I made this still life that follows on from the drawing of my brushes that I made last week I arranged the fruit on the window ledge in the corner of my studio. It was wonderful to immerse myself in the colours of the fruit whilst I was drawing and I can revisit the memory of the experience whilst writing this for you. The contrast of shadow behind the subjects interested me too. I’ve been very inspired by the Channel 4 TV programme ‘Apples, Pears and Paint’ which I watched recently.

I made this still life drawing on Monday whilst I had the light in the afternoon. I often like to make still life drawings or paintings as in-between pieces interspersing larger explorations of my ideas. This was just a corner of the studio, my brushes and some other things. It wasn’t arranged atall. The things were just as I found them. I’d watched a programme on Channel 4 the night before entitled ‘Apples, Pears and Paint’ on the history of the still life genre. It was superb and hugely inspirational and revealing about the very nature and role of still life in our world. I thoroughly recommend it and will share the link. My drawing makes itself. I just let it emerge. I’m not controlling, but looking and feeling until I sense I need to stop. I’ve decided not to photograph the stages as it interrupts my flow. I do have a couple of cropped versions of this image though which I’ll share next.

Just to let you all know that my work with the artists and writers group Artipeeps in Cambridge is gathering pace. My painting The Circle Is Unbroken is going to be used on a Kickstarter Reward Card together with a poem by Kate Garett. I’ll keep you updated as to progress on this blog, exciting times. There will be a group exhibition of the artwork and writing next September at Hanse House in Kings Lynn.http://artipeeps.wordpress.com/category/our-transformations-poems/ for the Artipeeps Tranformations link on their website

I’ve also illustrated a song by the singer/songwriter and artist Sid Wright for a book of his songs which will be published next year, the proceeds of which will go to charity. You can see the drawings together with submissions from other artists on Sid’s facebook page at this link. The song I have illustrated is entitled ‘Smile’, here is the link https://www.facebook.com/SidWright You can hear the song via this link, ‘Sex, drugs and bread rolls’ iTunes album on there http://www.sidwright.co.uk/?page_id=404 

Here’s today’s offering in the ‘Smile’ series for Sid Wright’s song that I have discussed previously on this blog. I’m exploring the notion of receiving in this study. We often have great difficulty with this as human beings, whether it is being good to ourselves or receiving from others. It  seemed to be a natural progression from previous work on this theme. I’m digressing from a more literal interpretation of the lyrics and exploring other outcomes here. I’ll see where it takes me, or this may be it, not sure yet. Staying open as ever. I meditate before drawing and often go for a walk to put me in a receptive state of mind. Listening to music helps too, Bon Jovi and Adele helped here today.

I made this drawing which is slightly smaller than A1 this afternoon whilst the light was still with me. I’m still interpreting Sid Wright’s song ‘Smile’ exploring the lyrics, which I can’t share yet, using colour and expanding the pose I have chosen. I’m still using myself as a model but it is not meant to be a self-portrait. I’m just the most convenient model. I’m finding it quite difficult interpreting the feel of the whole song as there are contrasting elements to it which provide a challenge. I really like working to someone else’s brief though especially if the work is good, as Sid’s lyrics are. They are universal as with all the best ones. The journey is not over yet though. I hope to have a pile of drawings for him to choose from for his book.

The drawing made today is a further exploration of the song ‘Smile’ written by Sid Wright. This time I am tentatively exploring more of the lyrics visually through colour again using myself as a model. I can’t really share the words yet until the book has been published. I’ve been listening to songs that reflect heartache in all it’s forms. The Ramones, the Rolling Stones and Chris Farlowe’s versions of ‘ Out Of Time’ along with Marianne Faithful’s album ‘Broken English’ provided a soundtrack to my drawing that really resonated. I feel the drawing more than draw it, and use any means I can to get in touch with my emotions. Music is great for that. My whole week builds to my drawing or painting on Mondays. The physical act of drawing or painting is a small part of it. All my 57 years on this earth are behind it! I made another drawing which I will share next along with a close-up of ‘Smile 3’, this other drawing was really a synthesis of the feelings and marks. The hand could be male or female. We are incredibly fragile as human beings. Relationships bring us the greatest joy but also the most misery.