Homelessness

Following on from the success of my drawing of "TonyHargreaves" which was voted " the most popular painting" at the Cambridge Drawing Society's Annual exhibition in the Spring, I am now working on an exciting and related project. The chalk drawing I did of Tony clearly touched many people who saw it.



My aim now is to produce a body of drawings and paintings of people who, like Tony, are either homeless or have experienced homelessness and to eventually stage an exhibition of this work . So far, I have visited and sketched in two centres in Cambridge-- Willow Walk and 451 ( Newmarket Road) . I have also written a short article for Flack magazine which is based in Cambridge and is aimed at the homeless, assisting and encouraging them to rebuild their lives. Kirsten Lavers, the Creative Director of the magazine, has been instrumental in introducing me to the centres.

Below are a few of the drawings I have done so far.








Sketching at 451. Michael, one of the residents was the model.


The finished drawing of "Michael" was done in charcoal,chalk and conte on a linen ground prepared with pastel primer.

Mixed media

It is on occasions, great fun to play around with different mediums and combining them in unusual ways. The monochrome painting below was done using charcoal, conte, soft chalk and gouache. It is of an old jetty at Felixstowe Ferry on the Suffolk coast.




I began with a piece of MDF which I primed with a couple of coats of acrylic gesso . I then sketched in the composition using charcoal. I used conte crayon for finer detail and soft chalks to soften and blend large areas like the sky. At other times I used gouache in certain passages, e.g. a lot of the background , but overlaid it in places with chalk.

Suffolk Showcase 2010

I have just had a work accepted for an exhibition entitled Suffolk Showcase. This features a wide range of traditional and new media. , from painting to ceramics, video and digital photography. My own particular work is a chalk drawing in black and white.



This is a study I did of "Tony" one of Cambridge's less fortunate residents.

Below is a much larger drawing I did of him. This was voted "Most popular " work by the public in the Annual Exhibition of the Cambridge Drawing Society in April. It is also to be used as the poster to advertise the Society's Autumn Exhibition at the Leys School in Cambridge.


The exhibition is being held in the Bury St. Edmunds Art Gallery, Suffolk , and will run until the 28th August

Cambridge Drawing Society Exhibition

Last week , the Spring Exhibition of the Cambridge Drawing Society took place at the Guildhall in Cambridge. On show were over 280 works. These covered a huge range of styles and techniques, from oils, watercolours and pastels to drawings prints and sculpture.
To stage such an exhibition requires a huge amount of organization and planning, but it does all eventually come together and hopefully appears effortless. The exhibition has , despite the economic recession , been a great success. Sales have been excellent and the public has been very enthusiastic as judged by the large number of visitors and general feedback.
This year 30 candidates applied for membership. Of these, 11 were accepted.



The Selection Committee at work.

As in previous years, the public was asked to vote for their favourite painting. I am delighted to say that my drawing of a "Down and out in Cambridge " won the prize.


This was a very large chalk drawing, measuring 36" x 24", done in monochrome. I chose to do this in order to convey the starkness of the subject. I have to say that the response and feedback has been amazing. Clearly many people were touched by this drawing. In a city like Cambridge which is fairly wealthy, there are still many who are less fortunate. This is a subject I wish to explore further.



Viewing selected works prior to hanging

Anyone wishing further information on the Cambridge Drawing Society or its members should visit the Society website at www.cambridgedrawingsociety.org

Pastel portraits

When I consider pastels, the words that leap to mind are, freshness, delicacy and spontaneity. It is the closest one can get to drawing and painting at the same time. They don’t require drying time , they don’t “sink” and the colours do not fade.( assuming you treat them carefully)
They have a relatively short history, being popularised in the 18th Century by artists like Quentin de la Tour, Perroneau and Chardin. In the nineteenth, Manet, Degas and Mary Cassatt were the leading proponents.
In this blog, I will demonstrate how I develop a pastel portrait and also show you a few other samples of my pastel work.

I work on tinted paper, the colour usually determined by the complexion, and character of the sitter. I initially block in with willow charcoal, trying to establish the likeness.
When fairly happy with that, I begin to apply colour.

I usually start with hard pastels, working boldly. It can be a little daunting, (particularly for the sitter), when this patchwork of bright colours appear. But I am thinking ahead, planning what I will overlay to modify them.

Here, I use a variety of techniques. I cross hatch, allowing the original colour to show through. At other times I apply solid pigment and blend with either my fingers, a torchon or soft cloth. As you will see I am now introducing a background, earring and jumper.

The process continues as I modify and adjust the colours and tighten up on the accuracy of my drawing.

” Mrs. Pat Motherwell”
In this final stage, I added stronger highlights and reflected lights on the nose, a bit more detail in the hair, and more modelling on the chin and neck. All that remains is to finish the jumper and necklace.
The following are pastel demonstrations or sketches I have done, usually in about an hour.

“The Commander"

“Young girl”

Pastels are also lovely to use for life drawing

“Peter”
Or, as I demonstrated in an earlier blog, for landscape also.

” Kirkcudbright Harbour”. A pastel drawing of Kirkcudbright Harbour. I did this as a short demonstration in the pastel medium for the group who came on one of our Painting Holidays in the town.
Tips. I use a combination of both hard and soft pastels. The general principal is that the soft are applied over the hard. Any areas, like the eyes where I need a fair amount of precision, I will use only hard pastels, pastel pencils, or conte chalks.