Saturday, January 05, 2008

Unseen..In the beginning.

I have been searching for these drawings all over my house..now I've found them. I thought I'd show you the origins of 'Hyperpointillist' style. This drawing (above) is one I drew on 17 th September 1976..it was drawn as homework for school. I used a proper ink pen with a nib and a bottle of Indian ink. I copied it from a TV listings magazine..it shows Lee Majors in his role as Steve Austin., The Six Million Dollar Man, which was my favourite show at the time! NB...During the drawing of this picture, a big blob of ink fell off my pen onto the drawing..fortunately I was able to incorporate it into the picture...as a medallion! ( honestly, they were really cool back then!!)



The drawing above was The first time I used dots to compose an entire picture. (11-9-76).It is copied from a photograph I took at the old Peartree Railway Station in Derby . The drawing below although done a few days later on 13 - 9 -76 is less refined..I had yet to develop the patience with which I am currently blessed!

The final drawing here is in pencil , although not a dot picture, you can see that I've used some dots in the tree to give the impression of leaves!..I copied it off a painting my Father had done. I drew it on June 19th 1971..I was only 9 years old! It shows Gedling Church, Nottingham.


I'm really pleased I saved these old sketches..but there were hundreds more that sadly got thrown away over the years. For this reason, I always advise people who ask me about working as an artist, never to throw away your sketches/sketch books/ working drawings.If for nothing else, they can serve to remind you of how your work has developed over time. i have a large amount of sketchbooks dating back many years now with all my ideas in....99% of them are worthless, but a few ideas are sitting there to be reworked one day and find their way into a full scale piece.

6 comments:

Devil Mood said...

Wow! You were really good back then already.
And being able to incorporate a mistake into the pciture is real artistry!

I never throw anything away that I've written neither - even though everything is so embarrassing I wouldn't show it to chimpanzees!!!

Niall young said...

DM...Don't let Oskur hear you say that!..you'll hurt his feelings as he's a big fan of yours!

Tys on Ice said...

jeez niall, u r a prodigy!

Preeti Shenoy said...

Amazing pics. The idea of ink drop turning into medallion was so clever.Would you believe as a child, i too had done exactly the same thing in a picture of a king had copied?
And i too have preserved pics that i drew when i was about 9 years old.I show them to my children now and they are amazed.

aMus said...

you were and are so good!! ...i'm saving my son's sketches too, :)

Shruti said...

whooo!! That train made me jump away! Wonderful sketches :) And the church, its a lot of detail at age 9.. am dazed..