A photo of work in progress on a paper relief i’m making at the moment. I’ve made lots of collages before, and I really like how the process can throw up interesting juxtapositions and ‘happy accidents’ that probably wouldn’t be achieved any other way. This piece isn’t going to be a collage exactly although it probably stems from the previous collage explorations, but I’m going to leave the individual elements with edges not stuck down and might slightly raise some parts above the background to create more relief.
I’m now getting stuck into making some new images for an upcoming exhibition (about time, it’s only a couple of months away, eek) and it’s taken a rather stormy turn in this image. This week feels like it has gone on forever, the build up to the EU membership referendum here, voting day, the long night of watching the results come in, the unfolding of the nightmare scenario, and then the bleak dawn as we realised something terrible had happened – if, like me, you wanted to stay in the EU.
The skies over Whitstable suited the mood, with one thunderstorm after another passing over, turning the skies apocalyptic at times, and casting a strange, glowing light over the town that was eerie and beautiful.
So I guess the little hilltop village i’m making is feeling like a bit of a refuge at the moment, a place you’d want to hurry to when you notice the storm clouds approaching and get snug around the fire while the winds howled outside.
I’ve been working with model making and photography over the last few months but I knew I wanted to make some paintings or drawings for the new show to go along with the photo prints. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been exploring ideas for making the new pieces; drawing, doodling, looking at the photos I’d been taking, the models, making paper maquettes and looking at other artist’s work to find my way to what I wanted to do.
So here’s a few images of this process, some of the ingredients that get mixed up and cooked together. Firstly, some recent photos of models:
And starting to sketch and doodle from the photos:
And some recent snaps. I’ll photograph anything that has an interesting shape or captures my imagination and it might then pop up in drawings or models I make at a later date.
From a recent trip to France:
From Mum and Dad’s house:
Ibiza:
Trees from the cemetery where Dad is buried:
A holiday in the French Pyrenees:
And then making some paper maquettes:
And other artists who I admire are a powerful influence as well. One of my very favourites, John Piper:
Christ Church Spitalfields, John Piper, 1964
And the artist working today I most admire, Clive Hicks-Jenkins; here’s a new screen print he has just produced with printmaker Dan Bugg that knocks my socks off, and a link to Clive’s Artlog here where he shares the process behind this stunning work:
The Green Knight Arrives, Clive Hicks-Jenkins, 2016
It all goes into the blender and hopefully some interesting work will emerge over the coming weeks!
Hedgecrows 