SOLD

Darragh's House. Pen & ink. 320 x 200mm. © Sue Pownall 2011

Within 3 hours of posting my latest drawing on FB, it was sold!

Edit: FB was only the place where the image was seen and was not instrumental in the sale.

Decay

Darragh's House. Pen & ink. 320 x 200mm. © Sue Pownall 2011

Here is another of my decay series; this time a house in Scotland. I finished it on Saturday.

Original photo by and used with permission from: D Flanagan.

From the sketchbooks.

Ali. Pencil, A6 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2011

I'm currently working on 2 pen & ink drawings and so haven't posted for a while. Also, I'm trying to limit my computer time as it seems to aggravate my neck problems (so sorry everyone whose blogs I haven't seen nor commentated on). However, following a colleague asking when I was posting next I thought I should post the sketches I have done recently.  

Above - my student Ali working.

Below - 3 sketches from a dhow trip last weekend. I used pencil for a change in A5 sketchbook.

© Sue Pownall 2011

© Sue Pownall 2011

© Sue Pownall 2011

 Fyi the top deck of dhow, where I sketched, photo by M Thomson.

Finally below, from an expat band's performance. Ink in A6.

© Sue Pownall 2011

 btw I wrote this on Wednesday, but due to a problem with blogger I couldn't upload the images and then have had a busy weekend. Sorry for the delay.

Enlivening the canvas

Qatari Magazine Woman Today June 2011. Front cover mention & 3 page spread.

Back in March I got talking to a reporter at an International Women's Day event here in Doha. Shortly afterwards she contacted me wishing to do an article on my art and then at the beginning of April we met. I was very embarrassed to have my photo taken by the staff photographer in a local coffee shop and then felt like I stuttered through the interview. Whilst I talk about myself and my art here, in quite a personal way, face-to-face was a new experience. After a two month wait, it appeared in the new edition of the magazine yesterday.

My name is on the cover!

Due to copyright, I have made a collage of the 3 page article, but here is the link if you want to read it.

Woman Today June 2011

FYI some of the English in the quotes is not how I said it, and a few facts are off. Journalistic licence with the title too as I don't use canvas, but overall I'm really pleased with it. Well who wouldn't be? - a three page spread and my name on the cover.

Seemed to have cracked this PR thing, now if I could only get some commissions and I'll be over the moon.

If you do want to commission something, maybe a building, a landscape, or something else, please use the contact form at the top of this blog.

IF Shadows

Self-portrait: Pain. Watercolour 240 x 320mm. ©Sue Pownall

When I received this week's Illustration Friday prompt of shadows, I knew instantly what I wanted to do: this self-portrait. It is how I have felt for months now as I live with the shadows of constant headaches and pain, which I have recently found out is due to cervical spondylosis trapping nerves.

btw this portrait is also for Mimi of  mimitabby.com  who suggested I paint a portrait a while ago. I'm not sure this is what she expected. 

btw2 I cannot get a better photo of the painting. It is actually darker in the hair and the shadows, which are Payne's Grey and the paper is white.

Doha SketchCrawl plus.

Pencil in A5 sketchbook. © Sue Pownall 2011

Last Saturday I arranged another Doha SketchCrawl. On the day we lost four sketchers; one due to a flood in their apartment, the other had to work, one was in hospital (get well soon Maria), and one got time/places confused. However, two new women turned up, plus a friend and myself, at the meeting point - Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). Note to self, catch up with friends before I'm due to start sketching, as my friend and I did a big catch up and little drawing.We wandered around the upper-galleries, which I hadn't visited before, then stopped in the last gallery to draw this example of armour.

View from MIA.

Abandoned view

Going back downstairs I wanted to draw the heavy machinery working on the new museum park. Not concentrating and feeling bad after the physio I'd had earlier, I didn't scale nor compose it properly and gave up. Meeting up with the other ladies for a show and tell, they put my friend and I to shame with the number of sketches they had done. ho hum

Thank you everyone for showing concern over my health. So far I have had 3 physio sessions, but they are not offering any relief, in fact seem to be aggravating things. Currently, I'm on sick leave (again) trying to rest and see if that helps things. However, when I was in physio, I sketched the pillows in front of me - all I could see while strapped to a machine.

On the 1st, I went to a fabulous concert by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra with the conductor/violinist Salvatore Accardo playing Beethoven, Vivaldi & Rossini. Magical. I sketched a little but it was too dark and the music too good to do anything but listen.

Pen & ink in A6 sketchbook. © Sue Pownall 2011

Finally, another musical sketch from when I was the first to arrive to meet some friends, so drew the piano.

Pen & ink in A6 sketchbook. © Sue Pownall 2011

Trees for Life Charity fundraiser.

The President's Tree, pen & ink, 160 x 230mm © Sue Pownall 2011

This drawing has been done for the Trees for Life charity exhibition. 

Trevor Jones explains all about it. 

"Through the magic of Twitter and other social media tools, artists from around the world are coming together to create beautiful artworks inspired by their own natural environment. Each signed, original artwork will sell for £45 with every artist very generously donating 100% of the sales to the award winning Scottish charity Trees for Life!

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. With only 1% of the original Caledonian forest remaining it's crucial we do all that we can to help Trees for Life with their mission. This year Trees for Life aims to plant its one millionth tree! This would be an amazing achievement and we want to help make this a reality by raising £10 000 through this exhibition."

You can visit my contribution here. All pictures are for sale on the website and at the November exhibition: 1 - 13 November. Out of the Blue. Edinburgh
 
This is the 3rd time I have drawn this tree. It gets its title from the original sketch, whilst in Khartoum (below), and the story, which you can read in this post Moved on by the police!!!

On location sketch of the President's tree.

Next, I used the sketch combined with some photos to produce a finished piece (below), which was exhibited in Muscat last December. Here is the post on the Muscat exhibition.  

Khartoum Chai Ladies, Pen & ink  200x400mm ©Sue Pownall 2010.

 Looking at the three pieces I notice the changes in the tree. Can you?

Off to sea...

MIA from Dhow © Sue Pownall 2011

aka not motivated to finish a drawing.

Dhow harbour, Doha. © Sue Pownall 2011

Yesterday, despite a huge art list of things I wanted to complete and start, I was not inclined to do anything and did not have any self-discipline. A last minute text message had me running away to sea, just for the afternoon, on a dhow. Despite the high temperatures there was a lovely breeze, so it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Sunbathers in A5 sketchbook.

I tried to sketch some peps up on deck but they were all too young & active and would not stay in one place for long, so I abandoned my sketchbook.

Fun © Sue Pownall 2011

Dhows at Dusk © Sue Pownall 2011

Out of the handbag II

Ladies waiting and guys studying A6 sketchbook.

I realised that I haven't posted anything from my A6 sketchbook for a while, so above are sketches done during recent exams and from the ladies waiting room at the hospital.

Personal stuff:
Thank you to everyone who has sent me best wishes with my continuous headaches. I have a new doctor, a neuro-surgeon who wanted to find the cause rather than treat symptoms like last doc. So, I had another eye test, fine, then a very scary CAT scan, all clear. However, a spinal x-ray has show a problem with my neck. I am currently typing this wearing a neck-brace and have to have physio, in the form of traction ugh. I have been wearing the brace just a day and I have not had a single sign of a headache :D

In the news!

Gulf Times, Time Out section, 18 May 2011

Detail from article. Gulf Times 18 May '11

Yesterday, my interview for the Gulf Times appeared in the paper. Originally, it was only supposed to be a few column inches, but to my amazement I was on the cover of the Time Out section as the cover story, and then there was a double page spread inside.

Detail from Section Cover. Gulf Times 18 May '11

To say I was/am amazed by such a big spread is an understatement. The lovely journalist, Usha Desai, has written the article so well, I want to publicly say thank you to her. Usha contacted me after seeing a forum post about my SketchCrawl raising funds for Japan, if you missed the post it's here.

Gulf Times caption says: Sue Pownall and fellow sketchers show off their drawings outside a cafe on the Corniche during the benefit drawing marathon for Japan organised last month.

You can read the interview from this link:
http://www.gulf-times.com/mritems/streams/2011/5/18/2_435413_1_255.pdf

Finally, to quote artist Jenni Eden:

"See how the universe opens up such wonderful opportunities when you start concentrating on what you love!!"

I don't think Jenni is wrong.