Unearthed exhibition

Unearthed exhibition at the Sainsbury centre (visit date 15/08/2010)

The exhibition holds many figures from Japan and Romania dating from 3000BC. Although geographically distant there were similarities between the cultures and between the figures found at both sites.

The exhibition made me think about the collective unconsciousness relating to both art and music. I find it incredibly interesting that cultures and communities, where the peoples would never have traveled and met each other, have produced art and music that is surprisingly similar.

The figures in the exhibition were small and the majority where of the female human form (breast mounds signified this). The Japanese figures are called Dogu. There are similarities between the figures in that they are of a similar range of sizes, where found in similar areas within the sites and are on the whole basic representations of humans.

Seeing the figures has made me think about the air drying clay I have sitting in my art cupboard and that I would maybe like to try to make some similar as some of them are so very beautiful.

Henry Moore - Textiles

Henry Moore Textiles exhibition at the Sainsburys Centre Norwich (visit date 15/08/2010)

Until I saw this exhibition advertised I wasn't aware that Henry Moore had designed any textiles (I was not alone - a fact noted by the curators in the introduction area!)

Moore designed large wall hangings as well as a number of fabric designs and one of the silk squares or scarves for Ascher. Ascher printed Moore's fabrics using screen printing techniques onto silk, linen,cotton and rayon.

I found out that a serigraph describes an artist's screen printed fabric - this distinguishes it from a commercial screen print.

There are a number of links between his sculptures, ideas for sculptures and his fabric designs.

I noted how interesting it is too see how different the same design looks in different colourways and look forward to trying this out when I do printing and textile courses in the future. I have some ideas from his designs that I would like to try out myself - some of the designs are almost batik like and I have already been thinking that I would like to create some contemporary and not 'hippyish' batiks. It has made me think even more about an idea I have to use old plain fabrics from charity shops (sheets, duvet covers etc) and then print on to these to use for bunting, patchwork, quilts etc.

There were pages from his sketchbooks to look at this and this has made me think about how I will be able to use a lot of different media when I start my own textile sketchbooks - I noted that he had used pencil, wax crayons, watercolour, chalk, ink, pen and washes often within the same design - I must remember to use lots of diff things and see how the diff effects are and how they relate to diff aspects of the design and different techniques e.g I might use a wash for the background colour, wax crayon around batik, felt tip pen to show embroidery, stick on bits to show sequins, beads etc.

Life Drawing Day

On Saturday 12th June I went to a life drawing day in Wisbech with my 2 OCA friends, Paul and Rachel.  Rachel lives in Wisbech and goes to regular life drawing classes which this was an extension of.  I'd never done any life drawing before and this was a great experience - just lovely to sit and draw and paint all day!

Here are some of my efforts....

We started with some quick 5 minute sketches - I like doing these as I enjoy working quickly.  I also think that when you make mistakes or you aren't so happy with the results you feel more comfortable with yourself knowing you only had five minutes to do it in!

These 2 were my favourites - both in charcoal, felt I got a good grasp of the body shape and use of tone.

We then went on to some longer poses.  Originally she planned to pose for an hour or more for a couple of them but the room was freezing cold so she only did up to 30 minutes.  I was happy with this as would have struggled to fill an hour with one picture.  In fact osme of the 30 minute poses I broke down in to 2 or more pics.

I had watched a video on the OCA website about starting a life drawing with shapes - squares, triangles, sausages etc so decided to try this method out.  I think it worked well as my best proportioned piece but perhaps not my favourite as slightly stiffer and more formal than the others.  I do think it would be useful though if doing preparatory sketches or if working for a longer time.

I then tried some pen drawings as my favourite medium.  Maybe because you can't make any changes and it is pretty unforgiving so you just have to get on with it

Here are 3 diff pics of the same pose.  I found this really tricky to work with as it looked very unnatural to me.

The last one is a pen drawing with an acrylic wash over the top.  I like using the 'wrong' colour in a monochrome as it forces me to think about the tones - dark and light rather than in colours.

I liked this effect so did some more.

I hope to join another class soon.  Some friends at work have talked about the possibility of joining together and hiring a model ourselves which would be great - must remind them and see if we can do it soon.

Masterclass with Chen Hong

On Saturday 22nd May - I attended a masterclass with a Chinese artist Chen Hong.  Chen Hong specialises in fish paintings and was artist in residence at Norwich Castle Museum during May.  There were about 15 students at the class which ran from 10.30 to 1 (but actually finished closer to 1.45)

Chen Hong doesn't speak any English so had an interpreter with him - this meant it was difficult to ask him questions as the interpreter was not always with him particularly when he came round to comment on our work - we had to guess at what he was saying! Also at one point he asked the class if we would like to start with something simple but somehow our answer was lost in translation as we started with the more difficult big fish before trying out the much easier little fish at the end of the class. 

We were first given a demonstration of a fish painting which not only includes the fish but also calligraphy and stamps.  We were then told about the basic brushstrokes before being given a chance to try some out for ourselves.  After this we were shown how to paint some simple bamboo and blossom and all had a go.

Mark making

Bamboo

After grabbing a quick cup of tea and a biscuit it was back to work to try out painting our own fish.  It was pretty difficult but we were reminded that Chen Hong has been practicing for 30 years!  And also that he had a very expensive brush and higher quality paper (bad workmen...!) It was said that Chinese artists develop close relationships with their brushes which can cost up to £1000!

My big fish

My little fish

The time went far too quickly and it would have been nice to have had more time to keep working on our pictures.  Although each picture is quick to do as you work quickly I think with some more support and maybe further demonstration so we could see where we were going wrong as individuals we may have improved further.  It was only at the end that I realised I had been making a mistake with my brushstrokes on the body of the fish.

Chen Hong is clearly a master of this specialist type of art but I'm not sure I would want to paint the same thing over and over again!

My notes on the class

Chen Hong's website (in Chinese!)

Bits and Bobs of exhibitions in Norwich

I've been in to a few small local exhibitions recently so thought I'd write some notes on here rather than about each one...

Churches on St Benedicts - there are 2 converted churches nearby which hold exhibitions.  One is more textiles and crafty with lots of bits to buy, the other more picture based.  There is a wide range of work in both, some which I really liked and was very inspiring and interesting, other bits I didn't find so appealing. This did however inspire me to thinking that there's no reason that I shouldn't have my stuff in exhibitions!

Assembly Rooms - I went to see the gallery space here as not visited in before and thought I would use it for my visit for unit 7.  I first looked at some photos by a son and father.  The pictures were on the whole quite nice but hung really badly!  A bit lopsided and the frames didn't suit them very well.  I wasn't that impressed.  I then went into another room of paintings and sculptures.  I think these may have been friends who had a room together as the works didn't really compliment each other at all. 

The Forum - Elements exhibition
This was a range of different work submitted by local artist on the theme of elements.  There was loads of different stuff and it was very interesting - I went round a few times but in the company of a toddler or a group of young people with learning difficulties so perhaps didn't give it my full attention.  Notable highlights for the toddler included an aligator made from wood and a willow giraffe.  My favourites were a saw covered in a beatuiful moaiscish effect of cracked glass, the winning piece which was a huge towering mound of plastic soldiers (i think it was called 10000 men) and a piece in the style of Monet's water lillies but made by stitching old plastic bags together.  From a distance it looked just like a painting it wasn't until you were much closer that you could see the bags.

The Forum - Open studios taster
I only had a very quick look around.  Again a vast range of different styles and pieces.  As in the church exhibition I found that I had definate preferences for some of the work and again felt that my own work would be at a displayable standard.  Plan to go and visit some of the open studios soon.

Sketching at Norwich Cathedral

I'm writing this up after the event but.....

On Saturday 10th April I met up with my OCA friends (we share the same tutor who put us in touch with each other) for a day sketching outdoors at Norwich Cathedral.  We had previously been to Paul's house in Cambridge and done life drawing (clothes on!).  It's really useful to meet up with others doing a similar kind of course as we can discuss the way we are doing things and share ideas and information. 

At the cathedral it was the first time Rachel (no A) and me the other RachAel had done any real sketching outdoors in public so it was nice to have someone else there!  We had had thoughts of going inside and doing some drawings in the interior but it was such a lovely sunny day we spent the whole time outside.  As well as trying to capture the vastness of the building we also took the opportunity to draw trees as well.  I think we were both surprised by how difficult it was to draw the building compared to trees/people.  We decided it was probably because trees and people move so you are trying to capture an essence whereas the building is so solidly there it is much easier to see where you have gone 'wrong'.

Here are some of my sketches from the day - Firstly some trees using felt tipped pens.  Enjoyed trying out different ways of getting the textures.

Next some very quick studies of people who were moving about - have been recommended this as a good practice activity.

The first few drawings we did of the cathedral we tried to time ourselves to force us to get the detail down quickly - I think this is a really useful way of making sure you don't get stuck on one part of what you are looking at although we found it impossible to do in 1 or 3 minutes!  This took about 5 using charcoal.

I did some studies of parts of the building using pen (I think my favored medium for these kinds of drawing)

After lunch we spent a bit more time on a picture of the building from a different view point.

Rachel and myself are going to have another arty day next Saturday when we are going to a masterclass with the Chinese painter in residence at Norwich Castle Museum followed by a trip round some of the Open Studios.  We also have a life drawing day booked for a few weeks time so I'm making sure I keep up my drawing and practical skills whilst doing this course.

Felbrigg Hall

On Saturday (24th April) I visited Felbrigg Hall.  I went as a volunteer with a local charity where I go out socially with adults with learning difficulties.  This meant that I didn't spend as long as I would have if I had visited alone and my visit was led by my companions.  However, it was still really interesting to look around the house and even more so due to my new found interest and some knowledge!

The building was from the 15th and 16th centuries and is highly decorated externally.  The interior was in a range of styles. My favourite room had hand painted wallpaper depicting Indian birds and water scenes.  We were told how the room had been hung in the 16th century using 16 rolls of paper.  There were 4 different designs but they had been placed cleverly so the repeat wasn't obvious.  E.g rolls A, B , C, D might appear ABCDBADC etc. 

I was also interested to see the remains of an original Greek statue (a now headless woman).  It was intriguing to note how deeply the folds of her robes had been carved to give the illusion of shadow and drapery.

Watercolour in Britain - Travelling with Colour - The Castle Museum Norwich

Before going to this exhibition I think I expected it to be full of the slightly wishy washy landscape paintings that I associate with watercolour.  However, although there were some more 'traditional' watercolours included there was a lot more to get me thinking about the medium.

I took a notebook and did take a few notes but need to feel that I am 'allowed' to be taking notes/making sketches etc as more notes and info would really help me remember what I have seen.  I also plan to write up any visits on this blog as soon as I can because I think it will help me get more out of it and make me think about what I have seen.

The notes I took were helpful as I was able to ask my Art and Design tutor and research in books and on net to find some answers.  I also wrote down some of the artists I liked names so I can look at more of their work.

NOTES and QUESTIONS

• Q - What is body colour?    Paint highly concentrated with pigment but it it a special type of paint or just not putting much water into it.  A - I think just not much water mixed with it
• Q - What is gouche?  A - a different medium similar to watercolour but more opaque (can't see through it)
• Interesting - Turner (and others) invented or added to the landscape to make it more interesting, appealing, improve the compostion.  DON'T HAVE TO PAINT/DRAW WHAT YOU SEE
• Techninque - notes from a video - saturate paper before putting wash on.  Take colour back out again with a clean damp brush. Use end of brush, nail, something scratchy to take paint out - GIVE THIS  A TRY

Artists to look out for...

Graham Sutherland - I'd already seen some of his work when visiting Coventry cathedral (but hadn't registered who it was til I was looking through my postcards the other day).  I also think I'd admired his mines paintings when visiting the National Mining Museum last summer. 

I love his use of mixed media - read in gallery notes that used wax crayons with watercolour and gouche.  I find his style appealing with the straight lines and angular nature and would like to try some drawings in this style. 

Image - Graham Sutherland - Limestone Quarry

Edward Burra
I'd never heard of Burra before seeing some of his paintings in this exhibition - can't beleive he's passed me by!

Love the scale of his work - some of the paintings shown were well over a metre wide - not what I expected from a watercolours show. 

I find the surealist style dreamlike and eerie - slightly disturbing rather than attractive but I like to be made to feel disturbed!  I couldn't find images of some of the other pictures I'd admired (ANOTHER REASON TO TAKE MORE NOTES)  But the stylised people/creatures used in images of going to war are dramatic and thought provoking.  Found the work made me think of Tim Burton films (perhaps Burra has influenced Burton somewhat?)

Image - Edward Burra - Dancing Skeletons

John Piper
I think my husbands quote whilst looking at Piper's triptych of English church towers sums up my feelings well.  "Piper viewed the world in noncturnal lumesance.  These are almost like pop art"

I am particulary drawn to this one as of my home city and a view I recognise well.  The use of white splashes to highlight areas and show the light coming in.  It looks like it could be a print rather than a painting.
Image - John Piper - Norwich Market Place

REMEMBER REMEMBER - TAKE MORE NOTES - DO NOT BE EMBARRESSED BY NOTES AND SKETCHING!!!

The Artist's Studio at The Sainsbury's Centre for Visual Arts

I recently visited this exhibition and found it very enjoyable but also really interesting and informative.  I do however wish I'd taken notes so will do in future.  The main body of the exhibition was of paintings of studios, often as portraits or self portraits.  The accompanying texts gave info about the history of the studio and it's uses.  The picutres had been painted for a range of reasons from it being an easy place to paint to using it as an advertisenment of the artist's skills.  It was of particular interest to note the props that were a common feature in painting schools i.e classical style statues to be copied.  All in all it gave me a really good overview of different artists studios and ways of working. 

There was also a section with photos of famous artists at work on in thier studios - again very interesting to see the different ways of working.  Local artists had been invited to display photographs of their own studios - the variety of spaces people work in is intriguing and reassuring to someone who has only a corner of the conservatory and everything has to be tidied away out of reach of the toddler.  I'm hoping that by this time next year I will have at least  a corner of the utility room as my very own studio area!

I learnt a lot from this visit but wish I'd taken notes as I went around so I could research some of my favourite pictures in more detail at home.  If nothing else it has taught me it is worth taking notes as I go round.  REMEMBER TO DO THIS!!!