Joy!
It’s been some time since the last entry in the sketchbook, but in the lead-up to Christmas I’ve been rushing round doing relatively unexciting things, and not enough creative ones. But the Day is finally here! So I can relax now and get into the holiday spirit; eat lots of cake and feel sick, etc. Hope you are too.
Merry Christmas!
Vintage Vietnam
On one of my last days in Saigon last year, I spent some time in a little independent art space called Lac Hong Gallery. I had already purchased some original etchings at another gallery, but here I found a little box containing some vintage greeting cards.
Three of the five cards I bought are designs embroidered in silk thread; the other two are printed on silk. Faintly embossed on the back of them are the words: Xunhasaba, Hanoi Vietnam, Handmade.
Although the plain cream cards are yellow and foxed with age, they are such a quaint souvenir of a bygone era. They deserve to be framed, rather than written in. I wonder if someone in a hundred years’ time will think the same about a vintage collection of Hallmark cards?
Gone with the wind
Melbourne’s been experiencing some very blustery weather in the past couple of days. The sound of the wind rustling through the trees outside my window immediately carries me off in my imagination to walks along the bluffs by the seashore – when the wind threatens to blow you off the edge, and your hair stands wildly on end.
It also brought to mind the lovely pochoir illustrations from the 1910s and 20s by Georges Lepape and George Barbier. This illustration by the former exactly expresses my feeling. If only one could really be taken up by the breeze like that…
Drawing Naked Ladies
What an awesome look of concentration!
Last Wednesday evening I went to a life drawing class for the first time in over a decade. I was more excited than nervous, because after all, drawing naked ladies is like riding a bike, right? You don’t forget how.
I had plenty of art materials – still in their old tin biscuit box – and had only to buy paper, which I did on my way to the converted church in Armadale, several suburbs east of where I live. I arrived early, and was let in by the dancing instructor from the class next door.
It was early evening, but still light, though overcast with rain. Light filtered through the leadlight windows and filled the room, with its vaulting ceilings, with a serene ambience. What a lovely place to draw!
Two to five minute poses
As expected, we started with one and two minute poses; moved on to five and tens; and ended with three longer 20 minute poses. From the first moment I put conté to paper, I was thinking: “angles! Look for the angles!” That was what my first life-drawing lecturer had said to me in my first year of art school: look for the shapes and angles the body makes, and that will guide your proportions. It really works.
I found myself from time to time drawing what I thought should be there rather than what really was before me – I had to remind myself to look objectively. Hands are less of a challenge now than when I was 18, but foreshortened feet can still put me on my mettle.
By the end of the three-hour class I was still excited and quite pleased with the results. My hand/eye co-ordination was still there! Work and weather foiled my plans to return tonight, but I’ll be back next week.
A crowd of easels
The church annexe is filled with a lovely ambient light
A picturesque setting for a life model
The first sheet … ha! those feet!
Nude: front and centre
Thanks to Adolpho for taking the pics of me.
Buds and Blooms
Myer Melbourne is currently running a competition to design a new shopping bag for the opening of their new flagship store next March. It’s a great opportunity for budding (and fully bloomed) designers to get their work out into the larger world.
Speaking of blooms, here’s my design: a striking pattern in black and white of giant chrysanthemums. The reverse side of the bag has a smaller coloured version of the pattern, in a non-gender specific blue-grey.
My hope was to create a bag that was a little decorative but stylish; that would not be repulsive to carry around the city; you know the ones that you have to hide between your other bags? Not one of those. I also preferred the notion of a repeat pattern rather than a placement print; it seems a little more appropriate for a corporate retail giant like Myer.
Check out the other offerings in their online gallery.