December gallery visits: Oh, the year is flying! But I have fitted in two exhibitions I’ve been wanting to see:
Emily Carr at Dulwich Picture Gallery
and the Ben Uri Gallery to catch a great group of 1950s artists brought together, including some Josef Herman paintings.
The Year of the Fairy Tale is finished – see separate page – and I am half way through two lighthearted short online courses making little books with Carla Sonheim and will start 2015 with a longer Jane Davies course. Spent a fortune on new paints in honour of it!
6th November: Viewed ‘those poppies’ along with many others!
and then walked to Tate Modern and sketched this little sculpture by Miro in bronze and steel called The Tightrope Walker (1970)
18th September: Went to see the Wish List items at the V&A. Got carried away by the cracks in the marble floors as I wandered through the museum viewing this and that. Here is one I’ve found faces in (reminds me of some of Nolde’s Unpainted Pictures – favourites!):
29th August: Short visit to Tate Modern. Sat on the floor to do a blind contour drawing of a bronze sculpture Autumn by Henri Laurens (1885-1954).
Behind me I heard a child’s voice, ‘How can she draw it?’ Father could have replied any of the following, ‘Not very well / Perhaps she stares at it / Maybe she has practised / Shall we ask her?’ But no. What I heard before I had a chance to reply myself to the child was, ‘Come away!’ !!!
13th August: Fascinating mini-workshop with Niya Christine today resulting in my illustrated story based on Cows and Canaries.
August: I have made a ‘crossover’ set of illustrations using one of the methods learnt during the Summer Art Camp for the latest fairy tale (The Twelve Brothers). Here is one called The Red Flag:
24th July: Outing to Pallant House in Chichester. A quick sketch of one of the fantastic Emily Young heads in the courtyard. Then on to Barbara Rae prints and a great exhibition of J.D. Fergusson. Wonderful outing.
July: Summer Art Camp! I’m signing up for Carla’s summer workshop – her other courses have been such fun. Read all about it on Carla’s site
20th June: I went to Christie’s Open Day which had a marvellous array of paintings and objects – such an exciting visit. Encountered Dorothea Sharp’s painting for the first time – an apparently simple beach scene of mother and children but every stroke loaded with subtle mixes of colour while looking completely effortless. A gorgeous little picture.
June: Summer Exhibitions It’s the month for exhibitions to start en masse. I am pleased to be included in two this year – at Rye Art Gallery and Redleaf Gallery.
15th May: Using the iPad to make sketches at exhibitions e.g. the Matisse Cut-Outs at Tate Modern.
May: I was invited to submit work for an exhibition in the autumn and I have since been accepted.
29th January: This week I visited the wonderful Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to see an exhibition of John Craxton’s paintings. PASTORAL FOR P.W. can be seen online. The wonderful turned goat I sketched was just one of the many goats shown in the exhibition. His use of tempera on canvas was very effective and in the accompanying video a woman comments that one of his pictures is ‘the picture of a dazzle’. His blues, emeralds and pinks are lovely.
January sees the start of the Year of the Fairy Tale with Carla Sonheim.
All year: Am determined to get better at the Brushes App having seen someone doing planning and design work on hers at such speed during a quiet moment at an exhibition. Amazing! I have such a long way to go. I have enjoyed practising drawing quick poses on it:
credmayne 