Richmond Printmakers at 20 Exhibition

As I learnt yesterday, you don't have to go too far to see a good exhibition. This one was the Richmond Printmakers at 20 Exhibition (http://www.richmondprintmakers.co.uk/)  hosted by The Stables Gallery at Orleans House, Twickenham (http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/leisure_and_culture/arts/the_stables_gallery.htm).

It was an anniversary exhibition to celebrate 20 years of creative activity. Past and present Richmond Printmakers displayed their work and workshops demonstrating the many different methods of printmaking were also on offer.

My favourite a print called The Heron by Tessa Charles (http://www.tessacharles.co.uk/). I loved the subject, the colours, the design. The whole print was a delight to see and I was sorry that all copies of it had been spoken for.

The Heron by Tessa Charles, printmaker

Tate Visit Collage

Picking up on  point my tutor made in my Assignment 1 feedback that it would help me to look at art asking the question 'how did the artist do that' rather than observe art as a connoisseur, yesterday I made my first visit to the Tate Modern (London). Whilst I have seen the outside of this magnificent building many a time as I've trotted up and down the Thames on many a river cruise with the grand-children, I've never seen the inside. I was lucky enough to go with a friend who is an artist and she guided me through.

First of all we saw the Ai Weiwei Sunflower seeds installation- all 100 million of them! The installation itself did nothing for me until I saw the accompanying film which put the whole thing into context and explained how each seed had been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Quite something.

Sunflower Seeds in the Tate Modern

I had prepared for the visit by making a list of artists that had been mentioned so far in the course literature and noting which ones had works being exhibited in the Tate. I was able to see quite a lot of works from Picasso to Matisse from Max Ernst to Juan Gris and it was a huge revelation to view art as my tutor had suggested. Seeing for example the Frottage pieces of Max Ernst (The Entire City - oil on paper laid on canvas and Dadaville - Painted plaster and cork laid on canvas) was extremely enlightening and I learnt the difference between seeing art for real and as an online display.

Sadly there were only a few drawings on display but there was one by Picasso (Faun Revealing a Sleeping Woman - Etching and aquatint on paper). Although I appreciated the techniques that had gone into creating this masterpiece, I'm afraid it did nothing for me - probably because I just didn't like the subject - a faun.

But we did get to see Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust painting which was sold at Christie's in New York last May for a world record price of $106.5 million (£65.5 million) and is only on temporary loan to the Tate by its private owner. It of course makes you realise that when great masterpieces, particularly ones in private collections are on show, you need to grab the chance to see them.

All in all, I had a great day out. It was a great learning experience and has whetted my appetite to see more. below is a collage of photos I took of artwork that caught my eye.

P2 Getting Tone and depth in detail exercise

I am having a lot of trouble with tone. So I have done 3 different drawings and I think a tangible improvement can be seen with each one.

Getting tone and depth in detail V1

Getting tone and depth in detail V2

Getting tone and depth in detail V3

P2 Line drawing detail exercises

I've had 2 goes at this exercise - the cabbage definitely took me a lot longer to do but I think the benefit is that you can really see the detail. I am quite happy with my cabbage

Line drawing detail V1

Line drawing detail V2

P2 Simplified Still Life Forms Research - Ben Nicolson

Ben Nicholson


http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=18&balid=84752

Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) was an English artist, born in Denham, London and the son of Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson, who was also an artist. He exhibited with the Paris Abstraction-Creation group in 1933-34 and at the Venice Biennale in 1954, designed a mural panel for the Festival of Britain (1951) and in 1952 executed another for the Time-Life building in London. As one of the leading abstract artists, he gained an international reputation and won the first Guggenheim award in 1957. Although he produced a number of purely geometrical paintings and reliefs, in general he used conventional still-life objects as a starting point for his finely drawn and subtly balanced and coloured variations. He married 3 times and his second wife was Barbara Hepworth.

STREET ART IN LONDON

I love London and my favourite place is the South Bank. I'm only 20 minutes away by train and there's always something going on. I love strolling or cycling along the river and I love the fact that when the tide recedes, there is a little beach that no-one ever seems to notice. Not yesterday though! As I strolled along and came Gabriel's wharf I noticed a crowd peering below and the 'beach' looking very nice and sandy (could have closed my eyes and imagined myself in the Mediterranean. Closer inspection revealed 2 street artists at work on the 'beach' - one was creating wonderful shakesperean busts out of the sand, the other had created a couple of nice sofas for him and his 'companions' to sit on so he could serenade the crowd with his guitar. Just fabulous. They were advertising http://www.dirtybeach.tv/  who are enthusiasts who clean the beaches of the world and make beautiful, environmental friendly art out of sand. There we are! A fine start to the weekend.

 

Enhancing the Blog

I've taken a week out to learn how to make my Blog more interesting. It's been quite a technical journey but I am happy with the results and hopefully if you are vising my Blog you will find some interesting links on the right hand side. The slide show features drawings of artist featured in the Drawing 1 coursebook (taken from Bridgemaneducation resources. There are also links to art news, websites and blogs I want to follow.

Now back to the drawing................