the cracks and crevices in skin) while the larger scale of the works will allow me to experiment with negative space as well as their imposition on the exhibition space and the viewer’s consciousness. This will involve the further development of my drawing technique, which focuses on rendered and layered line in tension with the white of the paper to create contours, form, light and shade.

The composition will be designed to produce an aesthetic that forces the viewer into discomfort, awareness, and ultimately empathy. To present the body as simultaneously beautiful and ugly, complex, contradictory, aspirational and despairing. The use of nudity allows the body of the subject to become its own canvas, without pretence; its tensions and twists communicating an interior dialogue without words. In this work I am inspired by the emotive power of the documentary drawings of Käthe Kollwitz; the technical skill of Albrecht Dürer; and the intimacy, vulnerability and strength in the portraiture work of photographer Sally Mann.

This project represents an important departure from my previous work, which, while exploring similar themes, has focused primarily on my own experiences, using my own body as a subject. The exploration of another person’s physicality is in many ways more difficult: it is interrogatory; a dialogue must be created between artist and subject, as well as between artist and audience. In this way it will be an important development for my skill as an artist, to communicate a multiplicity of experiences using a simple but timeless medium. Similarly, using models as subjects will open up the possibilities for the piece aesthetically, as it will allow me to have more control over the placement of the form, and more direction of the physical positioning and control over the composition of light and shade for each piece. (LMM, 2016)

For any inquiries/ sale please contact Scott Livesey Galleries
SCOTT LIVESEY GALLERIES
909A HIGH STREET, ARMADALE
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, 3143

T: +61 3 9824 7770
F: +61 3 9824 7771
E: INFO@SCOTTLIVESEYGALLERIES.COM

Artists ‘In Conversation’ at the Art Gallery of Ballarat

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in_conversation_lily_mae_martin

( Blind continuous line drawing of Prudence Flint and Fiona Watson in conversation drawn by me )

The Archibald Prize has made it’s way to Ballarat and there have been many events in and around this exhibition. I must admit that I am not one for openings and parties, however I have enjoyed the In Conversation series that has featured artists Juan Ford, Carla Fletcher and Prudence Flint. I think this was a really fantastic thing to do as bringing artists to the gallery to have a chat about their works within the prize as well as their overall careers and practices makes exhibitions relevant.

The audiences were made up of locals, artists and visitors – I garnered this from the Q & A sessions at the end of each conversation.

Exhibitions that are created around a prize are so interesting – sometimes they are not very good, sometimes they are mind blowing and often they are a mix of the two. The Archibald is no stranger to controversy and criticism. I often hear artists scoff that it isn’t a ‘real’ portrait prize ( I didn’t have the courage to ask what that actually meant – I mean, it’s not like there’s a fake portrait prize? ) But I think it is exciting, there are so many people I admire or studied with that are often shortlisted. These prizes really help artists but also, and possibly most importantly, it’s an exhibition that gets people from all walks talking about art.

Each artist talked about their own piece in the prize, all three works are so very different within subject and style. I enjoyed hearing their reflections on painting as a practice, and learning that Carla’s piece is a collage. There was talk about the ‘rules’ for works that are submitted to the prize. The court case that occurred in 2004 when an artist sued the Art Gallery of NSW over a winning portrait being a ‘drawing’ and not a ‘painting’ was mentioned and this got people musing about what is painting and what would constitute a painting within the context of the Archibald and does that even matter? What relationship does photography have to painting? How to keep painting relevant in this day and age.

It was interesting to hear them all talk about their studios. Juan likened his to a science lab; he has two areas – one that is messy and the other that is clean. Carla referred to her practice as being a bit ‘witchy’ and Prudence talked about the whole process being rather mysterious. She has a couch in her studio so she can sit there and knit and problem solve. I love that, I think I will get a nice comfy chair for my new studio because that sounds right to me; The idea of giving yourself a chance to step back from actively making, but still being amongst your work and giving you time to problem solve. Try and create more of an objective space, if one can!

I feel invigorated and really inspired after these talks. All the artists were very generous and had a lot of interesting things to say. It’s made me reflect on my own practice as well and made me realise a few things that I think will keep me going for a good long while.

Here are the websites of the artists mentioned, just click on their names:
Juan Ford
Carla Fletcher
Prudence Flint

Here is an article about the court case I referred too :
A brush with controversy By Carolyn Webb

The Archibald is on for another two weeks at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, information is here:
Archibald 2015

Kidlet inclusive

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box_lily_mae_martin

I wish for a world that was more inclusive for kidlets.
I find it really hard that when I am invited to things or asked to do things it requires me to either acquire care for my child or make sure that her presence has no impact on other people and/or the event we are at. And it’s very much ingrained in all people; to be separate and to spend our time with people who are having very similar experiences of this world as our own.
But I can’t do it. It’s just too joyful and too weird and too funny. I’d rather be up at dawn with coffee and a kidlet with ragamuffin hair who singing and dancing, probably a little too loudly for the hour of the day than be at a bar at night when I can hardly breath and I can’t drink anything there anyway.

x

Pyjamas on at 17:30 Friday eve

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Last night was hard, as most evenings have been this week because daylight savings comes along and confuses us all but especially those people who are five and under and are already terribly difficult to get to sleep anyway. I’ve done sleep school and all sorts of things to help with this but you know, it is constant and it is always hard – that is the reality, I am just better with it.
Nonetheless, I sometimes still get upset about it and it brings up some feelings and memories of when we really struggled with bedtime and I remember how sensitive I had become to all the noise and all the things and things that I didn’t even think about annoyed the heck out of me.
I think of all the little handwritten signs I see on people’s front doors. You know, ‘please knock quietly, baby asleep” etc. And I just think they are so polite and civil and I respect that, I really do. But it really is more like BE QUITE DO NOT KNOCK DO NOT COME OVER HERE ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE UNINVITED AND SELLING ME SHIT I WILL NOT BUY BE QUITE IF YOU WAKE MY BABY/ TODDLER/ CHILD I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU. etc.

But I’d extend that to PLEASE DO NOT SPEAK LOUDLY/ SPEAK AT ALL, PLEASE DO NOT BREATH OR LOOK AT THIS HOUSE PLEASE DO NOT START YOUR CAR SHUT YOUR MUSIC OFF TURN YOUR PHONE OFF BAN NOISES FOREVER AND EVER DOOOOO NOOOOOT NOISE MAAAAKE. PLEASE DO NOT EVEN.

Gosh.

Anyway I thought I’d write something interesting, but I don’t think it is going to happen. I haven’t really done anything interesting. I may not even be very interesting but hey, you know I am cool with that. I am too fucking tired to be interesting anyway.
I think a lot about how people talking about people having kids and then they become boring and I am especially reflecting upon this notion while I sit here typing on a lovely warm Friday evening. It was not even 17:30 and I am already in my pyjamas. But you know, maybe we got it round the wrong way. Maybe everyone else is boring. Maybe all the people in the world are boring. Maybe the one size fits all is boring.

I saw someone’s pictures from Paris on social media and I thought oh get fucked. Usually I find other peoples travel photos unbelievably boring but for some reason Paris roof tops get me and I really never got much of a chance to explore that city or learn French, or any other language. But I do not want to pay for or endure air travel for quite some time yet. I know lots of my peers are flying here there and everywhere but I do not miss airline food. And greasy hair. And smelly knickers. Nope.

Anyway, I also think about how people complain about seeing other peoples food photos and I am a culprit of food photos on social media. Mainly because I can’t/ won’t eat a lot of food and I take pride in all the things I assemble or ‘cook’. But when I did this too my daughter’s boiled egg this evening, I couldn’t stop laughing:

MY MIIIIND

Enjoy your weekend.