I was fascinated by the concept of Urban Sketching, so I decided to draw every day while on a two month trip to Singapore and Australia in 2015. And I did. I discovered after the first drawing of the V&A just before I left, that I get caught up in detail and this limits me. So 'Loosen Up', (But how?) There is nothing quite like a monsoon to 'loosen one up'. I sheltered in a kiosk with the wind blowing the plants to bits and rain driving in from behind, wetting my back and these lovely … [Read more...]
Kurt Jackson’s Sketchbooks
In the previous post I chatted about Caroline Chappell's method of making working sketches and visual notes. Kurt Jackson's sketchbooks are an end in themselves and function as independent artworks. Sketching is one of the things that we all believe in but seem to find it really hard to do. I mean, how hard is it to draw for ten minutes a day? And anyway, why would we want to? This is a must-read! I can't show examples of his work other than the cover of his book - but I'll give you … [Read more...]
Caroline Chappell – Abstracting the Landscape- part 2
This is part of the series 'My journey with the Masters' The workshop description: Caroline Chappell: Abstracting the Landscape: A mixed media painting workshop designed for people who would like to work in a more expressive way or want to ‘loosen up’. I will show how to make quick visual ‘notes’ while experiencing the landscape, then help to develop them into abstract landscape compositions. Day Two Regardless of the weather which was miserably cold and misty, but not … [Read more...]
Caroline Chappell – Abstracting the Landscape – part 1
This is part of the series 'My journey with the Masters' Day One - The workshop description: Abstracting the Landscape: A mixed media painting workshop designed for people who would like to work in a more expressive way or want to ‘loosen up’. I will show how to make quick visual ‘notes’ while experiencing the landscape, then help to develop them into abstract landscape compositions. Caroline Chappell paints Expressive Landscapes with varying degrees of abstraction. Her main … [Read more...]
Planning the next year in art
My journey with the Masters I am enrolling for an exciting diploma course in 2019, which gives me 7 months to prepare. Here is a little bit about where I am coming from and where I hope to go... Planning and packing Where have I come from? I am an oil painter of 2 years – or 48 years whichever way you decide to look at it. My background is a fine art degree at Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa under Cecily Sash and Robert Hodgins. I majored in oil painting and drawing. It was the era … [Read more...]