Asteroids Time and Space

I have just been drawing asteroids with a ball point pen, after the Horizon programme featuring the dangers of small asteroids to our planet, shown again on Thursday 12th February.  This was of special interest as the Society of Graphic Fine Art's optional theme for its 94th Open Annual Exhibition at the Menier Gallery in Southwark, London is 'Time and Space'.  I'm still thinking about the time part!

Asteroids, Probe and Star

 The images reminded me of pebbles on the beach, some smooth some rough, and that space has its own texture, more granular than the imagined homogeneous void. I drew various shapes while viewing, then worked into the shapes, the small tool disallowing any homogeneity and resulting in a rather organically grained surface.

For details about entering or visiting the Open Exhibition see the Society of Graphic Fine Art website at www.sgfa.org.uk

Silent Tears

Silent Tears

The quiet tears and sad eyes of those who mourn, their lives torn by life's jagged course. While drawing this I began to think especially about those left behind following violence. Drawn 23rd January.

Pisano Lions

My last Blog post neglected to say how particularly horrified the whole drawing community should be at the recent events in Paris. Drawing is so important and precious.  Here are some soft touch lions, drawn at an SGFA Drawing Day at the V&A. In the morning I attempted an all too ambitious drawing of a pulpit by Giovanni Pisano. I returned to the cast collection post lunch, and discovered these lions that were propping up a pulpit made by his father, Nicola Pisano, around 1260 for the Baptistry in Pisa. The lions were fiercely protecting more vulnerable animals as the sheep and piglets etc. beneath them. Oh that humankind could use strength for protective instead of destructive purposes as Pisano's strangely anthropomorphic lions! 

Find out more about the Society of Graphic Fine Art at www.sgfa.org.uk

Paris Press Concision and Compassion

I am posting the drawing below to register my horror at the murders and consequent mutilation of the French press in Paris yesterday.

Concision

 The pencil drawing 'Concision' was inspired by Goya's 'Disasters of War'.  The war in sharp focus today is the right to freedom of speech.  I may or may not agree with all that is published in 'Charlie Hebdo' or 'Private Eye' magazines, but however outrageous the satire, it should be understood as just that. The ideas and cartoons are extreme stereotypes of the political, religious and cultural icons being lampooned.  In some cases one branch of society will say rightly so, while another may complain bitterly.  This is no reason to commit cold blooded murder.  The killings in Paris will only exacerbate existing tensions not heal them.   

The drawing shows a black Muslim woman discovering a mutilated body in a war zone.  Her jaw drops and her eyes protrude as she draws breath and recoils in horror. It would make no difference if a white woman were shown discovering a black corpse.  The mutilated arm might belong to any cultural, political or religious group.  Our reaction should be the same, horror followed by compassion for the victims.  It is my hope that this will be the case rather than the extreme reaction of revenge attacks on the the French Muslim population. 

Compassion

The second drawing imagines a woman comforting her children after her husband has been killed.  Both drawings are entirely ficticious but I hope they illustrate the terrible effects of atrocities on those who have to live with the consequencies of such brutal acts. 

Art of Winter

Inspiration in soft pastel after JMW Turner: Snow Storm - Steam-boat off a Harbour's Mouth 1842

Winter has always bitten into the body, mind and soul of man.  These were my thoughts as I set about planning a practical art course with winter at its heart, to be held at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead, Berkshire.  The aim was to help participants explore the theme of winter as seen by other artists, and to draw inspiration and a greater knowledge of techniques from them. Twelve artists of very different experience joined the group and were encouraged to make their own versions or work in the style of some of the world's greatest artists. 

Media used were soft and oil pastel, watercolour and gouache.

All illustrations in this post are by course participants who wish to remain anonymous.

Pastel paintings of streets in Leeds 4 and the River Thames at Maidenhead

The first artist referenced was Pieter Bruegel the Elder and we discovered the leaden skies and invented landscape of 'The Hunters in the Snow' 1565.  Here the physicality of winter dominated; the green-gray sky reflectd in icy water of the same hue and tone; the hunters returning with only one fox; and the figures and trees sillouetted against the snow covered countryside.  A great imagination was afoot here as Bruegel had indeed travelled over the Alps and into Italy, but the buildings in this work are all of his native Netherlands, with a backdrop of mountainous terrain. 

We looked at three further works by Bruegel all set in the snow.
Firstly 'The Census at Bethlehem'1566.  In place of the biblical inn, Bruegel depicts a local tavern where crowds of people are paying taxes levied by King Philip of Spain and destined for Madrid. A heavily pregnant Mary is seated on an ass as Joseph leads her unnoticed by everyone, toward the inn. 
Secondly, 'The Adoration of the Kings in the Snow' 1667, where instead of the event taking centre stage, it is pushed to the far left bottom corner while the snow falls and the villagers go about their daily round. 

Thirdly 'The Massacre of the Innocents'1566, which parodied Herod's brutal death sentence for all new born male infants at the time of the birth of Jesus.  In Bruegel's picture the infants are being brought out of the village houses and killed by Spanish soldiers on the authority of the Duke of Alba.  At this time the Spanish persecuted any who would not convert to the catholic faith. Bruegel's 'Innocents' are those who refused. The message of this painting was revolutionary and must have been very clear to his fellow countrymen whose country was soon to be split apart, the Catholic South becoming Belgium, and the protestant north, present day Holland.  Bruegel clearly links the harsh physicality of winter with the violent times in which he lived. 

This artist made her own version of one work of most of the reference artists for the course, also adding some of her own compositions.  It was the first time she had worked in gouache or pastel which I found inspirational. 

 We then turned our attention to two works by Caspar David Friedrich. Two of his works were exhibited at Weimar in 1811, both entitled Landscape in the Snow.  In the first a cripple leans on his crutches between two trees which twist diagonally away from him.  The rest of the forest has been hewn down and only short trunks penetrate from the snowy ground.  It is a picture of complete desolation.  In the second, which hangs in the National Gallery, the same cripple has abandoned his crutches, is seated against a rock and looking up at a crucifix which appears among a group of green and flourishing fir trees.  It is not clear whether he is physically cured but his hands are lifted in praise and it is clear that he has been rescued from the winter of his soul.  This is reinforced by the Gothic church looming out of the mist in the distance and echoing the shape of the conifers.

 The impressionists were much more concerned with the light and how surfaces reflect the colours of the sky.  For this reason Renoir reputedly believed that snow could never be white and that you could tell the time of day by the colours it reflected.  We noted how in 'Snowy Landscape' about 1875,  his brushstrokes of complementary colours were built up in layers so that the whole became a woven texture of colour. 

 Unlike Monet he did not relish the colder months and this work is one of only a handful that feature wintry landscapes.  Some of the most wonderful winter landscapes were made by Monet in the winter following the death of Camille.  When the thaw eventually began he painted 13 studies of the break up of the ice at Vethueil.  The varying colours of these are fascinating.

This pastel work was inspired by the colours in the break up of the ice near Vetheuil, as in one of the studies painted by Monet in January 1880

Pastel after Monet: Route de Giverny en Hiver 1885

Pastel works inspired by Camille Pissaro 'Rue de la Citadelle, Pontoise,1873 (left) and Albert Charles Lebourg (right)

From the impressionists to L. S. Lowry is a huge leap.  Lowry's sparse palette,mainly of white, grey, black and blue-grey factories belching smoke, warmed only a little by the red/pink of terraced houses and the odd tiny splashes of colourful garments where he does give us flashes of bright red, always seem to reflect a vision of northern winter.  His figures are most likely to be seen in warm clothing and walking on a white ground or pavement, and where trees are included they are leafless.  So why does his work seem so animated?  Like Bruegel he gives us the cold of winter but with the activity of many figures.  Like Bruegel's figures they are never still but playing, walking dogs or prams, or trudging to work in the industrial cities. They are on a stage set by Lowry and the diminishing size of the figures and buildings gives a wonderful illusion of pictorial space. As with Bruegel, Lowry's cityscapes are inventions of his imagination made up from the motifs that were so familiar to him..  He is reported to have said that he did not know, when he started 'The Pond' 1950 how it would develop.  One 'development' was that Harold Wilson chose it for his official Christmas card!

Inspired by L S Lowry; works in watercolour (left) and Pastel (right)

Moving forward to the late 60's we reviewed mountains painted by Gerhardt Richter which faithfully copied monochrome photographs of the Himalayas and Alps.  This was a direct rebellion against abstract expressionism.  For our studies it provided an excellent way to realize how forms can be depicted in areas of flat monochrome.  Only one of the group attempted this but with great success, painting her version of 'Himalaya', 1968.

At this point we went on to examine some of the imaginative and extraordinarily atmospheric works painted by the contemporary artist, Richard Cartwright.  His paintings, mainly in pastel have a magical and luminous quality which was explored by three of the artists; see below.  You may like to spot the third from the composite picture of eight works near the beginning of this post.

Inspired by Richard Cartwright

Over the five Tuesday mornings of the course, participants also developed their own ideas and ways of working, but found just scratching the surface of the art of winter, by studying a handful of artists from Bruegel to Cartwright to be an enriching experience.  It certainly was for me.

To end with here are a few more of the paintings made in pastel over the last few weeks.

In the Gallery at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead, Berkshire

Andrew Marr, Ice Age Art and the SGFA

It was just brilliant on the 7^th October to hear Andrew Marr speak on drawing and its importance as an enrichment of life and bringer of joy to all who practice on any level.  At the official opening of DRAW14, the 93^rd Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art, he was of course talking to terminally addicted artists, as well as to all the guests at the presentation evening.  We all hugely appreciated the time he spent with us so 

Thank You Andrew!

I was particularly excited by Andrew’s reference to the Ice Age Art exhibition at the British Museum last year, which showed many beautifully observed carved objects from between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.  He went on to relate that study of these artifacts has shown that particular makers hands can be identified and that in some cases their improvement over time can be observed.  This seems positively mind blowing to me.  

On my two visits to the exhibition, I was overwhelmed to be in some sort meeting face to face with such ancient cultures.  This was accentuated by the small scale of the objects such that you really looked at the individual marks made.  

As recorded in an earlier post I was excited by the incredible accuracy of observations of animals so important for their survival.  Some of the original drawings from my sketch book are below, including the one of the carving which inspired my lithograph, Food Chain.  

Inspiration for Food Chain on the right

Food Chain

 All those years ago these hunter gatherers must have seen birds that swallow fish as direct competition for a vital food source.  I found that particular carving such a wonderful mix of observation and imagination.  

 Here are ice age women carved realistically and reduced to abstracted symbols of woman. 

 We may not know why these objects were made or what they were used for, but we do know that the same creative spirit continues to breathe through all artistic endeavour today. 

DRAW 14 to be opened by Andrew Marr

Tomorrow evening Tuesday 7th October, the Society of Graphic Fine Art is greatly privileged that Andrew Marr will be opening the exhibition and presenting the awards at around 6.30pm.  This is the Society of Graphic Fine Art's 93rd Open Annual Exhibition, and hotfoot from assisting with the hang and take in on Sunday I have seen at first hand this exciting show of fine art drawing take shape.  

I am sure our illustrious former members; Sir Frank Brangwyn, the first president, Dame Laura Knight, and Ronald Searle would be pleased to see such a varied and innovative display from contemporary artists, and wonder what they would have made of the 'Remembrances' of World War One, chosen as our optional theme this year which will constitute a significant and poignant part of the exhibition.  It must have been so much more raw in the minds of the students of Frank Emanuel's etching class at the Central School of Art, who with their teacher, gave birth to the Society in 1919. Originally known as the Society of Graphic Artists, the Society's first exhibition was held in 1921 with Sir Frank Brangwyn as President.

Anyone who has donned the white gloves and had the privilege of viewing Brangwyn's Flanders lithographs at the Imperial War Museum, will know the power of those images.  Today I am impressed and thankful that war artists are now as engaged with the victims of war as with those fighting in war zones. The Society was so privileged earlier in the year to have George Butler speak to us and to see at first hand the drawings he made in Syria.

Visit the Society of Graphic Fine Art online to find out more about our artists and events and a feature on George Butler in the wordpress journal archive. 

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