Monthly Archives: November 2013

This painting sprang from two books and a sudden urge to paint something in a mid-century modern way. An urge indeed! It got me up out of bed and I had to clear the drawing board!

bactrian camel rescanned obsolescence lores

I wanted a larger book than a novel format, so I grabbed a delicious weighty tome from the shelf, Raymond Chambers’ book Financial Management. Weighty in two senses.

As the book fell open on a page about Obsolescence, I decided to flick through The Wonder Book of Animals to find a subject who would fit the bill. I was vaguely thinking Dodo until my brain kicked into gear and I realised that the poor Dodo did not in any way become obsolete. Its very desirability (and perhaps amiability) caused its downfall. At any rate these mournful observations ceased when I set eyes on a photo of a lovely, shaggy Bactrian Camel. Not entirely obsolete, I’m pleased to say, for those who do not own a motor vehicle. But his lovely curvy form said ‘draw me!’ So I did.

sold

Look! Stick-in-the-mud!

A cutaway book with temptingly delicious stick buried within!

Update: more mud added! (It was much too neat and tidy for such a muddy topic.)

This book has just flown to Italy to live with David and Fran who own the lovely Jack.

Carousel

Equine again

Soliloquizzical Moments:

• Should I add any colour? I think I like it plain black….

(added colour)

• Yep, I think I like it plain black.

• Funny how the illustration of the galloping mustangs has made a shadow under the back leg where one would want a shadow, and put an interesting pattern over the carousel horse’s head.

• Should I add white gouache to the horse? If I do, I’ll lose the background mustangs and the flat, outline effect which interests me, but I’ll gain a milky, layered quality and a more three dimensional effect, which might also interest me.

• Should I add white gouache to the coloured bits to make them pastel toned? … maybe…

• Perhaps I should leave it as is and paint another carousel horse on the next page and add all sorts of white and stuff to that one… or this one… depending…

• Should I stop soliloquising and go and do those other urgent jobs?

Link

Australian Children’s Laureate Celebration – silent auction catalogue now up!

Click to see the full list of fantastic items up for grabs.

Equine Soliloquy

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equine soliloquy B&W heads

Another soliloquy seems to be forming in odd moments… ‘The Tale of Two Horses’ went on the train into the city the other day as a sketchbook, and came back with several new horses in it. More will come when I have a little time.

In wondrously poor condition on the outside. Inside, the pages are smooth and lovely to draw on.

This one is taking its own shape more easily than the last one. Sort of ambling along.

Some pages I will start by liking, and then not. Some the other way around. It won’t bother me. It’s contemplative. And because they are horse doodles, it’s a bit like climbing cosily back into my childhood for a while. (And I draw them exactly the same way now!)

Fun drawing a foal dance over other horses. Then a squiggly cameo shape and brushy, brushiness all about.

I’ve just done a page that is more interested in pattern, shape and contrast than in horsey correctness. It was very freeing. But I’ll play with it some more another time, and take the shapes and tones further into pattern.

This page reminds me of two things: The poodle wallpaper we found on the walls of our 1950s house after removing the 70s wallpaper; and my brief period of lessons with Richard Birmingham.

This page reminds me of the poodle wallpaper we found on the walls of our 1950s house after removing the 70s wallpaper. It could be much better if it went further away from the horse shapes I think.