New month - new art journal

Hi everyone,

It has been quiet on the blog front but I have been busy. As Spring is starting to bloom and the evenings are becoming lighter, I have started a new art journal and painted several new canvases this month.

R and I also decided to start an Instagram account called #andyandrachael where we try to post daily photographs of projects and things that inspire us. Please feel free to check it out if you are interested. We would love to see you there...

Here are a few photographs of the journal so far:

As you all know, nature is a big source of inspiration of mine and this has crept inside the journal

I was really inspired when I revisited the paintings I created on Flora Bowley's ecourse Bloom True last year and this double page spread reflects that inspiration.

                       

This source of inspiration continued further last weekend when I added to some new canvases  It felt brilliant to be working on canvas again and to watch how they are developing (as well as getting messy!). Lucky for me, my wife is very supportive when I am in the painting zone!!! 

Hope that Spring is inspiring you too.

Andy

It's all in Black and White

Hi Everyone,

What a week it has been. There was family to catch up with, and lots to do around the house. While sorting out our studio, I found a little treasure that I would like to share with you.

It is a small sketchbook that I created ten years ago at the start of my teaching career. Back then, I took the train to work and I would spend that time drawing and sketching. It is interesting to look back and see the symbols I created and to now think of how they may have influenced my more modern sketches.

Looking at these I can see a fossil influence, especially in this section of the first sketch. 

The first image shows an Ammonite and the second has an Ortheceras influence 

All of these were done with Biro to give a good gradient with tones. It is amazing how the tones and colours can vary when using just a black Biro. It all depends on the manufacturer. I have a collection of about ten Biros from different companies and each one is different.

The above sketches then developed into these drawings.

Looking at some of my more modern sketches, I have noticed that the same symbols are starting to creep in. I have even observed that they have started to show up in my paintings too.

I am also busily painting and will share these with you soon. I am at the stage of adding layers of colour and applying the details.

I have loved having an Arty Summer and hope that it will continue now that the 'Man Cave' is completed.

Enjoy these last few days of summer.

Andy

Week 3 of Making Art that Sells

Hi everyone

Last week, I had an enormous amount of fun working on an assignment where we were given a task to illustrate Hans Christian Andersens, 'The Snail and the Rose Tree'. This is a short story, with the moral story-line: never give up on personal achievement. How relevant! It was a great challenge as I have always wanted to illustrate a book.

This is my final piece. Everything was hand drawn using pens, pencils, watercolours, or painted with acrylics and then scanned and collated in Illustrator.

At the beginning of the process, I developed the two main characters, and I hope you can see the amount of pleasure I had with this assignment through the amount of drawings and sketches I made that covered the kitchen table... and floor? It was an organised mess!

I started the drawing process by looking at the snail and trying to get his character right. He was the hardest for me because I wanted to make him look  'cute' but not loose the shape and character of a normal snail. Below are some of my sketches that did not make the cut.

      

I have to admit the Blue snail almost made it to the front cover. I feel he is a very jolly little fellow. But, this was before I had read the storyline. He looks too happy and needs to be more grumpy.

Next are the sketches for the border. When we were asked what was our favourite children's book, I immediately knew mine from childhood. The Riverbank Rumpus by Simon Joyner. The detail and quirky little characters really inspired the way my cover developed. The idea for the border was that in the story, the garden is surrounded by hazel bushes, so these sketches are what created the edging on the book cover and they would be inhabited by some little characters that might not be seen at first glance. Look out, there are four of them hiding around.

                                                                                                   

                

I hand painted my background using techniques I had developed on the Flora Bowley course (which you can see in a previous post here) and then the final pieces were: the writing (which is a whole post in itself) and the rose tree with the bushy eyebrows. He was the one I had the most fun designing and I hope to develop him further in future projects.

I hope I achieved the rose tree character to look thoughtful and wise but not too scary for a children's book. I love how his character evolved from bushy eyebrows to hairy ears. He makes me smile every time I look at him! I really had tremendous fun in creating this book cover and could visualize a whole book. Maybe one day? Now I must look to this week challenge of orange and green... that I will post about next time.  

Last weeks challenge, I feel, has really brought out more of my personality in the use of different art mediums, rather than just through ink and pen. Thank you Lilla Rogers. Your amazing input and encouragement is bringing out the best in all artists on your course. I cannot speak highly enough about Make Art That Sells. This course is really showing me that by using stepping stones I can achieve my goals.    

I can't wait to have a spare moment to catch up with my fellow bloggers. I have slightly got behind. Sorry.

Until the next time, have a good week. 

Andy

A Spicy New Year

Hi everyone

I have finally managed to write up my first blog of the New Year. Thank you for coming to visit.

Even though I have not posted since November - time certainly does fly! - I have not been idle. With my job busier than ever, the festive season and ill health all playing a part, I did manage to squeeze in some time for Art.

Before Christmas, as part of a project at school, I was teaching the students how to create a wood cut print, using MDF and lino cutting tools. There were 27 sixteen year olds, chipping away to create their masterpieces. I had an ulterior motive for my piece as I wanted to give it to my wife's sister and her husband for a Christmas present.

The MDF 'plate' showing only two of the chillis. 

After printing them with the students a few times (as shown below) I decided that the print needed another chilli so that the image looked more even (see the final piece below).

These are printed using water based printing ink and a variety of paper.

After work, I decided to experiment. The final image was printed on old map paper (of the area where they now live) and after printing, Gauche paint was added to give depth and tone. The final image we had framed with a burgundy border and black frame but unfortunately, I did not photograph it before presenting it to them.

Final piece

I have been reliably informed that my wife's sister and her husband love it and it now sits on their mantlepiece ready to be hung when they move into their new home. They have suggested that I could sell similar work as original art or prints. What do you think? 

I am now playing around with different designs and colours, and would appreciate your input.

From my sketch book

But that is not all; I have started a new painting, 150cm by 100cm. This painting started to talk to me about a rather neglected passion of mine... Jellyfish.

This painting is a long way off being finished. I have been looking at lots of reference material and came up with a new fact that I did not know: " If all the creatures in the world that communicate using light (like deep sea fish) were placed together, they would outnumber those who did not, three times over".

With any luck I will be able to attempt some more painting tomorrow at home. That is, if hopefully, we are snowed in!

Until the next time.

Andy

Spice of Life Challenge

Hi everyone

During the past week, I have been insanely busy at school and at home. It took quite some time for me to get over my recent throat problem. The pupils at school were really happy I lost my voice! However, in the midst of all this chaos, I have been able to find a moment of calm to take on this month’s Sketchbook Challenge, a Spice of Life.

I used watercolours, pens and a Sharpie pen to create these images. When I started to think about my favourite spices and commenced drawing them and playing around with colours and a layout, I didn't realise that I would end up creating a recipe - Mulled wine - my favourite at this time of the year. Delicious!

A lot of the drawing was done using continual lines once the warm watercolours were dry. I hope to continue this theme with a couple more drawings or collages before the end of the month.

Hope you like them?

And, I hope you are all having a good week.

Andy

Whats new in my cabinet?

Hello everyone,

I have been working on my 'Cabinet of Curiosities' and here are some more of my recent images. I am really enjoying expanding on the story of evolution in my sketchbook. It makes me think straight away as to how it relates to my ever growing collection of objects and the time it takes to nurture it.

This is only a small selection of my objects!

Sharks teeth!

These are some of my bugs (insects) mixed media images:

The above two drawings started life as mono prints, then collage and a Sharpee pen added.

I could not resist painting this bug. Trying to get his colour just right was a bit of a headache but layering the colours works perfectly.

Please check the Sketchbook Challenge website out. It is very interesting to see everyone's take on the theme and the varying art materials used. Time for me to place my artwork on the Flicker page and join in the group activity. Look forward to seeing you there. Are you joining in?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

Andy