Studio Notes no. 96

notes on tiny portraits, crows and more

Hello again and I hope you have had a good week. This is now my third(?) studio notes written here in my new home.

photo: recent tiny sketchbook pages

Thank you for all the kind comments saying how pleased you are to see my getting stuck into new work. I am most grateful for all your encouragement and support, during these times of change, adapting and rediscovery (yes, because opening box after box to find that particular pencil is a journey of rediscovery). My creative work has been so important to me, more than ever. Yes, of course this is my living and it’s been crucial. But also it’s a familiar sanctuary, my space no matter the space I am in, no matter where one might be.

But I know it’s not always easy to just get back into a creative project or rhythm of work when there has been a dramatic change. I’ve been fortunate to have found new inspiration and perhaps this time of year helps too. Had the sudden need to move happened in winter I may have struggled a great deal more. There have been days when I have struggled with general anxiety and felt overwhelmed, and it will take me a while to feel confident in my new space. There’s a little bit of ‘impostor syndrome’ going on at the moment - an anxious feeling that somehow it can’t be possible that we got to live in this place, this thriving spot, with so many possibilities….

I know these thoughts are quite personal and specific but I understand we all face changes in life - and changes can be tough-going. So if you are facing a new journey, or a difficult challenge, no matter how big or small - please let me send my best wishes to you.

Strange to think that less than three months ago I was totally unaware of what was to happen - and I was going to write here about so much else: how I dislike the ‘clapping’ emoji, just as an example! Oh my….

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A honk of a crow has just reminded me - to tell you about the start of my ongoing crow drawing series.

photo: a new pen drawing - a two crow afternoon

But I have had a long interest in them. Years ago, when I first read Ted Hughes’ Crow poems I found myself compelled to consider just how complex they are both as creatures and carriers of mythology. If you have not read Hughes’ Crow collection I would recommend borrowing a copy of the book and reading it through as a complete text, rather than dipping in - because it is something of a journey. But if you don’t have time or inclination then looking online for one or two examples might give you a taster into the world Hughes’ portrays. These are dark, exquisite poems.

I know people often think of Edgar Allan Poe. But Hughes’ is my favourite crow storyteller (and poet).

For me, the crow is a mix of dark and light. Often associated with autumn, changes - and I understand why - when other birds are quiet the crow dominates the tree or roof tops. They are playful and jagged creatures with a mystery to them that will never be quite understood….

photo: one of a new ongoing series of crow drawings

This is just the beginning for me - so I will be sharing more as my relationship with the ‘drawn crow’ develops. I’ll be adding a variety of crow - and other - drawings to my shop today (12 noon UK time).

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Photo: a sketchbook from 2016 - an example of my experimenting with paint on scraps of linen. I really like these pages and am glad I have my old Flickr account to refer back to at the moment with all my older sketchbooks still in boxes. (I think I may just resume posting to Flickr - will let you know).

I’m sure you may have seen my tiny or miniature paintings - and perhaps you know a little about them, having seen their evolution over the years. But if you are fairly new to my work you might not know how they came about.

Gouache paint has been my ‘primary’ media for painting for a while now. Gouache is an opaque, heavier than watercolour, water soluble paint with a chalky quality. It is a versatile paint most conventionally used on paper. Years ago, before digital graphic design, it was most associated with commercial art, illustration and so on - though it’s always had a place in the fine artist’s box.

photo: using fabric scraps to create texture and more - in a tiny book from 2015

I’ve experimented with gouache and used it unconventionally, because as much as I love the look of oils I don’t want to use them (restrictions in environment and space etc.). I have enjoyed working with acrylics and up until recently has them in my box of paints. I’ve mixed acrylics with gouache in many, many sketchbooks. I’ll write more about mixing the two together some other time.

My experimenting with gouache on linen came about when playing about with scraps in sketchbooks. I would have all these scraps of linen from my embroidery and have over the years filled boxes with scraps. Yes, I might stuff dolls with them - but what more?

My sketchbooks were the place I began to experiment. The texture of paint and linen really got me thinking. I love the rawness.

I’ve always been fascinated, when visiting galleries, to see paintings on raw canvas or linen. Or paintings with less conventional surfaces and paintings with collage. I like seeing how paintings can be patched together and not quite conventional, or a little arch in their approach - I am a painting about painting.

As an artist who works small, I like the idea of creating fragments of stories, I like to allude to larger, grander paintings without any attempt to recreate them. It is not my intention to make tiny versions of. I wish instead to have the playful freedom to re-invent. To make something that is about painting and shows its materials, textures and honesty.

I want my tiny paintings to stay humble.

I make my tiny supports using mount board, linen scraps and gesso. The making of these tiny supports takes a little time and as each support is individual.

Photo: Early tiny portraits - were very much about the figure within a space. I love these early ones and do return to this idea, from time to time. Perhaps an Autumn series of figures might just happen…

The painting process requires a layering up of gouache paint. I’m not offering here a step tutorial (that’s not what I do!) but here are a few photos, revealing the beginnings of a portrait. You may see it’s much about getting a basic stain on the primed surface. I draw with the paint - no pencil. I dab and remove, layer up again. Allow to dry.

Photo: early stages of a portrait - showing the layering up of paint. I layer and remove (by adding water, careful dabbing). The process is as much about my patience as it is my skill to use the paint and brush. The skin tones will vary as I layer up.

It takes time to see who is coming through the paint. If I try to hurry through then a muddy surface will prevent me seeing anyone. Often I have a particular inkling. Though that might just fade in layers.

Eventually, or otherwise, a person may appear. To give them a space within and a context/story, I like to offer some kind of background. This is often an interior space rather than an outside landscape. A tiny painting within a painting lends a playful reminder that this is about picture making and how we live with pictures.

Photo: a recent portrait (sold) - I was particularly pleased with this portrait.

I’m fascinated by the idea of pictures and paintings connecting people through time. I could write so much more about my interest in historical painting and how it shapes my work. More notes to come.

In the future I hope to offer an online class/group to explore gouache and painting on scraps. (It will be a paid subscription group). More about this early next year, if not before.

There will be a new group of tiny portraits in my shop sometime soon.

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My shop updates this week coming are as follows (all times UK)

Sunday 20th August - a group of new drawings on paper - 12 noon

Wednesday 23rd August - a group of new embroidery brooches (I hope to have several for you to see and choose from) - 8pm UK time.

Sunday 27th August - new work (possibly tiny portraits) 7pm UK time.

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Thanks always for reading here, for your kind comments. Please like this post if you enjoyed reading - and if you would like to support my writing and sharing then you may buy me a coffee. I hope you will subscribe if you have not already signed up.

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