Return from Berlin...

I have neglected my reflections of late as it's the summer holidays and I've actually been in Berlin and am super inspired since my return. I've been to all the major galleries and just being in another city and seeing all the street art has got my creative juices flowing. There was one bad point to my holiday...I searched high and low for the perfect A6 sketchbook...and came home empty handed. Since completing my life changing, delicious sketchbook I'm now worried I'll never find another one that will live up to my high expectations.

Another sketchbook completed...

So, today is a good day as I have completed my fabulous life changing sketchbook.

However, it's also a bad day as now I have completed this sketchbook (which I might add is the best yet) I must start another but I'm worried no other sketchbook will live up to this one! This scale really works for me and the next sketchbook must be a similar size. I feel like my sketchbooks have evolved and now I must continue in a similar manner. That is quite a lot of pressure! I hope I can live up to it!

Didsbury exhibition of third year MA work 23/06/11

The third year MA students moved the Drumcroon exhibition over to the Birley Gallery in Didsbury so I went along to the preview. To be honest I wasn't sure how it would look at Didsbury after being in a white space at Drumcroon but all was well. The exhibition had been curated differently and so had a different feel than at Drumcroon, with many artists having more space to display more examples of their work. Again it made me think about my own exhibition and what my work would look like. It made me want to go home immediately and get my sketchbooks out. However, my tiredness prevented this and instead I have set myself a task this weekend to spend some much needed time indulging in my art. Watch this space!...

Digital illustrations...part three

So...following on from my illustrator diagrammatical drawings I have started to add colour. I haven't managed to add any texture yet (you know how life takes over sometimes!) but thought I'd give you a little sneaky peek at the beginnings of the work.

Drumcroon exhibition of third year MA work 05/05/11

The third year MA students work was exhibited at Drumcroon. I went along to see what was on display and I have to say it wasn't what I expected. The diversity of work displayed alongside each other worked extremely well and got me thinking about my own exhibition this time next year, how I'd like my work to be displayed and even whose work I think would complement it. I'm thinking, old bookshelves filled with my sketchbooks and some three dimensional fabric pieces, along with large scale printouts of my digital illustrations, although I do like the idea of them being small, framed pieces too! (This is starting to feel like a living room set design! I'm not sure whether that is a good or a bad thing!) Of course these ideas may change but it got me thinking...

Digital illustrations...part two

I enjoyed taking my illustrations in to Photoshop, removing elements and adding colour but I wanted to take the whole process further. As my interest was in the linear qualities of my drawings I thought it would be a good idea to take the work in to Illustrator and rework the lines over the top of my original drawing and take away all other elements in the image. Below are the results.

I like the way the drawings now have more of a diagrammatical feel and as they are all objects I own they feel quite like the beginnings of a self portrait, almost a recipe of ingredients for my life. I think I would like to take them further though and perhaps start to add colour and texture. I envisage lots of objects from my life suspended in negative space on an A1 or larger white page.
I think I'd better start drawing and documenting the hoardings of objects that make up my home and life.

Sketchbooks are delicious...

I've been very busy of late, hence the lack of recent reflections but I did start my new sketchbook and I have to confess it has changed my life! I am working in a delicious A6 size sketchbook and it is the best thing ever. I now feel like I cannot go back to the old size of sketchbook as the thought makes me shudder. I feel all my subsequent work must be in a similar size format to this new sketchbook that I have started and am unable to put down. I must go on the hunt for more tiny sketchbooks immediately!