ART AND IDEAS Volume 3

 

A short newsletter bringing ideas in creativity, sources of inspiration, galleries and artists + any other valuable snippets on which I stub my toe! 

 

1. Under the Hammer 

e.g. Sotheby’s,  

The big auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christies, send out wonderful newsletters each week. Given their close ties to the USA, they often bring examples and insights or work from that particular part of the world. Consider signing up?

 

2. New Discoveries: Emily Patrick

Every now and again an artist passes my line of vision and things are never quite the same, and life is better. A week or so back I caught the review in The Week of Emily Patrick’s show. The show has ended. Then thank goodness for a wonderful downloadable catalogue. At college we were always encouraged to seek out the work of the artists and make meaning of it for ourselves and in our own practice. Thus it is with Emily’s work. This link might give you some sense of my excitement… https://emilypatrick.com/show.php

 

3. I’m Backing British*

Bernard Jacobson Gallery presents a group show of paintings, prints, sculptures and works on paper by British artists. This gallery/organisation is a powerhouse of all that is wonderful about British art (1900 – year to date) British Art : Part 1  

Enjoy the link…

British Art : Part 1

4. London Boy: Leon Kossoff.

Gallery Piano Nobile have published a fab piece on Kossoff. 

Link: https://www.piano-nobile.com/artists/1165-leon-kossoff/  Frank Auerbach (whom I worship) was a close friend and artistic peer of Kossoff’s over 70 years. They met at St. Martin's School of Art in the late 1940s, both studied under David Bomberg, shared a studio for a time, and were known for their thick, heavy impasto techniques.  Bomberg to be featured here soon.

 

5. Education Slot #self-improvement.

Any artist-printmaker that opens her promotional round robin with 

‘Last week I visited the John Piper exhibition at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes - what a treat! It is a fabulous exhibition and definitely worth going to.’  Gets my attention. I claim bragging rights for knowing and working with hannah@hannahcantellowstudio.co.uk

So here is a link to her programs workshop and such.  

You know what? I might sign on for one of those drawing trips

Hannah’s full newsletter here

THANK YOU  Another issue in about six weeks

What To Look For Winter

Casting around for a theme/ the subject that my group could paint an upcoming class in mid-January I suddenly thought about the lanes in hedgerows hereabouts. How these things might be put together as an arranging to draw and paint. And this prompted to pull that wonderful Ladybird book What To Look For Winter off the shelf. 

Ladybird books were those treasures we used to read before children were given tablets and kindles. Arguably Ladybird books were more fun and nourishing.

 On my walks this week I started looking closely at the colours and shapes of plants and trees. And took these photographs for reflection. The collection is not complete however it does make you think about what is available and how very wonderful it all is in Winter…. 

Translations into watercolour

 

Then I imagined it might be good to see how the snaps translate into watercolour. These treatments might inform how others might, just might, want to consider tackling the subject we will set out on the painting table on January 19^th. 

 

Ladybird book What To Look For Winter by E L Grant Wilson with illustrations by C. F Tunnicliffe, R.A. Published 1959 Ladybird Books Ltd Loughborough all copyrights ownerships or gratefully acknowledged by this author.

 

 

Love Life? Love Pewsey.

 Love Life? Love Pewsey.

 

I am a newcomer to Wiltshire. I discovered Pewsey Vale and things were never the same. 

To date I’ve had 38 attempts to capture its magic, shapes, contours and quirks in my drawings and paintings. These are the places and views are things that keep me and many other people coming back to Pewsey Vale. 

Download the drawings and Paintings here in one book. It is ree 

 

Is Pewsey special?  Oh yes, it is an area, it is also an idea: landscape, industry, towns and active farming. A canal cuts through and embellishes. It is full of oddness and loveliness. I have a friend who lives in Honey Street. What a name to embellish any headed notepaper.

 

A favourite place? The Alton White Horse. 

This is the gateway to a magnificent backdrop of tracks fences, trees that bend with the wind but will not ‘bow their knee’.

 

What was my first surprise? Pewsey Hill and east to The Devils Grave. And looking down on the village one crisp April day. Since then I have become involved with Made in Pewsey Vale Gallery, a creative collective. I’m  interloper who has been made most welcome.

 

Beyond expectations? Oh yes. A few days ago I was lead up to Adam’s Grave by fellow painter Lucy Ball. Lucy moved into the areas two years back. We just wanted to get out into the landscape and draw. We did. 

“Lucy’s View” was a bit of a schlep but look West! So much to enjoy.

Educating Rita: MY FULL SKETCH KIT

For my new friend Rita Robinson substack (https://substack.com/@ritakararobinson) asked….

 “Can I ask about what tools you use for your travel sketching?

They look like fat felt tips that you paint. Do you use charcoal and wet it?

I asked my artist friend, and she wasn't sure either.”

 Dear Rita Here are the answers

See accompanying photograph above

1.        Fine liners.  I use two kinds: STAEDTLER and Uni Pin

2.        Dip pens   My favourite is the Tachikawa Comic Pen Nib Holder

3.        Caran d'Ache Neo Color II Water Soluble Pastels, brilliant for travel

4.        Big brush cut down for travel and Pentel Water Brush Pen

5.        More Caran d'Ache Neo Color II  - this tin is earth colours the. Other is bright colours

6.        Indian Ink -  my go-to for dip pens. Dries quick total permanent. I don’t carry the big bottle though  - small old jar does me

7.        Various mark makers: graphite sticks, clutch holder Pentel G2 gel pen, Pentel Brush Pen and latest discovery (7c) Posca Pens – acrylic marker!

NOT SHOWN BUT VITAL 

8.        Carbon Black Ink Link  the only Ink I found that you can put in the Fountain pen and know that it will work and not clog the pen.. although I have very careful to flush my pen out regularly.

9.         The pen? The best on the planet…Lamy Safari Fountain Pen. LINK 

Use it often and it becomes flexible and offers many line possibilities. Tough as old boots and mine is  great friend. I lose it regularly and my Lamy keeps coming back. Filled with carbon black ink it is invincible and regularly saves my planet.

Don’t haul all these things around with me all the time. I’ve italicised the stuff! I really do pack on travel trips.

Hopefully I have not over-answered the exam question 😊 Best wishes  Tim 

DRAWING ON ALBANIA

 Albania Sketchbook: Rugged mountains extensive vast plains welcoming coasts, fertile river valleys. A fascinating country and cultural influence on the rest of Europe!  

Download a PDF of a sketchbook of our eight day journey from this link here here: https://timbaynesart.co.uk/product/drawing-albania/

During our time in Albania our constant companions were the Drino river, the country's longest and the Vjosë, one of the last intact large river systems in Europe.

From Byliss down to the Vjosë, River

The first in a series of Albanian paintings. Gouache on Paper. 30 x 40 cm.

See the painting being created here Link https://youtu.be/ro9KeXZxtZE

Celebrating the country's rugged mountains, vast plains and fertile river valleys. Rivers begin in the east of Albania and loop towards the west into the Adriatic. During eight days in Albania our constant companions were the Drin river the country's longest and the Vjosë, one of the last intact large rivers in Europe.

Second Painting:   Gouache on Paper 30 x41 cm. 

We had stopped on the way to Butrint,  just outside the kiss-me-quick town seaside town Sarandë  and gazed across to Corfu. A chalk white track cut through trees and sage bush and deep orange soil. See the painting being created here https://youtu.be/AH2bG_95770

Add to this the country's quite remarkable history...The rule of Greece and Rome, then a Byzantine playground and they stepped aside for the Ottoman turks: Fast Fwd to a post WW2 Communist rule (42 years). Independence at last from 1992.

A fascinating country and cultural influence on the rest of Europe!

Free to download from timbaynesart

#albania #visitalbania #kruja #saranda #WanderlustInAlbania2 #AlbaniaAllSenses  #VisitAlbania#viagem #gjirokaster #albania🇦🇱 #albania #unesco #castlegjirokastër #travel  #travelblogger #travelgram  #turismo #timbaynesart

#timbaynesdrawing

RETURN TO CRETE Via Hook Village Hall

I love demonstrating my approach to painting. Each occasion becomes a conversation. In talking with the people who are watching I am fielding great questions, they challenge, and I always walk away enriched what is said in the time we are together.

 

And that was the case on the 21^st of August when I gave a demonstration on working with acrylic paint to the Guild of Wiltshire Artists.

 After a short set-up I demonstrated for about two hours. We drew stumps shortly after 9 pm. I took the painting back to the studio and must’ve spent another two hours, possibly a bit longer, on finishing it. 

 The main passages in the finished piece, that weren’t covered in the evening were my reshaping and recolouring the far mountains in the landscape which I thought were a bit repetitive as we left it at the end of the demonstration. 

 

So I was able to make that adjustment plus also modifications to the foreground and indeed the buildings which benefited from tweaking their scale especially that line of buildings in the middle of the picture.

 

A big thank you to the guild for letting me do the demonstration. It was a privilege, and I’m very grateful.

 

SHAREABLE LINK https://youtu.be/pebfk2DdGGQ TO SEE THE WHOLE SEQUENCE OF THE DEMONSTRATION 

SWEET THAMES

 

I have rediscovered The Thames which is on my own back doorstep. 

I have joined the local fishing club, called the Swindon Golden Carp Angling Association. The clubs fishing rights are just downstream from Cricklade. The idea with fishing on a river, where there are fish is to catch some fish. I’d be grateful for just one fish. 

 

It was a lovely evening, I set forth with my friend Chris, an experienced fisherman, By way of example last time we went out, two weeks ago, he landed four good sized carp before I made my first cast. Never mind.

 

This evening neither of us caught any fish.  Actually Chris caught a small Dace. There are  Roach, Perch, Gudgeon, Chub, Trout and Dace in this part of the Thames. 

 

I am no stranger to piscatorial ineptitude; however it did not spoil our appreciation of a lovely evening by the river. Enjoy short film with sickly soundtrack.