Sketchbook Tour Hits Portland, Maine

On Wednesday the Art House Co-op’s Sketchbook Project opened on the next leg of its tour at the Space Gallery in Portland, Maine. If you happen to be in the area and fancy checking out any of the 10,000 artists sketchbooks that are available for public perusal then you have until Saturday to do so. After that the project will be moving onto its next destination of The Granite Room in Atlanta, Georgia.

Here’s one of the pages from my contribution to the project.

And if you would like to see what I did for the project but can’t make it all the way to the US to visit the tour then by all means check out my Oodles of Doodles blog where I’ve been uploading pages from my sketchbook along with my other drawings, sketches and scribbles.

Horned God Orifice Box

Months ago I showed you some images of my Horned God Orifice Box (yes, I’ve still not come up with a snappier title for it yet) whilst it was under construction and even though I finished it soon after I forgot to post any images of it in its finished state. So here it is, along with a few related sketches.

Here it is sitting on one of the work benches in my studio. The Horned God part of its title comes from the branches coming out of either side of it. And the Orifice bit – well that’s probably quite obvious.

This small drawing from my pocket sketchbook was made early on when I first thought about starting the Orifice Box series. Unlike the Horned God and Frankenstein’s Orifice Boxes this is to be left plain except for an external drawing decoration. I have yet to start this one though.

In this image you can see that, in-keeping with my love of using found materials, I have used the backboards from some old paintings. They came from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and you can clearly see one of the original labels and some of the remnants of gum tape. Although you can’t see it from the two photos, the inside of the Horned God Orifice Box is lined with a collage of bits of early 20th Century newspaper and over-drawn in a similar style to the external pattern on the small drawing above.

One thing that I want to get back into the habit of doing is the quick-fire drawing sessions that I used to do every night before I went to bed. I particularly enjoy the very fast sketches that only take a few seconds to execute. What you loose in accuracy you tend to gain in vibrancy. This one was made after I’d started the new series of Orifice Box sculptures and is a kind of cross between them and my earlier wall-mounted Orifice sculpture.

Brooklyn Art Library Opening This Weekend

 

This weekend sees the start of The Sketchbook Project’s tour of galleries and museums around the US. The tour begins at Art House Co-op’s very own Brooklyn Art Library located in the heart of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY.

My sketchbook will be one of the many books submitted by 28838 artists from 94 countries around the world. Each book on the tour can be checked out like a library book as well as being able to be viewed on-line. Although due to the scale of the project, it will take a while yet before all of the sketchbooks have been digitized. But if you would like to see in advance what I submitted for the project then feel free to check out my Oodles of Doodles blog.

To find out where else the project will be touring just click on the tour date map.

The Brooklyn Art Library - 103A N 3rd St. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Hours: Tues-Sun: 12:00pm-8:00pm (closed Mondays)

Sketchbook to America

I’ve finally finished my sketch book for the Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project - and this morning I posted it off to the Brooklyn Art Library, where it will join all other sketchbooks ready for the nine state tour. All the books submitted in time will do a tour of galleries and museums in Brooklyn, Austin, San Francisco, Portland, Atlanta and Chicago - where the public will be able to book them out like regular library books.

Here are a few drawings from the one that I have just sent off. If you would like to see the entire sketchbook I will shortly be posting all of the drawings (all 40 pages) on my other blog - Oodles of Doodles. I’ll aim for one post a day but we’ll see how it goes.

This drawing takes its inspiration from my sculpture, The City.

As you can see - I have a bit of a thing for boxes on wheels...

...and for things bursting or pouring out of boxes.

So far six states, have signed up to play host to the show but it is likely that more states will take part before the exhibition starts in March 2011. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be bar-coded and available for the public to view. All participating artists on the tour have a webpage in which to show off their work – and here’s mine.

Sketchbook Project USA

I know that I usually work well to tight deadlines but I think that I should have paid a bit more attention to when the handing in date for the Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project was, when I signed up for it all those months ago. I knew that it was some time in 2011 but after having a quick check on-line I realised that the completed sketchbooks have to arrive back at the Brooklyn Art Library in the US (ready for their six state, museum and gallery tour - Brooklyn, Austin, San Francisco, Portland, Atlanta and Chicago) by the 15th of January. Taking into account the amount of time it will take to post them from the UK to the US and the fact that I just started my first sketch last night, I’m foreseeing a few very late nights ahead of me this festive season. Lovely!
So here’s what I’ve done so far. A few down – bloody loads to go!

This is a sketch of a component sculpture I made from an old, smashed doll’s head and selection of crabs legs – glued together.

Not sure what was going on in my head when I did this one - just felt the urge to draw tubes and pipes. I like tubes and pipes - what's wrong with that?

Again - not sure what I was thinking when I did this one. It seems to be a slightly depressed, clock-work thing.

 

I did this one this morning, in the cold light of day - a very bloody cold day (us Brits love to moan about the weather by the way). I thought that I had better start steering myself back towards the theme that I had chosen, and decided to create something that looked like it could be a scavenger. I call him Snozgoul.

And finally... this one. I haven't a clue... you tell me!

Participating artists were invited the chose from a wide selection of themes before starting their sketchbooks. I chose ‘I’m a Scavenger’. Considering my love of rubbish and approach to selecting materials (when sculpting), I think it’s quite apt.
So far six states, have signed up to play host to the show but it is likely that more states will take part before the exhibition starts in March 2011. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be bar-coded and available for the public to view. All participating artists on the tour have a webpage in which to show off their work – and here’s mine.

Drawings of Nothing

I’ve just uploaded 24 new doodles, drawings, cartoons and scribbles. Doodling seems to have become part of my bed-time ritual lately. Most nights, just before I head off to sleep I try and force myself to jot down a few drawings. Sometimes I really get into it and am pleased with the rests, while other times I’m either not in the mood or just too tired and end up with something pretty awful. ‘Amorphous 4’ (above) is the fourth in a series of drawings which are the products of trying to draw things that don’t look like anything in particular. This might sound easy but once you start sketching random forms it gets harder not to let parts of the drawing look like something already existing – you’ll start to notice an eye, an elbow or something finger-like beginning to appear here and there.

Orifice Doodles

As I’d previously mentioned, the new series of Orifice sculptures that I’m currently working on has started to influence my late night doodle sessions. And as promised, I’ve finally got round to uploading some of them onto my quick-fire drawings site.

Another Doodle Update

With lots going on at the moment I’ve not been doing as many of my late night doodles as usual. However, I have just got round to uploading a dozen quick-fire drawings from last week.
The thing that I like about automatic drawing is that at the moment you put pen to paper you don’t know what will appear in front of you. Your brain is just a split second in front of what you are doing – instantly reacting to the mark that you are currently making. Sometimes you slow down and feel that the drawing is going in a certain direction, and at this point it becomes more considered. At other times the marks just fly out onto the paper as if drawn by some external force. And when these ones work out you kinda feel guilty about taking credit for them.
But, as I said before, with this approach they can be a bit hit and miss - so please don’t judge them too harshly.