tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48594497162956632132024-03-18T18:56:50.686+02:00A sketch in timeCathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.comBlogger490125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-41209145001851601562020-11-02T14:57:00.000+02:002020-11-02T14:57:46.015+02:00Jacaranda Time Again...<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbEQIVJNJqeoKrSkQsAZzRqY5pvdsrxXwqkBEITB9ug8FBankUjnjZ0pz53TQ0cFhfzV_Deax1-v_xerjsK2l0OPXPc-9kSRjUOqsWCoo5ppC5jbmRRIj23d4OlkJ_XNwvGNecn0ARjv1/s856/JacarandaCheckers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="856" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbEQIVJNJqeoKrSkQsAZzRqY5pvdsrxXwqkBEITB9ug8FBankUjnjZ0pz53TQ0cFhfzV_Deax1-v_xerjsK2l0OPXPc-9kSRjUOqsWCoo5ppC5jbmRRIj23d4OlkJ_XNwvGNecn0ARjv1/w640-h460/JacarandaCheckers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I'm glad I got at least one little sketch of them in, as over the weekend, after a week of scorching heat, we had tumultuous storms of wind, rain and hail that stripped many of the blossoms off their stalks. Hopefully more will bud, I haven't had my fill yet of the purple glory time!<p></p><p><br /> ...and the end of Inktober. I didn't much like following the prompts, but sometimes they led to revelations and discoveries - below are some of the drawings I did enjoy: </p><p>Thinking of/feeling the word to form the shape of the action, like Throw, top left - I think this was a stick I dipped in coffee and swirled around, then dropped ink into the wet marks and finished off with some descriptive lines. The next one, Coral, almost made itself - the natural movement of ink marks on a wet or damp surface formed coral-like textures - and a fun, quick Chef, after a carefully illustrated one was rejected.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QfLoY3aqH5wTlkRijxTvC2jG_KOGWlQ2Yzm7r7nmDQwg31JMA7Kvaf8mRc7vnj2tncliw1-AJVCkhSo4axoJV3Ht3GmKMJ6AqfVUsbOIE794zVf34QcBh7u8d_fWHqU3zj-j7OArRs_U/s1734/InktoberEnd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1233" data-original-width="1734" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QfLoY3aqH5wTlkRijxTvC2jG_KOGWlQ2Yzm7r7nmDQwg31JMA7Kvaf8mRc7vnj2tncliw1-AJVCkhSo4axoJV3Ht3GmKMJ6AqfVUsbOIE794zVf34QcBh7u8d_fWHqU3zj-j7OArRs_U/w640-h456/InktoberEnd.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The bottom three were more personal - Float - from a photo of my daughter, though it doesn't look like her - water and its distortions are always interesting, as are Shoes, especially well-used battered old takkies - and Hide - my little 3 year old granddaughter's idea of how to do it...(smiley face with hearts emoticon here)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm trying to figure out what it is I really love to do, as time runs away at an ever faster rate and I don't want to waste any doing stuff I don't love any more, so Inktober was good for that at least. Some days were diamonds, and some days were stones! </div><p></p>Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-82865535637420153142020-10-07T11:23:00.000+02:002020-10-07T11:23:36.591+02:00Inktober 2020!<p>Where has this year gone?...into a blur of world-changing, life-changing upheavals and restrictions, time to paint, draw, crochet, bake, read and think, and think too much. But it's October, INKtober again. It's become a marker of time, slightly annoying (so much work!) but a serious threat of FOMO if I don't once again haul out the inks, pens and brushes and just do this thing. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa1Ty7o411n0Q27H07IPz7gxW17U4FPKU7drf7ZkNQBnXkNARHv6sqeT1GFqD5FJDTncyJPFqQx2NTmRjpa7FbzB3i2NXtVqOX9PP87712uV8PCSeqWaFaSu8d6UuBEyh3GdRE9Yr9RUs/s1170/Inktober20first6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1170" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa1Ty7o411n0Q27H07IPz7gxW17U4FPKU7drf7ZkNQBnXkNARHv6sqeT1GFqD5FJDTncyJPFqQx2NTmRjpa7FbzB3i2NXtVqOX9PP87712uV8PCSeqWaFaSu8d6UuBEyh3GdRE9Yr9RUs/w640-h472/Inktober20first6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I really needed to find a way to make it enjoyable, engrossing, surprising - otherwise it's just a slog and takes up too much time. Last year I found that some tiny freestyle ink-and-coffee doodles I did, and developed into images (kind of like seeing pictures in clouds) led to unexpected happy results, far preferable to my more laboured responses to the prompts. So this year I'm doing it slightly more intentionally, thinking vaguely of what I want the blobs and splashes to form but trying not to control them too much... until sometimes I do😒<p></p><p>Above are the first six days, following the prompts. Left to right are Fish, Wisp, Bulk, Radio, Blade and Rodent. Some of the coffee and ink splashy beginnings below, the top two with Throw and Fancy in mind, the bottom two just random, hoping they'll become something...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3fnrrOiovH7r5ACuqJuC0F2Ph5Rhyphenhyphenpb7-Gax74Z9wrT_QSrzAUTi9xcjH3lzCE_gTANcQNkUlhlMTFX2duTk4h1jxXm-uLJnpaiebaC4xJosbTibM3LKSn2esESP8Dp2_LhLWNiXiSbs/s2048/Inktoberblotches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1913" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3fnrrOiovH7r5ACuqJuC0F2Ph5Rhyphenhyphenpb7-Gax74Z9wrT_QSrzAUTi9xcjH3lzCE_gTANcQNkUlhlMTFX2duTk4h1jxXm-uLJnpaiebaC4xJosbTibM3LKSn2esESP8Dp2_LhLWNiXiSbs/w598-h640/Inktoberblotches.jpg" width="598" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I really love the interactions of coffee and water and ink, thinking I should just leave some of these as they are, but that seems like a cop out! </div><p></p>Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-82874721362150269622020-09-15T14:26:00.001+02:002020-09-15T14:28:22.996+02:00Watercolour monotypes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A first attempt at printing monotypes from watercolour painted on yupo. Years ago <a href="https://rhcarpenter.blogspot.com/">Rhonda Carpenter</a>, incredibly kindly, sent me a sample of yupo to try, when I couldn't find it here in Johannesburg - I eventually found and bought a pack and am finally experimenting! I like the slippery quality of watercolours on this surface, and the clear bright tones you can get, but wanted to try monotypes, so sacrificed the original paintings on the left of each set. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDSpk-5kGP6xxgNZbeaEF1jZU_pOfvMFEszUrNtgwEWBGHKx2x8xLTGS28DAVadvVmr6rubQmv8tzTn-L6dyKBjGgg2zsvm1WIp5pZftwIiJWvWRgpGDc2LdsbK4HLveA7aQzEiKc5ZkU/s1572/Yupoprints1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1572" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDSpk-5kGP6xxgNZbeaEF1jZU_pOfvMFEszUrNtgwEWBGHKx2x8xLTGS28DAVadvVmr6rubQmv8tzTn-L6dyKBjGgg2zsvm1WIp5pZftwIiJWvWRgpGDc2LdsbK4HLveA7aQzEiKc5ZkU/w640-h294/Yupoprints1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My first painting, of random objects on my studio windowsill, was very fast, loose and drippy - impatient to get a print made. I didn't dampen the watercolour paper enough to get a good print from the original, but like what was left behind on the yupo .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmVNL6JxWj9Pix-b-q2zUMrHfEFJDLmvJnxwCecT0RPvO8RANuOPJ7tg1thBdo_PvUPubF8uXXTQLg1TGFnBE_q1uk86hAySbcCbo2Se4BnghmmUMqGSQzfZLUL8Djz5RDb9Maba0rZDk/s1564/Yupoprints2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1564" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmVNL6JxWj9Pix-b-q2zUMrHfEFJDLmvJnxwCecT0RPvO8RANuOPJ7tg1thBdo_PvUPubF8uXXTQLg1TGFnBE_q1uk86hAySbcCbo2Se4BnghmmUMqGSQzfZLUL8Djz5RDb9Maba0rZDk/w640-h294/Yupoprints2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The second painting was more detailed and careful - starting to enjoy making compositions from these little objets! Quite unpredictable results in the print... the line I drew around the seedpod came out much darker than I'd planned. I'd wet the paper for longer but still didn't pick up as much paint as I'd hoped (the 'doctored' cellphone pic is deceptive!) </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirn5RAXucEIdbHAeIzQc7SrokZykwSomtRMrIp5iE2I7i-dWXOAkcHegYwI_KitKtbuVnK4O6Xwce-VVspc04CKQaMmN-weKPfh6R2ZhuDLr2GHSWrce5z34N7Z-gUT7_QDHniZJnj_qYs/s1551/Yupoprints3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1551" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirn5RAXucEIdbHAeIzQc7SrokZykwSomtRMrIp5iE2I7i-dWXOAkcHegYwI_KitKtbuVnK4O6Xwce-VVspc04CKQaMmN-weKPfh6R2ZhuDLr2GHSWrce5z34N7Z-gUT7_QDHniZJnj_qYs/w640-h298/Yupoprints3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The third attempt was more successful - soaked the watercolour paper for longer - and the print was almost darker in parts than the original.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you want to try - paint your image onto clean grease-free yupo with watercolour. Make sure it has plenty of pigment to water ratio. While it's drying, soak some smooth watercolour paper - I used hot press 300 gsm - in water for about 10 minutes. Blot with a clean towel or paper towel to remove excess water and place over the image. Rub well all over the paper with the back of a spoon, or other smooth object (I used a pot of handcream with rounded edges), remove and hopefully there will be a monotype... I haven't perfected the process and probably won't without a proper press, but quite excited at the results!</div><br /> <p></p>Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-20344375994766571072020-07-05T17:05:00.001+02:002020-07-05T17:05:50.064+02:00Round and Round the Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I got so behind posting paintings done on the 30x30DirectWatercolor challenge, I'm just dumping a whole bunch here, otherwise I'll never catch up! </div>
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One or two intersected with other online challenges - Virginia Hein's Usktalk about applying explosive colour before painting just enough of the image to make it recognisable (the chairs) and international sketch-a-chicken week (irresistible!) and Suhita Shirodkar's 'Start with What If...' (What if I looked through a glass of water)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKN3BQewlN7qvKfjmK5CiuE6LSzA5uB3i7Lr2PwXZuFzJp0SPSDhC8v_MWMAWLJQWvrrbNtsyzd62sxYU3NEldtMtIyAyof6ymGJ-Fn2vvY_iKfM2BvdEbUYySxXEj1NpbZiB2A-wIo9p2/s1600/Garden30x30wc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1071" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKN3BQewlN7qvKfjmK5CiuE6LSzA5uB3i7Lr2PwXZuFzJp0SPSDhC8v_MWMAWLJQWvrrbNtsyzd62sxYU3NEldtMtIyAyof6ymGJ-Fn2vvY_iKfM2BvdEbUYySxXEj1NpbZiB2A-wIo9p2/s1600/Garden30x30wc.jpg" /></a></div>
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These aren't all of them, just some on the home and garden theme, which is of course the most available subject while under lockdown - I didn't manage 30, but was happy to have kept up quite a steady pace. I felt like I was getting a grip on how to get started, and use more expressive, less fussy brushstrokes as I went along. (The first ones are at the bottom, more-or-less more recent ones towards the top.) July is International Watercolour Month, apparently, so I think I must carry on while I'm on a roll - trying to curb my natural tendency to switch to something different just as I feel I'm making progress!Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-79201391790387280152020-06-03T14:38:00.000+02:002020-06-03T14:41:33.662+02:00Studio WindowOh no, they're changing Blogger - have to learn more new stuff!... it looks like I can't change the size of the images any more, unless there's something I've missed..? (I reverted to the old style to make these bigger this time.)<br />
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Anyway, with days blending into each other, I'd forgotten to do the weekly post I'd promised myself I would. This little series below started with a doodly sort of continuous line drawing of my studio windowsill . I then added monochromatic tones, which scattered the image into little pieces - so I printed out a copy of the original line drawing (luckily photographed it first - a good way to try out different approaches) and tried to mass the tones into bigger areas. Still a bit busy, but it's a very busy window! And then added white highlights with a Pentel paint pen. The light was changing constantly as I painted, so these do sort of reflect the passage of time in a day, but I'd love to get simpler, stronger designs in my work.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6q0BlZ3FraruRUvVTo5fDBX1GoO3RIvORSWTPal4DvXbtkwk-tOmiOTanQMpwGvkbq6wydJhHKRlDwQnbzfZ-ymXqcBhDAkWgZIJ0h1QkBecE4NRT9w2ygUk3bb-ktPZ-Knsk28UcDDZ/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="841" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6q0BlZ3FraruRUvVTo5fDBX1GoO3RIvORSWTPal4DvXbtkwk-tOmiOTanQMpwGvkbq6wydJhHKRlDwQnbzfZ-ymXqcBhDAkWgZIJ0h1QkBecE4NRT9w2ygUk3bb-ktPZ-Knsk28UcDDZ/s640/StudioWindow2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-82309798179383537132020-05-13T14:23:00.001+02:002020-05-13T14:43:18.116+02:00Garden Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back to watercolours - I always come back sooner or later, but the rustiness shows. The weather in late autumn here is so gorgeous, it's a pleasure to rip myself away from screens and nibbling stuff (must remember this) and spend time in the garden. Which is quite shockingly neglected as far as grooming and maintenance go, though pretty - I like all the leaves lying around and overgrowth. I painted the birdbath outside my studio and noticed that the wall is precariously leaning in towards our side, pushed over by a rampant banana/strelitzia tree next door. As soon as people are allowed back to work we'll have to sort that out...hope it will wait!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnp0SswCErxy9L3v95oz6FPRDbFaexkpv5SWzdc-8HH4jNC0qkMDSs5y1-A3Y-lhHpskd1bNjG6RzjeP7zvaUmqBbpdNj6AACK6lqa26bCByEFJUZMfbFztoGFljycmFsT4AP31b2OcvL/s1600/Treelegs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnp0SswCErxy9L3v95oz6FPRDbFaexkpv5SWzdc-8HH4jNC0qkMDSs5y1-A3Y-lhHpskd1bNjG6RzjeP7zvaUmqBbpdNj6AACK6lqa26bCByEFJUZMfbFztoGFljycmFsT4AP31b2OcvL/s320/Treelegs.jpg" width="199" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHcNowAI6ZIJPfjId8dzwrrVlIBCQrD_K9qnX3FmhSeUqse956ZkMlTEzuO6h9rhdm80JpoJ-La-TgXzWZtAGR4f2Mb3OVLkE5bAG0ovuSTl7t4yV_rl31Mw0YRKH91fwwJFAb_gZHW9y/s1600/LandartCircle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="685" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHcNowAI6ZIJPfjId8dzwrrVlIBCQrD_K9qnX3FmhSeUqse956ZkMlTEzuO6h9rhdm80JpoJ-La-TgXzWZtAGR4f2Mb3OVLkE5bAG0ovuSTl7t4yV_rl31Mw0YRKH91fwwJFAb_gZHW9y/s320/LandartCircle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Every year around this time Joburg Land Art enthusiasts have an event and exhibition at Emmarentia Dam, which is closed off now for Covid-19. This year we were invited to make our own land art at home and post it online. I attempted an <a href="https://www.boredpanda.com/land-art-andy-goldsworthy/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic">Andy Goldsworthy</a> sort of hanging sculpture made of the seed pods which already adorn the Yellow Bells tree in our garden, extending them down to the ground by joining them together - with no man-made aids. I loved doing that and watching them swing in the breeze, until they began to drop off as fast as I tried to put them up again. So I turned to some fallen flowers and leaves - fig leaves fished out of the pool - and made a much quicker, easier, more cooperative piece.<div><br /></div><div>P.S. I've just discovered a whole bunch of comments waiting to be moderated - I didn't even know that function was turned on - my apologies for seeming to ignore your visits and responses! They included a bunch of Chinese porn site ones though, so just as well some were monitored before publishing, yikes!</div>Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-2732499374679912702020-05-07T12:35:00.000+02:002020-05-07T12:35:07.625+02:00Pastel Rocks <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnA6YQxoqmC9yvslMpMADxE7XOa4xDcGHppm14n84JRYV_iwsUz46VGaV7upLpegApz8Klb8zTmPCAS_-FxDRB2NZSvmZXtyc5MeTrvHHYnk40leRHk93dDdDEqoSm_NRPSro5p3Fsdee/s1600/PastelRockpool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1115" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnA6YQxoqmC9yvslMpMADxE7XOa4xDcGHppm14n84JRYV_iwsUz46VGaV7upLpegApz8Klb8zTmPCAS_-FxDRB2NZSvmZXtyc5MeTrvHHYnk40leRHk93dDdDEqoSm_NRPSro5p3Fsdee/s640/PastelRockpool.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
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Some more pastels produced while taking the online course on by art professor and teacher <a href="https://asketchintime.blogspot.com/search?q=greg+kerr">Gregory Kerr</a>, using different methods of creating the paintings. This one of my son - about 25 years ago - and our dog Gucci who has featured <a href="https://asketchintime.blogspot.com/search?q=gucci">elsewhere</a> on this blog... he wasn't actually present at the rock pool, or even born at the time, but due to the wonders of photography and drawing he makes an appearance. This one was built onto a charcoal base.<br />
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And this was onto a base of a tonal ink painting, which is how I got such dark areas - difficult otherwise with the medium. This is my husband's grandmother's bridesmaid transported from Cape Town in 1910 to a <a href="https://asketchintime.blogspot.com/search?q=kidds+beach">Kidds Beach </a>thicket of bush. How are those flowers!<br />
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So what do I like about pastels?<br />
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<ul>
<li>They are quick, you can lay down colour in seconds, layer after layer.</li>
<li>They are easy to change, almost endlessly depending on your paper. You can work and rework and add and remove over and over again.</li>
<li>There are loads of colours available, but you can get lots of effects just with a basic set.</li>
<li>They're easy to take out and put away.</li>
<li>You can get lovely veils of colour, as well as expressive marks.</li>
</ul>
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What don't I like?<br />
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<ul>
<li>They are dusty, chalky, stick to your fingers and clothes and work surfaces. Which actually you don't even notice when you're deep in the process, but do have to clean up eventually - the whole room!</li>
<li>There seems to be a lot of waste - so much pigment just falls down the paper, and some colours get used up fast. I've been collecting it in an envelope, perhaps to use as a base for another one - waste not, want not, or just Scrooge?</li>
<li>The results I've had so far are - pastelly, I want to get some bright brights, dark darks - which is possible as I've seen in others' work but not in mine so far.</li>
<li>I tried quick sketching with them (below) and they were - ungainly, clutzy, although once I stopped trying so hard to control them (got really annoyed!) and let them do their thing, I was happier with the results - in the last drawing. </li>
<li>They seem very fragile - you can fix them very lightly with hairspray or fixative, but a heavy coat changes the surface alarmingly. Storing and framing must be a challenge!</li>
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I've always wanted to paint this chair with the about-to-bloom cymbidium, and the light behind them - more of this subject to come I hope, if I can stick with it! (This was a London USkTalks project to use different colour papers, and different to your usual palette)Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-60276887467597617082020-04-28T12:31:00.000+02:002020-04-28T12:31:57.269+02:00Pastel Shades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYxIGUhCxDEIh6H2EBlScXu0AFADUrUFa_r0QopJgktwBOT3TO6nSz45ZOjwZ9P8FIlLhJXQrsm3-sgl_lIxBvt4PNw7d-SD4JMhb2CsHDABVLjTNdnSeYP71BJPxCEO3JB1LfpiNYoH3/s1600/PastelBoomslang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="603" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYxIGUhCxDEIh6H2EBlScXu0AFADUrUFa_r0QopJgktwBOT3TO6nSz45ZOjwZ9P8FIlLhJXQrsm3-sgl_lIxBvt4PNw7d-SD4JMhb2CsHDABVLjTNdnSeYP71BJPxCEO3JB1LfpiNYoH3/s640/PastelBoomslang.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I've had soft pastels hanging around for years in my studio, but never really used them. I've been exploring them and learning to like them more </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">(they are dusty, and a bit unruly!) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">with the guidance of Greg Kerr's online course. This was based on photographs I took of the Boomslang treetop pathway at Kirstenbosch gardens in Cape Town - ended up in wild fantasy colours... perhaps I should have stopped at some earlier stage!</span><br />
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And an 'urban' sketch - a storyboard of a typical day under lockdown, which was a virtual challenge by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jrsketchbook/?hl=en">James Richards</a>. In fact it's a typical day most days, except I'd be going to actual Tai Chi, and there'd be more visits to and from family, and the odd coffee or sketching with friends.<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-44039443837601617572020-04-13T16:44:00.000+02:002020-04-28T12:32:19.822+02:00A Long View<br />
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I suppose drawing these mundane everyday scenes of home will be a record and witness to this time of coronavirus - I don't exactly find my messy sitting room inspiring (my crochet circles, to be made into something...a blanket? and evidence of our much missed granddaughter, who lives tantalisingly nearby but we can't visit) although once you get going, it's absorbing. Still feeling lucky to be able to fill so much time so happily and busily. In fact I'm taking on too many art challenges at the moment, our Joburg Sketchers group, my local studio group, and an online painting course - somehow I must pull them together into one more focused aim. It's feeling a bit too much like hard work right now!Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-48331531795072931422020-03-30T13:58:00.001+02:002020-03-30T13:58:41.601+02:00Just a Box - and the Kitchen Sink<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The scary time continues, may you continue to stay safe... I feel so fortunate to be an artist at this time. There is nothing that takes my mind off all the agonising news, thoughts and possibilities than just trying to draw or paint something. Even an empty cardboard wine box is so full of variations and fascinations it completely absorbed me for many hours. As you can see in the series of steps below, I started with a cobalt blue ground, and stuck to a limited palette of yellow ochre, a touch of burnt sienna and white and I think a touch of Paynes grey to reclaim some of the darks.</div>
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And carrying on with Urban Sketchers everywhere, another scene at home - my kitchen window sill and sink. Mess is now an excuse to sit down and draw it instead of a guilt trip to clear it up - although that does have to happen eventually, I suppose (rolls eyes).</div>
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-31196065933490786452020-03-23T14:35:00.000+02:002020-03-30T13:59:24.644+02:00Staying Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What a very strange time this is for the whole world - my thoughts go round and around it, to the places and people who are badly affected and suffering from Covid-19, to the places, including this country and continent where the full effects are still to be felt and dealt with - we really are all in it together. Our government, thankfully has taken early (crossing fingers) and decisive action to restrict the spread of the virus, with more to come. So we, like you more than likely, are staying at home as much as possible and finding ways to cope and keep in touch. I read a nicer way to think of this new situation, as 'Physical distancing, Social interaction', which is my experience of the online art and sketching groups and support systems that have sprung up to encourage each other. The Urban Sketchers with their #uskathome #outthewindow #SketchwithHongKong and other hashtags - prompting my sketch from the sitting room - my under-used car and the pavement ash tree and its autumn leaves which overhangs our wall.</div>
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My local Whatsapp friends studio group is posting a challenge a week - last week was self portraits (it's hard to find a willing model when you're isolating!) I find doing them initially excruciating but of course you get caught up in the process and forget your appalled self-criticisms, and capturing the folds and wrinkles becomes an objective exercise. I think I've actually made myself look younger in this one, and more highly coloured, I'm pretty pale IRL!</div>
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After that intense effort I made a series of blind contour drawings, with water-soluble wax crayons - not looking at the paper until finished (well, a peep or two to find my place) and added a bit more colour and a watery brush afterwards. They're all a bit frightening, but it's fascinating to notice resemblances to family members here and there, and for some reason I find them more interesting than my conventional attempt. Bottom right reminds me of the work of <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=del+kathryn+barton+artworks&rlz=1C1MSIM_enZA629ZA629&sxsrf=ALeKk03_9097YKiKS4jgpe0hacsuPt9UEA:1584964432591&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiBuPHPxLDoAhVvQxUIHTDGC34Q_AUoAXoECBgQAw&biw=1405&bih=846">Del Kathryn Barton</a>..?</div>
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This week's challenge is 'Elevating a humble object' if you feel like joining in, let me know in the comments or tag your work with #artinthetimeofcoronavirus on Instagram.</div>
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Please take care of yourselves and others - stay at home and stay safe. </div>
Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-9855163953133549812020-03-16T12:55:00.000+02:002020-03-16T12:55:40.945+02:00One Week 100 People 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://citizensketcher.com/">Marc Taro Holmes</a> and <a href="https://www.lizsteel.com/">Liz Steel</a>'s #Oneweek100people project came around much faster than I was expecting - I'm sure it's not a year since the last one!? But I always enjoy this challenge, in spite of a great feeling of laziness and denial beforehand. Once out, I love the people watching, trying to capture the variety of shapes, styles and characters, and usually notice an improvement during the week. I started almost by accident last Sunday when I had been standing in a long, long grocery queue for a good 10 minutes before I realised it was a great sketching opportunity. Of course as soon as I started doing that, the queue started moving along really fast.</div>
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It was a real effort to get out of the house and seek people the next day. First I sat at my steering wheel and sketched people moving around in car parks - mostly going far too quickly for proper observation. </div>
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I've been asked how I sketch moving people so fast, and of course they're very often out of sight before I finish. I can draw basic figures, in about any position, from memory - after many hours of figuring it out, and staring without always trying to sketch (if the left foot is forward, which arm is swinging to the front?...if I've drawn that leg there, how would the other leg make sense, at what angle/where is the weight? etc.etc.) and practicing, and trial and error. Observing the live subjects provides details like body shapes and postures, hair and clothes styles, defining features, and I'm often craning my neck to see my subject's particular standout shoes or headwear, or whatever captured my attention in the first place as they disappear into the crowd or distance. </div>
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I then decided to find more stationary subjects, and found a table at a café with a good view of the other customers. People on phones are pretty much oblivious to anyone staring at them, I find, but had to peer surreptitiously at others through sunglasses. </div>
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It's ironic that the week I ventured out of a long semi-hibernation is the week Covid-19 arrived in this country. I certainly noticed very thorough and regular cleaning of surfaces by restaurant staff at the two I visited, but were still bustling with customers. I'm sure that will drop off drastically this week after the president's announcement of a state of disaster last night, and infection numbers double every other day. Please take care and stay safe everyone.</div>
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Another outside table at the Zone in Rosebank, some people staying put for a few moments on what is apparently Smoker's Bench right in front of me - others approaching from or departing into the distance, giving me a little time to catch some details.</div>
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And my last day, at Emmarentia Dam's dog park, where people seemed to arrive in batches. I had to include some of the dogs, so much fun to watch (and yes, I did get dam water shook all over me and my sketchbook!) but I ended up with some strangely rendered specimens! I counted 95 attempts at people - the most I've got to doing this challenge over the years, only five escaped!</div>
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-50957598782773360082020-03-09T14:26:00.000+02:002020-03-09T14:26:28.673+02:00The Rand Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, hello - it's been a long long time and I had almost decided that blogging was all in the past for me, when someone (thank you <a href="https://ginnystiles.blogspot.com/">Ginny Stiles</a>!) emailed to say she missed my posts, and someone else needed a link for my sketches besides Instagram - so here I am again. Not knowing where to begin as there's so much I haven't posted and so much has happened... so just starting at The Rand Club, where I sketched on Saturday, and have sketched a few times over the last couple of years... A music and story-telling event (at the bottom), a book fair in 2018 (these three colour sketches) and ending with the recent event for 1000Drawings where we donated A5 doodles or drawings for charity - both with our Joburg Sketchers group.<br />
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The Rand Club was founded by Cecil John Rhodes and Johannesburg's mining founding fathers with a very restricted admittance and membership policy - basically only wealthy white men were allowed in. When I was a very young art-director's assistant, newly arrived in Joburg back in the late 70's, I went with my workmates for drinks there at the longest bar in Africa - as it still is - and didn't realise at the time that the reason we circled the building to find a side door and not just walk into the main entrance, was because I, a Woman! was present - by then we were allowed into certain rooms, but had to go in the secret door! Since the 80's all may enter, but there's quite a struggle to attract enough paying members into the middle of the city to finance the upkeep and preservation of the quite beautiful building and its features. Now that the admission policy is more ethical, I hope they do.</div>
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Apologies for the poor quality of these images - they were snapped with my phone in dingy light before popping into the donation box. One of the reasons blogging became too much, was the time taken to scan and clean up images, and write and research blog posts (the upside being that I learnt a lot more about the city I'm living in) so I'm trying to find ways to do it faster. This post has nevertheless taken me forever, but it's good to be back!<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-74202008878643543382018-12-31T13:24:00.000+02:002018-12-31T13:24:47.321+02:00Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Holding thumbs this works out - a video of some sketches from 2018 in my Seawhite-of-Brighton big black sketchbook. Thanks to my techier husband Bruce for adding the soundtrack... Perhaps I could have sketched more... perhaps the next one will be better... perhaps I'll take my sketchbook out today... I'm always glad when I did, and regretful I didn't do so more often. </div>
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Here we're fastening seat belts for a rough ride in 2019, with elections coming up, all parties and factions at each other's throats, and much damage to be repaired - I'm really hoping it won't be as tumultuous as I fear. To you, all my sketching, painting, drawing, blogging, following friends, wishing you a very happy, peaceful and productive New Year.Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-61510542010385520382018-11-08T14:39:00.001+02:002018-11-08T14:39:35.193+02:00Paying Attention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I have been listening to a lot of artist's podcasts - too many, there are a million of them out there! But a couple of phrases have stuck in my head from other nuggets of wisdom I've heard recently. (I will credit them here if I can find my bitty notes, but both have recurred in a few interviews.) </div>
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One, regarding subject matter, is "Pay Attention To What You Pay Attention to" (sounds obvious doesn't it?) and the other is "Work in Series". I think both of these will help with frustration at myself for continuing to have such a diverse range of styles, medium and subjects. I dread the question, "So, what do you paint?" and should really have a ready reply by now!</div>
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Something that keeps stopping me in my tracks with a longing to capture them, are the groups or pairs of (usually) women in local streets, chatting, sitting or walking around - wearing bright colours, with <a href="http://asketchintime.blogspot.com/2013/11/summer-umbrellas.html">umbrellas</a>, children on backs or otherwise attached; mostly in summer when shadows are strong or people are out and about later in the day. Such a warm, convivial feature of Johannesburg, I've painted and sketched these scenes often but haven't found THE way to do them that isn't a rather slavish copy of a photo, but more finished than an urban sketch. I did two versions of this group - dressed all in white in this case, walking home from church through the leafy green streets of Emmarentia - trying to keep to strong, simple shapes, the results not what I'm after yet... are they ever though? </div>
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Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-31473978193146640132018-11-01T17:46:00.000+02:002018-11-01T17:46:41.800+02:00Can you do the Canna, can!Is anyone still out there? It's been another long time since I've been here on the blog, and no excuses, but back with an intention to post more regularly, even if just for my own documentation.<br />
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I've been trying to find the pure pleasure of drawing and painting again - after far too long of producing work to order, that seems to have gone by the wayside a bit. I think less writing, which takes me longer and longer, and more artwork is the key to keeping up.<br />
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These drawings I made when I had a problem with my left eye recently, which was frightening to say the least. After months of fussing about what to draw, what to paint, when, how and why... when faced with an actual threat to my ability to do so, I just sat down and drew what was in front of me, a desiccated canna flower on my studio windowsill. I resisted <a href="http://asketchintime.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-end-of-inktober.html">doing Inktober</a> again, as a pressure I wasn't feeling up to, but got out my Indian ink, watercolours, and the dregs of my morning coffee to make these. My eye is OK again, thankfully, after a small op, but a lesson was quickly learnt - less pondering, more action. Seems obvious doesn't it!?<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-43591872473967803202018-05-15T14:16:00.000+02:002018-05-15T14:20:50.637+02:00Thatchers at Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I have mentioned, we are in a long slow process of moving to the Western Cape, where we'll be so lucky as to be living and working on an exquisite farm in Franschhoek. Old farm dwellings have been beautifully remodelled, as well as some new ones built, as guest cottages.<br />
The original French Hugenot farmhouse and outbuildings are now in the process of being restored according to heritage requirements into a hotel, dining areas and more accommodation. I spent a blissful autumn morning on a visit there last month, surrounded by mountains and vineyards, watching and sketching a team of thatchers giving the old water mill a new hat.<br />
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The skills of these men are quite awe-inspiring as they deftly turn bundles of long grass into a neat weatherproof carapace for this little whitewashed building. Unfortunately much of the mill has been neglected and vandalised over previous decades, so it's doubtful if it'll ever function as a mill again, but still a lovely feature.<br />
I spoke to the foreman, who told me that this team comes mainly from the small town of Macassar, which has its own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macassar,_Western_Cape">fascinating history</a>. The craft of thatching has been passed down from father to son, as his father and grandfather did to him - he doesn't know how long his family has done this work, but I wouldn't be surprised if it goes back to the late 1600's, as do Macassar and the Hugenots in the Cape.<br />
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Here they were busy with 'toumaak' ...rolling and looping twine by hand, after which the bundles of grass were rhythmically tossed to the roof, where they were lined up and stitched into place with long needles. By this time I was - shamefully having watched the much harder work going on before me - exhausted from sitting in the shade and sketching and had to go in for some tea and a rest... but I checked at intervals as the roof was quickly and expertly layered, combed and knocked into shape and, with a long weekend of well deserved rest in between, finished off with a cap of cement to hold everything in place.<br />
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I sat outside again as they completed the finishing touches, and did a final sketch before they packed up and moved on to the next finely crafted job - let's hope the sons of these fathers carry on the good work for years to come.<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-37401171454999243792018-04-05T18:34:00.000+02:002018-04-06T10:45:09.547+02:00Monday Madness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-IA-2d4hu1FTGnErJXnSPBPuwen0s1AXJ8mbE1VaH10C5M6_UPIPuR513SpBO2JW0H_Ydjlm8l1yeGvHt9pp6arkyybbORbukh2Li-4ovv2q8NEo-BFA2z3aPnwiMg4GWYXp0DepRjxv/s1600/RadiumBH1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-IA-2d4hu1FTGnErJXnSPBPuwen0s1AXJ8mbE1VaH10C5M6_UPIPuR513SpBO2JW0H_Ydjlm8l1yeGvHt9pp6arkyybbORbukh2Li-4ovv2q8NEo-BFA2z3aPnwiMg4GWYXp0DepRjxv/s400/RadiumBH1.JPG" width="400" /></a>I've finally finished my painting of the Radium Beer Hall (can you spot where I got the title for this post?) that I was about to embark on in a <a href="http://asketchintime.blogspot.co.za/2017/12/radium-beer-hall-grill.html">previous post</a> last year - although I keep seeing things I want to fiddle with... I spent hours on that guy's face on the right and it still looks like a fuzzy jellybaby, and in two minds about the ghostly figure standing on the bar counter (<a href="https://www.gauteng.net/pages/page/mary_fitzgerald">Mary Fitzgerald</a>, a trade union activist who actually did rally her troops from the very same counter, albeit in another establishment).<br />
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Tim Quirke, our excellent teacher, has taken us step by step through a process of planning, drawing, leading the eye, thinking of this aspect and that artist, painting 'up' areas and leaving others understated. I kept taking pictures as I progressed - a little dangerous as sometimes you want to go back to a stage you've irretrievably wrecked - but a record for future reference. It has been painstaking at times, and thoroughly engrossing and free-flowing at others, but I've certainly learnt a lot and hope to put it all into practice in my own painting, or at least keep some of it in mind. Why didn't I find all these teachers when I started painting in oils 22 years ago? It would have saved a lot of trash-able canvases, maybe...though most artists have those no matter how much education they've had, from what I hear.<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-35983100790549919302018-03-19T15:58:00.000+02:002018-03-19T15:58:37.386+02:00Down on the Corner, Out in the Street Nothing like a visit from an ardent urban sketching friend to bump you out of your ennui and out into the streets. For various reasons I was in a bit of a sketching slump, but when Jane, my friend of 50 years (we were neighbours at 11/12 years old - does anyone remember the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrMvblpZFq0">song in the title</a>? It's about the same vintage as this friendship), who has fairly recently taken up urban sketching with a passion, arrived from Cape Town and declared her intentions earlier this year, I dusted off my sketchbook and filled my pens.<br />
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Our first date was in Sandton, where buildings are going up almost overnight it seems. We found a restaurant with a view of cranes and builders at work across the road. (I drove past a few weeks later and it was all finished, clad and functioning!) Jane likes to draw cranes, I like to draw people, so we had something of each with this interior/exterior view. Just as well we were inside as first there was blazing heat, and then later a mighty thunderstorm outside.</div>
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On another hot Wednesday morning, we found a spot under a shady plane tree in pretty Parkview. As we sat peacefully figuring out perspective and how to cope with the cars parking in front of us, I remembered again what is so appealing to me about this pastime... getting out from behind your four walls and insulated life, experiencing the weather, the sights and smells, (the bugs falling from the trees!) and especially the delightful exchanges with passers by and fellow pavement roamers - the car guard, the businessman after his breakfast with laptop, the street artist selling his canvases on the opposite corner, the waiter who thoughtfully offered to bring us refreshments from his restaurant, even the quizzical mystified looks, and shouted comments from a car at the unusual sight of us sitting on the sidewalk. Yes, maybe we are crazy!<br />
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[After this was the trip to Soweto, described in the previous post - I'm so behind with blogging, I'm just posting whatever occurs to me - I blame it on Instagram which is too quick and easy with a phone and its camera, and makes me think it's all been done!]<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-64038521946237933982018-02-22T17:28:00.001+02:002018-02-22T17:28:33.468+02:00A Trip to Soweto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Soweto has been a place on Joburg Sketchers bucket list for years, but somehow we hadn't got it together to find out exactly how to get there, where to park or walk or sketch - it's a vast sprawling area of many suburbs, full of houses and streets that look very similar to the passing eye as you whizz by on the highway.<br />
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But when visiting Swedish sketcher Holger and his wife Susanne, and my friend Jane from Cape Town, said they'd like to go, we decided the time had come to venture forth. As it turned out, it was pretty easy - five of us in my car on a Friday morning, past Johannesburg city centre, onto the N1 Western Bypass, turn right and there in front of us were the iconic Orlando Towers, originally cooling towers for a coal power station, now an adventure destination where you can bungee jump, abseil, zip-line and swing from those heights (um, no thanks very much!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKpn9-azXYMxVtfRJ53-w0EilPcZc4npjLMV7bVgi-WJVtxNVQGMM-Es-8PyhQlskCSF5uXEoKsnTrA_EQfP9Id3xv8ycxLb6qCrSzmfwqOCwzPmRQcorO1iPi3biwPT_ZOTopGTo5aA/s1600/SowetoShade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="972" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKpn9-azXYMxVtfRJ53-w0EilPcZc4npjLMV7bVgi-WJVtxNVQGMM-Es-8PyhQlskCSF5uXEoKsnTrA_EQfP9Id3xv8ycxLb6qCrSzmfwqOCwzPmRQcorO1iPi3biwPT_ZOTopGTo5aA/s200/SowetoShade.jpg" width="150" /></a>Wiggling through a maze of very sketchable streets full of children playing, neighbours chatting and general community activity, we found our way to the famous <a href="https://www.gauteng.net/attractions/vilakazi-street">Vilakazi Street</a>, and had immediate, copious offers to help us park, watch/wash our car, sing/dance/guide for us, as well as countless shops, vendors, and restaurants vying for business - we had to explain that we were just there to sit and draw which caused some puzzlement and then fascination - I wished we'd brought a stack of blank exercise books so that everyone who stopped to watch could have joined in, and I wish I'd had more time and energy to sketch more of the colourful busyness of the street.<br />
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We decided not to partake of the rather touristy-priced lunches on offer and headed back, stopping to sketch the towers on the way out - in blazing midday sun we squeezed into the only little strip of shade we could find with a view, outside Bara Mall. Fast sketching as even the South Africans were expiring from the heat, let alone our Swedish visitors!Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-6399444909825420072018-01-18T14:19:00.001+02:002018-01-18T14:19:21.473+02:00Cactus Shadows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's very late in January, but here's wishing everyone a happy, creative and peaceandlove-filled 2018. Wishing lots of water to those who are fast running out - Cape Town and its surrounding areas have something like 90 days supply left, with the rainy season only starting after that.<br />
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Here is a postcard I painted for the annual @Twitrartexhibit happening in Canberra, Australia this year, and supporting Pegasus Riding for the Disabled<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Open Sans, Arial, sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a hot, dry scene from a photo I took at <a href="https://www.babylonstoren.com/">Babylonstoren</a>, a lovely garden farm near Franschhoek. I loved the shadows and may do a bigger watercolour from the same reference - it was hard to control on such a small scale! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you'd like to support this, you need to have a Twitter account (I have <a href="https://twitter.com/SketchJozi">one </a>that I don't use very much) and get your 16x12 cm postcard to Australia by 6 March. Details can be <a href="http://twitterartexhibit.org/call-for-artists/">found here.</a> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That's it for now - I'm sketching a lot with visiting friends who are very keen to do that, so will post some of those soon!</span></span>Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-11001220351358417582017-12-26T12:11:00.003+02:002017-12-26T12:11:50.478+02:00And a Grey Lourie in a Plum Tree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OV3di5vi_PCoNnK14u841GdiRdlZ7TEPGVde-mbpoKBLPPcMoRXSHl3nJr9wvBwPeHy9IRdCWTJl7YShpx1YBJ54LitiXGlQN3d1nBwdi7-Mblq6VW8Camj4d_iB7hIoQ_9xOi_g6tHh/s1600/BirdtreeSketch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1175" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OV3di5vi_PCoNnK14u841GdiRdlZ7TEPGVde-mbpoKBLPPcMoRXSHl3nJr9wvBwPeHy9IRdCWTJl7YShpx1YBJ54LitiXGlQN3d1nBwdi7-Mblq6VW8Camj4d_iB7hIoQ_9xOi_g6tHh/s320/BirdtreeSketch.JPG" width="235" /></a>A day late for this Johannesburg version of a Christmas tree, but hoping all who visit here had a very happy day, if you celebrated - and peace and goodwill to all!<br />
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Not a pear tree with a partridge, but the greengage tree outside my studio, which was vibrating a couple of weeks ago with all kinds of birds gorging and feasting on the not-quite-ripe-yet fruit. We still have pots of jam from last year's crop so I let them get on with it and spent a happy couple of hours watching and sketching them... The thrush thinking he's lord of the manor and trying to chase everyone else off, the barbets bright and fierce looking but quite wary of the other birds and of eyes peeping at them through the window; the little grey mousebirds with raggedy tails and punk hairdos come in cheeky flocks; my favourite bulbuls (they make such sweet, clear calls to each other, "what's for tea Gregory?") and the grey louries - or Go-away bird - one semi-tame who comes and squawks at me outside the kitchen if there's nothing to eat and to bring out some paw-paw please.<br />
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I never used to be much into birds, it was what my mom, aunts and gran did. At last I'm mature enough to appreciate the small, precious things, some positives to these years passing ever faster by!<br />
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<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-33768697901289835672017-12-08T11:44:00.001+02:002017-12-08T11:45:31.129+02:00Radium Beer Hall & Grill<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntaSrEiGAGBink5f86Q_D_rG19PSpYHmueh46l5HN5vt6w8JuCEZMu7dgLCBesAMMwDlGGJFJv9MoMGv_V-Es41BGBtHlRrWo_dlZhK6LWTXvvKerHgODb0yjzDqr-JWKiCGJ1mB2bVtm/s1600/Radium_Chad_Thomas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1200" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntaSrEiGAGBink5f86Q_D_rG19PSpYHmueh46l5HN5vt6w8JuCEZMu7dgLCBesAMMwDlGGJFJv9MoMGv_V-Es41BGBtHlRrWo_dlZhK6LWTXvvKerHgODb0yjzDqr-JWKiCGJ1mB2bVtm/s200/Radium_Chad_Thomas.jpg" width="200" /></a>Strange to be sitting in a pub at 10 am on a Monday morning, but that's where I found myself this week, sketching in preparation for another painting in the classes I'm taking (same ones as in the <a href="http://asketchintime.blogspot.co.za/2017/10/kalahari-bookshop.html">Kalahari bookshop</a>, which is still in progress, and which I should be working on right now.)<br />
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This is the Radium Beer Hall, the oldest surviving bar and grill in Johannesburg. It started as a tearoom in 1929 and doubled as a shebeen which, illegally at the time, sold "white man's" liquor to black customers. The very old bar counter was rescued from the demolition of the Ferreirastown Hotel, on which feisty trade union activist <a href="https://www.gauteng.net/pages/page/mary_fitzgerald">"Pick Handle Mary"</a> Fitzgerald apparently stood to spur on striking miners. A fascinating history and great pubby atmosphere - sadly the area around it has become run down and dodgy, but I hope to go back to sketch more of the customers and musicians at one of their regular live music sessions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIPzI8i0HE_2aFy6fAGD2ezcUuz64A6UVOVnq_T344V52LLZNMLta_RXeDw3uwdgvL3hxjaGOE3aWK3G-ZrDhI_E78WTORjJ42h9JbzPURnSWG5RWMPFIDuUqWFGFKZjYdxLS4ldPP1cb/s1600/RadiumGirl%252BBoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="992" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIPzI8i0HE_2aFy6fAGD2ezcUuz64A6UVOVnq_T344V52LLZNMLta_RXeDw3uwdgvL3hxjaGOE3aWK3G-ZrDhI_E78WTORjJ42h9JbzPURnSWG5RWMPFIDuUqWFGFKZjYdxLS4ldPP1cb/s400/RadiumGirl%252BBoy.jpg" width="400" /></a> I did a couple of quick watercolour sketches of a couple at the next table - I think the guy is a manager, or works there - he was on the phone a lot and told me he was very, very busy when he came to have a look at my sketch. The girl looked deeply unhappy and the conversation became more and more heated between them, all in French so - probably just as well - I didn't understand a word. As customers started arriving for lunch the argument quietened down. I'm considering putting them in my painting, how times have changed since Pick Handle Mary was around!<br />
<br />Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-61170984693907601922017-11-04T17:25:00.001+02:002017-11-04T17:25:29.650+02:00The End of Inktober<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQlQbQNh9ds-o88C_r-Et-ZaDXONpPOPOT4NN3I1FO29YZ-eh9vNbCtamAUPw-qvTv8cCqedxj5IaMz27Ou-hvsJwUv9OK_x1IThlyyZgwPZHlZQ2uW9N_sNAMOGVcJNiKs7VzULFbSen/s1600/30Inks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1338" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQlQbQNh9ds-o88C_r-Et-ZaDXONpPOPOT4NN3I1FO29YZ-eh9vNbCtamAUPw-qvTv8cCqedxj5IaMz27Ou-hvsJwUv9OK_x1IThlyyZgwPZHlZQ2uW9N_sNAMOGVcJNiKs7VzULFbSen/s640/30Inks.jpg" width="535" /></a></div>
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I'm pleased to relate that for the very first time I tackled - and finished!! - <a href="http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/">Inktober!</a> Spurred on by the fact that I'd committed to exhibit the results along with a lot of other artists at <a href="http://www.assemblage.co.za/projects/exhibitions">Assemblage</a>, otherwise I'm certain I would have given up around day 4 as usual. There is one missing, due to being knackered after a morning's intense drawing at the bookshop (see previous post), which I'll catch up with for the show. And that yoga one 'Deep' has simply disappeared so I'll have to re-do it.<br />
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I started thinking I'd follow the official prompts, but after several attempts at No.1 'Swift', decided I'd rather draw what was in front of me around my home, and did a series of my daughter's succulents which she's left for me to plant-sit. I ran out of those and reverted to the list - from no 11 'Run', with an urban sketching day at Rhodes Park (a future post) in between 'Fat' and 'Filthy'...can you spot those? You can see them on my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cathartland/">Instagram</a> if you'd like to have a closer look.<br />
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It was a good discipline to do... of course it develops pen, brush and ink skills - although I tried such a variety of techniques none of them really got polished. It was far more demanding than the hour or so per day I imagined I would spend on it, and distracted me from the recent and satisfyingly regular rhythm I'd got into of going into my studio and working on my very own projects and painting ideas - a lifelong goal. Sigh, my middle name is Distractability.<br />
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Things I'll do differently if I do it again:<br />
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<li>Have a consistent paper, size and format, especially if going to show them afterwards. I made them look pretty neat here, but they're all different sizes, weights and textures. I was trying to use up old stocks of paper and sketchbooks (a major throw-out has to happen soon) and the ink reacts differently on each - some paper sucking up the ink washes and making messy blots around the edges.</li>
<li>Have my own restrictions and theme instead of following the prompts - although they're fun to interpret, my results were all over the place.</li>
<li>Preferably draw from life - drawing from photographs, memory or imagination feels too much like work, or a commission, which I don't enjoy, although I've loved what others have done doing that.</li>
<li>I'd do it quickly so that it doesn't take over my life - I tend to overdo what I do do and neglect everything else that needs to be done.</li>
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This method was quick and fun - allowing the ink do its own thing within the drawing. The drawing implement was a very cheap plastic dropper that came in an Artliner refill box. I filled it with diluted ink which flowed smoothly and in varying thicknesses over the surface, then added spots of ink here and there for darker tones and drew some finer lines out with a nib while it was still wet. As in this baby bird in a nest, 'Squeak'...</div>
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And the most time consuming one, 'Teeming' where I crazily chose insects to teem, although many of them were added as doodles while I waited for pots to boil and ovens to warm, so not as painful as it looks.</div>
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Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4859449716295663213.post-29598901165122897352017-10-25T14:23:00.000+02:002017-10-25T14:23:39.001+02:00Kalahari Bookshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Kalahari Bookshop in Orange Grove is a cavern of delights for anyone who would take the time to sift through its groaning shelves, boxes and bookcases to find their particular brand of fascination (or if you're in a hurry, ask the knowledgeable owner Richard for help). I gladly accepted an invitation, along with a few friends, to join artist Tim Quirke in this tucked-away shop's day off - a Monday - to draw in this stacked to the ceiling space. </div>
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Tim was working on a painting, and chatting to us about his methods and approach while the rest of us sketched, as we do, recording the moment in this nostalgic corner of Johannesburg. It was really hard to keep my mind on my sketch when titles that lined my childhood bookshelves kept catching my eye and drawing me to them with squeals of recognition.</div>
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After a morning chatting about art, by lunchtime we'd agreed to return over the next few Mondays to continue drawing and painting and learning from Tim the much he has to teach us. So that's what I've been doing over the last three weeks, instead of straightening the house after the weekend, laundry and keeping up with emails and blogging (and Inktober, more of which later), it's been pure indulgence in the world of tone, pattern and observation, which of course is all good!<br />
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The sketches below are studies of shape, flow, volume, light and dark, pattern, trying to make sense of the jigsaw of shapes. Hand-toned paper helps to convey something of the feel of the shop and its vintage, well-loved contents as a base for painting on later. While in theory I know of this approach to composition - notan, grouping of lights and darks to form passages - I'm very happy to feel I'm at last starting to figure out, with guidance, how to do it in a real situation...something that's mostly escaped me up to now.<br />
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To add to the alchemy, Richard's assistant Arthur kindly sits for us - he could possibly have stepped straight out of one of the books towering over us.<br />
Next on this final (I think!) version, more light and dark passages following the studies above it, and some colour - I'll keep you posted, eventually!Cathy Gatlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05004501411878060668noreply@blogger.com4