Inching through September

I am approaching September an inch at a time, due to a drawing project/ challenge set by 'The House of Illustration'.  It is day three, so here are my first three drawings all made using watercolour and graphite. I am sticking to black and white at least to start with as I like it, and I am not really thinking about what I am going to draw. I just let the media lead the way, a surrealist technique that I have always liked to use, as it releases you to a certain extent from tightness and self imposed themes.

The game is inspired by John Vernon Lord who, in 2016, made a drawing for every single day of the year. Each one is just one-inch squared and made with pen and ink on paper, which are on exhibition at The House of Illustration as part of the  John Vernon Lord: Illustrating Carroll and Joyce Exhibition.

"Every day of 2016 I would do a drawing of something that occurred to me on the spur of the moment. The exercise was done for the fun of drawing - the liberation of drawing 'for the sake of it' is always something of a relief compared to the exacting challenge of illustrating professionally." John Vernon Lord

It is a lovely challenge, as an inch is the perfect size to draw as a daily challenge even if you are busy.

Above and below: some of John Vernon Lord's inch drawings.

Early Autumn

The heat of the summer has distressed the trees, and so autumn has arrived early in London, led by the horse chestnuts who always seem to give up their large hand like leaves first.
Whilst walking far and wide I am taking advantage of this early bounty and gathering new shapes of exotic, metropolitan leaves for new fish and maybe more possible creative endeavours.

Sweet Potato Baby

I found this poor little man in the vegetable basket, I wish I could plant him, but it is getting very autumnal here in London and he would not thrive.

Self portraits in the landscape

Playing in lochs and rivers.

Rocks of old

Beautiful rocks in a virtually dry river bed in Aviemore, which has been uncharacteristically hot and dry.
I feel strangely attached to rocks, I have a collection from various holidays which are my most treasured things. I often think of the lives of rocks, those locked in crystals of life from times long gone. In terms of reincarnation I always feel sorry for fossils locked into rocks unable to reincarnate.
As we walked and swam the river, I had fun painting water faces onto their dry surfaces, anthropomorphising them and saying hello, before the sun dried their smiles away.

News

This blog has been concerned mainly with graduates of the Scottish art colleges for the past few weeks. I am hoping that I also get to my final possible degree show at Grays in Aberdeen this coming week. I like to get to these shows; see what talent is coming through and see the new designers and artists before they get absorbed by industry etc.

I have had a strange and busy year so far and I have also broken my coccyx so I also have to have an operation this week which will hopefully enable me to sit down in comfort and return to some projects which have been on hold.

So here come the pigeons!

Ticker Tape

I was at a festival last weekend and during one of the performances it rained down ticker tape, which was so pretty I couldn't resist it and popped some in my bag to play with.
Here are a few ticker tape creations.

A yellow lion kind of week.

A yellow lion is a roar for me today, a roar of longing for a Spring yet to spring and break the gloom and age of winter.
My studio is littered with these glowing grinning big cats. I hope they are charms to bring forth the dandelions to reflect a warming sun.

 The Yellow cat was a thought about a question mark tail.

Happy Easter

I had a rare day of freedom today and got to play. I chose to use cardboard, printing the corrugations in acrylic and then using grainy watercolour.
I thought I would have an Easter crocodile as my subject. These amazing creatures are so gentle with their young, so I composed mine carefully carrying an egg.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring.

Sketchbook 1 2018

A few weeks ago I shared the start of my sketchbookproject, which using the theme, 'Under Water' I have developed using Gelli Printing and watercolor and referencing the wonderful Pondlife by Sally Warring. All I now have to do is stick it back together and post it to Brooklyn . . . and then start my second. Here are some of the pictures from this first book.

Blue Moon Birthday

Today is going to be a blue moon and this blogs 9th Birthday.
I thank you all for your ongoing support, comments and interest.

This blog is a constant learning curve and journey of discovery. I spend hours searching, researching and finding beauty in the wonderful work of artists and illustrators from all over the world and a thread of creative humanity and love through all cultures and societies to share and inspire.
Best wishes Hazel

Sketchbook Project II

Sketchbooks, I find daunting and so it is odd that on receipt of my new 'Sketchbook Project'  sketchbook (my first in five years) I immediately deconstructed it and cut holes through it, to apply magnifying glasses. 

I had an idea, of course of what I was going to do and I have yet to see whether it is going to work. 

Anyway the theme I have chosen from those given is 'Underwater' as I love the work of Sally Warring's 'Pondlife, Pondlife' who gives us a glimpse into the other worlds/ Universes hidden in drops of water.

My sketchbook pages are now everywhere, all is chaos, but it is nice to not have page one, white and frightening, inviting you to ruin it. Insead I have printed all and more pages and I am working on the different surfaces to, at some point, reassemble into an order that I like and post back to Brooklyn. 

The great thing about this project is it invites you to step out of your comfort zone and focus on something, anything you choose, and in my case if I can allow myself the time to wonder at these incredible miniscule creatures, life is very good.