Three Graces - 3b

Here's another example of how long forgotten sketches can come back into use. the drawing on the left was quickly sketched on 1-11-05. I simply traced the sketch and developed the idea a little.I think I have a Little work to do on the proportions of the 'Rev's' head but that can wait till tomorrow when I hope to start dotting the first Grace!

Three Graces - 3

One character in the picture is this little lad..symbolically he's me, I'll endeavour to achieve some likeness at a later date. I thought you might like to see how he evolved.Below is a photo showing on the far left, the two sketches showing the pose I've decided to use. The drawing in the middle is the refined version I drew onto a larger piece of paper which included all the other characters in the scene. I then photographed this image and enlarged it(far right) so that it was ready for tracing and transfer onto the main page.

Below you can again the enlarged photo and to it's right, the tracing I made from it. Note that I have changed the direction the eyes are looking...the whole feel of the figure is changed when the eyes include the viewer in the unfolding scene.

Finally below, here is a view of the sketchbook page from which the idea came, it also shows a couple of alternative ideas With the boy standing ( I had also at one point toyed with the idea of having all the boys grouped together)..one further sketch involved the boy sitting on a stool watching a television...I have refined the sketch to a usable standard, but I'll bring him out another time as I have another composition I'd like him to be involved with some day.

Three Graces - 2

Work today has been relaxed, but constant.I'm at the very beginning of a long project and I've learned from previous occasions where I've launched into dotting too soon and made a mistake. This time I'm trying to dot a few more 'i's' and cross a few more 'T's before I go on. I've finalised four out of the six figures that will appear in the picture. This sketch (below) I produced last night...no prizes for guessing who this chap is in a rather familiar pose...once he has his trademark star pattern, he'll sit much further back in the picture.

I wanted the uprights (I don't know their proper name) on the chair to be more ornate...my Grandma used to have a set like the one I've sketched here, so I've drawn on my memory for the details.

Once the tracing had been applied to the page, I began to work on the first Grace's face. I was initially quite pleased with this effort having rendered the kind of mouth I wanted. But as I lay in bed last night desperately trying to get to sleep, I thought more and more about weather I wanted her eyes to be down cast or looking at the viewer. There is a very good argument for them looking down as you will discover at a later date, but I thought I'd work more towards looking at the viewer.

Without changing the attitude of the lips at all, I raised her eyes and immediately got a different expression...actually if truth be known, I thought her to be a little too 'sweet'. but I decided to run with the idea and see how I could develop it.

by changing the hair style,I thought to add a little more seriousness...it didn't work.By the way, I neglected to tell you that she is the 'Tennis girl' from way back in the picture called 'Games' I wondered weather to be realistic and giver her hair that a woman player would style if she were about to play. I think I've decided not to feel that I should, as she's posing not playing.you can also see the outline of her ear which at one point was exposed.

Going back to have a look at the original Tennis girl in 'Games'..I noted her hair was fairly plain. I've been remembering advice given to me by a lecturer at Art school who told me when producing illustrations to give my characters hair and costumes that could not be found any other way other than making them specially. that way I could introduce originality into my work. I will bear this in mind as I toss and turn in my bed tonight before starting the dotting on her hair.

If she wasn't 'sweet' enough already, I found myself adding a bow to her hair...I almost like it. So there you have it...my days work is by no means over,I'll continue to refine this bit......If I arrive at anything definite, I'll po'st again.

Three Graces - 1

I begin my process initially by sketching ideas in my A5 sketchbook.I've produced around 25 detailed drawings leading to a larger drawing .This is then photographed and edited to produce an enlarged printed image in two halves of A4size.. I then refine the drawing until I'm ready to transfer it to the main page. I do this by taking a tracing. Here you can see the page with the image freshly transferred.....closer inspection is needed if you are to see any detail.I've left my sketchbook open showing a rough idea for the composition which involves two groups of three figures and a church with three spires...so three is the theme it seems!

On A Windy Night.

On A Windy Night - Ludmila The Clown went missing.

Over the last few years, you will have read that I'm an admirer of the wonderfully dark and surreal artwork of Julie Schuler.Her series of Nursery Rhyme themed paintings have always been amongst my favourites and are gorgeously sensuous and darkly full of symbolic narrative. However, Julie has also been compiling and developing a collection of illustrations which perfectly complement the story of Ludmila the Clown went missing. Julie wrote the story too which is now available via blurb.com. follow the link above just under the book cover and take a look at Julie's excellent 'My Good Babushka' blog.Then click on the link there to purchase a copy of your own.

Well done Julie...I wish you well with your publication and I can't wait till my order is delivered!

what is Art all about?

I know I posted this piece of writing some years ago, but I've new readers who I think will enjoy it. Years ago I visited a relative who took me to meet an artist called Roy Ray. At the time , Roy was the leader of the Saint Ives School Of Painting in Cornwall.I took along a few of my very early Hyperpointillist works (it was 1987!) hoping to gain some encouragement. Roy was a very gracious critic who obviously recognised that I had lots of work yet to do if was to even begin to think of working full time with my art.

Roy gave me a copy of the text you see above. I wrote it later in this script and had it framed.I'll not describe it's contents as you'll see for yourself if you read it. Please fell free to copy it and use to inspire and encourage yourself.

Say Grace!

In Greek Mythology i'm told, the daughters of the god Zeus and nymph Eurynome were known as 'the Three Graces. Aglaia, (Splendor) Euphrosyne (Mirth) and Thalia (good cheer). They presided over banquets, dances and all pleasurable social events bringing joy and oodwill to gods and mortals.they were the special attendants of the divinities of love, eros and Aphrodite, and together with their companions the Muses, sang to the gods on Mount Olympus, and danced. some tales tell of Aglaia once being married to Hephaestus the craftsmen of the gods leading to the association between the Graces and the Muses with the arts. Unlike the muses, the three Graces are not treated as individuals, but as a triple enbodiment of grace and beauty.

In art, the three graces are often represented as three lithe maidens transparently dressed.Entwined in dance or stance. Painters generally have represented one of the graces facing away from the viewer, the other two facing the viewer. Treated as an anatomical exercise, the three Graces offer the artist a challenge in anatomy and composition. But symbolically, they can be utilised to represent all manner of concepts.

I am intending to base my next picture on the concept of The Three Graces...currently I am well advanced with my sketches and I'm keen to get to work on the actual picture. I'm not going to do that until I'm happy to do so.

Here a few few examples of the Three Graces ....more tomorrow.

Blur - 20 Finished

Blurred Can can dancer

30.5 x 14.5 cm

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I've started on the skirt to the left..I'm not sure how it will progress, but I'm hoping I'll come very near if not finish this tomorrow.

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I've re-cropped the picture yet again...so it should be done fairly soon.

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Not long to go now.Tomorrow I have to attend a meal at my great aunt in law's in Manchester, so I doubt I'll have time to do any work on this.Instead, I'll hopefully introduce you to the concept behind what I'm going to work on next.

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So...there is a face! I've decided to call her Dolores...no idea why, but it seemed to fit. Watch out for her in the future! I really enjoy imagining I actually have a troop of characters who will assemble when needed.Perhaps one day I will !

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There were going to be two other dancers to the left of this figure, but today I estimated that it would probably take another 200 or so hours. I'm anxious to keep this as a stop gap before I begin my next big project. So I decided to crop the composition . therefore here is the entire area to be covered. Instead of a couple more months, I should only need a week at the most!

I'm by no means finished with the subject of Can can dancers.I will return to them another time!

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I've worked on adding a few more petals to this flower today...I've laid down purple as the base colour...there is yet to be added the light and dark blue.

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Yes, you guessed it...(I'm quite predictable really!). the subject of this picture is 'Can can dancers'

There's near enough 50 hours of work so far gone into this. Meanwhile sketches for my next big piece continue..I intend to publish a few later in the week.

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Blur - 10

Just a little bit more....

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I have decided to keep you in suspense for a litte longer...unless you would like to hazard a guess now!

I had a little trip into town this morning. I needed a new sketch book and wanted also to find a new book to read. I bought 'The warden' by Anthon Trolloppe..an English Victorian novelist who first introduced the concept of linking a series of novels in theme and characters. The book I bought is the first in a series known as the Barchester Chronicles. I'm very much looking forward to reading what is part of classical literary history and which has so far eluded me .

ahh...I also bought a hat!

Blur - 8

I think this will be the last purely abstract view you'll have. There is work that I've done past the area shown here that if you see it, you'll probably have a very good idea as to what this is about! All being well, you should have a better notion next time!

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Feeling more positive today....I had a good evening last night working on sketches for the next project. I've realised that i ave options here..I can press on, this picture is shaping up to take far longer than i originally estimated.I could leave it and concentrate on the new project or I could crop the composition and settle for a smaller sized picture.

I'm happy now knowing that i don't have to be saddled with something I'm not happy doing.

Blur - 6

I've just realised why I regret doing 'stop gap' drawings...they don't excite me! This is, (I'm trying to tell myself) an exercise. ...and it's going to take way longer than I ever thought it would. so I'm going to continue for now in the hope that it will at some point 'take off'. the area of segments seen here took just over 5 hours today...and still it needs purple, dark blue and red adding to it.....!

This evening I'm working on advanced sketches for my next picture.Things are progressing well. I often work on sketches whilst listening to music....this time I've had 'Wild Orchids' and 'to Watch the storms' by Steve Hackett piping through my headphones...quirky, dark and surreal.

Blur - 5

Really enjoyed 'Micmacs' last night. Similar in respects to one of his earlier movies 'Delicatessen' full of wonderfully oddball characters and a strongly moral cause at the heart of the story line. I won't spoil the plot too much , but it centers around Bazil who sets out to cause the downfall of two weapons manufacturers who have caused the death of his Father and a life threatening injury to himself. Outrageously funny, action packed and very very wonderfully directed...a delight from start to finish. It's not Amelie...it's darker and more frantic .

Blur - 4

Here's your next teaser...still fairly non descript. you know when I said this was going to be an easy exercise, I was wrong! For such a diffused image, working close up means every thing melds into one mass...

I'm off to the cinema tonight to watch 'Micmacs' which is a French movie directed by Jean- Pierre Jeunet, you might have seen some of his other movies the most famous being 'Amelie'.I'm really looking forward to seeing it.I'll tell you tomorrow what I thought!

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Here's another very small teaser...any ideas hehe!

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Here's a few more dots...a sort of swirly blue with the beginings of some red..........

Blur - 1

Right, here we go on another adventure.Here's the first dot...it's purple! Now this piece should be relatively easy compared to the exacting nature of my previous piece...it'll be a chance to be a little less constrained...any ideas as to what this will become?I think I'll offer the chance for you to win one of three artist signed prints (not necessarily of this picture, after all you might not like it!) if you can correctly identify the subject (when you think you know!) and be amongst the first three names out of my hat!

Join me tomorrow for (hopefully) more dots!