Day Three: Caleta & Squid Ink

We visited the market at Caleta today and took a trip to the harbour. It was the same location that I got overwhelmed by last visit and there was a bit of it again this time too. Starting off in the bar though I started plucking out patterns from the surrounding buildings and people:

Then at the harbour it was time for texture abstraction:

I took a lot of photos to draw inspiration from later, there is a theme of: 

netting, strapping, line, texture, decay and layering

There were some fisherman around as we were drawing and one of them caught an octopus! 

As it hit the floor, squid ink left its tenticles, I took some on my finger and drew with it...

now that is location drawing!!!

I finished off the day with the rich colour of the drying nets

and here is me in situ!

Day Two: Comares

We visited the village of Comares today and travelled along a winding dirt track to get there. As we drove along we stumbled across this ruin of a farmhouse: 

It was the perfect spot for a mark-making explore!

I used some of the ideas from the trip last year...taking the colours that were around (and that I'd seen the day before) and translated those into the darker interiors of the ruin. So considering composition I looked at this crumbling roof:

and explored colour, line and texture:

Here is another abstracted pattern taking in the shape and colour of the prickly pears and weed like flowers growing amidst the ruin, it's looking a little angie lewin!:

Then we travelled on to the village. Stopping for lunch at this beautiful hillside, just look at that blue!:

There was plenty to photograph and compose along the way:

I have found that my photographs have improved since going on these drawing trips. They have enabled my eyes to see better, select better and 'draw' better with the camera....

We then stopped and spent some time drawing the rooftops. I continued exploring line:

But felt this one to work better, the suggestion of shape over specified line makes it a much stronger image and exploration:

I explored colour a bit more:

 And different media when we got back to the house, here is a mixed composition of conte crayon, pen and watercolour:

In tutorial we explored ideas behind creating form. Can you find shapes and 3D forms in your drawings? Is this almost a reverse type of layering? Abstracting shapes and forms to inform further alterations, through scale, stitch and other media? This really got me thinking about what I want to develop over this next year...

Drawing in Spain: Round 2!

It was my second time Drawing In Spain this summer and it was just as good as my first! Having been to Gdansk at the beginning of the summer too, this felt like the perfect close.

Visiting familiar places but with a heightened appreciation for drawing, here begins my journey... Day 1: Cutar

Settling into the village, we had a walk round to find some things to draw. I had a few unsuccessful drawings but started finding my way as I got to this one:

I'm not a huge fan of it, but there are some interesting things going on. The heavy line vs painterly abstraction and the attention to the hillside landscape. I started to explore this a bit more:

The pattern and colour that is coming out here is interesting. The changing combinations of large, small, dark and light, and circles, again, are playing a key part. 

At our tutorial in the evening we talked about making 'useful drawing' over 'picture making'. I think this is exactly what I've been battling with. Having produced a lot of drawings over the summer but not really knowing what to 'do' with them, the idea of really thinking about how to use what you are going to translate, really opens up your ability to create work. 

I took this on and started really thinking about what I wanted to get out of this last year at uni...What is it that I am enjoying drawing? What are my 'pictures' telling me? This was the perfect time to be away and being objective about my work - yippeee, so glad I'm here! 

Developing in Wire and 3D Drawing

Whilst working through my last project I have become enveloped by the notion of conceptual drawing. This is something I want to push over the coming year and am excited for where it might lead. I was pointed in the direction of Fritz Panzer the other day, he creates HUGE spatial works that have real energy to them - I love it!

Anthony Gormley can be found in this bracket too - just look at those manic swirls!

My own drawings and creations are starting to take some kind of form. I'm struggling for what they 'are' or 'where they belong' but all will become clear in time I am sure/at least hope! 

drawings becoming forms...becoming drawings? again?

drawing from the page...

and literally jumping out of it! 

Resulting in a funny set of characters! But which performance are they acting out?

Addressing tension and the sense of space, pull, motion, stillness....

but where will it all lead next?

I found my tutorial today quite helpful, with suggestions of playground structures and how they react to the space. 

my chosen location: the old rum distillery in Spain

So I am going to continue playing with wire and bring to that some ceramic forms too. We'll see how they interact with one another and from that create the stage for the end product, or idea, or pieces or whatever it's going to turn out to be!

Day Seven: Heading back Home

The final day was a leisurely one, breakfast, house tidy, pick up, beach bar, beer, cocktail, beer and plane home! I squeezed two more drawings out before I left one in the house as we were waiting for the mopping to dry

And one of my adoration for the back bar at the Torre del Mar beach bar.

This was some bar!! Beds on the beach and Moroccan style lighting - real heaven!

So that was it! My week drawing in Spain. What did I learn? tonnes! I met some really great people, full of ideas about things I have never even thought about; and feel blessed to have experienced and been taken along such an amazing journey of self discovery. I feel reconnected with my visual voice; full of inspired excitement, passion, drive and positive energy.  I can't wait to explore the rest of my summer, and life, through drawings in my sketchbooks and can't wait to go back to Spain! X x

Day Six: Stayed the day in Cutar

Because of the football and late night arrival, we had a morning tutorial based on our work from yesterday. I felt knackered by the end of yesterday. My head was all over the place trying to try too much out. This was picked up by everyone. It was noted that I should stay observational, make the most of drawing in a situation and stop creating studio pattern work away from the studio! It made total sense when put like that and having had time to reflect on in since then, whilst even putting these posts together, I know exactly what was happening and how I will benefit from it in the future. So, with all that in mind, we were spending a lazy day in the village today so that tomorrow's departure could run smoothly.

I took myself off around the tight cobbled walkways and selected various things to draw and focus on. Bearing in mind all that I had dealt with, struggled with and overcome throughout the week I applied all of this to my drawings for today. I let go of hang ups and just enjoyed it all a lot more.

I started with this compositional piece, looking at shape in amongst all the building work:

A little further down the alleyway was a gorgeous perspective view of the street. I attempted that once, twice, three times, four, concentrating on different things in each instance:

 

 I like bits of all of them and I think there is work and development that can be explored here.

I then walked to the very top of the village and sat down to paint the church and the rooftops. There was something very calming about creating this study drawing....

The heat was picking up so I moved myself around into some shade. I found a spot that had a great framed view of a house deep in the valley. I attempted a quick sketch drawing in this instance and like the energy and quick decision making in it because of that!

Before heading back to the villa for lunch I went down to the base of the village and painting a scene of this up towards the church. I felt it interesting to have these two vantage points.

Then I head back to the villa and caught up with Frances, who had been set a mark making exercise.  I wanted to capture her in the creative moment, arms waving, head shaking moving in and out of creative thought and space.

The tree that was next to her I just found so beautiful in shape and texture, the bird cage too, screaming for attention!

As a final few drawings I sat upon the roof terrace taking in the view from the villa once last time before I go. There were an assortment of cacti up there which I decided to draw:

  

along with a study of the windows creating pattern across the landscape.

 

My last drawing of the day was inspired by Martyn playing guitar. The sound of the strings in the warm Spanish air was just perfect and needed recording.