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Art of a Nomad

Technology Outdoors: Week 4 Science Outdoors.

Redshift Swan ©Sue Pownall 2017

As an art teacher to adult students, I was dubious about what this last week could bring in terms of personal inspiration and for my classes.
Unit 2 reintroduced me to the Doppler Effect, which I had forgotten, and continued with RedShift, which I don't recall having ever learnt. However, as I studied physics back in the dark ages, including Einstein's theory of relativity, I assume I must have.

Finishing the unit, I bounced around the internet reading more on this. I liked the simplicity of the illustration below, and found space.com a good site for info, but nasa.gov was a bit complex.

From universevocab.weebly.com

Apart from spending a long time surfing, I continued my exploration of the weekly ideas through my dog walks and took a Doppler effect photo.

Dogwalk Double Doppler Effect

This would not be an image to share with young learners, but from an artistic viewpoint the resulting patterns of colour and light as the cygnets swim towards the swan and she swims towards them could be the beginning of some printmaking patterns. In fact, I have been playing with monoprints based on Redshift and Doppler Effect, here are some of them.

Variations on a theme. ©Sue Pownall 2017

I am sad that this is the last week of the DLabErasmus course, but have an idea to develop the dogwalk images I have created for it.

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If you are looking for my art, you will find it here: www.suepownallartist.co.uk 

Technology Outdoors. Week 3 : Wild Writing.

I was a little unsure how this week would work with my teaching and my adult students as well as my own art practice. Having completed it, I was inspired by the 3rd unit. This unit started off with looking at British artist Richard Long's work Two straight twelve mile walks on Dartmoor England. Then, the unit's activity is to encourage learners to observe and notice detail outdoors and record it by speaking or writing. It was encouraged to set a rule or parameter to guide their walking and observation.

In order to teach something like this, you need to try it, as I have with the previous weeks. Whilst I do like to write, I was inspired by one of the organisers to take photos on my walk. My rule was to note, using my phone's camera, where my dog stopped on our short mid-morning walk. Here's the result :

I like this response to it "... the poem made me feel like I can read your dogs thoughts".

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If you are looking for my art, you will find it here: www.suepownallartist.co.uk 

Technology Outdoors: Week 2 Art in the Environment

This was a very interesting week which saw me experimenting with some of the ideas during my early morning dog walks.

Unit 2 was Exploring Art Vocabulary and this is something I can see my adult learners engaging with, maybe as homework prior to a drawing class. The learners have a problem with shades and tones, so I chose white as a means to focus on that rather than distracting colours... Of course there is not just one white in nature, as Dulux reminds us everytime we go to a home improvement store. I used my phone to snap elements as we walked, liking the signs of spring, such as downy feathers on the grass, but also the mix of nature and human influence on the landscape. Once home, I made a collage of the images to give a visual description of the walk, but also showing the white variations.

Below is an image that didn't make the collage, but I do like the effect caused by all the dandelion clocks.

Also, I have been collecting images using other colours, like these purple flowers in the churchyard, as I found this exercise inspiring, so hopefully my learners would too.

 

Unit 4 was I am the Pencil and posed the thought:

We often pick up tools and use them to make marks on surfaces - but what if we ourselves were the tool and surface was the ground?

The idea was to use a route app on a phone or tablet that "allows the learner to draw shapes and patterns using themselves as drawing tool. It leaves no mark on the environment and exists only in the device in which it is made and can be shared from." I downloaded Map My Walk and took a short experimental walk to see how far you need to deviate to create a new line - a pace or two sideways was my conclusion after drawing the letter "S".

Next morning, on another dogwalk, I mapped our short early morning walk, and with guidance, used a hybrid map to show the route (below).

I haven't had the chance to explore this fully, as the next stage would be to manipulate the app pausing its recording to create different patterns rather than a continuous line. I liked the concept of this art only existing on a device, especially the way it's been used in the collaborative project Flock Together by artists Debbie Locke and Sara Dudman, and may be able to incorporate something like this in my own practice.

Altogether a very interesting week.

Technology Outdoors: Week 1 Creating Trails

This week I started a DLaB Erasmus course called Technology Outdoors. It is aimed primarily at school teachers, but as my role as an adult art tutor is expanding, I thought I may pick up some useful ideas.  The project aims are grander than mine.

The Digital Learning Across Boundaries (DLAB) project addresses the need to align European educational practice with ways in which digital technology is changing how and what we learn, and how we apply this in education.

The purpose of this project is to promote digital learning across the boundaries of physical spaces, across curriculum subjects and across languages and cultures, to facilitate collaborative learning across national boundaries.

There are five parts to week 1 of which Hacking Nature really grabbed my attention and saw me dashing outside with my phone to experiement with some of the suggestions. Luckily for me there was a stunning sunset, which looked like this:

©Sue Pownall

but then I took this:

Bent sky ©Sue Pownall

and this:

Mountains in a flat field ©Sue Pownall

I have recently been working on devising a community project and could see these panaramas working as a stepping stone to cross generational work or, as the unit suggested, a large panarama could be made from all the collected ones. Something to think about.

Now on to the rest of the week's units.

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New Town Open Gardens

Spreads to date ©Sue Pownall 2016

Back in February, I was invited to sketch the New Town Open Garden event. The event is this afternoon, but I made a head start yesterday by sketching the Community Garden and both of the organisers gardens too.

I shall do all the initial drawing on site using a Seawhite concertina sketchbook, but finish inking and colour in the studio.
Eighteen to go this afternoon! Wish me luck.

To see more many images click here

Morris dancing

On Friday, I arranged a drinkdraw event to coincide with the Colchester Morris Men (colchestermorrismen.org) dancing at the Alma, Copford.

The dancers move very fast and I filled several pages of movement sketches. Top, is a general scene, which was my final sketch of the evening and one of the dancing. More pics can be seen on my site here: Morris dancing

Sketchmeet: Concert in the park.

Impression of the bandstand and The Band of The Parachute Regiment

Last Sunday, I arranged for the Colchester Sketchers to sketch at the bandstand in Colchester Castle Park where The Band of the Parachute Regiment were playing. The concert was great, the sun was out for the majority of the afternoon, and there was a good turn out of sketchers. The only negative has to be my wonky perspective and roof on my watercolour.

People in the audience

The band leader

After doing the watercolour sketch, I did the two quick pencil sketches above.

What do you think of them? The band liked my watercolour.

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Next Sunday, if you are in the Colchester area, you will find me at the Farmers Market at Bourne Mill, where I have a table showing sketches, paintings and selling prints and cards. Pop by and say hello :)

Have a lovely week everyone.

Neighbours Rooves & Chimneys

I seem to have developed a minor fascination with sketching my neighbours chimneys and rooves, so far all from the confines of my house. However, now the READ MORE AND SEE THE IMAGES HERE

Drinking and drawing

Pencil sketch of Natasha Robertson at The Black Buoy's April/May Beer Festival 2016

I have just returned from the Black Buoy in Wivenhoe's May bank holiday real ale festival. My assistant and I sat outside sketching and listening to the music, although my assistant was more interested in the fish and chips.

Earlier this week, I arranged for the Colchester Sketchers to drink/draw at the Bricklayers. My first sketch of my Aspell's cider was the most successful and is shared below.

Direct watercolour sketch.

 Finally, something different, I currently have my experimental piece hung at the Art Exchange where it was selected for the Celebrate Landscape exhibition. If you are in the area, pop in before it closes next Saturday.

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BTW. Last week's post didn't autopost here. You can read it by clicking this link I Draw Do You?

An Arty Time

Channelling Monet. Colour planned on site but added later.

On Wednesday, I headed to town with the first stop at the Royal Academy to see the Painting the Garden: Monet to Matisse exhibition. It was the most inspiring exhibition I have seen in a long time and I just want to draw and paint gardens.

Sketched inside the exhibition.

Next stop was at my favourite London gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, where I went from inspiring paintings to amazing photography in the Vogue 100: A hundred years of style.

Arriving early to meet friends and fellow artists, Jean Edwards & Minnie, I took inspiration from the Monet exhibition and sketched the pub focusing on the garden. (top).

After dinner, it was off to the Tower of London. Arriving early I used the 15 minute wait to sketch the Shard. (below)

 We were at the Tower of London for a fabulous evening at #DrawnattheTower with Art Macabre: Ravens and Morbid Corvids. I started off drawing the RavenMaster, who was a fount of knowledge on everything corvid down to the naming of the birds: he was holding Gripp. After a couple of sketches of Gripp, I moved on to the pairs of ravens in their cages. They are only caged at night and roam freely around the Tower during the day. The ravens were very challenging to sketch and moved a lot, my results were not helped by my butterfly brain wating to take photos and chat to the Raven Master: love interesting people. I think my last sketch, drawn on black paper, is the most successful and I have hung it up in the studio. Here it is:

To see the rest please go here to the slideshow

After all that artistic input, I've been very busy drawing and planning prints since coming home. I especially want to get on with my Bourne Mill gardening project. What have you been working on?

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Sketchmeet at the garden centre

Poplar Nurseries. ©Sue Pownall 2016

Yesterday, I arranged a sketchmeet for the Colchester Sketchers at a local garden centre. It was an inspiring afternoon albeit very chilly.

Settling down to sketch.

Trophy shot of scene and sketch.

Sketch 2 a gardeners trolley.

Colchester Sketchers (minus 1) chilly but inspired.

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Monthly challenges

WIP Bourne Mill in winter

There's a new challenge over on twitter led by Anthony Greentree (@antsgreentree) called #buildapril, which is is all about buildings and structures in any media.

Above is my 1st April sketch of my across-the-road neighbours drawn with a Super5 pen with DeAtramentis ink and painted with Winsor & Newton watercolours in A Daler Ebony A5 sketchbook. Whilst right is a work in progress started yesterday of Bourne Mill.

Last month's challenge was #animalmarch, and I started well with daily sketches of my assistant, but then life got in the way. Here are a selection of them:

1st March. Pencil sketch

4th March Digital sketch

8th March. Ink sketch

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The Egg Hunt

Children hand-in their egg hunt sheets in exchange for a Cadbury chocolate bunny. ©Sue Pownall 2016

I was invited to sketch the Egg Hunt at Bourne Mill, a National Trust property, over the Easter weekend.

Good Friday was a glorious spring day, clear skies and sunshine, and the Mill proved to be a very popular venue for an egg hunt as there were over 300 entries, so more Cadbury's bunnies were needed for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, the forecasted rain held off and saw many more families completing the hunt. Unfortunately, due to Storm Katie and the 50pmh plus winds, the mill was closed on Easter Monday.

Sitting at a picnic table alongside the pond, I sketched the children trying to solve the clues. It was funny watching many of the dads work it out, spot the eggs, almost point, then clamp their mouths shut until their son or daughter could do it.

Egg hunters. ©Sue Pownall

Eggs were hidden throughout the property and I had to find places to sketch without giving the location away and refrain from looking at the eggs when children were near. Here are a couple of them:

A clue in the bug hotel. ©Sue Pownall

The pitt room egg. ©Sue Pownall

Finally, the egg hunters returned to the desk and claimed their Cadbury's bunnies. (Top image)
Right is a photo of me sketching in the wheel room. Behind me is the wheel, which was incredibly noisy, but it was an atmospheric place to sketch.

I have to confess, I am disappointed the weekend is now over as it was a great event to attend in a lovely location.

Hello spring!

The gates are open for 2016 at the National Trust's Bourne Mill. ©SuePownall

Today is the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere, and spring is one of my favourite seasons. I also like autumn ... and summer ... oh and winter if I'm inside and warm and it's snowing outside.

On Wednesday, I was sketching outside in order to record the 2016 opening of the National Trust property, Bourne Mill. I'm working with the property this year, so rather than sketch the building, other than the outline, I chose to focus on the open gates.

I used a Monologue sketchbook and inked on site. However, I added the watercolour added at home due to icy wind.

St. Patrick's Day. ©SuePownall

 On Thursday, Saint Patrick's Day provided the opportunity to get some green paint out as I sketched with some friends in a local pub. The above sketch was completed on site, Winsor & Newton watercolour with Staedtlar pen in A5 Daler sketchbook.

Sketching with my assistant.

 More green featured this morning, which is why I'm blogging this evening, as I experimented monoprinting using a Gelli plate. Some of these prints I am thinking of working up, maybe with stencils, or watercolour, or.... not sure. Some as collage backgrounds, maybe. Whilst one will become an Easter card to send to my mum.

Spring monoprint experiments. ©SuePownall

Now, I'm looking forward to lots of garden drawing, flower sketching, and more spring printing.

 What about you? Is spring your favourite season? What are you working on?

Essex Book Festival Lecture

Lecture notes. ©Sue Pownall

The Essex Book Festival is on throughout March in various locations across the county. Due to other commitments, so far I have only attended a lecture at the University of Essex last Monday. It was called "From Print to Pixels: The Many Futures of Reading Kodachrome Travels: How colour changed the way we see the world."  I went as I am interested in both colour and film, but have to confess I didn't get the connection to books. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture given by Professor Jeffery Geiger and realise I miss learning. Time to return  to study?

Three moments around the lecture. ©Sue Pownall

 Top image: In the sketch, I wanted to capture Prof. Geiger, but ended up getting so engrossed in what he was saying the page got covered in lecture notes. I did get the colour added at the same time. I'd forgotten, but when I studied at Essex my lecture notes often looked like this, as I strove to capture keywords and points.

Below:  I started on the right-hand page where the three people were stood on the stage chatting prior to the lecture. It seems as if they were friends of the professor and sat behind me when it started. Top left is the woman who introduced the lecture. Then the final sketch on the bottom-left was made during the Q&A session and I loved her twisted body image.

Where have you sketched this week?

Sketching poolside

My assistant's left leg is giving her a lot of problems, so she is currently undergoing hydrotherapy. As she only paddles and doesn't swim, I was a little anxious, but after her second proper session, she is doing well... and the yellow head float has been removed.

Week 1

The first week, I took some photos, but this week, as she was calmer I sketched a little. It was difficult as I couldn't wear my glasses due to the humidity. I think I managed to capture the idea, don't you?

Inktense pencils in Daler sketchbook.

Experiments

Stencil on Gelli plate on old damaged book leaf.

Earlier this week I visited a printmaker friend, Jean Edwards, her work is here, who introduced me to Gelli plates. I really enjoyed it and produced the background above. Once home, I added the stencilled swan. Stencilling is something I have rarely done, but was inspired by Penenlope Dullaghan's homework in Sketchbook Skool.

Ink on watercolour wash.

 Those of you who follow me on Instagram ( @suepownallartist15 ) have seen the work in progress on the above piece before. I finished it yesterday, I think, and would appreciate your thoughts on it. Please leave them in a comment below.

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On another matter, yesterday I got to give a pen & ink demo at Tindalls,a local art suppliers. I got to meet some lovely people and look forward to running a workshop for them in March.