surrendering to process I was talking with a fellow studio holder yesterday about controlling process, and surrendering to process. It’s a narrow tightrope and one of interest to all artists of any kind. I’m as equally interested in craft and technique as I am in the concepts underlying the making of art. But fundamentally, technique and skill is but the means to the end and it’s counterproductive for me to try and control the outcome of materials. Over the past few weeks of

schematic layouts Procrastination takes many forms. The outside world mutters about it as though it’s a bad thing: but procrastination activity is enormously productive. Beds get made, kitchens get cleaned, mail gets sorted. And drawings get drawn. And then paintings get painted and in the burst of continuing energy, studio activity happens to avoid the prospect of housework. The circle of life. #makingart #artprocess #studioprocess #Painting #drawing

Here’s an all time first. I’ve been staying the last fortnight with friends in their Indian Ocean paradise. As usual, I packed enough sketching gear to meet the needs of an entire art class, but more unusually, I packed my old oil paint travelling plein air case because I was in highly productive mode before I came away, putting in 12 hour studio days, and I couldn’t afford to lose momentum with a show coming up in October. Part of me thought I probably wouldn’t do much, but

Tidying up. Found some crayons. Found a mirror without any light. Just what was needed. #drawing #Portraiture #Selfportrait

I have an exhibition starting this weekend. It’s in a relatively small room adjacent to a larger dining area and bar at The Reliance in Leeds. It’s a complete contrast to the white wall environment of my other current exhibition at Redbrick Mill in Batley, where glossy immaculate digitally reconstructed urban landscapes adorn the space. The Reliance show is not exhibiting final resolved pieces. It’s a small intimate room with dark green walls lending itself to a variety of sm

#drawing #projectprocess

Yes. Absolutely. It is intrusive behaviour, and goodness knows how I’d feel if someone captured me with my head back, mouth open and an unflattering glazed inanimate expression. In the old days pre-internet, pre-drawing apps and pre-rapid uploads, it didn’t matter. What went in the sketchbook stayed in the sketchbook. Now there’s always the possibility of global transmission, and in pursuit of this blog’s aim to open up the private part of the artistic process, I’m quick to p

Waiting at station to collect a young international concert pianist whom we are hosting this weekend. The train is due in a couple of minutes. I’m buzzing from a day of non stop drawing. Anyone who sits still for a second is fair game. This one was 2′ 30″. #drawing #figuredrawing #urbansketching

I think it’s over two years since I last did a life class. I was tempted to spend all today doing a “Klimt” based one. It’s a nice way of spending a day drawing with no purpose whatsoever. I always use these sorts of groups to do my own thing; so I’ll go off in entirely different directions to the rest if it appeals, and I don’t think in terms of “rules”. So I was a bit surprised today when someone quite aggressively challenged me about painting from a photo. I wasn’t actuall

#ArtStudio #digitaldrawings #drawing

#Charcoal #drawing #streetdrawing

Just as exciting as finding a new drawing app is the complete overhaul and improvement of an existing app. Art Studio, long one of my favourites, has been magically transformed into an automatically exceptionally touch sensitive app. O seasonal joy. I drew the first thing to hand; the photo of author Michael Connolly on the back jacket of the novel I’m reading!! #digitaldrawing #drawing #Portraiture

#contemporaryart #collage #creativity #Portraiture #dailylife #digitaldrawing #Ipad #urbandrawing #drawing

Westbourne Grove (a portrait of everyday) (detail of collage element) It’s been a while… but things get busy… the drawings are coming thick and fast now. Every one develops in its own manner. it’s strange how the hand is the same but the technique makes so much difference to the outcome. Even working instinctively and intuitively, sometimes from one hour to the next, it’s amazing how differently the work emerges. If you’ve missed the details of the November event in London, l

Despite the rain and consequential almost-floods requiring construction of a barrage of bags of compost across the drive, I made it in to work eventually. Spent the afternoon playing with pastel and charcoal to develop and attenuate a surface of household paint. Having passed hours on preparatory pieces and sketchbook experiments, it’s approaching the moment of truth. I can play around with layers all I want because it’s “only” a layer and thus only a stepping stone pretty mu

The hands have it today. A week of making up poses and narratives has sent me scurrying in search of those masters of narrative posing to be found in the 17th and 18th century rooms of the National Gallery. It makes me furtive. People peering over my shoulder and constantly expecting someone to tell me off. I want to make colour notes, so I have to use a painting app on the phone when the easiest solution by far would be a quick snap through Adobe Ideas. Forget it. I’m alread

Last summer I completed a large drawing installation for the On The Edge festival in Leeds, mapping through drawing the demographic profile of a small corner of Holbeck near my studio. I’ve been planning similar pieces since, but they are demanding and time consuming despite being very intuitive and speedily executed drawings. I begin with a series of photographic notes taken surreptitiously on the move. These photos are pretty useless save as aide-memoires of the anonymous p

I like drawing the thing immediately in front of me. I like taking just what’s there, non negotiable. It’s often an empty glass. Although empty glasses aren’t usually empty. There’s always a bit of water, ice or lemon, or air. Funny how we see it as empty though. #digitaldrawing #digitalpainting #drawing

Lazy days. I just want to sit out or lie down in the sun. This might be summer. It’s bound to rain over the Jubilee weekend. #abstractdrawing #drawing #urbansketching

Back to people. It’s always back to people. The default setting. Sometimes it’s people mediated through the eyes of another. The head at the top is a figure from a 19th century painting by Isidore Pils. Something about the look, the depiction of the skull under the skin. Did he ever really exist in the first place? Was he a western artist’s vision of the archetypal oriental? Then back to real life and a snatched 60 seconds (that’s all I ever get) of Middle Daughter engrossed