Sensual/Sexual

 This is an exploration into my curiosity and why I find myself drawn to the subject of the bodily and tactility along with my fascination for the abject, obscene and sinister.

 If you haven't been to see the Picasso exhibit currently in the Vollard Suite at the British Museum then I suggest you go, it is a large collection of his exquisite etchings alongside some works of Rembrandt's, Goya's and classical sculptures - all of which had an influence on his work.

I went to this exhibition at a great time in the development of my ideas surrounding my current subject matter of marble Greek and Roman sculptures. Picasso's images evoked many emotions within me; the 'Rape' series (image above) left me feeling confused as I visually tired to separate the two bodies intertwined and emotionally tried to distinguish his pleasure from her pain. The series of the Sculptor in his Studio featured bright scenes with a nude man and woman reclined and relaxed together as they admire the latest sculpted nude creation, the euphoric atmosphere in them suggested to me they depict a post-coital haze, a delicate mixture of the pleasures of the flesh and beauties of sculpture.

  The image below sticks in my mind firstly because of its threatening sexual atmosphere, almost carnal, and secondly it brings to mind the Greek myth of Ariadne and her half brother, the Minotaur. 

In response to the etchings I made these sketches, exploring the intertwining of bodies and sensual/sexual-ity.

 The two sketches above are studies of a marble sculpture, both in charcoal. The one on the right is worked into with watercolours and gouache.

This sketch is influenced from the many recent drawings I've made of statues and explores the inability to distinguish one body from another.

The drawings below are a step forward from statues to life models, I wanted to explore the differences of capturing the contours and softness of skin compared to stone.

I feel by tackling all this subject matter it will help me develop my own clay sculptures into something more informed and purposeful. My time in the UCL Library today allowed me to refine the imagery I want to look at, I now have a book full of images of Bernini's baroque sculptures and have looked at Giorgio De Chirico's use of the marble statue in his Ariadne series. I have also been looking at contemporary painter Glenn Brown's abject, heavily worked paintings which have 18th century influences.

I will be sure to keep you posted on my developments over the next few weeks!

Xx

The Softness of Stone

I have been a busy girl, divulging in the beauties of greek marble sculptures from the British Museum's collections. A return to observational drawing was welcomed after a build up of stifled creativity due to inadequate space to make large artworks.
 What I find so exciting about making studies of these sculptures is their ability to come to life on my paper, they become fleshy and alive - I have no doubt this is due to the exquisite craftsmanship of their creators.
 I also enjoy the pull of tension between their once perfect forms and their present day deformities. Their appearances today are testimonies to their lifetimes and experiences, this idea of a visual history, a life story that can be read through their appearance, is something I touched upon last year in my work on objects within the home. 
 They are also a response to the clay work I made at the end of this academic year, which I think has a bodily feel to it.

I'm hoping to get into some life drawing soon, to give myself the chance to explore these ideas in relation to the human body; it's limits and it's tactility. 

Xx

Sketchbook Studies

Today I went to the Design Museum to see the Christian Louboutin exhibition, I am a big lover of his mastery and admired the designs, inspirational words and hypnotising hologram performance by Dita Von Teese. 
I'm always slightly jealous of fashion designers, their ability to create something and dress the human body is something that just doesn't come naturally to me. The best tribute I could muster for Mr Louboutin is this sketch...

I then went to Victoria Miro to see Grayson Perry's latest works 'The Vanity of Small Differences'. He has created 6 tapestries, 2 for each of Britain's social classes, as a result of his investigating and research, shown in his 3 part TV series on Channel 4 'All In The Best Possible Taste'. In each show he visits a different part of Britain, different people from lower, middle, and upper class societies. He gets to the cores of each classes' values, interacting with and questioning people, without seeming to mock or insult anyone! 

The final works are filled to the brim with colour and references, making them modern day records of life in Britain that will one day become historical references themselves.

As a result of all this information I gathered today, I came home, took out my pens and went through my resource imagery, making drawings and trying not to think about very much.

So that's the latest development in my art-making, I feel like I'm on the cusp of grasping something quite exciting, I just hope I reach that point of clarity soon because I'm getting quite frustrated!


Xx

A Return to Painting

Good Afternoon everyone!


I wanted to type up a little update before the England match later *ENG-ER-LANDENG-ER-LANDENG-ER-LAND* to share with you a few of the paintings I made yesterday!
After an early finish for the summer, I've noticed the absence of my routine of going into the studio, and although the ideas I have remain rolling around the back of my head, my productivity in actually making anything has dwindled. So yesterday I had planned to get back into making some paintings since I had spent so much time on making sculptures towards the end of last term.
My aim was to just really brighten up my palette and see what emerges without me having a set of images to work from. It was a great challenge for me as I have struggled with just letting things emerge from the canvas in the past. I really enjoyed myself and experimented with various colour combinations and brush marks. My only downfall is I get impatient working with oils, not letting the layers dry means the bright colours I had intended to stand out mixed in with the wet colours under them. I might try the same thing with acrylics to see if I can get a better result - or just learn to wait for a bit longer!
Anyway, here are a few of my favourite outcomes, to see the whole lot just click on my Tumblr tab.

I hope you all have a cosy evening indoors out of the rain, here's hoping a win from England will lift our damp spirits!

Xx