Art of children - drawing 3

Child art Study 3

My little grandsons are soccer mad.  Here's my drawing of Max's drawing of his team sent by his Dad to me recently.  Max is too young to do it himself just now, but I'm guessing it won't be long before he's emailing his art direct.  It seemed appropriate to include the method of delivery in my drawing.

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A drawing featuring a drawing by a child 2

Drawing featuring a drawing by a child 2

Children normally use bright colours in their drawings, mainly I think because generally felt tipped pens and crayons in primary colours are what they are given by the adults.  I'm using tone only for this series of studies;  pencils ranging from H2 to B8 and graphite sticks.  I am also drawing the subject in the context I find the original drawing.  In this case Ben's drawing was displayed on a kitchen cupboard.  Kitchens worldwide must be crammed with masterpieces like this.

In studying the drawing I tried to concentrate on his mark making and did my best to reproduce it.  In doing so I began a little to get a feeling for how his hand and eye had worked.  I'll have to do a lot more before I get the hang of it.

I feel there's something interesting in the contrast between the attempted child art mark making in this drawing and the background made by the older supposedly more sophisticated hand and eye.  The one is lively, gestural and uninhibited and the other is flat and boring.  Brought together these elements are making for a fascinating project.  Looking forward to doing more!

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View from my window

A damp day and very misty earlier.  I'm loving the soft cool colours of the views through my kitchen window.  The sheep are lying down on the saturated grass.  Hardy creatures and so fortunate to have their thick heavy wool coats.  Nature got it just right as always.

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop. 

New studio and new art in England

I've now been back in England for a few months and feeling very at home deep in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside!  My studio is small but fully functioning and more than adequate.

Moving from the hot dry features of the eastern Mediterannean island of Cyprus with it's lively Greek culture, to the cooler, greener landscape of Britain I expected my art would begin to develop along fresh lines.  Portrait work is a constant love yet I'm looking forward to experimenting with other ideas.

Beginning my first winter back home I have been fascinated by the beautiful countryside surrounding our new home and itching to get it down in paint.  But what I wasn't ready for is a sudden interest I've developed in the art of children.  I've loved painting them for years, but now I find myself looking at the artwork children themselves produce.  I'm not the first of course to notice what natural artists children are.  Pablo Picasso famously said;

All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Pablo Picasso

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pablopicas169744.html#bSczOfAQgmKTviU2.99

All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Pablo Picasso

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pablopicas169744.html#bSczOfAQgmKTviU2.99

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/pablo_picasso.html#1jm7MdMhtCfKDO2Q.99'A

 'All children are artists.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up'.

All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pablopicas169744.html#bSczOfAQgmKTviU2.99

and

'It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child'.

I know what he meant.  Influences of art school and working towards fine art degrees etc can often mess with what perhaps sometimes should be left alone to develop naturally.  Some outsider art produced by self-taught adult artists can be so fabulously exciting!

I'm feeling my way with my 'other' work (that not connected with portraiture) and with my new start back home in England, now is as good a time as any to play around with ideas.  One of which is to study the artwork of children by making a series of drawings.  I would like them to be all the same size, 6 inches square and I shall make them in tone only.  I have absolutely no idea how, or if, this will develop.  To start I've taken a couple of photos of drawings by my grandsons and hope to acquire more.  Here is my first attempt at making a drawing inspired by the work of a child.  A drawing of a drawing becomes something entirely different.  I hope to learn something from this.

Homage to Max 1

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop.

England ... artist in residence again .... soon!

I'm very excited to announce that my studio is on the move!  Not only that, but the contents of our house, the managerie of pets, art, crafts and not least, my husband; the whole kit and kaboodle will soon be on their way back to England!

We've been on the island of Cyprus for the last 12 fascinating years and the time is now right to return home.  It will be the beginning of a new adventure.  Life and art will change.  I hope you'll stick with me to see what happens next.  It'll be a surprise for both of us

!

Sketchbook and collage

Oil pastel sketch and mixed media collage work in progress

An unusual selection of work in progress on the easel today, as a result of a visit to town with a friend to view the exhibition of a young talented local artist.  Followed by lunch at our favourite eatery.

I quickly sketched the colourful starter plate with oil pastels on canvas paper.  Now it's propped on the studio easel with three collages I'm in the process of making.  So far on a hard board support I've used acrylic paint, cut and torn painted papers and drawings from my stash together with sketchbook ephemera.  I've a feeling today's food drawing may find it's way into a collage.