Using a framework

I posted an iPad drawing on my Blog and one on Twitter earlier today and someone asked what method I used to draw the figure. I have to confess I am not very experienced when it comes to drawing the figure however I have always applied an easy method used by students of fashion design.

By drawing the basic block shapes that represent different parts of the body you can
create a framework that will add confidence and help your poses look more convincing – or not!

My #SketchBook is used by David #Hockney!

We artists sketch constantly. Not only is it a required habit, but it is ingrained in our psyche. We were born with the desire to create. We find inspiration everywhere we look. What a crime if that fantastic idea you just had, while trudging down the Tesco aile or doing the school run, would go to waste! But no longer.

Though pencil and paper may be orphaned at home, we rarely forget our cellphone. If you happen to be one of the upwardly “mobile” you more than likely have an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad at your disposal. And chances are, like American Express of old, you never leave home without it.

Adobe Idea, Autodesk SketchBook Pro and Brushes are the favoured applications that allow artists to capture concepts and inspirations on the go. They all provide you with a large canvas to work with, pinch and zoom capabilities, and greater control of your brush and pallet.

I first started using the Apple iPod Touch in 2009, but more recently I aquired an iPad and since then I have produced countless drawings. It is an exciting and addictive medium that offers fresh and exciting possibilities. Of course I am not alone in converting to the electroncic sketchbook, it is also the choice of the professionals like David Hockney!

'vorsprung durch technik' ?

A German company has come up with an #inkjet #printer that’s connected to a computer-enhanced paintball gun and can paint images onto building facades with some precision. Judging from its work, there’s now a new effective technology for making graffiti. The German contraption, comprises of a pressurised barrel mounted on a two-axis turntable and can blast pictures onto walls from a distance of 20 feet.

Controlled by an on-board industrial PC running a custom touch interface, images are loaded onto the machine with a USB stick, and then printed by paintballs of many colours travelling at over 100mph.

Two artists in Balance

Giorgio Morandi Still Life (Natura morta), 1956, Oil on canvas; 9 7/8 x 13 7/8 ins
Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, B.A. 1929





I came across the work of #Oxfordshire artist Sarah #Spackman today whilst on the Web and was immediately struck by the way her ‘White Space Series’ reminded me of one of the most admired Italian painters of the twentieth century, Giorgio #Morandi (1890-1964). Using simple elements, pots and cups, Spackman stages an array of variations that displays great sensitivity to tone, colour, and compositional balance.

Morandi used the same simple elements, including bottles, boxes, and the view from his window. Whilst his paintings appear to transcend time and place, an effect he achieved by removing labels from his bottles, Spackman says of her work “This group of paintings is about space - the confined intimate space of #still-life”.

Her most recent body of work Parks of Oxford explores further the theme of space and the atmosphere around and between objects and can be viewed at the Sarah #Wiseman Gallery, South Parade, #Summertown, Oxford, March 10-26 2011

Roundfour,
Oil on canvas,
35x60cm
Sarah Spackman

Shifting Light - From Banbury to Provence

Julian Merrow-Smith is one of my favorite painters.

Born in England in 1959, Julian attended Banbury School of Art and then completed a Fine Art degree at Wolverhampton, where he studied under, amongst others, Anish Kapoor and the painter Paul Hempton.

An accomplished portrait painter, Julian Merrow-Smith regularly exhibits at The Royal Society of Portrait Painters. In 1999 he was selected for the BP Portrait Award and his self-portrait 'Cap' was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Now based in the provençal hill village of Crillon-le-Brave his 'plein air' landscape paintings are widely sought after and have been exhibited in both France and the United States. He has developed a strong reputation as a still life painter and in 2003 Cunard commissioned him to paint a series of large-scale still-life paintings and several landscape paintings for the Queen Mary 2. These striking works have led to further commissions and to his growing reputation worldwide

In February 2005 Julian started Postcard from Provence, a daily painting project at www.shiftinglight.com - Postcard from Provence.


Visit the website and be inspired!

A Gem of a book

Currently reading Leon Battista Alberti's On Painting (1435). This fascinating book reveals how Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective. A groundbreaking work, it sets out the principles of distance, dimension and proportion and instructs the painter on how to use the rules of composition, representation, light and colour - the prerequisites of the successful painter. On Painting had an immediate and profound influence on Italian Renaissance artists including Ghiberti, Fra Angelico and Veneziano and on later figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, and remains a compelling theory of art.

The cover detail is from The Hunt painted by Paolo Ucello (1397-1475). Ucello was celebrated in his lifetime as a painter of perspective and of animals and landscape. The painting is housed at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford.

So, zoom along to Waterstone's and grab a copy, then browse whilst sipping a large latte, then off to the Ashmolean to engage with The Hunt!

It's back! The Affordable Art Fair

Now in its thirteenth year, the Affordable Art Fair (AAF) is back, returning to London's Battersea Park from 10-13 March 2011.

Founded by Will Ramsay to "make contemporary art accessible to everyone" and "to show you don't need to be an art expert or a millionaire to enjoy and buy art" it will play host to 120 galleries showing paintings, prints, sculpture and photography.

The AAF's relaxed, unstuffy environment offers lots of good quality contemporary art with a price ceiling of £4,000. It's a simple formula that seems to be working, with the recent AAF in October 2010 attracting 22,500 art-lovers who spent a cool £4.25 million. There are also lots of other arty activities going on at the fair, plus an emerging artist exhibition, which features the work of recent graduates.

Grab yourself a ticket and be inspired!