Limited approach...

I am about to hit the ground running as Christmas approaches (yes I know....) and my day job takes priority for the next few months. I have been doing some organising and planning in my studio ready for the New Year and one of the things I have been trying to make some decisions about is my digital drawings. I thought I had made a decision...but now I'm not so sure so it is top of my 'to do' list for 2015. I needed something to log the 'prints' and I have found a beautiful old stock register which I think will work perfectly. I got it from ebay and when it arrived it was even better than I had imagined (and a lot bigger!). A bargain at £15 each page has 30 lines (so ideal for editions of 25??) and it should take a fountain pen beautifully. As it is so big, I may also use it to log all my work - but haven't quite decided about that yet....

A few photos from the Spode Factory

A Drawing of Nine Parts...

hybrid #2  (pre-pencil & ballpoint)

I am currently working on a drawing of 9 parts - it's strictly speaking 3 sets of triptychs but they are all linked. The first part is the three ballpoint pen on aluminium panels (finished end of 2011), the second the three digital drawings which will also be printed on floating aluminium panels (2012 - ?) and the third is 3 hybrids of digital /ballpoint pen and pencil (2014 - ?). My aim is to finish them in 2015 which may be a little optimistic but I need to concentrate on getting them done before I can move forward. There is often a little voice (sometimes a very loud voice) which urges me to do more, apply for more, work faster etc. but the reality is that I have to work at my own pace in the time I have available - so I will be spending all my studio time with a pencil or pen in my hand for the foreseeable future.

Bundle of Sticks Exhibition

Great opening last night of the exhibition. On until the end of August, Thurs - Sat 12 - 5 in Building 6, Spode Works, Stoke on Trent ST4 1QD

Billboards in Times Square

I participated in a recent see.me event when hundreds of art works from all over the world were shown on billboards in Times Square on July 24th. Photos from the event can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.820442821313870.1073741896.111327998892026&type=1.
I have been checking but it could take some time to try to find my work as there are over 700 photos and the images are pretty small - but I think I've spotted one above. It looks like it was a fantastic event and makes me really want to go back to New York. I haven't been since my show at The Drawing Center in 2008 - need to start saving!.

A Drawing 'To Do' List..

Finally, after moving 5 months ago I am getting to grips with my new studio. I treated myself to some new bulldog clips today (little things...) so I could make a visual to do list. The above doesn't include the large digital (and the big hybrid drawing is leaning against the opposite wall) but it does help me to clearly see what I need to get on with. The scale of the works also help me to plan time - smaller stuff if I've only got a few hours/ larger if I've got the luxury of all day and this (again) makes me think about how audience encounter can be structured, viewing can have an imposed rhythm. I purposely don't frame most of the time - but some of my smaller ones I've been using black box frames (a kind of staccato effect?)....

Building 6, Spode Works, Stoke on Trent

A small peek of Building 6 where the exhibition 'Bundle of Sticks' will take place. The P.V. is on Friday, August 1st 2014, 6-8 p.m. if you want to see it for yourself. I dropped my work off today and saw it for the first time - it is a really beautiful space and I can't wait to see the exhibition installed.

Bundle of Sticks Exhibition

I am participating in an exhibition - Bundle of Sticks - in an old Spode factory in Stoke on Tent during August. Other artists involved are Rachel Wilberforce, Ondre Nowakowski, Aylwin Greenwood-Lambert and Jo Clements.
The curator Lauren Cookson contacted me just after I had watched a youtube video about Derby Infirmary. An urban explorer had been filming the now abandoned building and in turn this led me to other videos of disused, empty buildings. One of the things I have been thinking about for a while is 'surface' and seeing these videos had set me off on a thought process about how walls, floors etc. hold layered traces of presence. These thoughts are still unresolved and very tenuous but persistent enough to be something I am sure will surface (no pun intended :)) in my future work. The exhibition is taking place in the old Spode Factory in Stoke on Trent and so I am very excited about seeing the space in the flesh and interested in where it may lead.

layers - testing

Testing prints on A4 tracing paper and clear film before doing some larger drawings. In particular I want to finally print 'hold' - a 2 piece drawing intended to be layered one on top of the other.

expected outcome of layered 'hold' 1016 x 1372 mm

 I'm also hopefully going to find out in the next month or two whether it is possible to laser etch it onto both sides of a large acrylic sheet (a continuation of my shadow drawings which I first did in 2002 but which were hand-etched).

May 2014

Hybrid Fade Drawing - in progress (digital & ballpoint pen, pencil). 

Moving forward...

2013 was a bit of a weird one - lots of moving, sorting out, de-cluttering, earning a living - and nowhere near enough time in my studio. Above is the progress made on my large (102 x 137 cm) drawings in the last 14 months - not enough, but more than I thought. Having finally moved house (and studios twice) I can finally look forward to some proper drawing time.