Three collages currently on display in the beautiful Off the Wall Gallery www.offthewallgallery.com in Cardiff. They are not all joined together, but I quite like it!
What a fantastic, friendly event the second Cambridge City Art Fair was this weekend. Lots of buying visitors and new contacts. Now it is back to the studio – trying to see if I can work without the colour orange!
Friday night was the opening night of the very first Cambridge Original Printmakers exhibition, what a turn out and what a fantastic exhibition! It is on all week Pitt Building on Trumpington Street. Above are some of the prints on display by Tracey Ashman, gorgeous.www.facebook.com/tracey.ashman
Clare Wood www.claremariawood.co.uk is another talented printmaker and arty friend, hopefully showing with Cambridge Original Printmakers next year! Here is a series from her sketchbook.
Still on arty friends Lesly Birch www.lesleybirchartist.com Her beautiful atmospheric paintings and lively sketchbooks are always a joy to look at.
Really excited about exhibiting at the Cambridge Artfair 10-12th October. I am exhibiting with with Primavera Gallery. Stand E2 in the large hall. Here is a sneak preview. www.cambridgeartfair.com
Last Autumn, I decided to dedicate much more time to drawing. All my years of travelling I have always sketched people, so I went back to my roots – people on the move, going about their daily business. I naturally gravitated towards the railway station, still on the travel theme . People are focused on their journey and give me little attention – even when they sit in my sketch!
I have an A4 moleskin sketchbook, handful of pens and pencils and a small bag of collage papers and glue. Cambridge station has some good window sills and benches to perch for a while but generally I keep moving – as do my subjects. I do love the strong lines and shapes silhoutted in the station. Here are examples of the first stage.
Back in my studio I work into theses sketches with more collage papers, charcoal, paint and pencil.
Cambridge commuters
I took the drawings to into monoprints with paper stencils and hand drawn lines and more collage.
I am really enjoying working in this way but intend to get back into some big colour work very soon!
You can see some of station monoprints and drawings at the Cambridge Art Fair (Primavera Gallery stand E2) October 10 -12th 2014
After my week of teaching at La Maison Verte I just had time to complete this collage before returning to the UK for a ‘holiday’
View of L Maison Verte from my studio
Check this for a borrowed studio space! Yoga mat to the left,collage to the right.
Final piece delivered to Berrie and Roberto in Montpellier. They loved it!
July is always a busy month for me. The first two weekends are Open Studios and then I drive to the South of France where I run two art and yoga holidays in July and August.
It was another successful Open Studios for me. My sketchbook collage/drawings were received really well as were the cheeky burlesque ladies. It is always a pleasant time catching up with visitors. This one was a favorite.
I have just finished the first art/yoga week at La Maison Verte www.lamaisonverte.co.uk This is a truly wonderful house full of character with a big studio space. A fantastic venue for artists and musicians alike (it is for sale if anyone is looking for new adventures..) My company, www.acy-holiday.com has been operating for ten years. Three years ago I invited Francis Boag www.francisboag.com to join me with his teaching group, this has been a huge success. Artists and novices alike have produced beautiful ‘Boagart’ My group work in a more independent way, responding to the beautiful environment of Maison Verte. Here is some artwork produced by our creative guests.
Starting to develop some collages from my circus sketchbook. It did all start will Matisse in my art college days..
Circus sketchbook
Questo! Bello! The words still ringing in my head the day after returning from Naples. What an inspirational, exciting and exhausting four days! Only four days but seems so much longer – the distance we covered, the places we sketched and the friends we made. Simo and Carolina are a double act of creativity, energy, information, patience and calm in the chaos of Napoli’s back streets, parks, museums, theatres and cafes. They obviously put in a lot of time to get the group(13 nationalities,100’s of pens, brushes, paints, stools, hats and sketchbooks) into the secret places of this facinating city. Behind the scenes in the museums – where dusty sculpture wait to be promoted upstairs; in the restoration lab where paintings are cleaned and stories revealed; tiny streets draped in fresh washing; an intimate theatre performance; private balconies….
Every day was filled with walking, sketching and sharing drawing tips and ideas – and finally a well earned beer and pizza! It was so uplifting to be with a group of lovely generous like minded peopls with one strong bond – to observe and record the sights, sounds and smells of Italy.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/UrbanSketchersNapoli/?fref=ts
