Watercolor Wedding Portrait in York Minster

Last week Mom and I went to York to see the pre-Christmas decorations, drink mulled wine and tour York Minster, which is the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe. It also has the greatest concentration of preserved medieval stained glass in any cathedral in Britain. While Mom and I were gawking at the beauty surrounding us, we noticed a bride walk into the transept on the arm of her father. An organ voluntary played, and they processed down the aisle. A wedding was about to start in York Minster.

Seeing the bride, overwhelmed with happiness and emotion, in such a grand setting inspired me to paint a picture of the moment. There is no way I could ever capture the intricate detail of the minster architecture in a small watercolor (it is 5 inches by 7 inches), so I left that out and focused on creating the feeling of space by leaving the page blank. Here you see the bride and her father processing behind a minster official.

Here are a few photos from our weekend in York....

The Shambles is one of Britain's best preserved medieval streets

York Castle

Drawing like Picasso

On Friday I went to the Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery in London. The premise of the exhibition was looking at how Picasso used his knowledge of art history and old master paintings as subject matter for his cubist style. Being an art historian myself, I enjoyed following the clues and finding stylistic and thematic links between the Picassos and the 'old masters.'

And, being an art student, I also enjoyed standing around in the crowds of people admiring the paintings (making a nuisance of myself, I'm sure) in the vain attempt to understand cubist style. I can see the logic behind Picasso's finished drawings, but it entirely escapes me how he arrived at that point. What is the internal logic of cubist drawing? It must be: draw every angle and every plane of the object at once, as if they were all facing forwards.

The top two sketches are from Picasso paintings. Then, I became emboldened, and I tried to sketch a woman in the gallery in Picasso style. I'm not sure I succeeded. I think she still looks too 'normal'.

What do you think? Do you have any tricks to draw "cubically"?

A week of luxury in Ibiza

I spent a week in a private villa on the mediterranean island of Ibiza. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure, as I don't have much time left before my final show. However, family friends offered us the use of their serviced mansion on a private cove, and we couldn't refuse.

To appease the conscience, I brought my sketchbooks and did a little scribbling in between trips to the beach and whisky-and-sodas on the terrace.

Canary Wharf

M's parents have come for a visit from South Africa, and we took them to see Canary Wharf this morning. It was fun to show them the hustle of bustle of pin-striped men rushing around the futuristic development laced with bridges and canals.

I did this little ink and pencil crayon sketch in my Fabriano Artist's Journal. It measures 2 inches across at the most.

I have a disproportionate pride for the fact that the names of the squares in Canary Wharf are "Canada Square" and "Cabot Square". I somehow associate this with a Canadian connection, either in urban design or investment. Can anyone enlighten me as to why there seems to be such a linguistic connection with my home country?

A morning in House Cafe

This morning I travelled to Camberwell College earlier than usual with the intention of spending some time in the library before our lecture. As Murphy's Law would dictate, the library was closed for the morning, so I spent my time in House Cafe doodling and chatting with my classmates.

In the cafe, we students brewed over our recent mid-year evaluations. Most of us were highly confused, both by the feedback we received and the form on which it was written. What did all those ticky-boxes mean? Why did the grades indicated in aforementioned ticky-boxes not correspond to the final percentage received?

After much thought and conversation, we decided that we had to make artwork that pleased us personally. I have received such conflicting advice about my artistic style, my painting, my use of colours (etc) from the various tutors that my head is starting to spin.

The most important thing is to produce artwork that fills your heart with joy: something you are really proud of. If you think it has value, then other people will naturally value it because you have distilled a portion of your spirit.

Incidentally, most of us spend as much time drawing in House as talking.