Art in Action Leaflet for July 2009

I will be demonstrating in the drawing tent at Art in Action this year. This annual event takes place just outside of Oxford, bringing together artists from all disciplines. I will be showing my latest "Flesh" work and demonstrating my drawing practice over the four day event (16 - 19 July).

Further details of the event can be found on their website or in the attached leaflet.

 

 

Florentine sabbatical

Figure study in oilI've been in Florence for the last six months, studying at the Charles H. Cecil Studios. The studio teaches a sight-size approach to drawing and painting from life. My work focused mainly on portraiture with some figure study. Photos of some of this work can be found in the gallery. Much of it remains unfinished, perhaps to be resumed one day.

Flesh drawing demonstration

Each "Flesh" drawing is made up of layer upon layer of soft charcoal and white chalk pastel. I use my fingers and hands to blend and smudge the layers to create a landscape of greys, blacks and whites. It is a very tactile process and, as you can see... very messy :-)

 

Flesh Series continued...

I had a photography session with a friend yesterday. She is one of the best models I have worked with. The purpose of this shoot was to gather some more material and ideas for the next phase of my ‘Flesh’ series of drawings. There are a couple of different ideas I want to explore - the sexualisation of the female body when clothing is introduced to naked flesh.

 

I am planning to experiment with smaller scaled work, which is going to be tricky. My natural tendency is to draw large, larger than life... down-scaling is going to prove a challenge.

Hepsibah Gallery - my first solo show!

I have decided to book a gallery space for my first solo show. The Hepsibah Gallery is in Hammersmith and is a great little space. The exhibition will be from 4th September to the 11th September. This gives me two months to focus on developing my ‘Flesh’ drawings. The exhibition marks the end of my London stay and my return to Florence for full time art study.

My very own website...

I’ve been working in the internet industry for so many years and yet, I have never spent the time to create my very own website. Largely because I had nothing I really wanted to communicate to the world that couldn’t be done in other ways. But... the time has come to establish a ‘presence’ of my own on the world wide web. This website is all about my art and double-life as an artist. I will shortly be returning to Florence to study art full-time again, after a year of working as a project manager... and I can’t wait!