Monday's Are My Favourite

For the past week everything with me is feeling much better (apart from being ill thanks to my parents) and I am glad!

I have been reading most days and being able to escape into someone else's world for an hour or two has been so relaxing. Just what I need! It definitely helps me to get through the day. I still need to work on drawing more although I'm getting there; I've gained a few more likes on my Facebook page recently too and that's helped boost my spirits!

At the weekend I dropped off a painting at The Freudian Sheep to be put in their next exhibition. I am excited to be showing with them again; they really are doing great things and I am so happy for them! Hopefully if I'm feeling better I'll be able to make their opening event which is happening this Saturday (12th March at 3pm)!

See the invite below and if you haven't already, please take a look at this article - they had an interview with entertainment writer, Wayne Savage, from the East Anglian Daily Times during their last exhibition called MAD?. It's a really great read; especially if you're interested in art and/or mental health.

Something that occurred to me though when getting my work ready for The Sheep is that when pricing work, artists usually have to take into account any commission that would taken from the sale of the piece(s) and I don't think some  people think about that... They see the price and instantly assume it's too expensive for what the art work is. Artists also have to keep in mind the time it took to create the work, whether its minutes, hours or even days, as well as the cost of materials and I'm sure I'm not the only the one who sometimes lets my emotional attachment to the art affect the amount too.

Yesterday, I decided that Monday's are my favourite day is the week. You might find this strange as most people hate them, but it's the only day I get a lay-in with a chilled out morning and it's the day I volunteer at Banham Zoo Charity Shop, which I still love and means I get to interact with people and read some more. It'll be even better when it's warmer and stops rainging so much. The day is only ruined when I have to go to work that evening!

So, yeah, I've has my ramble but it had to be done! Thank you if you made this far!

J x

Neul Painting.

I painted this one at the very end of July - very beginning of August.

A call for artists came from The Freudian Sheep for an exhibition called ‘Land Sea Sky’ and I jumped at the chance! I emailed Ian and asked a few questions, because of course, I was excited, yet nervous and I had no idea what exhibiting there would entail.

Reassured with a response, I was determined to get something painted in time and thankfully, I did. I am rather happy with the final painting. I used a photograph I took during my holiday in Scotland and a canvas that was previously primed whilst I was still at university. Naturally, when I first completed it, I wasn’t sure about how it looked and I even doubted my abilities during the process, but it gradually grew on me.

The title of Neul came from the Scottish Gaelic for cloud. I thought it would be appropriate.

Now, it is one of my favourite paintings that I have created and it has caused me to want to paint more clouds for my final year. Unfortunately, it’s still back home as there was absolutely no space in the car for anything else when I brought my things to move in to a new place. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get it here at some point.

LAC Freya Purdue.

I visited Letchworth yesterday, with a friend, to look at some spaces and of course, we had to stop by the Letchworth Arts Centre! This was my second time visiting there, last time being when the 3^rd years had a show there and I was pleasantly surprised at the show now there.

Freya Purdue is exhibiting until the 15^th May, so there is still plenty of time to have a gander, or if you cannot make it, have a look at her website.

LAC is positioned above a pub called The Three Magnets and heading into the Arcade, it is the first door on your right, if you are approaching from Leys Avenue. You go up the stairs, or lift, and depending which way you turn, you end up either in the Foyer gallery space or in the café, which is also used as hanging space. You will then soon come to Main Gallery and be delighted with the amount of space there is.

I rather enjoyed Purdue’s paintings; it was a lovely show, however, my images of them definitely do not do them justice! I am going to have to brush up on my photo taking skills… I was more drawn to the ones with brighter colours and more outlined patterns (makes sense to me). The space was right for the larger paintings; they each had enough room to be viewed on their own. Although, I feel the lighting in places let some of them down. The one above is certainly one of my favourites, not because of the painting itself, but simply for what the shape reminds me of. You can see the elephant too, right?

I have got them on my brain.

The Picture Book.

The Picture Book: Contemporary Illustration. Edited by Angus Hyland.

I had a read of this today (not that there are many words). I purchased it last week from Waterstones, it is the first ‘arty’ book I have ever bought! Are you proud? You should be, haha. I have enjoyed it though, I never thought I would ever say that about a book that has art in it. Usually, there are an abundance of words and not enough imagery for me. If I see a mass of writing, I generally just zone out before I even begin. However, on the rare occasion I do start, there are normally hundreds of long, clever words that I don’t understand and make me feel stupid. I know that’s not great, but it happens. I prefer and can get more involved in things that either have a greater or equal ratio of pictures to information within them, if that makes sense… I know what I mean.

Anyway, moving back to the book, the illustrations are so different in technique and style. It’s also nice to find out a little about the artists themselves, their inspirations and approaches which are included with their work. It is such a lovely little book. I’m very glad I acquired it.

Below are a few pages that I really like and stick in my mind from the whole book. My favourite is ‘Sam the dog’ by Travis Chatham. I took a look at his website and some more of his pieces. I have decided that I like him as an artist, he’s not one of the ones where I only like a single piece, there are several. I think its probably something to do with the method and layers he uses. Don’t take my word for it, you should have a peek yourselves.

They make me want to draw again.

‘Liberty birds’ by Kate Gibb.

‘Bloomberg tree - bull & bear’ and ‘Sam the dog’ by Travis Chatham.

‘Spring Chick’, ‘Fabric Forest’ and ‘Bun’ by Gina Triplett.

‘Fairground Attraction Girls’ by Deanne Cheuk.

‘Rhino eating ink’ by Jesper Waldersten.

‘Isolation’ and ‘Telephone anatomy scribble’ by Jesper Waldersten.

Camden Arts Centre And Calvert 22 Gallery.

We had a trip to the Camden Arts Centre and the Calvert 22 gallery in London the week before last (15/02/13). As much I enjoyed visiting these, I must admit I rather preferred looking at the art on the street. Especially the giant possum on the side of a building. Possibly the best piece of art I saw that day hehe! I'm not sure the teacher would appreciate me saying that, but oh well. It was also the first time travelling by the overground! It’s like the underground, but over-ground, who'd have thought it?! I didn’t know it existed until planning the journey. Silly me. And there were dogs! So many cute dogs. I wanted to stroke them all. Then to end an already good day, the parents came over to visit and feed me haha! And they brought with them yummy cheesy bread and a cool Pot Noddle mug.

This is a pretty window projection from the Camden Arts Centre. Each section flashed different colours. Definitely my favourite work from there; it was mesmerising. It reminded me slightly of Elmer the Elephant from childhood, because of the similar colours and shapes that were used in the piece.

The mahussive possum I mentioned before! En route to Calvert 22 gallery. Street art by a previously unknown artist to me, until I was informed it is some one called ROA. Thankfully I got told who it was by, otherwise it would have bugged the hell out of me. He has also done a stalk in Brick Lane. The sheer scale and detail was amazing to see. I loved it!

I would have shown you something from the second gallery, however we were not allowed to take photos, which we only found out after my friend tried to take one.