Back to the drawing board (again)
Normally I’m not keen on blogging about my work, but today has been encouraging in all sorts of different ways. Not only is this the first time I’ve posted on here for a long time, but it’s also the first time for several weeks that I’ve posted on the Leave No Trace blog.
But it’s wider than just blogging. Early this afternoon I felt inspired to get some paints out and be messy (though that will have to wait until the weekend), and decided on a particular technique that I want to explore.
Later on, I went to a meeting at the university where I discussed Bridget Woods‘ life drawing and saw some amazing stop-motion animation models which were inspiring, and afterwards went to a meeting with local digital artists which was also stimulating.
I hadn’t been sure about going back to the life drawing class but now I’ve decided that I will, though I need to be careful to get out of the rut I was finding myself in towards the end of last term. Perhaps Bridget Woods’ book would be a starting point.
Dr Scratchy
I went to another Dr Sketchy event in Nottingham on Saturday, not the best place to be given the street clashes between English Defence League marchers, anti-fascist demonstrators, police on horseback and in riot gear, and the unconnected but nearby parade by soldiers in desert camouflage celebrating a return home from a tour of duty.
Social unrest aside, the drawing event was less enjoyable than the previous one. The previous event was light-hearted, with good-humoured banter by the compere and performers, whereas Saturday’s event felt seedy, and I was embarrassed that I’d sat in the middle of the front row, as though determined to get as close to the flesh as possible. Nothing obscene took place - it just felt wrong. Titillating rather than bawdy.
I won’t claim that it was the result of my embarrassment, but my drawings were poor again, so I won’t be displaying them here.
more drawings
I really didn’t feel like going to drawing class last night, but I’m glad I did. Here are the results. I kept wanting to turn the first of these into the Channel 4 logo, but I restrained myself.
another drawing
Here’s another of my recent drawings, from about a fortnight ago. I’ve been trying different techniques - continuous line and straight lines - but I’ve not been satisfied with the results, so I haven’t posted any of these.
baf 09
I’ve just returned from the Bradford Animation Festival, where I saw some excellent films, some good films, some not so good films, some interesting films, some strange films and, as you’d expect, some downright bizarre films. Perhaps the best session, though, was the script-writing workshop led by Alan Gilbey.
Normally I hate group work, especially with strangers, because it’s usually treated as a pointless ice-breaker, but in this case the warm-up exercises really were a warm-up to idea generation and development sessions. I won’t be taking any of our proposals further, but I was impressed with how easily a group of strangers could encourage each other to develop some interesting ideas.
this is how it was
Photographic evidence, albeit with camera shake, that I went to the recent Dr Sketchy event in Nottingham. (The wobble is presumably due to low light levels rather than an over-excited photographer.) I’d post my drawing of that pose if it merited public display, but it doesn’t.
UPDATE 09 Nov 2009: Lots of photos and some video of the event now available on Dr Sketchy’s Facebook page, including one of me looking rather concerned. Presumably I’m not happy with my drawing. I’m looking forward to the next one in December.
happy times ahead
Hurrah! Machination, the new game from Amanita, the makers of Samorost, is now available. Get playing.
can a ceramics designer change her spots?
While it’s good to see local ceramics designer Emma Bridgewater amongst such internationally-renowned designers as Vivienne Westwood, Dolce and Gabbana, Donna Karan and Oscar de la Renta, I can’t help feeling that her spots suffer in comparison.
It may be some form of retro chic or possibly an ironic statement about design, but in the context of a skin for the Chrome browser, where there are no curves or reflections to disturb a flat rectangle, the repurposing of an existing, self-conscious non-design is empty. It would be fascinating to see the relative number of downloads of each design.
reclining nude
The second pose at Monday night’s class was challenging - a lot of foreshortening - but I enjoyed it.
not the dry cleaner
I recently heard about Dr Sketchy’s anti-art drawing classes, which are an attempt by an American to make drawing classes more fun. After researching these on the Internet, it appears that the phenomenon has already been to Manchester and faded away, and Nottingham was the only place near me which still holds them. Indeed, they’ve only just started in Nottingham, in August this year. So, not really knowing what to expect, I booked a place on the second one.
It turned out to be great fun, like drawing in a cabaret. The MC sang rude songs and was very funny, there was a stage assistant in drag, dressed as a waitress, a contortionist manoeuvred his shoulder in strange ways and there were some unusual and exotic ladies. We sat and drew them all, amid much music and hilarity. The poses ranged from two minutes to twenty, which meant that they could be more dramatic than ones that have to be held for longer.
The drawing abilities of people varied a lot, but there were several very good artists. It’s amazing how much they managed to draw in such a short time. My drawings weren’t great, but I really enjoyed it, and have booked for the next one in December. I’ll know for next time to sit more centrally rather than at the side, and to take some much softer pencils.