I’ve been drawing like mad again, but not uploading and blogging like I once did. I don’t know where I sit with blogging at the moment so I figured if I don’t know what to do – do nothing.
The weekend I taught another drawing class, which went really well. I enjoyed it and my students seem to really enjoy it too.
I finished this portrait a number of months ago but didn’t have time to get it online.
My drawing style is changing, I’ve begun to use a lot more crosshatching in my big drawings, which I am really enjoying.
Ainslee is a Melbourne based poet who recently released a book of poetry called Pinetorch. You can follow her on twitter.
What a week!
Monday morning Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly visited Squishface studio – along with a number of Melbourne’s finest comic artists, cartoonists, illustrators – magic makers. I was absolutely star struck and honored for the conversations, advice and encouragement given.
I think this photo, taken by Gregory Mackay, sums it up rather nicely:
That’s Mandy Ord, myself, Ben Hucho and Art.
I slipped off after the coffee as I was so overwhelmed and inspired and also – I had to get daughter from daycare. But wow – what a Monday. WHAT A MONDAY.
The next evening I attended the event ran by the Wheeler Centre at Melbourne Town Hall and had my mind blown again with meeting more amazing people and hearing Art speak for some two and a half hours on the history of comics, his experiences and inspirations. The passion and humor of this man kept everyone quite and attentive throughout the entire presentation.
Nicki Greenberg did an amazing job hosting the event and so I drew her and Art’s hands while they were talking.
During the event I also drew the back of Nicki’s head and then realized Oslo Davis was sitting across from me – so I drew him too.
I’m still trying to find the words but I just feel so lucky – so lucky – to have had these expereinces and meet these amazing and inspiring people.
I like painting but I struggle with oils. It’s smelly, it’s sticky and I really can’t do it inside the house with a small child. I’ve been playing with water colours and gouache for about a year now and thought that maybe I could buy myself some proper paper and do a large portrait series.
I asked Georgia Fields to pose for me – continuing on with making portraits of people who are inspired/ inspiring. She said yes – obviously!
This is mainly painted in watercolour with gouache highlights. It’s on Sennelier cotton paper, size 64 x 49cm. The paper cost me a small fortune but basically working on it is like a dream/ mad love affair/ all awesome feelings pressed into 300gsm paper.
Sexy, sexy expensive French paper.
The hair took up most of my time – it is layers and layers and layers of colours and paint at different transparencies. I think I nearly went mad – as I do with a lot of my works – but I am proud of the result.
And now, I must start work on another one.
This article written by Ashley Crawford was in the Financial Review on Thursday the 11th of July. It mentions Juan Ford, Sam Leach and Del Kathryn Barton.
It has quotes from each artist that will be exhibiting in PERSONAE – enjoy!
I’ve taken to drawing our cameras over the last fortnight – it’s good for my brain and nice to be doing something a little more freehand.
We have quite an large collection and I’m also making plans to draw and paint other objects I admire around our house. There’s the bulky type writer I recently bought – ugly but functional – the vintage kitchen cabinet I snatched up from Gumtree, then random pieces of crockery and tea cups. You get the idea. Lots of things.
I want to draw all the things.
I’ll be teaching a drawing class at the beautiful Abbotsford Convent for Pop Up School – Documentary Drawing. It will focus on turning the mundane and everyday into art.
Details:
Date: Saturday 20 July 2-5pm
Venue: Antique Bookstore, Abbotsford Convent
Fee: $75 Full $68 Concession Materials will be supplied.
I feel like I have been drawing this drawing forever. Which is utter nonsense because I only started it last week .. perhaps the week before.
But I’m at that point where even though I work and things get drawn and it’s evolving – I feel like it isn’t going anywhere.
Perhaps this is the danger of focusing all of my time on just one artwork. Maybe this is why I ( usually ) work on many artworks at once. Because if there is just one work then I think about that work. I think about it while I’m working on it, I think about it when I am packing up from working on it, I think about it at dinner time, I think about it while I’m showering, spending time with loved ones, changing a nappy. I think about it on trains and in cafés and I think about it while I am trying to sleep. Which is the worst because with no other outside influence I think about it in a hyper-realistic state. I note the textures, the way the ink takes hold of the paper, the layers – I feel myself drawing it.
So then I am doing all of this thinking and feeling and it’s taken up so much of me it almost feels like it is going to implode. There’s too much and when there’s so much information and feelings it’s almost like I’ve experienced this artwork completely and then I think, well, I don’t have to finish it. Because I’m kind of lost to it and what’s the point anyway.
So this is the point I photograph and upload it onto this blog to say look, I’m making things and something is happening – even if my tired brain, eyes and hands tell me otherwise.
