How to upcycle and old radio (drawing)

 As I may have already mentioned, I've been cleaning up my house recently. It fell into disrepair due to neglect (by me) and now I'm giving it some much needed attention. I've put a deadline on getting it done too; August. I have decided to do an Open House then, to show off all my hard work - decorating and drawing - and you're all invited. I need to, not only paint the whole place, but, get my work together to frame and hang. I came across this radio drawing whilst sorting through stuff. I made it, about six years ago, whilst in Italy. It was on that trip that I met lapin for the first time too. I also drew his hat. But that hangs in his home.

 Anyway, I decided I'd like this drawing to be at my Open House exhibition, so last night I played around with it a little. I upcycled this old radio, if you like. There were practical reasons for doing it; the brown pens I used back then (my beloved Pilot G-tec) are just not light fast, and so, as I wanted this radio hanging on my wall, in August, it too needed a little attention. I went over it all in brown light fast fine liners and added a little colour pencil. An improvement on the original? I don't know. That's all subjective.

Now, I haven't got time for all this. I've got walls to paint. AUGUST?! The whole house by August

a strange dust lands on your hands

This week my class, at Sketchbook Skool, has come around again. The course is called 'Seeing' and is about, well, seeing. Really looking at your subject and perhaps seeing all those details that, if you weren't drawing, you'd never notice. I try to demonstrate this through one of my collection drawings.

Here are a couple of my drawings of one collection - my friend's collection of keys to be precise. They belonged to her father who had all sorts of collections. Most of these, I believe, were from model railways and clocks. I love keys. I love the symbolism of them and all the stories they could tell and doors the could unlock. I'm particularly happy with the drawing below. Don't know why. I just like it.

If you're interested, you can find out more about becoming a student at Sketchbook Skool HERE.

the silence of a falling star and other juicy quotes

Day Four of the post three drawings for five days challenge. Yes, it's taking longer than five days. Way longer.

Today, I chose these three drawings because they are all linked. Obviously, they are, but I thought I'd expand on how they are linked. And, how I work sometimes. So yes, of course, I've worked with the same palette here. Incidentally, blues and browns are my favourite colour combination. I just think they work so beautifully together. They also work great with the cream Moleskine paper which is the sketchbook I worked in here.

I often have a few sketchbooks on the go. Quite a few in fact. A lot are Moleskine, but not all. These days I'll draw on anything and everything. The top page is from what I call a 'spare sketchbook'. It's the kind of book that doesn't have a specific theme, it's just somewhere where I dump all of my thoughts, play around with images and compositions, practice my handwriting, file all those lovely juicy quotes and lyrics - that I happen upon - for future reference and make lists. Lots of lists. I love these kind of books. Everyone should have this sort of sketchbook. I can guarantee if I look through this book (this one is about seven years old now) I am reminded of and inspired by all sorts of things I'd forgotten.

At one time, when I was going through a drawing funk (they don't happen anymore by the way) and whining about it on my blog I was offered a piece of advice that I've never forgotten. I remember who gave me the advice too. It was Felicity Graces who some of you may know - although she doesn't draw, or at least, post her drawings anywhere near enough these days. Anyway, where as other people had been telling me to look through the work of my favourite artists or contemporaries, Felicity said definitely do not do that but look back through my own back catalogue of work. It was good advice. That's where you reconnect with what you love to do and the things you love to draw and why you love to draw.

So, that's why I recommend having a 'spare sketchbook'. You'll find so much in there too relight your fire. And, so to these drawings. Both of the two (bottom) drawings came about from developing themes I played around with in the top spread. By taking the notes and ideas and pushing and pulling them in all directions.

And, another thing, the envelope spread is what can happen when something goes wrong on a page; collage. The best way to cover all of your mistakes.

i am still right here

For everyone feeling like shit today.
A new range of products, lotions and potions that I may, or may not, be bringing out in the future.

Probably not coming to my Etsy shop very soon.

you are perfectly reflected

Now, here's something I've been meaning to post for a long time. For a long long time. Since I had my first solo exhibition over a year ago, in fact. After the exhibition I was commissioned to create two of these 'small blue thing' drawings. This one was for Sally, a surprise gift for her husband (it's a scarab, by the way, Sally), and the other was for the Hughes family. When I delivered the Hughes' drawing I was given this poem, below. Karey had been inspired to write it after visiting my exhibition. I read it often, and have been meaning to come up with the perfect drawing to post with it. But, as yet, that drawing has not happened and as this one has remained un-posted it seemed fitting. Plus, if I continue to wait for the perfect drawing I'll never share the poem with you. And, that would not be right. It's one of the most lovely, and humbling, gifts I've received.

Thanks, Karey.

strictly ballpoint?

No, there’s pencil, ink, gel pen, crayon, marker

even tippex, in your riotous attention to detail.
Thousands of careful lines;
such small changes of pressure, shade, direction.
How much of your time
to draw all those buttons, coins, badges, tickets,

hair grips? Even tiny cat claws.

Obsessive? Compulsive?

I can’t look away.

I’m a voyeur reading your notebooks,

a kindred detective with too many clues:

mass-produced, man-made, plastic, metal

or something natural, unique?

Any object is subject.

Nothing escapes a curious eye.

You rummage in the attic of my memory

to conjour your magic; a delicate, crazy art

full of surprises

like your quirky picture-title puns

from songs in your head,

now in mine, old favourites -

Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega.

A kind of give and take

where nothing is too ordinary

or too personal

so you offer up your socks,

like fat birds on a wire,

even a black bra draped over a line,

and in “drawers”  - knickers,

blowing in a breeze!

 

Clothes in a washing machine,

half-submerged in soapy water -

you call it, “slooshy sloshy, slooshy sloshy”

Washed pots draining

and lots of shoes from all angles

and pages of doodles and travel memorabilia,

with whimsical thoughts in curly calligraphy:

“will it ever stop raining?”

“trying to keep out of the rain”.

You must be local. You make me laugh.

It takes time and close attention

to notice everything –

Like peering through a doll’s house window

and seeing my own life,

in every shiny detail:

I want to empty out my pockets!

 Karey Lucas-Hughes 2011

inspired by an exhibition of art work called “strictly ballpoint” by Andrea Joseph at  Buxton Museum and Art Gallery 2011

 

Above is a photo that I took at my show. For some really great photos check out THIS POST by Pippa, which was another lovely gift I received after the exhibition.  I really am a very lucky, ahem, 'girl'.

still a wild seed

I first made this post over five years ago. I felt that I was just finding myself as an artist (apologies for that HORRIBLE cliche) in these early Moleskine sketchbook pages.

10th April 2007
"In my quest to draw everything in my house I stopped by the spice rack. I'm quite happy with this. It reminds me of the illustrations you'd find in recipe books from the 70's. Books that were usually called something like 'The Whole Food Kitchen'. The kind of book that gave you interesting ideas for things to do with lentils and chick peas. The type of book where you can still smell the patchouli wafting through the pages. I dream of illustrating one of those books. One day. One day...."

Well, I'm not done with the cliches. You know, if you work hard and really really dig what you do, it seems, you can make your dreams come true. Right, I'm not allowed to say anything more. For now.

when we got to the top of the hill

A quickie post. Here's a little drawing I made at the beginning of the year for a local project. I wanted to show something of the Derbyshire landscape in the drawing, and had the idea of making the procession of children resemble a dry stone wall as it fades, over the hills, in the distance. Not sure if that was successful but I tried!

Click on drawing for a better view.

inbetween tonight and my tomorrow

So, as it says in the drawing, these are the pens that I am currently using in my new sketchy Moleskine.

The second from the left used to be my most favourite pen ever. It's so fine and inky (no, I'm not sure what I meant by that either). Unfortunately my beloved Pilot G-Tec is being relegated to the subs bench these days. A couple of reasons for that a) it is not waterproof and b) it is most definitely not lightproof.

You might remember that I did a huge amount of work with the sepia, or brown, Pilot G-tec. In fact, I dedicated an entire Moleskine to that pen (see it HERE). And, a whole load of my favourite sepia drawings besides. So here's my question; could anyone tell me of an alternative. A brown fine liner that IS light resistant. I'd appreciate it muchly. Cheers.

beneath the stains of time

The drawing funk is still going strong, but I've had other things to focus on. I've been looking back through my work, trying to decide what I should include in my upcoming exhibition. This drawing is an oldie. Over three years old, in fact. I have messed around with it a little since, just a bit more cross hatching.

You know, back then when I first made this drawing I really didn't like it very much at all. But seeing it with all this time between us and I feel quite differently. I really enjoyed looking at it again and reading all the notes. They amused me. I asked a friend what they thought about me including it and they said "definitely, it shows that art can be funny". That makes me happy.

So, if you visit my exhibition you will be seeing this one.

You know the drill; click on drawing to read the notes.

door to the river

When I made that humongous Moleskine post last week it took me back to France, to when I exhibited my Moleskines. Obviously I've been showing my sketch books online for the last few years. But before the exhibition in France few people had ever seen them 'in the flesh'. And, at first, I was quite reticent to show them. Specifically my 'spare' Moleskine. I had never ever shown anyone this book before. You might have seen a few of the finished drawings from it but that's it. The reason for that is because, apart from those odd finished pieces, my spare Moleskine is full of lists, quotes, lyrics, doodles and thoughts. And that's quite scary. I've always felt that peering into that book is a bit like finding John Nash's shed in the woods and opening the door.

But, to my surprise, many people at the exhibition really enjoyed seeing these pages. Yes, they commented on the obsessive content but it struck a chord somewhere with folk. So, I thought maybe I'd show you some here. The top spread is one of those pages. It's where I chuck everything onto a page for future reference. Then below are some of the drawings that came from those seeds.

Is this stuff of any interest to you? Cos there's loads more of it.

You know, there could well be a lot of posts this week because somebody is desperately trying to avoid doing their tax returns. So let me know if you want to see more.

see the drunkard of the village

See. I told you it would all go horribly wrong. Poor old Alice will be regretting sipping so much Claret tomorrow morning. I hope this is a lesson to you all. Now I just need to practice what I preach.

on the highway of regret

This weekend, boys and girls, I am going to teach you about the perils of too much alcohol. Believe me, I am well qualified to do so. Sometimes it's about knowing when to stop. But, if you don't know when that is it's about not starting at all. Because things can all go horribly wrong. As you will see in my next post.

So, watch and learn. Watch and learn.

my little box at the top of the stairs

If I'm honest this isn't actually my little box. I've also taken to drawing other people's souvenirs in my quest to fill my travel themed Moleskine. This box of crap, I mean beautiful collection of memorabilia, accompanied my friend Tim home from his world travels. I am a big fan of tat and have wanted to draw this for the longest time.

Actually I've probably wanted to use this blog post/drawing title for even longer than I've wanted to draw his little box, so to speak.

that's entertainment

It's been a slow couple of weeks drawing wise. I've been having some work done on my house and I've realised that any disruption to the tranquility of my solitude means that drawing just does not happen. But, I do, of course, still have the book illustrations to share.

It just so happens that I live five minutes down the road from a place called Lyme Park, which is where the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was filmed. It is, quite frankly, THE only adaptation you'll ever need to see (we all remember the lake scene, right girls?). Anyway, as a little nod to that, I made Lyme Hall the house in the Jane Austen story that I illustrated (it also appears in THIS drawing and THIS one). I absolutely love weaving all this stuff into my illustrations. Packing them full of references, messages and clues. There's plenty more in this drawing. Maybe you can spot some?

all i wanna do

Ooooh. 'Citing stuff. The book I recently (ish) illustrated arrived at my little home today. It's a great feeling to finally hold it. It's a little book, little but cute. I know I keep on repeating myself, but for those who don't know, it's by Jane Austen. I'll tell you more, and add some photos, in the next post. Right now, I'm so excited I just wanted to share this news with you.

This is one of my favourite drawings. It also graces the cover. This scan isn't so great. In the original you can see every hole that the needle made in the material. Yes, I actually drew every tiny hole. Nothing obsessive about that, I'm sure you'll agree.

a song for Alice

My drawings are, to say the least, highly detailed. Often I over do it. I know I do. It frustrates the hell out of me that I just cannot let a drawing be. So, on the odd occasion when I create something and resist the urge to cross hatch the hell out of it it I feel quite pleased with myself. Those drawings often become my favourites. Probably because they make a refreshing change.

Here's one of those. It's another from the Jane Austen book.

before the years flew by

Here's a spread from my travel Moleskine. I know. I know what you are thinking. You don't spell recieved like that.

I really enjoyed this drawing. I love the challenge of trying to master a new texture with a few pens and pencils. I like to think I got it, although this version doesn't do it much justice. It looks much better on Flickr, HERE.

message to the universe

Damn, my laptop is playing up again. It's so frustrating. I got a fix back in June, but I suppose I knew that that was not going to be a long term solution. Hope it gets better soon, cos I've got a couple drawings, that I am loving, from my travel sketchbook to post.

In the meantime here's a little drawing from the Jane Austen book. You know what's even more frustrating (there's really no reason you should)? I've been sent the PDFs from the publishers, so I could take a look at the book. But, because my computer is unwell, I can't bloody open them. Aaargh.

walk on

If you are familiar with my blog then you'll know that, a while back, I was illustrating a book. Although, I was not really able to talk too much about it (and I'm probably still not supposed to) it's hard to resist. Especially when I do not have any other drawings to post, here. Yet I have over twenty waiting in the wings. Well, one less now.

This is one of my favourite drawings from the book. For those who have asked, it is a Jane Austen book. It's not one of the biggies, i.e. Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice. It's one of her earlier, shorter stories from the Juvenilia collection. I didn't know these stories existed until I was approached to illustrate one. I'm glad I know now. I found this one, in particular, very amusing. Not least because it's about a girl who drinks too much Claret. I feel it was made for me. But, I'm worried that I am being typecast so early on in my illustrating career.

For the most of the book I have tried to tell the story through objects that are part of the story. I'm not sure whether that makes much sense, but here I've illustrated a scene on a wine cork. A Claret cork, of course.

feelin' alright

A few posts ago I introduced you to the Swish hairbrush. Well, it turns out I've actually drawn it before. It's on this table. Can you spot it? The answer is on my book blog HERE.

Also, talking about the book blog, it has been voted as a Froudian website of the month. That makes me happy because Brain Froud is one of my illustration heroes. Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee is most probably my favourite illustrated book of all time. For those of you who've never seen it, you really really should. It is a thing of absolute beauty.