November 30, 2014 by Leonie Andrews

Drawn in – November

Its been quite a while since I went to one of the National Portrait Gallery’s Drawn In sessions. A friend suggested we go and so we joined lots of other people for an afternoon session of sketching and listening to some beautiful singing.

I managed 3 sketches in various styles and media. First a blind drawing in pencil of a floral arrangement in the area we were drawing.

Blind drawing, floral arrangement, National Portrait Gallery Canberra, 30 November 2014, pencil

A view to the display of portraits by Rick Amor in the gallery entrance.

Rick Amor, Gallery 1, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 30 November 2014, pencil, ink and watercolour.

The last was a still life and partial figure of the woman sitting in front of me.

Bags and partial figure, National Portrait Gallery, pen and ink, 30 November 2014

After I’d finished drawing I went over to look more closely at the Rick Amor portraits which vaguely appear in my sketch. I was particularly interested in the preparatory drawings for Amor’s 1994 portrait of Gary Catalano.

Gary Catalano , 1994 by Rick Amor Gary Catalano, 1994 by Rick Amor pencil and watercolour on yellow paper (56.5 x 76.0 cm) Collection of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia

I was impressed by the economy of the drawings with no need for extensive explanatory detail.

Gary Catalano, 1994 by Rick Amor, oil on canvas (57.0 x 57.0 cm) , private collection.

Their adaptation to the final painting doesn’t lose the spareness conveyed by the drawings. There’s quite a lesson in that approach.

October 16, 2014 by Leonie Andrews

A little bit of Nookie

Earlier this week, at the Nookie Expresso Bar in the Canberra City centre I had one of the best coffees I’ve had in recent times and also found some fun drawing opportunities.

Firstly this ‘retro’ vibe flouro dinosaur planter.

You know how I like dinosaurs, flouro planter at Nookie, pen and ink, watercolour, 13 October 2014

Next up was an arrangement of water glasses and caraffes, against the pole supporting the roof awning. I used both my waterproof Copic liner and non-waterproof Lamy Safari pento make this drawing.

water glasses and caraffes, at Nookie, pen and ink and wash, 13 october 2014

A day later and another cafe (our regular in Mawson) I drew this stack of chairs, pulled up out of the pouring rain.

Stacks of chairs, pen and ink, 14 October 2014

October 12, 2014October 12, 2014 by Leonie Andrews

Rear View

It is said that small things amuse small minds, but I’d like to change the saying to ‘small things engage inquiring minds’. I hope my latest drawing ‘tic’ falls into this latter category. Sitting, waiting in the car is something that most of us experience quite often, so I decided I should take advantage of this situation to indulge in a little drawing. I do want to emphasise that I only draw while the car is parked. I realised that there was often too much happening in all directions to quickly decide what to draw. So I decided I would draw what appeared in my car’s rear vision or wing mirror, or the mirrors themselves.

Rearview mirror and parking meters, ball point pen, 9 September 2014

The more time I have, the more elaborate the drawings can get.

Wing mirror with open garage door, pen and ink and acrylic marker, 16 September 2014

Of course I don’t always have my sketchbook to hand so when needs must, I grab one of the many car park tickets that seem to live in our car. This 5.5 x 8.5 cm (roughly 2 x3 “) format focuses the mind wonderfully!

‘No parking’ rear view mirror, ballpoint pen on car park ticket, 12 October 2014

One thing I noticed when I did this drawing was that if I use blind drawing technique to reproduce the writing I don’t make mistakes when I draw the reversed letters. Quite interesting.

October 8, 2014 by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Wednesday 8 October

Two drawings today. The first is my favourite cafe subject, a furled umbrella, drawn using my new Copic 0.5 marker. This has waterproof pigment ink and I have a refill for it which I hope will last the length of my holiday (or perhaps I should just go and buy a second refill).

I love following the folds of a furled umbrella! Copic marker, 8 October 2014

The second is my glass of water and it’s reflections where I used both my Copic marker and my Lamy Safari, whose ink is not waterproof. I wanted to try the combination and I’m pleased with the way I could use the ink to blend and bleed for the darker areas.

Water glass and reflections, Copic marker and pen and ink, 8 October 2014

Here’s a bonus drawing, from coffee with friends last Sunday.

Having coffee, pen and ink, 5 October 2014

October 5, 2014 by Leonie Andrews

The deliciousness of blind drawing

While I sat listening to a talk at the Drill Hall Gallery on Friday, it struck me that I have been moving further away from making ‘blind drawings’, which is something I really enjoy. So out came the pen and I got stuck into it. I had forgotten how I love making the lines.

Person at the Drill Hall Gallery, pen and ink 3 October 2014

Then I made some further lines.

Second person at the Drill Hall Gallery, pen and ink, 3 October 2014

After the talk was over I had a chance to take in the exhibitions. In one of the galleries Helen Fuller was showing her ceramics. When asked, at the talk, about their ‘functionality’ she noted that at her place they were excellent receptacles for dead spiders and dust! The pots were engaging and their textured surfaces and simple colouration which worked quite strongly to enhance the thin walls – she only works the clay by pinching and coiling. The arrangement of groups of pots on plinths was also fertile material for drawing.

Helen Fuller pots, numbers 1-3, pen and ink, Drill Hall Gallery, 3 October 2014

In her artist’s statement Helen quoted John Cage,

It is not futile to do what we do. We wake up with energy and we do something. And we make, of course, failures and we make mistakes, but we sometimes get glimpses of what we might do next.

leonieandrews

Tag / blind drawing