Staying Home

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.

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!

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 Del Kathryn Barton..?

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.

Please take care of yourselves and others - stay at home and stay safe. 

Portrait Party

Julie Oakley led me to this at The Portrait Party, where this Valentine's month it's self-portraits and 'learning to love yourself' that are the challenge! I was tempted, like Julie, to use an older, gentler photo to draw from but decided I'd get to grips, as she did later too, with my 53 year old face. My first attempt, that I was quite pleased with even though I overdid the wrinkles rather - I felt it showed a wicked-witchy, mischievous side that I don't think many people know about me...but I knew the proportions were 'off' and I couldn't work out where, so I traced the reference photo in Coreldraw and laid the tracing over my drawing - ! - below the eyes, it was way, way off. I really didn't like the way the tracing looked! (I think I saw this method of self-correction used by Jeannette Jobson on her blog a while ago but can't find the exact link now)Adding tone, line and wash - with Karisma very soft Graphite Aquarelle - improved matters and it does look more accurately like me, but is that the total point? I think I prefer the witchy one.

(Now I feel like I've hung all my laundry up on a very public line to dry!!)

Cook Tribute

There is a fun thing happening over about.painting... A Tribute to Beryl Cook forum discussion where everyone is invited to submit a self-portrait 'in the spirit of ...if not the style of.... Beryl Cook'. A fitting way to honour an artist who gave so much fun to so many, I think. My mind immediately started skipping around, and after some false starts, I came up with this double portrait of my husband and me - a typical evening scene at home, and a title with a double-meaning... thanks to his excellent cooking skills and enthusiasm, I can indulge more in my favourite pasttime... I thought I gave ourselves Beryl-esque proportions, but think I could have gone even chunkier than I have. You really appreciate the skills of another artist when trying to follow their style - in spite of fairly simple looking paintings, her attention to detail was amazing.

Me, myself, I

I've been painting in my studio this week, which is always a good thing, but lacking a model willing to sit for me, I resorted to trying some self-portraits - something I haven't done for ten years. The last time I had recently turned forty, so it was a pretty sobering exercise to tackle my 50+ image.

The first one I mercilessly and doggedly recorded every wrinkle, bump, sag and bag resulting in a recognisable, but cruel rendition which upset my husband, who thought I had done myself (and him) a deep injustice. The second I tried to be kinder, but still truthful, and it turned out to be a rather boring painting and I'm pretty sure, younger than reality. So maybe I'll keep on trying - I don't necessarily want total accuracy, but I do want something interesting my children might want to hang on their walls one day, without frightening the grandchildren!

I'm probably too impatient to do good portraits - I just have to finish them in one day, and can't bear to go back and fiddle.