Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Drawing myself back on course

I feel becalmed – no pressing deadlines, most illustration commissions done and dusted, no linocuts in progress . . . I am even between galleries (I can tell you more about that later this week).

I need to do something about this and get the wind back in my sails!


Yesterday, while I was saving the roses from the gale, I found myself attracted to the seed heads in the garden borders – so I picked those too.


Back in the studio I got the tools ready – drawing pens (I still have a stash of these leftover from a massive illustration project a few years ago) and watercolour paints. No pencils. No rubbers. I needed to make myself look hard and make marks – there will be no such thing as wrong marks.


I taped a large sheet of lovely sturdy Fabriano paper onto the studio wall – I used to use this paper for life-drawing sketches in acrylic paint, it has a textured but not very absorbant surface.

I found that I was drawing the seed heads at very slightly larger than life size. I held each stem in my hand and drew quickly observing the strange shapes . . . and very slowly I began to enjoy just looking and drawing.


I added colour to the leaves and decided to leave the seed heads uncoloured – I can feel that I've started to move in a new direction (not sure where yet!) but it's good to be drawing again.



Celia
x

15 comments:

  1. Love the large size! The flowers are stunning and have such personality against the neutral white of the paper.

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  2. So beautiful! I love botanical drawings!

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  3. I love seed heads too, but so far am not brave enough to tackle them with my new watercolours. Actually I'm not brave enough to tackle anything with them yet!
    I love the large paper - the whole thing is stunning.

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  4. How lovely! You still have the knack. The paper reminds me of using Double Elephant when I was in art college. I must, absolutely must, start drawing and painting again.

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  5. Oooh I love this! I have lots of white painted walls at home so if you run out of paper....

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  6. It looks very exciting Celia.

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  7. how lovely! this would make, among other things, a wonderful wallpaper border.

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  8. Celia, it's pretty clear to this viewer that you are on to a new direction. I love the idea of keeping pencils and erasers out of reach, and just letting each mark you make have staying power, resonance.

    Fabriano paper! I always loved their Artistico paper for drawing, painting and ... if my memory holds, printmaking, too.

    Please do show us more from this series of drawings. xo

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  9. Very pretty. Like Inkline Prints, I too love botanical drawings. I've recently taken up lino printing. I'm not a brilliant artist, but I'm really enjoying just creating pics. I love your prints, they are so striking.

    Dawn x

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  10. That is just too lovely for words. I love the subject matter. I love the scale. I love the white space of it... but most of all I love that you have the confidence in your own skills to pick the best quality paper and go for it. I envy that and love this work. Lesley

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  11. I like your new direction. Very very much.

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  12. Gorgeous-nature is the best teacher and you are a very fine pupil.

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  13. So, so beautiful. Keep on moving into that new direction...

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  14. Beautiful drawing and painting Celia, seed heads are a joy aren't they, so structural and sculptural. I wonder where this new piece will lead.................. Vanessa xxx

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