What now?

After that brief period of self-analysis, prompted by the model Amy, I (inevitably) asked myself, What next? Even though I had said that next time I would just sit down at my easel without a plan and see what would emerge. But the mind did not accept that. It started to delve into the future. And it came up with (helped by my clicking on certain key words) the drawings of Hans Bellmer (first found about 14 years ago) And, I have just written in my note book "Look again at Hans Bellmer. But forget, and look beyond, the eroticism". I can do this, whilst looking through one of the best collections of his erotic drawings, see:

honesterotica.com/illustrator/hans-bellmer

This is what I see as I peruse his work:

superimposed images of anatomical parts drawn at different scales with a palette of sophisticated and diverse mark-making and achieving a high degree of transparency and spatiality within a compositional integrity 

What more could one ask for? 

So, having been jolted by bouncing over the bump in the road, how will I land now that I appear to have been reconnected with one of my original core influencers? There is a simple answer: I will land differently.......and......the nature of the landing will be a surprise. I'm looking forward to it!

A path to follow

Fields and other grassed areas on our hillfort are looked after by my wife Sylvia and myself. A major result is that we now have two fields which have been transformed into wildflower meadows. Other areas are looked after in a variety of ways. A principal approach is to let everything grow and seed before it is grazed or cut. Often a path is mowed through an area so that we, family, and friends can walk through and limit the damage to the grasses and the flowering plants. 

Here is one such path through a fairly small area of long grass..........

I am regularly making connections between my life on the hillfort, its archaeology, flora and fauna, and my world of study of the human body through life-drawing. 

Had a dream the other night which brought these worlds together.........

More of Amy, the performance artist

At Extreme Poses on October 27th.

We previously had Amy as our model on June23rd and once or twice before and here she is again providing something very different. A dancer, an acrobat, wearing a leotard, using the ceiling straps the plinth and finally a hoop to present a different kind of pose. 

How did she impact on my approach and on my process, and on what appeared on my paper?

Lets take a look:

Well, they are different. I remarked to Paul and a couple of colleagues during coffee break, after the first three poses, that I felt this morning so far was a bit like hitting a bump in the road after driving along a smooth highway for a long time. I clearly sensed that I had been jolted out of the comfort zone of preceding Thursday mornings. I had anticipated this: see next paragraph.

How did she impact upon my approach?   Right at the beginning did I expect/anticipate a different reaction from myself? Not too sure about this. If I did it may have to do with a 'clothed' model. 

How did she impact upon my process? (i) Less a collage of drawings which are each a study of a selected anatomical part. (ii) Greater equality of contribution to mark-making from both hands.

How did she impact upon what appeared on my paper? (i) no controlled continuous lines. (ii) more movement, less static description.

I did carry out a quick analytical exercise to find out whether the drawings of Amy were different.............

Method: I listed my oft quoted set of terms which characterise my work, and then compared their occurance in, and relevance to, the set of 5 drawings of Amy, with two other sets of 5 drawings from recent Thursdays. The other two were: the model Shelley on September 22nd and the model Paul on October 20th. (these two sets represent a fairly rare event when all 5 drawings have pleased me, most times two or three work well and the others I will dismiss)

The 7 characteristics are: 'morphing', 'superimpositioning', ''overlap', 'transparency', 'different scales', 'cubist', 'spatiality'. Each drawing was examined and a record made of the characteristics which (I felt) were most pronounced, clearly relevant and best illustrated by the drawing. So there were 5x7, i.e. 35 maximum possibles for each model. 

Result: Shelley scored 23; Paul scored 19; and Amy scored 7. 

Conclusion: My responses to Amy were significantly different to both Paul and Shelley. My responses to Amy only in part conform to my recent framework of concepts and techniques. This suggests a revised vocabulary of characteristics could be sought. 

Postscript: I have just completed this posting on the evening of Wednesday, November 2nd. Tomorrow is Thursday and I understand we will have Amy modelling again. Am I preparing for this? As I have said before, I will let the thinking and the self-analysis which has taken place, and recorded on this blog, sink into my sub-conscious in any way it wants to. When I sit at my easel, my virgin A1 white cartridge paper, and Amy, before me, there will be no consciously prepared plan: I will arm myself with two fine-liner pens and somehow, from somewhere, will come a stimulus, and mark-making will commence.

More on spatiality

 

"ANTOINE DE VILLIERS is a South African artist currently based in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Antoine specialize in emotionally driven abstract and figurative art. She is a veteran of over 70 exhibitions and has lived on 4 continents"

The above is taken from her website. I first encountered Antione's work way back in about 2010. I loved it so much I emailed her and we exchanged a number of conversations. As I noted in my previous posting I have just re-accessed the work of Kristina Laurendi Havens and discovered a quote of hers which relates to an issue I have taken a interest in exploring.

Here is another connection, this time with Antoine, and this time to do with the subject of 'spatiality'. I have many times talked around the huge subject of 'perception' and 'perceptual processes', and how we each see differently from each other and therefore think differently about what we are seeing and so draw differently. The complexity of the perceptual process takes place within the physical space that is created between the artist and the model, and this is added to by the space within, around and beyond the paper or canvas. For me there is the additional dimension of spatiality contributed by my being an architect.

Here below I have taken a quote from Antoine's website which introduces a series of her works. And what is so amazing is that she too is placing emphasis on what takes place both within the space of our individual mental processes and the spatial relationships of artist and model. She quotes Frank Lloyd Wright who was one of the first architects from whom I gained inspiration and a philosophy I took on board in my early days as a student of architecture and has been with me ever since, so her analogy is all the more pertinent and relative to my own research and discoveries about my art.

THE SPACE WITHIN

A response to our isolation and the challenges resulting from the pandemic as well as our longing for connection and intimacy. The series reflect on the space within our minds and thoughts as well as the space within the relationships.

‘The space within becomes the reality of the building’ -Frank Lloyd Wright

 So, I am regularly drawing the human body but having a far less interest in the final outcome of what appears on my paper than in the process I am part of in the making of the drawing. Hence my claim that I am 'a process artist'. I operate within a process and am fascinated by that process and I wish to enhance the depth, quality and my understanding of process. (Of course, I get great satisfaction when I and others can celebrate a 'physical' drawing outcome). Just like when a building looks good, has quality materials and detailing, fits in well etc., etc., BUT what is the aspect of a building that must work? What is the ultimate criteria for judgement? What is it that becomes the reality of the building? The answer lies with the user. Buildings are made for people to live, work and play in. If it does not work for the user then what is the point. It is the space(s) that the user experiences and uses, the space(s) that the user senses, perceives and interprets. Ultimately architecture is a spatial experience.

I have said before that thro' life-drawing I have discovered and engaged with spatial issues and the complexities of spatiality and spatial thinking which I feel are different and sometimes quite new to me compared to the way I perceived, understood and used them when practicing and teaching architecture. Would my architecture and my teaching of architecture been any different if I knew then what I know now? It's all part of a learning experience. My drawings are what they are due in part to my past.

More on variables and parameters

I first mentioned Kristina Laurendi Havens back in 2010 as an artist whose work fascinated me at the time I was starting to explore the world of life drawing. It was particularly her use of colour and her expressive figurative work that attracted me. I recently re-accessed her website to discover that she had made an observation about an issue which I have been very interested in and one I have posted some thoughts on a number of times. It is about becoming aware of the numerous variables that come into play to influence one's art and how one can introduce constraints or parameters to help guide one's process. 

My most recent comment on this was my posting of October 13th 2022 (Context: the variables influencing a life-drawing response). Here is what Kristina had to say:

Practical Productive Practice for Artists  (January 26th 2020)

There's a million ways to paint an apple.  An apple.  Think about it.  You could paint an apple in any color of the rainbow.  Paint it cut in half.  Paint it rotting on a cutting board.  Paint it in a basket.  Paint it in shadow.  Put in under a spotlight.  Paint it abstract.  Paint it in black and white.

You see where I'm going with this?

SO many choices.

If you were told "go paint an apple!"

Would you know what to do?

Would you know what surface you want to paint it on?

What brush to use?

What palette to use?

What medium to use?

What would you want to SAY about the apple in your painting?

Those are the questions the Artist has to answer before they even pick up a brush.  And it's in those questions where frustration can sneak into the studio.  I HAVE TO MAKE SO MANY DECISIONS JUST TO MAKE A PAINTING.

So, the practice - the act of practicing painting - can be frustrating if you don't work within a few parameters.

What makes practice practical? What makes practice rewarding, so that you want to practice MORE?

Rules.  Parameters.  Parameters are your friend.

You will recall my current 'material/physical' parameters are: 220gsm white cartridge paper in portrait format, a fine-liner pen in each hand, sitting at my easel. Occasionally I adopt a different medium, but I resist the frequent suggestions from my colleagues to break into paint and colour (look back to early postings to see how I enjoyed pastel, conte, coloured inks, tinted charcoal, sometimes paint, etc.) As I have mentioned a few times over recent years I believe my work changes, almost week by week. It is an evolutionary change process, sometimes (or probably most times) the differences may be imperceptible to the eye of many beholders. However I strongly believe that my highly constrained material/physical parameters do allow me to focus on 'my process' and on a deeper engagement with 'my feelings', 'my intuition', 'my spontaneity', 'my emotion', 'my meditation', 'my sub-conscious', 'my looking and my seeing', etc.,  etc.,

I have a feeling to change momentum in my journey.

Not sure why. However:

I love what is occurring in my drawings,

Each week my evolution continues,

Each week, Paul and I note something different, and often, new.

But, as my art of life-drawing elevates its role in my sense of well-being, perhaps it could elevate its contribution.

One way is for me to increase my understanding of the process I am part of. So, here are a few insights which may help. They tend to focus on 'perception' and particularly on how I might see things from within myself, and how this may influence what appears in my drawings.

An early insight (source not recorded) 'we do not see things as they are, we see things as we are'.

Jonathan Swift: 'vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others'.

James Hillman: 'by seeing differently, we do differently'.

John Paul Caponigro: 'looking and seeing are two different things',

George Monbiot: 'what you see is not what others see'.

James Turrrell: 'I want you to sense yourself sensing - to see yourself seeing'.

I  really warm to this final quote as it pushes this whole preoccupation with the subject of perception back into the self. The previous quotes are all about how one individual sees differently to everyone else around them. How one does see differently and can therefore deliver diverse and challenging images. 

Can we help this process along? How can an individual change momentum and take a leap into the future? How can an individual adopt the philosophy: 'Paths are made by walking'

It's October 20th over at Extreme Poses. Such a frustrating drive from Wales over into England across the Severn Estuary, 40 miles, heavy traffic, diversions......but Clarissa and I arrived in time to set ourselves up with five minutes to spare before Paul Boon took up his first pose. Quite a crowded studio, numbers are picking up as we enter the late autumnal restrictions on other activities. Lots of chat at the start, then an ambiance of quiet concentration and devotion to the act of life-drawing takes over. 30 minutes for the first pose, Paul re-imposes and then silence again for the second pose. Following the third 30 minute pose we take a half-hour coffee break: people intermingle, talk over each others drawings, chat with the model, feedback from colleagues is sought, the learning-community of life-drawers continues, and Paul Fowler our mentor is drawn into individual intimate and private conversations. Two 30 minute poses follow, and these complete the morning session. We all help to stack the easels, boards and tables, and say "Thanks Paul (and Paul): See you next week"

When I arrive home, if the sun is in a blue sky I will set up my drawings outside, photograph them and post them on this blog, usually with a comment. More often I will awaite posting until I have researched around my outcomes.

My drawings from October 20th will be posted soon.

October 26th and here they are. All are of 30 minute poses, drawn with a fine-liner pen in each hand, on 220gsm cartridge paper:

Talking it over

 I really enjoy meeting up and talking over drawings in between poses: