Mommy, look what I did on the way to school

Mommy, mommy, Trevor let me use his iPad on the train to school and did this picture of the other person in the carriage, oh Mommy, can I have an iPad like Trevor's?

A WORLD IN PICTURES: Nike Town London

The other evening I enjoyed a personal tour of Nike Town London with one of the principle ‘architects’ of its creation, Ms Sophie Jourlait-Filéni, now a marketing colleague of mine at BBC Worldwide.

This thrilling experience was a ninety-minute crash course in branding, merchandising and staying a head of competitors. One high spot was Ms J-F explaining the logic behind the Damien Hirst-like displays of football boots.

Nike Town might be a really good place to go do some drawings!

Meanwhile enjoy this homage to Nike click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hozw9qU3nP8

Cutting Edge

If lino cutting was your least favourite class room activity at school this may not be for you.

Through my print making tutor Christine Lock I have been gently introduced to this hitherto unexplored form of printmaking. Its small scale and craft-like way of working is the prefect counterpoint to the expressive expanse mono print of 2010 - 11.

All change for 2012 another new direction!

Featured: Spring Trees both pieces 210 x 148 mm

More on Maylandsea (back at the Presse de Lock)

Well the trip to Maylandsea yielded a whole bunch of ideas that distilled down to three strong images that were, yesterday, taken to the studio of Christine Lock Print maker and by me, through great artifice and some skill translated into mono prints.

Here are the baseline drawings.

The prints themselves are still drying, pressed under a great weights. They will be photographed and shared soon.

The good news is that one can visit a place, collect some material and ferment ideas over a seven day period and then turn all this into moderately wonderful work. To be proven of course. Trust.

I have actually filmed the 16 stages of printmaking yesterday and hope to stitch these sequences together to explain how it all works (for me).

A good printmaking day yesterday. Lunch hitherto and a continued feature was home-made chowder and garlic bread for lunch, with a modest (there's that word again) dessert of home-made apple crumble and (single) cream.

We are back and working towards the Autumn show.

Standing Sitting it's all commuting

All we do is stand and wait

Why, why, why,

La Roux

La Gaga

Why

Draw

Colour

Scan

Draw

Colour



We can break the pattern

we can change the colour - lyric La Roux Cover My Eyes Bonus Track

Hard where

Along with stationery shops hardware stores are a facination, especially the small independant variety. West London has its fair share with a growing trend for women to working behing the counter. The result is a a much better customer experience than the traditional grumpy bloke

Netherwood Hardware, 78 Shepherds Bush Road, is a excellent example of Hardwear with a gentle touch!

Fish and Chip Shops in West London

There was a particular church that I wanted to visit in Chiswick and my cycle route took me past this excellent establishment. This part of London is rich in Fish and Chip shops which leads me to the idea that the topic is worthy of further exploration.

The New Seven Stars Fish Bar on the Goldhawk Road run by two delightful chinese ladies. And even if you don't wish for chips with your sausage in batter they give you some anyway - quite delightful. Stay tuned for more fish tails/tales.

My book is published

In celebration of my second one-man show I have produced a limited edition book of my travel drawings
Entitled ‘Doors to Automatic and Cross Check’ I have taken 22 drawings from 28 Moleskine sketchbooks filled across the last six years.
Only 50 books have been printed. Each one is individually numbered and signed by me.
You can secure a copy for £15 including postage to the UK or £17 per copy including overseas postage.
To order email timbaynes@msn.com

The Bookmaker

How about this! My print making tutor, super-person and collaborator Christine Lock is also a book maker. Feature here in all humility by moi is one example of a book with slip case. The whole piece is made by hand, in fact I witnessed a lot of the production when I was working down at the Lock Press today - that's another story.

This story probably means we will be collaborating on book making before too long. OMG!

More press work

My printwork at Christine Lock's press in Marlow continues to grow in terms of techniques and ideas. During last weekend's session I was working on introducing some figure work into the foreground of some pieces I had done sometime back.

It's done by taking figure drawings, from my Moleskines, distilling them down to basic shapes, silhouettes, inking them up and putting them through the press on top of the image already there. Early results are insteresting and add a new twist to the journey in monoprint.

The figures add a engaging ambiguity to the work - another dimension.

Felt up

Super friends Chris and Liz came to stay and run a felt making workshop in the kitchen throughout the whole of Saturday.

Felt making is as old as time: The story of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that while fleeing from persecution, the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.

Hard work. Results great. I made a bag for carrying camera, two Moleskines, phone and wallet. (detail photo) If you want more background on the wonderful world of felt click here

Lock, stock and two smokin' printmakers

Session number 4 at Christine Lock's Press, picking up where we left off here .

I created a line image plate, inked it up and proofed it then inked it up again and overprinted several of the prints of Marrakesh that I made last session. So now we have a method that works with strong blocks of colour and design combined with a method of introducing line, detail and iconography. Magic! Well actually we had a catastrophy yesterday with one of the over-prints, such is life. Into every life some ink must fall.

Illustrated left the line image plate proofed-up right: the combination.

At the Christine Lock Press again

Yesturday afternoon, another session with Christine Lock at her Press in Marlow.

I go there with it all worked out and she presents me with a new host of ideas which I had not considered! And we spend time talking and discussing possibilities rather than 'doing'.

Result? Interesting work around an a drawing I made three years back of Djemaa el Fna the main square in Marrakesh. Throughout I am making mistakes, and putting them right, under Christine's direction.

Trying this, trying that. A journey with a wise companion-tutor.

At the printers again

Second session with print maker Christine Lock at her Press in Marlow. Healthy tension now in play: She thinks my approach is too pedestrian and I am too focused on the result not the journey - all work an no play makes me a dull boy. So I am being PUSHED - Yay! And the early results are wonderful. . .

Pictured: Hong Kong across towards Kowloon

Nearing completion

Phew! Double Phew!

Heavenly Bodies - fresh work

So I have move the idea for this wonderful composition into acrylics,
limbs and arms facinate, one or two figures in the picture Christa (third from left) and Ruby (third from right)are pivotal to the energy. Megan put the original drawings on Face Book attracting input from all of eight them.

Industrial drawing

Following a brilliant course at Central Saint Martins last August I returned to monoprinting yesterday. New year, new creativity.

I see it as a way of 'industrialising' my drawings, scaling them up from the Moleskine notebook format.

Monoprints are the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, the beauty of this medium is in its spontaneity.


Early results are here some prints made from drawings of Virginia made in December 2007