A new collage piece

A new collage from an idea thrashed out in my last moleskine. It is 11" by 9" inches on illustration board. It is available for sale as an original for £150, or as a signed print for £45.

Graduation show Brighton University 2009

Some images of my graduation show. I decided that because my work was already very dense and a little chaotic, not to fight my instincts and create a dense and chaotic display. I had a section of one room plus three display tables for my sketch book.

This is part of the wall display. Some of the work was grouped together in black frames as part of a series, collages that dealt with birth and death. Otherwise there is no order or theme which made the hanging purely instinctive.

Anything not framed was hung using bull-dog clips, not very original I know, but I really didn't want anything pretentious or fashionable as that kind of stuff brings me out in hives and induces in me the urge to yell out rude words.

This kind of work and the way it is hanged (hung?) is not everyone's cup of tea but I did get two whole books worth of comments. There were only two negative comments one saying the work was ugly and unpleasant the other criticising the hanging method. If I'd had more money I would have framed everything beautifully and grouped it very sparsly so that each peace would shine on it's own. But on the whole It looked like the inside of my head and I prefer the honesty. This was me , and that is all I can offer.

A few more wall images. Some of them look a little distorted but that is because the weight of the paper started to sag with only one central bull-dog clip. It looked a lot better in real life. I included a few simple sketches just to add variety.

Ultimately I think it was quite a successful show as I almost sold out of work. I received a lot of commissions that kept me busy for ages afterwards. I did get a few time wasters that made special requests, asked for variations on some of the images, asked me to put aside a few pieces till later, only to change their minds at the last minute or told me they could no longer afford it. That was very annoying! But most people were a joy to deal with.

This display was in the main room, I had a further two tables in the hall on the ground floor. I could have easily filled a few more rooms as I had so much work! That is not a boast, it is a result of my inability to turn off and stop working, it really is a form of OCD. But I don't mind at all!

The small cards were tiny collages that were very fun to make. I used rubber stamps on a lot of them. I still have a few of these I must dig them out sometime and maybe I'll post them individually.

 These were very large sketch books that force me to work differently. More of a page of little conversations. I have been known to sell pages directly out of my sketchbooks. But I stopped doing that when I realised it was decimating the books . Now, if anyone wants a particular image I get an archival print made that I sign and mount. It is much cheaper and it keeps my books intact. Or I can do a version as a stand alone piece, it will never be exactly the same because I don't work that way. I really enjoyed the show and appreciated the feedback I received from people , the good and the not so good.

A new collage

A small collage on illustration board, one of my pieces that are available for sale as an original £100, or as a signed print for £30.Or you could just look at it here for nothing!

A new Moleskine began Jan 16th 2011

As I reach the end of a sketch book the temptation to rush and finish it can be very hard to resist! But I have learnt to enjoy slowing down and savouring the last couple of pages and making sure they are just as interesting (to me) as the first page. I do set myself a target of 8 weeks per book give or take a few days. At times, like Christmas when I am quite busy I'll stretch that to 10 weeks, but I don't feel happy about it. My challenge to myself is a minimum of one two page spread per day, so no sleep till I have achieved at least that! I put little clues on eventful days so when I look back through the book I have clear memories of what I was doing on hat day.  Having said that, once a few months (or years) have passed I can look through a book and have no recollection of any of it!
Over time I have collected a large stash of finished books that sit in the corner of my studio daring me to do something with them. I did break one of my most fundamental rules by selling one of the books to the the Aldrich Collection. I feel pretty ambivalent about that as I am not particularly attached to my books in fact I am strangely detached from them. I do though see the need of keeping them together simply as a sequence, every book represents a chunk of my life.

There is one volume that is more precious to me than the others, and it was the book that saw me through the awful last weeks of my pregnancy in 2003, the birth and then the death of my beautiful, perfect 7.5 lbs baby boy Cyrus five days later. It was that book that kept me sane. Some of the images and words are still very raw and I find it very difficult to look at them. One day I may summon the courage to publish some of the pages but I don't see the point of involving innocent bystanders in my own personal tragedy. I don't know I am writing this, it isn't something I have ever talked about to anyone other than my doctor and family , but heyho it's out there now.
Once a book is finished it joins it's predecessors on the shelf and I can pick a new one from my new pile. The feel, smell, and hope that com with a new book are one of my life's little pleasures. I'm excited, enthusiastic and full of ideas. So my new book on January !6th and I'm already 4 pages in. The book still looks and feels new , so I am still treating it with a stupid reverence that will shortly wear off ( thankfully).

Five Must Have Art Materials

  I could name a lot more than five items but to make it more practical I am limiting myself to a pencil case/ container that contains five essential items.

Aquash brush pen: There are a few of these on the market I prefer the Pentel ones as they seem to last longer and have a valve that controls the flow of water so it's always the right amount. They come in three sizes and I usually have one of each. Brush pens remove the need for carrying water and all the mess that goes along with that. I fill the pens up regularly from a plant spray bottle that I fill with clean water. Over time the brush-pens get clogged up with slime that accumulates inside the barrel however hard you try and keep it clean. My tip for avoiding that is to add a few drops of bleach to the spray bottle; this kills any slime forming bacteria and makes the brush last a lot longer.

Neocolor II water-soluble crayons by Caran D'Ache: These are a life saver! They can be used as straight forward crayons or as water-colour blocks. I use them mainly as water-colour pans getting the colour directly from the crayon with my water brush. These crayons come in over a hundred shades and last forever, they are easy to carry and you only need a core set of about 8-10 crayons to create an infinite number of shades. I save all the little broken bits to use which makes them very economical.

Pilot G3 pens in black and brown: I discovered these pens a few years ago when I was looking for an alternative to my Rotring Rapidograph or my Koh-I-Noor technical pens. They are tough little pens that are much more robust than my others. Their tiny nib and intense ink make them perfect for outlines or complete drawings. The brush pens used with these create delicate washes that are very pleasing. The Pentel Slicci 0.25 pens are a new addition. They are even finer than the G3s but tend to dry out very quickly if I leave the cap off.

 Scissors: A good quality pair with a fine tip are a must for cutting out found images (Sorry Doctor Serrano, I confess to defacing your ancient magazines during long waits!). I find my images everywhere! Sunday supplements, women's magazines, found bits of paper or text from a letter. I am not proud! Having a small discreet pair of scissors make it easier to save these juicy morsels for later use. I use a pair of good quality hairdressing scissors that I bought in a charity shop and a pair of small embroidery scissors as backup.
  
 


Glue: I use PVA and I get through gallons of the stuff! I buy it in 2.5/5 gallon containers from builders merchants. I have a small tomato ketchup squeezy bottle that I fill up for daily use. When I am working on a piece I tend to glue bits of paper over bits I don't like or any glaring mistakes. I hate it when I have to save for later because I've forgotten the glue. And no, glue sticks are horrible! So I don't use them.
 So there you have it! Five items that will serve any collage/sketching urges that overcome you while away from home.
 I haven't included sketch books or images because I carry these with me always as a matter of course.

My Studio

My main working desk, with all my coloured pencils, a very under-rated, under-used medium in my humble opinion.

 

Another view of my desk, a pile of fat moleskines can be seen in the corner.

Boxes full of rubber stamps, collections of images for collage, boxes of words cut out of magazines, precious things that have no value to anyone else.

My beloved books! I started collecting books at the age of eleven, my kids have the same bug. we had to move out of our last house because it was stuffed to the brim with books.

my pristine printing press! I've had it for years and have barely used it. I have big plans for it now.

Ready cut pieces of illustration board in every size I could possibly want .

A selection of old shop-keepers lettering boxes. They are getting hard to find at reasonable prices. Happily, modern versions, although not as aesthetically pleasing are widely available.

  

RCA Secret 2010 entries

Agroup of three post-cards for the Rca secrets annual exhibition. The title is Wish You Were Here.I used a combination of collage and water-colour, my favourite media. Each post-card sells for £45 and all money raised goes to help out students.

Again I used collage and watercolour. Cutting out the skeleton was a bit tricky, so I cut it out with a white back-ground and painted it to look as if I'd cut round it.

The final card. What can't be seen is that I penned in most of the spine as cutting it out would have been a nightmare.

Part of the Playing House series. An evil little girl is exercising her 'maternal instincts' and holding her unfortunate sibling. Much as I used to do to my brother, finding ways to hurt him when I thought I could get away with it. Sorry little brother!

This is another group for 'secrets'. Babies can look oddly sinister in drawings! Their large heads and steady stares can be unnerving. The group is called Playing House, and is based on a photos published in a Sunday supplement.

The baby looks like is calling out for help! His solemn face says far more than the inane smiles of his parents.

This was an odd one out. I can't decide if she is breathing life into him or sucking the life out of him. Either way, the black smoke tells me that she is up to no good.