...finally - five years in the making - The Downham Market 2013 Calendar!...

I prefer to set up an easel and draw from life, using photographs as back up reference in the studio, rather than entirely from photos. I find this gets you out of the studio and allows you get to know your subject better, and check on any details directly.  

Another added bonus of course is that it puts you in the public eye, and in touch with the people of Downham Market. This is great for being more sociable, and getting comments and feedback from your audience - most of it complimentary. 

So a big thank you goes out to all the toddlers, teenagers, mums and dads, and senior citizens for all your stories, support and interest over the past few years. And finally - having talked about it for some time - here's the Downham Market 2013 Calendar! 

Hope you enjoy it as much I did while drawing it.

...'tyger burning bright'...or...'Chango Must Go!'...

Not sure of the age of this fabulous machine - 80 years?

Pamela's tyger, tyger burning bright...

In the forests of the night...

What immortal hand or eye...

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Thanks to Marie for the fabulously organic sewing machine she kindly lent us this week - along with the lantern, hibachi, bongos and plant in a pot!  

From the top - Marie's wonderful apparatus, Pamela's pastel tiger, Chango's inspirational meditational, Sarah's flowing sewing machine, bongos.

Well done to Maurice for grappling and persevering with the baffling mysteries of one point perspective - keep up the good work. We all get to the vanishing point in the end. 

By the way, that red glow is the heat of our passionate creativity - baby it's not cold outside... 

And so long Chango. 

I knew Chango's days were numbered, but not having seen him for some weeks, I had not mentioned that as far as being our one and only canine cohort, he was on his last legs - all four of them. 

How people like us artists - who are supposed to be a little more observant than most - managed to not see the 'No Dogs' sign in the porch as you come in, I don't know. 

I guess like most people - 'you just see what you wanna see...' 

Apologies. Chango has been relegated to his home studio, sketch book and pencil in paw... 

...and keep drawing... 

...Chango.

...daleks, ducks and multi media...

OK, I am surely running late with  my blog. 

Having diverted my attention to the completion of my 'Downham Market 2013 Calendar' - drawing, designing, marketing and printing - and what an education it's been, I thought I'd better get my Hilgay Art Group posts up to date. 

I'm not going to ramble on - too much - just to say thanks to all the members for making the art group as enjoyable and sociable as it is. 

And also a big thank you to Marie for contributing all and sundry plants and objects regularly to the two still lifes we have each meeting. 

Animal, vegetable, mineral - what shall I choose this week? 

Although I tend to walk a set drawing path, it is exciting and inspiring to see other artists this week, such as Sarah - pastels and crepe paper, Ann - watercolour and anything to hand I expect, and Jinx, correct me if I'm wrong - acrylic on canvas - approaching their own work with a much broader media palette and versatility. 

Exterminate?

Germinate?

Multi media - ate?

Half past eight?

Wait.

Perhaps when I come in to the art group myself I should leave pencil and pen & ink behind and make a point of using other media such as pastels, acrylics, charcoal and - well - you name it. 

Anything you do which is beyond your chosen area of expertise can only serve to inform and refresh your abilities and outlook. 

Too Late.

Mate.

Hmm, better start listening to my own advice...

...flamin' Framin' Art...

You might think that of all the demonstrations you can attend, that a demo on the art of picture framing might be a tad less interesting than say a talk on drawing animals using pastels, or pen and ink watercolour landscapes. 

Thankfully - owing to the to the expertise, knowledge and downright entertainablity of Framin' Art's Simon Prior we all enjoyed an evening which not only matched more obviously artistic demos but according to some fellow members - exceeded them for sheer enjoyment value!

Framin' Art - Downham Market High street.

During Simon's talk he handed out sample corner mounts with frames  and asked us to extend our painting and presentation skills into selecting the appropriate frames and mounts for the accompanying pictures. 

In view of the fact that a few of us go into our local framers and often ask for the 'usual' please - it was interesting to see the possible alternatives, or how a different frame or mount can alter or enhance a painting or illustration.

Assorted mounts and...

...frames.

Following our tea and coffee break we were invited to try our hands at  the new selection of Pip Seymour acrylic and watercolour paints. Needless to say we were in our element! 

Pip Seymour acrylic and watercolour paints.

All in all, Simon's comments that this was his first demo to the contrary -  he entertained and enlightened us like a seasoned professional. I'd like to think that after 20 years or so in the Air Force, his experience of the The Downham Art Circle wasn't too demanding.

Look forward to seeing him again, and if you can't wait for the next flamin' Framin' Art roadshow - Simon can be seen at the well known site of Knott's Art Shop where alongside a broad selection of art materials, he'll be dispensing advice on framing at - where else? - Framin' Art. 

And what is the secret of that invisible glass...?

...inking, thinking, and inking and thinking......

First stage line inks over pencil drawing.

First stage line inks nearing completion.

...not Reed Richards, but definitely Fantastic..!

I'd been planning a Downham Market 2013 Calendar for some time - an illustration of 'Reeds homestore' is hopefully the last drawing I need before I can complete the design and artwork. 

'Town Hall' cover design for Downham Market 2013 Calendar.

I pitched up my easel opposite Reeds and began laying out the preliminary shapes of the building. Owing to my point of view, and the fact that Reeds was sweeping up and down Bridge Street  I could see that I was developing a somewhat exaggerated perspective within the drawing. When I returned to the studio I considered correcting it somehow, but thought better of it - 'What I see is what you get'.

Working from photo ref on mac allows me to enlarge images.

I normally work with an H pencil on Bristol Board or HP Watercolour paper. This gives me a clean sharp line, great for detail and no smudging or build up of graphite on the paper. 

On this occassion I used a paper I had not used before - simply because I done run out of the other stuff - and why not? 

While drawing on the heavier Sanders Waterford paper I noticed that the H pencil lines were not as apparent as on other surfaces, and I was not able to build up the layer of detail that I'm accustomed to. 

General shapes and details clarified and reinforced with dad's old pencil...

Working in the studio from reference I looked around for a softer pencil to use - and came up with an unused 50 year old souvenir pencil from my dad's restaurant way back in the good old 1960's! 

I had been saving the pencil as a memento of the days when I was often drafted in at a moments notice to wash dishes. I was quite experienced at the time, having previously served my time balanced atop an orange box or beer crate faced with a lunchtime's worth of dinner plates...

Elements added to left, right and foreground of main building enhances overall composition.

On the pencil here was a drawing of Santa followed by the inscription: 

BEST WISHES FROM

LARRY SCORDELLIS

CRITERION RESTAURANT

26 SOUTH END CROYDON.

TEL: CROYDON 5668.

I took out a Stanley knife and cut a sharp point into lead and I was ready and raring to go - and what a difference! Now I could see what I was doing. Invariably a change from traditionally used media encourages (forces) you to try different methods which can be quite rewarding, and certainly gets you seeing things in another way.  

I don't do that very often, but it is refreshing when I do.

Whether it's sentiment or not I felt that - like a figure in a block of marble - this drawing of Reeds was in that pencil all that time and waiting come out... 

That's a long time.

...all a matter of perspective...

Having agreed to begin teaching one point perspective this week, I thought it best to set up a couple of still lifes for those either already in the know regarding vanishing points and horizon lines, or those that prefer to paint and draw or work on their own projects. 

Positively vibrating off the page street...

How Ann managed to set up shop, drive back home to Downham, collect certain materials, get back and still produce the vase and flowers above as well as she has - well - I'll have some of what she's having for breakfast... 

Although I have no photos of Pamela's paintings and drawings she executes at home - well done for producing some great work! 

Precarious Olympic themed if not Olympic standard still life.

In the wake of the Olympics I'd cycled to the village hall. Having set up the newly arranged flowers at top, I was wondering what to use as the more complex, possibly non organic second still life - and then inspiration hit me! 

For any health and safety enthusiasts out there, during the class the bike was set up on a larger table, ensuring it wouldn't be setting any new world records knocking out any prospective Picasso's or David Hockney's.   

I don't recall seeing any drawings or paintings of the bike as it happens - maybe I'll try it again next week. 

Or not. 

Preliminary sketch of the village hall's one point perspective.

Having worked with perspective for sometime myself it's easy to forget how complex and mystifying a subject it can be. Owing to the extreme effect hard and sharp perspective can have on our immediate environment, it can often be difficult for a beginner to reconcile the appearance of visual anomalies with basic perspective.

Providing a building or group of buildings have been built 'squarely' with a common architectural line - all straight lines receding from the viewer will inevitably converge into one single vanishing point. The same can be said of skyscrapers and city blocks if you are looking upwards in the city. 

Again all straight lines receding from the viewer will inevitably converge into one single vanishing point among the stars. 

The single vanishing point is immediately ahead or above where ever you are looking.

Hilgay village hall with traced perspective lines.

Take a photo of any one point perspective scenario and trace the receding lines until they meet at the vanishing point. 

The blue line from left to right is the eye line or horizon line.