Monthly Archives: September 2017

Kyoto Belle Époque

“Kyoto Belle Époque”
coloured pencils and oil pastels. 22 x 27 cm. September 2017

To each of you who came to my art exhibition “Entranced” this month, thank you so much!  Many of you saw me working on this drawing and some of us discussed techniques together.

The drawing as a work-in-progress at the gallery in September 2017.

Once the exhibition closed I finished the drawing at home.   I call it “Kyoto Belle Époque” as it calls to my mind the elegance of the ‘beautiful era’ of Paris in the late 19th century.  So, to me, this is a touch of Paris in Kyoto.

People who came to the exhibition saw that looking at my blurry drawings close up and far away were two different experiences for the eyes.  So for this post I have taken a photo of the drawing from a small distance.  The blurry drawings make more sense from a wall across a room (as they are designed to be viewed)  than they do as a close-up computer screen image.

“Kyoto Belle Époque” on the easel.

Finally, who were these two maiko?  They were Taka and Hisamomo of Pontocho.

The two maiko in the drawing

 

Impressions

A small coloured pencil/oil pastel piece which I’m drawing at the exhibition.

I am spending a couple of hours each day at my art exhibition “Entranced”.  In this exhibition I have several works from the past five years as well as a series of 2017 drawings.

While at the gallery I am listening to the opinions of visitors.  What I am hearing is that many people prefer drawings with a more interpretive impressionistic bent than the detail-filled sharply focused pieces.   Indeed, the first to sell at the opening was “Daydream” and many visitors have admired this piece and others like it.

“Daydream”
August 2017
coloured pencils on top of an undercoat of oil pastels.

I am happy that visitors are responsive to the impressionistic work because this is a type of drawing I am enthusiastic about as well.   After years of detailed work, it is a pleasure to work in a looser interpretative style.

“Sideshow Alley” – coloured pencils/oil pastels
also in the exhibition.

Kidogo Arthouse (Bathers Beach, Fremantle) is open from 11 – 4 Tuesday to Sunday (but closed on Sunday 17 September) until September 20.  I am on site from 11 until 1.  I am giving a talk on Saturday 16th at 2 pm.  All welcome.

 

 

Walk

“Walk”
Oil pastels and coloured pencils.  24 x 25.5 cm.  September 2017

The pedestrian signal is green, inviting me to cross Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville and perhaps traverse Pont d’Arcole to Ile de la Cité.  And really, is there any better way to explore Paris than to walk?

The two small images above show the work in progress.  The first image was taken when I had undercoated the whole piece with oil pastels – applied with a bristle brush.  The second image has some layers of coloured pencils over the top of the pastels.  Pencils + pastels allow deep intense colours.

Plus a note to say “Entranced” opens this Thursday, 7 September, at 6 p.m.   Details below.