Thursday, June 23, 2016

Window Work, an Interlude

watercolour

So, Window Work drawings again. 

I’m having a bit of a pause, a rest from full-on easel work just now. For a start, the last post, from way back in April, was such a gob-smacker of a painting (and I don’t mind saying that myself) that I wanted it to be the top-title blog post for a while. Secondly, Madam is having a few weeks off, so I’m taking it easy too. Thirdly, there’s a lot of Events going on at the moment, which sap the concentration; namely, the European footy cup, a dirty great big Referendum on whether UK should leave the European Union, and some of my paintings are in the inaugural show of the newly relocated Union Gallery – about which, more directly below. That’s not to say I haven’t been doing any work at all over the last couple of months, it’s just that it’s not been very intense work. It’s not very finished either, hence the Window Work post, but you can see it in progress through the Work in Progress link if that’s any consolation. If you have the ‘Info’, or ‘Captions’, or image text showing you’ll be able to read all sorts of technical stuff (the notes are for my own benefit really, so that I don’t forget what I’ve used, but I honestly don’t mind anyone else seeing them). Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Now, some gallery promotion/publicity details… 
If you’re in Edinburgh at all over the next month or so, I’d urge you to go and see the above-mentioned new Union Gallery. It used to be in Broughton Street, but is now in a much larger and grander premises at 4 Drumsheugh Place, in the West End, Edinburgh. The ‘Reunion’ show opened at the very end of May, and will be on until the end of July, so there’s still lots of time – but not too much – to go along and have a look at the very varied work on show, and who knows, maybe buy something.
There, now you know…

I suppose I should really be telling you about the drawings above. As you may be aware, I do them as exercises, and they tend to have phases of being in bad or good form. These ones mark a small swing towards a period of better form (I hope) and have been done during the final phase of a very shrill campaign about Britain’s future. The vote itself - whether to Remain in the European Union or Leave it - is taking place today, so I’m writing without knowing the result. The pre-vote polling is absolutely balanced at 50/50, but today, while the actual voting is taking place, there is a ban on campaigning throughout the media. The resulting ‘normality’ is pleasantly calm – though it may prove to be more like the eye of a hurricane. Nevertheless, I’m enjoying this little Interlude while it lasts.

Anyway, back to the drawings. The lady on the left is included purely because of the economy of line, and I quite like the untidiness of the ‘tonal’ girl on the right – she was actually like that – and I think her knees and face come across very well. Of the four drawings I like the larger image best; it’s a very interesting angular ‘pose’ and it was one of those sketches that seemed to draw itself, which is nice experience. What they have in common - like most people in UK over the last few days – is that they are conscious of an imminent Big Moment in which they’re about to participate. 

And the wee dog? He hasn’t a care in the world…