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| Past the shallows |
The Readers and Writers Festival art exhibition had the theme of "Spinal Tap", asking artists to create an image in response to their favourite book.
I chose "Past the Shallows" by Favel Parrett.
It is an excellent read but not my favourite book. I was extremely moved by the characters in the story and found it really hard to let go of the memory of it in the end. This picture is in response to the sand dune scene near the end where a memorial is created. The quote from the book to mark the scene goes "Old shells, white and ancient, marked the spot".
Well, that did it for me really, this little pencil and acrylic effort helped to sooth the emotions that resulted from this read. I'm very happy to say I met the person who purchased this piece and I know it is loved. I wonder what the Festival will throw at us next year?
'Past the Shallows' is available for loan from the Margaret River Library. You can access their catalogue through their blog.
To help force me to practice my drawing I am going to try to keep up with Kelly Berkey's weekly sketch challenge. Each week participants will send an effort and Kelly posts them to share on her blog. I had about 1/2 an hour and Fleur's little watercolour set to hand and off I went. Fun!
"We all long to have a style that is fully our own. We want to find our voice and develop a hallmark look that is unique. But how do we get there?" (Carla Sonheim, 2010).
The "Drawing lab for mixed media artists " by Carla Sonheim presents lots of exercises to help you explore a multitude of styles and techniques. The exercises use easy to follow instructions that rely on the fact you are going to give it a go and play. You're not out for awards here. Fun and experimentation are the theme in this book.
If you find yourself staring at the blank page and not sure where to start, doing just 1 exercise will relieve the pressure of what to draw and get you over the hump. I found it motivating to just draw for the fun of it, oh yes - it IS still fun and surprised myself. No perfection or idea of end results, just freeing up my mind to draw.
You can use whatever materials appeal to you for the exercises and styles covered include: eye dropper faces; wrong-handed portraits; Modigliani style portraits; scribble drawings; plein-air and the list just goes on. Featured artists are interviews and share their own personal styles, which are all different.
I like the layout of the Lab series of books by Quarry. They aren't fussy or overly wordy but they are obviously choosing authors of quality who are passionate about teaching.
I originally got a copy on loan from our public library in Margaret River but if you choose to buy a copy like I did, I do appreciate your using my Book Depository link on the right banner. Thank you.
