Planting the seed Drawing the human form is the most beguiling practice artists can get involved with. It has captivated my attention since my very first life class in art school in the 1980s at the tender age of 18. Not because it was easy – it wasn’t. It very quickly became the one activity […]
Introduction The Art Principles are a guide to help us understand and discuss how an artwork communicates the artists intent, and whether it does this successfully or not. The Art Principles are not definitive and hold no essence of truth about art. Watch the Video >> Modernism Art principles The Art principles associated with Modernism […]
What is ‘context’ or ‘contextualisation’ and why is it important for you as an artist. Recently I have been thinking about ‘Context’ – it’s crept into my conversations with people when they have been asking me for advice about their drawings and paintings. So I thought I’d share some thoughts with you. It’s a word […]
If you’ve invested in quality pencils please take care of them if you want them to perform their best when drawing and sketching. Here are my top tips for drawing and sketching with pencil, and how to care for them. Never drop your pencils. The graphite in the pencils can be soft and shatters […]
There is a huge range of pencils to choose from which can be confusing. This post will help you cut through the confusion and let you know what the best pencils for drawing and sketching are, and how to use them. You’ll find out why you really only need 4 pencils. Firstly, I’ll talk about […]
The Turner Prize awards ceremony took place on Monday 01 December. I watched Channel 4’s broadcast of the Turner prize 2014, listened to the commentaries and guest speakers, and did further research. Here are my thoughts on the Turner prize 2014. Read further for links to the Tate website and reviews from The Independent, the […]
Types of rubbers and erasers for drawing Using erasers for rubbing out mistakes comes last on my list of top 10 uses for rubbers and erasers! Read further to find out my top 10 tips. Then you’ll know exactly how you should be using them when drawing. If you’re new to drawing or just enrolled […]
Flow and Movement Session 1 (8 October 2014) The theme for my double session of life drawing class at Salford Art Group was Flow and Movement. I described to the art class a ‘toolkit of exercises’ that when returned to over time will help students improve their sense of movement and dynamics in their drawings. […]
The Creative Eye “Look up from this book, and see what is front of you. This is your visual field”. So starts Heather Spears’ amazing book “The Creative Eye”. I can count on one hand the people, books, events that have been a pivotal influence on my life. That have changed, not just the way […]
Black is banned. This statement rings in my ears from my art school days, and I keep reading it in how-to books. It can’t be further from the truth. Black acrylic paint is an extremely versatile addition to your colour palette – just use it VERY carefully. Small amounts will have a dramatic effect on […]
Why keep a Sketchbook? This is a very good question. At the moment I keep 3 different sketchbooks – each for a different reason. Way back at art school I was always told to keep a sketchbook and you will find virtually all art teachers will tell you the same. So there must be a […]
Be warned – drawing, particularly life drawing, can catch you by surprise and never let you go. It can turn your life upside down and fill every spare moment if you let it. That’s brilliant – and the rewards are great because the challenge is so great! I caught the bug at art school and […]
A small group of students braved an early Saturday morning start and met at AWOL Studios to drive the 1 hour journey across the Pennines to Yorkshire. We were joined at lunch time by a couple more who valued a more gentle start to their weekend. With warm sunny skies, a gentle breeze and enough […]
Some artists really do have an ingenious take on working with paper and it was inspiring to see the ideas they had come up with. Well worth a visit if you haven’t done so already, but you only have a week left – so hurry on down to the city centre. The artworks that stood […]
We attended this fab exhibition at Tate Liverpool this weekend. Some really interesting drawings, picked up on a couple of new techniques I want to experiment with, discovered some new artists and revisited old favourites, saw some stunning animations and went away with a head full of ideas and inspiration. Sorry for no pictures but […]
