Garsington Meadow

Happy accidents have always been a large part of the process of how I work, a direct result of a combination of a somewhat clumsy disposition and a joy of working impulsively. No matter how I plan for pieces with sketches and designs I always like to leave a little room for interpretation as it's the surprises that occur within working that bring me the most satisfaction.  Working across different disciplines simultaneously is also important to me, as discoveries made with one medium feed another and spark off different ideas.

Above is a watercolour drawing I made in an exploration of layering colours and marks to try and recreate the shifting and kaleidoscopic nature of a field of wildflowers. Using a combination of washes and small marks inspired me to develop the image into embroidery, and to use the opportunity to experiment with dying my threads to create gradients and custom colours.  I wanted to keep some of the delicate layered qualities of the ink washes, and attempt to bring some of that loose, more painterly approach to contrast with the stitches.  Translating the drawing into a textile piece was a pleasing experiment, mostly because of the accidental bleeding of the dyes from the threads into the fabric. Although initially unintentional, I found this mistake to be hugely exciting, the thrilling unpredictability of the dyes running and blending led me to experiment with deliberately sabotaging the threads to see what would happen. There's a pleasing parallel between the watercolour drawing and the process of creating painterly washes from the dyes that I am keen to explore further.

 

 

It was these two pieces that sowed the seed for my risograph print. I wanted the risograph to be different from the initial drawing and work as a piece on it's own, rather than being a reproduction of an original drawing. A total novice in the medium, I decided to try and extend the exploration of bringing influences from painting and used layers of tone in the print to recreate washes of ink.  I also wanted to experiment with colour mixing within the print, and so used just three inks to create the spectrum. I was pleased with how the watercolour marks come across in the print and how brilliant and intense the colours are, though it's nearly impossible to capture in a photograph.  The print is available for sale at Beach London, and is £25 unframed.

Garsington riso print available at Beach London

A quick update just to mention that Beach London, a terrific gallery/shop/coffee house in East London are stocking 'Garsington', my debut into the world of riso printing.  It's a three colour print, and is available for £25 from their gallery or online here.

Many thanks to Hugh from Landfill Editions for printing it and all the advice needed to put it together!  I'll be posting more details of the print, and some other new work soon.

Still Life Sundays

Sketch from a recent observational drawing session.

Etch

Recently I had a taste of the technique of etching, at a one day workshop held by Steve Dixon at Clink Printmaking in Woolwich. The scope for variation at seemingly every stage of the process is probably my favourite thing about etching, the balance of both organic extension of drawing and mechanical process lends itself to lots of opportunity for happy unanticipated surprises.

Etching made from drawing of a gateway at Tyninghame, the promise of an open gate leading to places unknown is always intriguing to me.

I really liked the physicality of mark making on the plate, between the urgency and ferocity of hard incised marks and more delicate drawn lines there's a contrast that is irresistible, and the opportunity for tonal variance with aquatint and masking leads to endless possibilities with images. One day was certainly not enough and I'll look forward to making more prints this way in the months ahead.

Gardens

Barbican Conservatory

 

 Barbican Conservatory 2

Ionic Garden Temple

Drawings made inspired by gardens. Even if just a collection of plant pots on a window sill, a garden is a special place.

Meadows

Embroideries inspired by hazy afternoons sitting in meadows. An extension of drawing, although a more meandering one. These are made intuitively, without final outcomes in mind so that surprises can emerge as the stitches are made.  I've been recently experimenting with dying my threads with gradients so I can create areas of shifting colour, trying to capture the ethereal hues. More colour work soon to come. Earlier pieces are in black and white, focusing on detail, pattern and line.

 

Pathway

 

 Daisy

 

Stitch Experiments

Wayside

Many hours over many days last year were spent wandering around my various locales, a much loved activity which became the backbone of a series of drawings and embroideries which I hope to publish in some format over the coming months. As a relatively recent transplant to the big city from a more rural origin I've been interested in exploring themes of home and displacement through landscape and my environment. It's easy to feel lost in such a big place, but as I kept meandering through London, slowing down to drink it all in I was ultimately uplifted to find elements of home everywhere I looked. Nowhere was this more evident than by miniaturizing my viewpoint, right down to the weeds I found along the wayside, growing through cracks in the arches and on small wasteland areas that burst into meadows for the summer months.

The drawings that comprise the series 'Wayside' are a mixture of landscapes built by layers of textures, details of places regularly overlooked, and small studies of botanical samples I collected on my research. The explorative nature of this project led to a slightly non-linear approach to my drawing, recording more abstract notations of the plants and structures I discovered in my walks, and reflecting the meandering and circular nature of my research.

I find the intricate and immersive patterns to be found by looking at patches of meadows and such to be endlessly fascinating, and I'm sure that I could continue researching and recording these worlds forever! There are a few more drawings from this sequence on my portfolio site, and I'm hoping to make some prints and a book from the images soon.