Life Drawing One of the frustrating aspects of Lockdown has been the lack of Life Drawing classes. For several years I was able to attend weekly life drawing classes where I could develop my Figure Drawing. Usually I would tackle the subject in oils if it was the same pose throughout the evening. It was […]
Artist Support Pledge I’ve recently acquired my third original painting through the Artist Support Pledge. I spent a while waiting for the right painting to turn up before seeing the work of an Italian artist who goes under the name of Rosso Art. Rosso had posted an original painting on her Instagram account rossoartist which was […]
This post is following on from my recent blog post about the benefits of regular life drawing. I’m aware that it’s not always easy or practical getting along to a life drawing class. However one simple thing that most of us can do is have a go at drawing hands. My “warming up” exercises vary […]
Michelangelo One cannot underestimate the importance to the artist of regular drawing. Part of my Studies at the Charles Cecil Studio included life Drawing. You can read about it on our Reedart Holiday Blog. Don’t just take my word for it. Here are a few quotes from some of the experts: “Work hard and don’t on […]
The 22nd February 2017 is World Encephalitis Day, the global awareness day for people who are directly or indirectly affected by encephalitis. I had no idea what encephalitis was until Sarah was diagnosed. I’d watched Sarah grow up from being a little girl for over 20 years so I was deeply shocked to hear of her illness. […]
Portrait Drawing There are no short cuts to achieving sound drawing skills. Regular practise at drawing from observation will pay off in most visual disciplines in art, whether it’s painting, sculpture, graphic design or even photography. Before working on a commission or a painting for exhibition I will often warm up for 10 to 20 minutes […]
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner Grey Street in Newcastle has been described by the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as the finest curved street in Europe. I never tire of sitting down to capture its fine sweeping curve and Georgian columns in all seasons. You can see a number of limited edition prints of Newcastle’s Grey Street including […]
When I have a painting day ahead of me I like to spend a few moments warming up in my Moleskine Sketchbook. The link on this post to Time Lapse Sketches shows my process. Usually, I’ll have a quick flick through my John Singer Sargent books and choose a portrait to draw. I’ll sharpen up […]
On our Painting Holiday in Italy in May 2015, one of the guests asked me to paint a portrait of her husband Arthur for his birthday present in August. It was to be a surprise so she asked if I could work from photographs. I said that I could, but if possible I would prefer […]
A few weeks ago I was asked to write an article for the website of a new initiative here in the North East called Drawing. Drawing? is a 6 month long, region wide programme of exhibitions and events. It aims to explore drawing in art and culture and also in other areas such as science, […]