Tour of my own Creative Space18/4/2019 This week I'm giving myself a rest so instead of giving a review of an exhibition I've seen here in London, I'm opening up my own creative space to you to share with you where I work, what I have on display, what I'm working on and chances to come and tour my workspace for yourself. I work in my tiny bedroom which is limiting for obvious reasons. The majority of my art materials live in various sealed containers under my bed which is a sort of slapped together storage unit made from two mattress boxes - my flatmate helped me put them together so I could cut out the front fabric, elevate my bed and have massive storage spaces for all the materials I need. It works but it's challenging too. My room is the width of the length of my bed, if that makes any sense. I also have a wardrobe, desk, chair, 3 bookshelves and a bedside table. It's like living in a walnut! Because of the cramped space, any sculptures that I do have live on the ceiling, with the biggest sculpture languishing on top of one of the bookcases. I try to keep organised but it does get quite overwhelming sometimes. The majority of my finished paintings/drawings end up either on the walls or leaning up against the walls where ever space can be found. I often fantasise about having a bigger studio space again but that would only work if I was actually successful in my ongoing job search and could afford to move somewhere with more space.....still trying. At night, all my sculptures and some of my miniatures glow which is quite enjoyable. I'd happily show off my little creative workspace with anyone interested so please get in touch if you are in London and would like to see what it's like for artists like myself who have to work in tiny spaces. My email is: toothpickmoon@gmail.com  Above is the main wall of work where I put old and new 2D work, partly to give myself inspiration and also to get it out of the way.  Fibonacci Fold Pod - one of the largest sculptures I have here in London that takes up space on top of a bookshelf.  Above, miniatures in various stages of progress on the top shelf of a bookcase.  Above - at the foot of my bed, one of my mother, Juliette McCullough's drawings and a scattering of my own work, old and new.  Sketchbooks on the floor, the only place other than the bed where I can put projects half in progress.  Above - miniature chairs mixed in with toys, books and jewelry that is part of my bedside shelf/table!  Above, a few ceiling sculptures, drawings/paintings and a viking shield prop that's at the head of my bed.  Above - at night all my sculptures and some miniatures will glow.
Drawing & Sculpting with Hot Glue15/4/2019 I've been experimenting for the last few weeks with just hot glue and wax paper. I wanted to see if I could build with just hot glue by creating stencils that I could glue together to create sturdier structures. So far it's remained an experiment and is just purely for fun. I've yet to figure out how I can use this method to make something substantial. Here are some images of the stencils and what I've created: 
I enjoy the shadows cast by the structures much more than the structures themselves. A fun experiment that I am enjoying. The only big issue is that I wish I could control the amount of glue coming out of the gun as it's difficult to create strong sturdy strands or avoid the typical gloopiness of hot glue. A video I made below of the process with some cheesy music: Well nothing more to really share about this, aside from it's a fun experiment so if you have a hot glue gun, some wax paper and some time then this is a good way to explore sculpting and drawing at the same time.
If you want to see my other experiments and processes in my art studio then please follow me on instagram. I have four profiles: Mirmarnia - mainly for illustrations Toothpickmuse - for processes and experiments Draco_Ganymede - for sculptures/model making 11MillionHands - for my ongoing art activist peace project *If you enjoyed this Material Monday post then please stay tuned every Monday at 9am UK time for more. Artist Interview with Heather Scott12/4/2019 I first met my friend, Heather Scott when we were both on the MA Art & Science course at Central Saint Martins here in London. Out of all the students on the course, we were amongst a limited number who were keenly interested in combining our art practices with elements from the universe and outer space. Heather intrigued me also because of her fascination in black holes and because of her keen sense of design in her work. Trying to weave together the complexities of everything that a black hole is to elements in the design world is a huge challenge to say the least but Heather knew how to bridge this and it was a fascinating experience being witness to her discoveries along the way. Just below before we begin are some of Heather's images as they are fascinating and worth a look with fresh eyes before you get to know her work and reasons behind what she does:
So wanting to know more about my friend and her work and her life as an artist, I'm super pleased that she agreed to be interviewed for my art blog! Enjoy: 1. Franceska: When you were young, was there someone or something that inspired you in the arts? Heather: At school I had a great graphic design teacher who inspired me to go into graphic design but I have always drawn inspiration from around me and my interests. I can’t remember there being a particular thing that inspired me but I know I have been making art since I was very young. 2. Franceska: When you need to create, what methods to you use and why? Heather: I always need to be making or be creative in whatever form that manifests itself. My main go to is drawing, especially illustration, I like creating fantasy images or just drawing what comes to mind at the time. 3. Franceska: Where did you study and what part of your education has helped you the most in your career? Were there any teachers or courses that really got you going? Heather: I feel like my whole art/graphic education has helped me in a roundabout way. At school it was something that I loved doing and was good at so I wanted to work hard and learn more about it. It also helped that my teacher was really good as well and had worked in the industry before teaching. He encouraged me by pushing me out of my comfort zones and made me want to be better. Undergrad helped me understand why I wanted to be a graphic designer and the style of my design. I also learnt how to explain my concepts and understand how my design could be applied in the wider world, to help people understand larger concepts or educate them on world issues. Doing my masters helped me with networking and freelancing, working on internal projects to help promote our course and external work from friends and opportunities from the uni. Before this I had not really exhibited my work so I learnt a lot and it was good practice in public relations. 4. Franceska: I’m a big admirer of your “speed builds” in the Sims, can you describe what enticed you to start creating these speed builds? Heather: I started making speed builds in The Sims to work on my video editing skills and because I have always loved building and creating in The Sims but it was not until I started watching others on YouTube that I started to work out what I needed to do to create my own. It has also helped with confidence, as I have to talk about my builds and open up about my life and experiences. 5. Franceska: Do you have any Sims “speed builders” who you really admire and why? Heather: My favourite Simmer is James Turner aka. TheSimSupply. He inspires me because he is a great builder and tries to build things that are realistic but also out of the ordinary and different. He always goes the extra mile and works hard to create something good and entertaining. I also find his Let’s Plays hilarious and ridiculous, which inspired me to start creating my own Let’s Plays and to work harder to create content. 6. Franceska: Where do you find your inspirations behind your “speed builds”? Heather: I find inspiration from all over the place, quite literally sometimes. I love exploring places and seeing what different types of architecture there is around the UK. I love it when you walk down the street and pass a really interesting building and you stand there working out whether it’s possible to recreate it. I also like to recreate buildings from tv and films to see how accurate you can get with the limitations of objects and styles we have in the game. 7. Franceska: Do you have any advice for those of us just starting out on building in Sims or learning to do “speed builds”? Heather: The advice I would give to someone thinking about starting to make ‘speed builds’ would be to find something you really want to make and something you think other people would be inspired by. Or you could think about a technique you do that could help other people with the game or to help them make something they never thought about making. I would also say that your videos don’t have to be perfect and no one expects you to be amazing straight away. Confidence and ideas take time to grow but as long as you are yourself and are genuine, you will be on the right track. 8. Franceska: Would you ever consider teaching a “speed build” workshop? If so, how would you structure it to help newbies? Heather: I would like to have a workshop at some point in the future, as it would be great to meet other people who also love the game as much as I do. It would be great to be able to help anyone of any ability as I am still learning things about how to build so I’m sure I would also learn new ways of building from the people who would come, not just them learning from me. 9. Franceska: What is one of the biggest challenges you face as a Sims speed builder? Heather: One of the biggest challenges, apart from the Youtube algorithm, is to create builds that have not been built before or to build something in a new way. This can be hard as there are only a finite number of styles and buildings in the world but the way that you build and think about how to recreate/create the build will always be unique to you. This makes it a bit easier but I still like to find out what builds are already out there and to create series that might use The Sims but also have an educational or story telling element to them to make them different. 10. Franceska: What is your favourite colour and has this evolved over the years? Heather: My favourite colour has always been red and I don’t think it has ever changed. However, I am very partial to blue as well. I think I like red as it can mean a lot of different things - hot, fire, danger, love, brightness and it always attracts my attention. 11. Franceska: What are your biggest influences in your life now and how do they influence you? Heather: The biggest influences in my life at the moment are places and the people I meet. I love to share ideas, stories and experiences to help understand this sometimes mad world we live on and hopefully I can, through my graphics or YouTube, inspire or help someone else to do this as well. 12. Franceska: Do you have a favourite creating method and why is it a favourite? Heather: I think my favourite way to create, especially if something has inspired me, is to try out different ways to make something and just play with different mediums, methods and techniques to find the one method which I feel fits the subject matter. I love to try new things and don’t really get hung up on creating something in a practically why. I also like to be ambitious and if I have an idea for something, unless it completely does not work, I will always try to find how I can make it. 13. Franceska: Do you have any short or long term goals for yourself and your career? Where do you see yourself in a few years time? Heather: My long-term goal is to have my own design studio, I would love to create a team of people with a wide range of skills to help other companies create designs they need. My short-term goal is to have another art exhibition and to learn more graphics skills to progress to higher levels and work on more creative and ambitious projects. 14. Franceska: We met in an art and science course and share similar interests. How have your art and science interests evolved since we first met? Heather: The Art and Science course was a great way for me to explore my interest in finding what could be beyond a black hole. I got to work on and workout a few different theories about this subject and visualise some of them. I would love to explore some of the theories I didn’t have enough time to explore fully as each one has a different outcome to what might or would happen. I don’t feel as though my interests have changed but life has somewhat got in the way and I need to find sometime to indulge myself back into my research material. 15. Franceska: I love your reflective distortion drawings. Do you think you might do some more drawings like those in the future and if so what do you think might be an influence? Heather: I really enjoyed making the reflection drawings and they were a large part of understanding and representing the possibilities of a multiverse or different dimensions. I would like to make a large-scale version or one that I could distort even more with mirrors; using three dimensions to create more of an experience than just a flat image. 16. Franceska: As a graphic designer, what are your main loves and hates in the industry and do you think there needs to be any changes for graphic designers? Heather: What I love about graphic design is the possibility of being able to help others create something they need. In an ideal world I would love to create design that educates or informs, rather than selling or pressuring people into things. From what I have experienced so far, there are a lot of people who think they can design, they may be able to create a nice bit of work but can’t understand the audience they are designing for or listen to what the client wants from the design and the humility to understand that there will always be someone that can create the design better than you but it’s the heart, soul and research you put into it that makes the design better. But that might just be me. 17. Franceska: Are there any graphic designers who you really admire and why? Heather: There is one graphic designer that I admire, who also keeps popping up in most of my art or design research, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. My natural design style is similar to the Bauhaus and Moholy-Nagy but he too, took inspiration from science and mathematical ideas of the time. He was also forward thinking about social ideas and helped to form my own opinions about what we can do to help others and the world. 18. Franceska: Imagine you were at a dinner party and you could choose one famous person to sit beside you, who would this be and why would you choose this person and how do you think conversation would go? Heather: If I were invited to a dinner party I would invite Stephen Hawking. I would invite Stephen because I would love to hear all this theories on Black Holes and test my own against him, even though he would probably tell me that they were not possible. I would also be interested in what he thought the new image of a black hole would lead to and whether he thought new ideas and theories would come from it. 19. Franceska: What is your superpower? Heather: My superpower is to attack very slow moving people when I want to be moving quickly. I am also an empath so I can tell if someone I have a close connection to is upset or in a bad mood because it will flood me with that emotion. 20. Franceska: Tell me what a “Day in the life of Heather” is like? Heather: A day in the life of Heather can be very different; on a working day I commute to London. The one good thing about commuting is that I get some dedicated time to read which is better than being on my phone or making everyone around me awkward by people watching. I get through the day by making jokes and trying to make the best out of what I have to do, it does help that I have a great person to work with on my team. On my days off, I like to spend time with family or friends. I like to cycle or do some yoga ie, falling over! I also record my YouTube videos and build more houses. You have to have something delicious at least once a week and to try not to be too sarcastic towards other people. Adventure, fun and caring for others are essentials! Thank you so much Heather for sharing about your life and your work! I have even more questions now which is just silly and I'm so excited about the possibilities of you making some more reflection drawings and explorations into your black hole research! Can't wait to see what unfolds! If you want to keep up to date about Heather and her work then follow these links below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graphicdesignHS Website: www.graphicdesignhs.co.uk Instagram: @hevdonia Youtube: Hevdonia See below one of Heather's speed builds from her Hevdonia Youtube Channel: *If you enjoyed this Artist Interview and would like to see more like it then stay tuned every Friday at 9am UK time for more.
Today I went to see the Emma Kunz exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery as I'm fascinated by artists working in geometry. This artist was unusual and difficult to find out about prior to visiting as she never exhibited her work during her lifetime and is for the first time being exhibited in the UK. She is completely unknown and yet quite fascinating. Apparently she was a healer and had telepathic tendencies and the ability to heal others using her craft. It seems that her pendulum drawings were tools in her trade. She didn't title them and seems to have only used them as a way of learning how to treat the various people she encountered who came to her looking for treatments for their different ailments. I find it fascinating that the benches in the galleries are made from a stone that is from Switzerland and imbued with healing qualities which were sculpted by artist, Christodoulos Panayioutou. The idea here is to sit on these benches and meditate on Emma's work and perhaps glean some form of healing for yourself in the process. I sat on one of these benches and got cold and had to put my coat back on. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the work but I do like the peaceful feeling in the galleries as her work has a very calming quality so perhaps something is at work here. I'm sure the people that benefit the most are the lucky gallery attendants who work there who are all so sweet and lovely to talk to. Highly recommend a visit to the exhibition as its so nice coming to the Serpentine anyway, especially on a lovely spring day and also because Emma Kunz's work is very intriguing and if you allow yourself a good hour to go around quietly and just to sit and meditate then it's a very liberating experience. See below my images from the exhibition:  This is one of the benches you can sit on to meditate at the work. A bit chilly but quite a nice place to sit and contemplate.  I loved this image.....  This is the biggest room with lots of Emma's work all over the walls and a wonderful light coming through from above. A great place to meditate if you're lucky enough to have the room to yourself.
-All highlighted red underlined words are links leading to related content. *If you enjoyed this exhibition review then stay tuned every Thursday at 9am UK time for more! As an artist, I try to make myself create something daily even if the something never develops into what I would define as successful so I feel this is an important topic. I've always known I would be an artist.....growing up in a very creative family almost defined my path before I knew it myself because the creative path seemed the most logical. During my childhood, I was accustomed to what "studio time" meant because my father had to practice the piano because it was his profession and my mother had to paint because it was her profession so when I was young and took time out of my regular routine to create, I was left to make those discoveries on my own. So when I got to art school as a young art student, making time to create in studio was as much a part of the day as anything else. But being in art school put more pressure on what we created because an art school's objective is to get us into the idea that we must produce work which will define us, show our "style" and give us a map as to where we should go next. It was in art school that I realised I thought differently than what my teachers wanted from me and that changed who I was as an artist. To me, the product that comes from the act of creating isn't as important as the journey it took to get there. Luckily, I get to keep the best part for myself as process can't be priced and sold! It can be wasted however which riles me very much as you will see later on in this post. So since art school, over twenty years ago, I've relished every ounce of "studio time" I've had as it is where I try and attempt many different thought processes and though often this results in failure in terms of not producing a finished piece, it does offer me a chance to learn about my material and what I'm trying to develop. So I'm sharing with you today, some previous attempts......followed by failures of projects where I've tried something and tried again and tried again and not yet succeeded to achieve the results I'm looking for. I don't really know what I'm trying to do except that I'm trying to push a material to the limits of my own understanding of it to see what happens and if I'm lucky enough to go beyond that limit, then evolution occurs and I move on to the next level of trying and failures and successes...... Below is a speed video I've created where I've been working with sliced up toilet paper rolls, coloured paper and hot glue as sculpting materials.......I abandoned this process about 4 hours in and binned the product because it wasn't going where I had wanted it to go but the process brought out another idea which is slowly developing.  Above, the image is of a backdrop in a theatre production that I did many years ago for the Hockaday School in Dallas Texas for their 8th grade musical, Oliver! I spent about 2 months working on this, was paid very little and was then unrecognised for the work on opening night. Still riles me that I wasted so many precious studio hours on something like this but then everything is a learning experience. I learned from this that I can demand more money for a job and that I can also turn it down if it will not forward my career as an artist. To work for little to nothing is commendable......if you're financially stable and have time to spend. Many lessons learned from this job! The actual production of Oliver was of course a success and I must make it clear that I was glad to be invited to paint the backdrop to be part of their production. To do a 10 ft by 40 ft drop like that for limited funds and then have none of the organisers recognise my work is a bit frustrating but it did the job of giving me a much needed life lesson so it was a good experience in that sense. I do also enjoy giving of myself to help others but in this instance, I gave too much at a time when being valued monetarily would have been greatly appreciated.  This photo above is of myself standing in London Bridge station holding my sculpture, "Fibonacci Fold Pod" as my friend took a picture as it isn't everyday that you see a massive toothpick sculpture in a train station - we were transporting it across London to St. Albans a few years ago after it spent some time on top of a wardrobe of a friend in Clapham.
I see this style of sculpting as an experiment that lasted many years but has now evolved and adapted to something smaller (living in a city in a tiny room has made this necessary) and I think more exciting. In 2011, I built this sculpture to be part of one of the first exhibitions by Parallax Art Fair and it was a fun time which resulted in being quite out of pocket due to not selling at the art fair which was the beginning of my dislike of art fairs in general. This sculpture has travelled with me for several years since that exhibition and it now languishes, half broken on top of a tall bookshelf in my very tiny bedroom but even though it's broken, I keep it.....and I'm not sure why. I don't work in that style any longer.....it is literally the last dinosaur before my sculpting methods evolved but it continues to live on top of the bookshelf........I do see it as a failure in some senses but I still love it for the memories I developed making it which ultimately led to my style evolving. So I'd say that failure in art is part of it......you need failure in order to succeed so then trying and sitting down to create every day is a necessity for every artist because it's possible that the processes and failures are the next stepping stones to the next success or evolution and that is everything! The trick is to find the determination to keep going when faced with multiple failures.....that's tough and really challenging.....look at my unrelenting job searching. I've been trying.....and failing to find a job for five years now. But I still revise my CV and still seek out and retrain to stay up to date in my profession and I still apply to nearly fifty jobs a week because at some point, whether it's today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or in a few years......I'll eventually succeed but only as long as I keep trying..... - All highlighted underlined words are links to related content. *If you enjoy reading these Material posts then stay tuned every Monday at 9am UK time for more! Artist Interview with Joel Heires5/4/2019 
I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Joel Heires, who I met through a mutual arty friend. I remember Joel impressed me back then for his enthusiasm for fantasy art which is something I really love too!
Joel has always impressed me with his determination and his work ethic. When I see his regular drawing posts, I feel inspired to get to business in my own studio practice. His focus is wonderful and I wish I could keep focused as he does! In particular for several years now, I've been intrigued by his figurative work and have been wanting to find out more for ages now. I wish he lived closer as I think it would be intriguing to see his work space as I too have to conduct my artistic practice in my bedroom so of course I'm curious how others have to adapt to working in a multipurpose space! So I'm very pleased Joel agreed to let me interview him for my art blog and again I wrote far too many questions and had to edit them down from the 68 that I originally had! Sometimes my curiosity of my fellow artist friends is ridiculous! I do hope you enjoy this interview and please note any red highlighted underlined words are links to related content. To follow Joel and keep up to date with his ongoing work, then please look below this interview for his social media links. Please like, comment and share! Enjoy: Franceska: How and when did you get into the arts? Joel: I have always enjoyed drawing. I believe my “What I want to be when I grow up” list was artist, firefighter, or paleontologist. Safe to say the interest has been present most of my life, but as I got older I would see images or sculptures created by others and just think “that” is what I want to do. Franceska: Is there anyone who inspired or influenced you when you were young to get into the arts? Joel: I can't think of anyone in particular, certainly my parents supported me, but it was usually a pretty solitary act that I committed on my own. Drawing was and is very much an escape for me. My drive really came mostly from art in magazines and comic books that had captured so much of my imagination. Fortunately, I had a string of supportive teachers that understood I was a bit more serious than most of the students who had to be there. So I got extra feedback or pushes from various instructors over the years and on occasion would have a professional artist see my work and relate the idea that I should keep at it. Franceska: Where did you study and how do you feel about your educational experience? Do you feel it helped you in what you do now? Joel: Art classes were offered from middle school on, and it was always nice to look forward to a class every day. I wasn't a bad student, but everything else felt like work. It could certainly be challenging, but the labor was usually pleasant, outside of the time constraints (still an issue today). I was incredibly fortunate to attend a high school with an amazing AP (advanced placement) art program. Double block classes everyday allowed me to really dig in with other like minded students and take risks. I also remember feeling as though the AP status placed the classes on the same level as English, Science, and Math for the first time. In no small part because of those courses, I had a strong portfolio ready when I applied and was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University. By the time I graduated I think I was more frustrated than enlightened. Distance and time have led me to wonder if that was more due to my own social/personal issues and being so insanely naive about life and craft. The program at the time was in transition and many of the older more technical minded faculty were retiring or moving on and the newer focus seemed to be much more conceptual (which was less interesting to me). While that education has served me immeasurably over time, I felt as if my technical education was lacking. I wanted that magic bullet that would just make me awesome, but I never really connected with any of my professors and never locked onto a mentor figure. Of course I also made lifelong friends that have heavily influenced my career and life post graduation. In the end I think education anywhere is really what you make of it and I , frustratingly, feel as if I took for granted my time there. Franceska: What is your favourite material to work with in the arts? Joel: I like to draw. I like paper and pencil and ink, but I also paint digitally using Photoshop. There is an immediacy to traditional sketching that is more grounded, the line and the tone just feel more correct, and a pure stream of consciousness drawing devoid of purpose or direction can be meditative. Working digitally however, allows for speedy iteration. I can always undo or start fresh with another file, without fear of wasting materials, a fear that kept me from exploring much in college. Any color sense I have at all is due mostly to infinite digital paint. Franceska: Do you currently have a specific artist or artists that you follow at this time and why? Joel: On a daily basis it's really just about being on instagram and trying not to let the talent of so many incredible individuals extinguish my own creative drive. I would say, more than anyone else lately, I find myself continually returning to the work of J.C.Leyendecker. He is mostly known for his advertising work and an incredible run of iconic Saturday Evening Post covers. The more I look at his work the more I'm blown away by what he accomplished in every image. I'm a big fan of images drawn from my own imagination, but it's undeniable how much extra information is communicated when using reference. In his work I see both. Stylized realism with imaginative flourishes and editing resulting in a highly detailed, stylized, and nuanced final image. Franceska: How do you find inspiration in your current work? How do you keep yourself motivated? Joel: “Keep making stuff!” is pretty much my only M.O. I'm old enough to realize that the negative loop of trial and failure had stunted my ability to press on and just make stuff. Sometimes it's for fun, sometimes it's more directed, the way a musician practices scales or an athlete hits the gym. Keeping my brain and my fingers moving and existing in that higher plane of operating is my primary objective. I can always tell when I haven't done figure drawing or dimensional drawing in awhile. Like going for a jog after an injury, you lose progress or at the very least alertness. Franceska: What is a typical studio day like for you? Joel: I've been mostly on my own for a few years now, so it's amorphous by nature. Since I work in my room it's a constant struggle to not allow distraction from upending my flow. On a good day I get up late morning and try to do some observational drawing as a warm up and confidence booster. I usually do yoga, (a life saver when you spend as much time hunched over a computer or a desk as I do) and then shower and lunch. Then I settle into whatever my current task is. With freelancing being the bulk of my monetary income that work ranges from illustration, to ui design, and photoshopping. I try to work at max focus for a few hours. If I get into a groove I might work later, but if there isn't a deadline or staying on task is a real chore I let myself off the hook. I eat dinner somewhere in there and then will entertain myself in the evening, which many times now involves working in my sketchbook. This is of course a model day and not an average one, hehe. Franceska: Do you find it easy to fill a sketchbook and is this something you embrace? Joel: I've been using the classic black hardbound sketch books for the last 5 years now. It takes me a bit over a year to fill one. It's nice to have the singular object when it's done as opposed to piles of loose drawings. They also act as a timeline of the previous year, an illustrated diary. The sketchbooks become a powerful reminder of whether you are working or not, a tome of inspiration and frustration. The one piece of advice I have received over and over in my life is “Draw everyday!” It took me over a decade to really understand and embrace that message. I felt the idea was very unromantic, but in reality it is the practice that opens the doors so your ideas can freely flow into reality. Franceska: What are your current challenges in your practice and are you finding ways to overcome them? Joel: Every time I climb to a peak of skill or perception another 50 peaks become visible. I'm struggling with the subtleties of perspective and drawing figures and objects that really exist in the space on the page. My work is stiff and not only dimensionally flat but also emotionally flat. With observational drawing I really try to mentally picture the forms I'm rendering as I make my marks. Visualizing the edges and the shadow regions seems silly since I'm looking at the subject, but I've found that my hand makes subtly better marks when engaged at that level. Keeping my mind thinking in 3d helps as well when I render from my minds eye. The hope is that this will lead to more dynamic compositions and realized forms. Franceska: Do you have a favourite colour or palette and if so how has it changed over the years? Joel: My color sense is naturally quite poor, years of fooling around with color digitally has made me more fearless in experimenting, but it's still a struggle every time. I tend to rely on the concepts of unity and color relationships to fill my canvas. By the time my current project is finished, it will reflect the seven roy g biv colors. Because of this, as I get further into the series the color choices are less choices and more by necessity and design. I like using compliments and particular symbolic groupings adding an extra layer to the choices whenever I can. When I get a chance to attend figure drawing sessions I tend to work with ink washes, particularly an orange and blue wash in addition to black ink. There is a strange glowing quality to it that I enjoy. Other than that, I don't believe I gravitate toward anything in particular. Franceska: Do you have any favourite books/comics that you refer back to often or that made an impact on who you are today? Joel: My general visual curiosity flows from Greek mythology into Greek sculpture then the renaissance (Michelangelo, da Vinci), surrealism, and then dives into fantasy art in the vein of Frank Frazetta and smashes into superhero comics. By middle school I was hooked and knew fantastical art was what I wanted to do. As I've gotten older I've moved away from those figures and while digging into the lineage of comic books, movies, and videogames found new touchstones. I've started making connections among the various things that captured my attention and that eventually lead me into the realm of Jean Giraud Moebius. He has become a weird magnetic figure in my creative journey. I am much less attracted to raw skill anymore and find myself drawn to creators that have a very strong personal style. (Mike Mignola, Kilian Eng, Katsuya Terada, the list goes on) Franceska: What are your goals for your future in the arts? Joel: I mentioned this already, but really it's just “keep going, keep making”. In high school and college we would always have to make our artist statement and really the only thing I ever wanted was to make something cool, and that is still true. My definition of “cool” has changed, but I really just want to make stuff that ignites the same spark of creativity that I've been juiced with so many times. Franceska: What projects are you working on currently and can you share what they are if possible? Joel: As far as personal projects the main one is called “The Magi” It's a halfway complete series of paintings with accompanying music tracks provided and mutually inspired by my good friend Christian Kriegeskotte. Also, recently a children's book that I illustrated was published digitally on Amazon called “Robert the Robot: and the Ocular Resonators.” Instead of a moral or ethical lesson the goal is to give a lesson on socializing. Other than that, too many ideas that are nebulously waiting to be plucked from the ether. Thank you so much Joel for agreeing to be interviewed! I'll continue to be a big fan of your work and probably you'll find more fans following this interview! To follow Joel and keep up to date with his artwork then please follow these links: Website joelheires.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelheires/ If you enjoyed reading about Joel and would like to read more artist interviews then please check back every Friday at 9am UK time for more.     Yesterday I visited the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in Islington, North London. A new friend from my very active London Art Museum Creatives meetup group suggested it to me and I've been eager to see what it's all about.
Being a Contemporary British Sculptor myself, I'm intrigued by other artists work especially artwork well known in other countries. I find it's really nice to have a different perspective and as I really love most things Italian, it was a fun visit. Firstly, it's a very short walk from Highbury & Islington train station with the walk meandering through the nice residential neighbourhood of Canonbury. The building that the gallery is in is very nice and recently had some renovations. It's quite nice inside and has the temporary exhibition on the ground floor and the more permanent collection on the floors above. There's also a nice little shop and cafe and garden too as well as a library. I went on a very rainy cold day so I'm sure it's much nicer outside in their garden on sunny warm days! The history of the building was very interesting too. Apparently the gallery takes its name from that of Eric Estorick who was an American writer and sociologist who was gathering an art collection after the Second World War while living here in England. Turns out he and his wife were regular visitors to Italy and were very lucky to meet and befriend many popular artists during this time. You can see by his collection that he was very inspired by Futurist paintings coming out of modern Italian art just after the war as he has many great masterpieces from artists of that time period. The gallery has other works too that are unrelated to Futurism and they're just as fascinating and quite a lovely hidden gem in this very crowded city! I can't tell you how glorious it was to be alone in these galleries and to have the artwork all to myself without millions of tourists all around like in the major art museums not too far away. Cost to get in is minimal which is great. I paid just £7.50 to get into both the permanent collection as well as the temporary exhibit so that was a bonus! So the Fausto Melotti Counterpoint exhibition has only recently begun on the 16th of January and will run until the 7th of April 2019 so do try to see it if you can. Apparently according to what I read in the gallery, this artist is very well known in Italy but hardly noted here in the U.K. which is a shame as his work is rather interesting. The first moment I entered the room, I was intrigued by his interests in the languages of music and mathematics and his visual interpretation of these combinations. Of course, art and science fascinates me so to see how another artist weaves their own visual perspective using their own explorations in the sciences is very interesting indeed. There were a few works that I didn't completely understand and it would have been great to have an explanation nearby. There were a few other pieces that I did wonder about mostly because they peaked my imagination in either the title or the material used. Please refer to the images above to make your own speculations of his work. An interesting exhibition but lacking in explanations to those of us who don't know the artist very well and his visual interpretations. Though if I want to learn more, all I have to do is google this artist but not many people will research further so I'd say it's a pity the gallery didn't offer a little bit more for those of us unfamiliar with each piece and what it means or represents. I'd love to have had more details in the labels so I could have understood more. Interesting exhibition otherwise. Some examples of this at the top of the page: top two images are by Fausto Melotti, bottom two images are by Gino Severini (Quaker Oats - Cubist Still Life) and Giuditta Scalini (Acrobats). If you'd like to visit the gallery for yourself please follow the links below: Twitter: @Estorick Facebook: facebook.com/estorickcollection Instagram: instagram.com/estorickcollection Pinterest: pinterest.com/estorick www.estorickcollection.com email: curator@estorickcollection.com *If you enjoy reading about different exhibitions I've been to and would like to see more like this then please stay tuned every Thursday at 9am UK time. Model Making Technique - Bricks1/4/2019  One of the area's I love to work in as an artist is in model making - in miniatures. For some reason, a tiny version of a man made space fascinates me. Capturing textures to make my miniatures look close to life sized versions is an ongoing exploration. I do love brickwork and creating run down or impossibly imaginative spaces like this image above of the warehouse facade I created recently. The idea is that it is supposed to look like it has been built on multiple times so there are old bricks mixed with new and a great deal of wear and tear, indicating a long history and a very run down feel to it. Last year, I retrained in model making techniques, mostly to enhance my own skills and to give myself a better chance at employment. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a job with these skills but I'm still trying and meanwhile still learning as I discover new techniques. So here below, I'm including a technique I have perfected....making semi realistic bricks using foam board. It is my objective to try to find ways to make model making easy to do with limited materials primarily because model making materials are expensive. In this video demonstration below, I'm only using a bit of foam board with a scalpel blade, a mechanical pencil and a metal ruler. Though I've re-trained with Leigh Took of Mattes and Miniatures from Creative Media Skills at Pinewood Studios as well as David Neat here in London, I have always tried to make my materials basic and affordable. This technique below was first discovered from my time studying with David and then perfected after studying with Leigh. I think the use of the mechanical pencil as a sculpting tool is just as important as the scalpel. Using black foam board is deliberate too as it helps to have a black background before painting so that any cuts made afterwards helps define the shapes you're cutting out. For painting afterwards, which I didn't include, you can just lightly dry brush faint reds, oranges and browns over the surface with a sponge to create realistic looking bricks. Studying model making techniques with David Neat is great to learn about precision and how to accurately measure to create very tidy miniatures that are ultra realistic. He has a book out too which I bought and still refer to often. I did enjoy his classes but I'm too much of a free spirit and if he sees my video above, I'm sure he'll cringe at how badly I measure out the bricks but as a sculptor, I do like to "feel" my way around my work rather than seriously follow rules. Studying with Leigh Took at Creative Media Skills was so opposite of David's classes. Leigh is more relaxed and makes experiments much more. He does of course follow measurements and so forth but not to the point where it stops him from making discoveries along the way. When I took the Miniature Model Making course at Creative Media Skills, it was the happiest week where I worked on a team with other model makers all creating one dystopian city together! One of Leigh's miniature brick making methods were to save time which is far different from David's methods. I like both methods I think. Once I have similar material to his method, I'll add another demonstration as I've used it a few times in variations with very interesting results each time. I learned so much and experimented and discovered and really grew my skills which was wonderful! I wish it could result in finding a job in the industry! Below is an image of the tiny miniature chairs with a little brick wall that I made in David's class:  And here's a picture I took of our final dystopian scene while in Leigh Took's Miniature Model Making class:  And below this a close up shot of the building I made:  I've always made sculptures and miniatures in particular have been a fascination since I was very young. Really sparks the imagination for some reason!
I find that I can get very excited about brickwork or architectural textures in general just while out and about and have far too many photos on my phone of close ups of textures because I'm always trying to understand how I can make something in miniature form. Brickwork being one of the most fascinating! I'd highly recommend both David Neat and Leigh Took as model making teachers as they've taught me so much and if I had lots of money, I'd take their classes again just to freshen up and to have a lovely time! Also if you want to buy David's book then follow this link: Model-Making: Materials and Methods by David Neat All red highlighted words are links to related content. *If you enjoy these Materials/techniques posts then please return every Monday at 9am for more. Artist Interview with Carl Chapple29/3/2019  I met my friend, Carl Chapple when we were both exhibiting at Parallax Art Fair here in London in 2011 and I have been a fan of his ever since! I agree so much with his statement about art fairs in general too.
As a figurative painter myself, I'm drawn (no pun intended!) to his figurative paintings the most and of course I've been intrigued for a long time about his methods of working and what his studio is like and what types of colours he has on his palette and all sorts of other curiosities! So I was really pleased when Carl agreed to let me interview him for my art blog! The biggest challenge with Carl and so far with all the other artists I've interviewed, is that I have so many questions that I have to whittle them down or I'm sure artists would be daunted by hundreds of questions! These questions in this interview, I think are the most pressing of the over eighty that I originally had to edit down from! I had so many questions about his materials but as a painter myself, I really feel that to understand another painter is to see how and where they work rather than what they produce! So I love the above photo of Carl's studio space with his work and all the interesting details surrounding! I'm excited to share with you my interview with Carl and his fascinating work and practice. Please do check his social media links at the end of this interview to stay updated with his work, especially as he has upcoming exhibitions which is quite exciting! Any red highlighted underlined words are links you can follow. Please like, comment and share with your friends! Enjoy: Franceska: When did you first know you were going to be an artist and what helped you decide this? Carl: I’ve always been interested in painting, but wasn’t certain that I wanted to be a painter myself until the first term of my art foundation at Oxford Polytechnic. I’d spent the previous year working in a print shop doing bits of graphic art, and went into the course with a vague plan to go on to art school somewhere and study graphics, but that all changed after the experience of drawing from the nude and using oil paint for the first time. Drawing from the nude and using oil paint for the first time can really shift your perspective on things. I found both impossibly difficult, and realised very quickly that they would be central to all that I wanted to do. Franceska: How do you set up your palette? Do you have a specific system with your colours? Carl: I think Whistler once said something about it being impossible for an orderly painting to emerge from a disorderly palette, and I’ve been trying unsuccessfully for a long time to learn from that. I start each session with a row of colours arranged chromologically (I may have just invented that word) across the top of the palette, with a dollop of white beneath, but it all soon descends into a kind of blur as work proceeds, colours are mixed, and more paint is added. There is a system, of sorts, and I always know where everything is, but the nearest I come to any kind of discipline is realising periodically that I need to stop and completely clean the palette and start again. I try to do this at least every few hours. Franceska: Who or what inspired you to become an artist? Carl: My mum encouraged creativity in me as a child (we always had paints and glue and a junk box full of toilet rolls and cereal boxes, etc, from which fantastic space stations could be built), and at primary school I was labelled as the one who was good at drawing, meaning I’d get pulled out of lessons to copy pictures (the inner workings of the human ear, a Roman soldier holding a spear…) onto other teachers’ blackboards, which was obviously to be welcomed. I went on to really enjoy studying art at secondary school, and had a great teacher (Stuart Stephens at Tavistock Comprehensive) who had a very open and informal approach to teaching his subject. Under his slightly arm’s length guidance, pupils were given a lot of freedom to explore ideas and techniques, and to make mistakes, etc. I found this to be a fun environment to work in, and took it very seriously. Franceska: Do you have a specific subject that you enjoy the most in your art? Carl: People - most recently dancers. It’s the only subject I’m really interested in. Over the years I’ve painted a few still lives and the occasional landscape, animal picture, etc, but nothing engages me like trying to depict another human being. There’s a Vonnegut story in which a character responds to a vast and impressive landscape painting, suggesting to the artist that for all that’s great about the picture, there’s something missing: a figure, an access point for the viewer to place themself within the scene, and to more fully connect with it. The figures in my pictures tend to be front and centre, but I’m probably thinking along the same lines as Vonnegut’s critic. With a few exceptions (much of the work of Cezanne, for example), my favourite paintings and drawings all involve people. Franceska: How do you come up with your compositions and what are your challenges in this process? Carl: I’m artist in residence with the wonderful dance company Ballet Cymru, based in Newport, South Wales. Over the past few years they have inspired most of my work - either as I respond to rehearsals and performances, or work more collaboratively with dancers in the painting studio. After years working from the nude and later painting portraits, I think of my current practice as very much a combination of the two - though now created in response to and in partnership with other artists. As I’ve been discovering, dance and figure painting share many common themes and concerns - line, gesture, narrative, the exploration of relationships between figures and the spaces around them, for example - which has given me new insights into painting. It’s been an extraordinary experience. There have been some challenges. Sketching figures as they fly around a dance floor is quite different from working from a motionless sitter, and I’ve needed to innovate a good deal in order to adapt some of my working methods. In rehearsals, for example, I now film sequences of dance which I later loop and play back in the painting studio, so I can work over a longer period and more closely study dancers’ movement, etc. These experiments are ongoing, and I’m now in the process of working out how I can scale things up and create more complex compositions. The residency has been a great privilege, and I can’t imagine working with a more creative and disciplined group of people. If you get the opportunity to see Ballet Cymru perform, I would urge you to take it. Franceska: When do you prefer to work in your studio? Do you have specific times that work best for you? Carl: I try to be in the studio before eight in the morning, especially in winter when daylight is limited. The first few hours of the day are generally the most focused and productive, I find. Now that I’m working on more larger scale pictures, I’m thinking of changing my routine a bit to end the day with making smaller, quicker pieces, to reduce the risk of making bad decisions about big pictures when tired. For me, painting can be quite precarious, and not stopping when I’m starting to wilt can be a big mistake. Franceska: Tell me what a typical "Day in the life of Carl" is like? Carl: The focus of my days tends to vary between work in the painting or dance studio, occasional teaching (life drawing, portraiture, etc), and admin. In the past week I’ve had three days in the painting studio, two with Ballet Cymru (including the final rehearsals and premier of their show Ballet Cymru 2 - Made in Wales), and one entirely spent at a computer. Next week I plan mostly to work in the studio. Franceska: Tell me about Bertie? Carl: Bertie is a house cat/panther/ninja who can disappear at will and spring out of nowhere to mercilessly savage your ankles (or bring down a bull elephant) without warning. She’s a true master of camouflage and concealment, blending effortlessly into any (dark) surroundings, and has the discipline to remain completely motionless and invisible for seconds or even minutes at a time. Her only weakness is tuna. If a can of tuna is opened anywhere within a quarter of a mile of her she will instantly appear next to it with a pleading/entitled/threatening look on her face. In these circumstances, it’s best to acquiesce. She’s named after the painter Berthe Morisot, though is more of a Gwen John fan. I still feel bad about getting that wrong, but hope that she’s forgiven me. There are some photos of Bertie on my Instagram, though of course you won’t be able to spot her. Franceska: What other types of creative practices do you really enjoy? Carl: I like cooking. In the kitchen, as in the painting studio, I generally make stuff up as I go along, too often forgetting lessons already learnt though occasionally making something which turns out ok. Franceska: Do you have a favourite colour and has it changed over the years? Carl: For several years I painted with a restricted palette of three colours - Cadmium Red, Sap Green and Naples Yellow - before eventually introducing a fourth, Prussian Blue. These colours are still the core of my palette, though whatever changes I might make and experiments I may be doing, Prussian Blue is pretty much always there. It’s a beautiful and hugely versatile pigment, and is often quite dominant in my work. Franceska: How do you feel about art fairs like the one we met at? Carl: It’s depressing to think that there may be other art fairs like Parallax, though I imagine there must be. I feel pretty angry about them really, and would encourage artists - especially those less experienced or at the early stages of their careers, whom these people seem very specifically to target with their flattering advances - to steer well clear. I feel a right chump for getting drawn in on that occasion, and if I were to show at an art fair again it would only be after a good deal of research to be sure it was a legitimate, worthwhile event. Franceska: What are your goals for the future with your paintings? Carl: To make better pictures than I did before. That’s always my goal. I may return to working from the nude at some point, but at the moment I’m completely immersed in dance as a subject, and hope to continue with that for some time. Franceska: Do you have any more exhibitions coming up? Carl: I have a few, yes. The Arts Council of Wales recently awarded me grant funding to build on my work with Ballet Cymru and produce two big exhibitions later this year, which I’m hugely excited about. The first will be at Ffin y Parc, a beautiful gallery on the edge of Snowdonia, in September, and the second at the huge Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, in December. Both shows will feature work made with the dance company throughout their 2019 season, with the funding enabling me to work on a much more ambitious scale than I’ve previously been able to do. There will be audio tours for people with visual impairments (developed and delivered by a great company called Word of Mouth) at both exhibitions, and the WMC show will be accompanied by a series of figure drawing workshops for children and adults, which I’ll be delivering with Ballet Cymru dancers. Before then, in April I’ll be showing some of my earlier dance paintings in Basel, Switzerland, with a brilliant pop-up gallery called frontofbicycle, and there may be a couple of other little shows in the UK, though these aren’t yet confirmed. Franceska: What are you working on right now? Carl: I’m between canvases. I recently finished a painting with the snappy title Ann Louise Wall, Giulia Rossi and Colleen Grace (Ballet Cymru rehearsal 149, EX SITU), featuring three dancers with Ballet Cymru’s Pre-Professional Programme working on a piece choreographed by Jack Philp. It’s two metres wide (my biggest picture to date), and has given me a lot to think about. My immediate plan now is to spend a few days drawing, and hopefully to develop ideas for further large compositions. Franceska: Do you have an artist who really inspired you? Carl: The Greeks, Italians, French, Dutch and Germans, among others. Years ago I travelled quite a lot in Greece and Turkey making studies of Classical architecture and sculpture to try to learn about some of the principles which informed them and to develop my draughtsmanship. I later lived in Florence and continued in the same vein, though with a focus on Renaissance sculpture, painting and drawing. I’m constantly experimenting with materials and techniques, etc, and have developed wider interests in art history and practice, but this period of focused study of early European art remains the foundation of my work. On a side note, I’d mention that although it’s fantastically inspiring to study great work by great artists, it can be tempting to overly romanticise the Renaissance masters as superhuman paragons from whom flawless, beautiful art effortlessly flowed to echo through the ages - though I’d suggest this would be a mistake. There’s something fundamentally reassuring in coming across a drawing by Michelangelo, for example, in which a hip appears dislocated or an eye’s a bit wonky. It’s important to set challenging standards for yourself, but also to keep failures in context, recognising them as part of the process. Wonky eyes are part of the process, and I’m constantly having to remind myself of that. Franceska: Where did you study and has it helped where you are today? Carl: After Oxford Polytechnic I studied at St Martin’s in London, which at that time may not have been the best place for a wannabe figurative painter. It had its moments though, and being within walking distance of the British Museum, Courtauld, National Gallery, etc, was pretty great. This got me into the habit (and over the anxiety) of drawing in public spaces, which led to much of what I did next and where I am now. Follow Carl and keep updated on his work: Website - http://www.carlchapple.com FB - https://www.facebook.com/carlchapplepainter Twitter - https://twitter.com/carlchapple Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/carl_chapple/ Ballet Cymru - http://welshballet.co.uk If you enjoyed this artist interview and would like to see more then please check back every Friday at 9am (UK time) for more. Dorothea Tanning Exhibition Review28/3/2019 A few days ago, I went to see the Dorothea Tanning Exhibition at the Tate Modern here in London, not really knowing much about her but having been bombarded by advertisements everywhere to go and see this! The actual image they have been using on the posters and website for this exhibition didn't excite me at all as that sort of painting never does......it seemed very steile and not what I enjoy as a painter. Because I wanted to attend this event with unpredictable dialogue, I arranged this outing to be an event in the meetup group that I currently run and quite a few people turned out which was exciting. (I will put in a note here, that I tend to have my friendliness misunderstood to be flirting by various men I encounter, who, perhaps use meetup in a different way than I do) That said, we can move on.... First of all, thank goodness it wasn't expensive which is a relief as the Tate Modern tend to charge more than necessary very often, probably due to the mass quantities of tourists in the city. Well, being on benefits, it's a bit of a challenge to maintain a life as an artist as I often can't afford to attend certain exhibitions due to the ridiculous high ticket prices! Luckily I spent very little.....an affordable £10 (only affordable due to using my credit card!). So the exhibition itself tracks the seventy year career of Dorothea Tanning - 1910 to 2012. It says in the brochure that her work asks us to look beyond the obvious. Her earlier surrealist paintings have a lot of narrative that's not obvious or known to the viewer and does peak the curiosity to understand what is happening....with labels not often offering this information. Her use of symbolism is intriguing to say the least and definitely taps into a connection to the subconscious which ensures to generate dialogue which is why I wanted to attend this exhibition with others. So Dorothea Tanning was an American painter and I didn't even know about her which is strange as I don't think she was even in my art history courses when I was a young art student at the Kansas City Art Institute way back in the 1990's! I remember her husband, Max Ernst very well as I loved his paintings but I never heard mention of Dorothea. I love that she wanted to create her own spaces in her work.....I can sort of relate to that mindset as I do this a lot in my own practice. It doesn't matter what my living situation, once immersed into drawing, painting or sculpting, I'm in a world that is entirely the meaning of "home" to me. So in the exhibition, first few paintings.....not very exciting as expected as they were tight and not fluid but the second room got fun! The first one that got my attention was of a door that divided a canvas in two with two figures on either side of the door (entitled, "Door 84").....it's fluid and there's so much movement in this piece. So apparently the door is a surrealist symbol: a portal to the unconscious (according to the brochure).  "Door 84" - above was where I started to consider liking this painter so this was a good start! The only strange thing about where they put this painting was that it was in a room full of paintings that the artist had painted decades before.....this Door 84 being painted in 1984. It's like the people who curated the exhibition couldn't decide where to put the paintings.....in order of when they were painted or in relationship to each other.......it was a little discombobulating. If I had an exhibition of everything I'd created from my whole life then I'd find it really odd if some of my later more recent work was mixed in with very early work. As an artist myself, I feel that artwork has a narrative all of its own and that progression from start to finish is important in the development and understanding of the artist.....so yeah a bit weird, their curation of the show.  "The Philosophers" painted in 1952 was in the same room as "Door 84".....(room 2 and 3 are joined so you tell me how that reads to you in the progression of the artists development!) Anyway, I lingered a while here at this painting, not because of the variety of activity in this piece but because of the way she painted the folded tablecloth which intrigued me as she made it so tactile.....I felt like I could feel it on my skin as that slippery silky folded cloth that I know it to be. The memories of those creases in that fabric that won't lie flat and held its own symbolism in the act of staying folded. This is something I'd like to revisit so I think I'll have to return to see this painting in person again to ruminate on this and see what develops.  "Insomnies (Insomnias)" painted in 1957 presumably when Dorothea and her husband Max had then moved to live in France.....she's painting that damned folded tablecloth again and before I read the description, I knew it already and from this was able to understand the previous painting. In this painting here it says in the label, "Tanning intended our experience of this painting to unfold gradually. In it, the figure of a child - identifiable by a face at the centre - is depicted as disjointed body parts which seem to disappear and reappear amongst folds of cloth. Tanning explained her process: It was like a game, hiding and revealing my familiar images, floating them in mist or storms. I felt like a magician, just to bring these forms out of nothing with my brush and paint." At the end of the label it states: "The title of the work suggests the anxiety of night-time wakefulness." which I think hits home for everyone! Needless to say, it fascinates me.....and confounds me because of the memory of those folds yet again so I think another visit to this exhibition is in order.  "Heartless" painted in 1980.....a painting in nearly the last room.....I've left a great deal out but it would ruin it if you were intending to visit for yourself.
This painting was difficult to walk away from as there was too much that my brain wanted to try to unravel. Too many hidden meanings and unsaid words. I like what Dorothea says, "I don't see why one shouldn't be absolutely fascinated with the human form....we go through life in this wonderful envelope. Why not acknowledge that and try to say something about it? So what I try to say about it is transformation." I'm still thinking about the exhibition as it has made an impact on me as a figurative painter and I am wondering how it will impact my own practice. I think if you're here in London or nearby then you need to go to see this exhibition as it'll get you thinking.....which is good in this day and age of technology! ---------- - Per usual, all red highlighted underlined words are links to related content. *If you enjoyed reading through this exhibition review and would like to see more then please stay tuned to this space every Thursday at 9am UK time for more! 
AuthorMy name is Franceska McCullough and I'm the owner and artist of Toothpickmoon. Here I will share my studio practice in all it's forms. *Disclosure: The links I'm using on this blog will only ever relate to the products I myself use in my own practice.
Categories
All
Archives
April 2020
|
