Last week, I had an amazing time hanging a collection of work that has taken me since October 2021 to complete. The collection, entitled 'Forage Marks', is a series of over 30 paintings and drawings created using natural brushes foraged from the estuary, close to where I live in the fishing village of Leigh on Sea, Essex. The work is a result of an exploration- the aim being to create more authentic marks in my work. I began making my own drawing tools using the common reeds found along the river bank, sweet fennel and yarrow are some of the other plants I used to create brushes.
Back in the studio, I experimented with inks and different papers; I quickly realised I could get some incredibly spontaneous and unique marks with these materials!
Working in layers with different viscosities of ink, I began to create large expressive drawings which attempt to capture how it feels to be out in nature, rather than how the landscape looks. I created a triptych- using soft layers of fluid acrylics with bold ink marks on top- the 'Autumn Dance Series' are framed in beautiful gold frames which pick out some of the soft background colours in the series. See below left, these are reminiscent of trees and have a definite Japanese influence.
If you are interested in viewing this collection, it's on show at the moment at Create98 on Leigh Broadway. There are a number of smaller A5 framed pieces available, along with three larger A2 sized works on paper. There are also some 2 unique monochromatic paintings entitled 'Shirokuro I and II'.
Thank you to everyone who came to support me at The Private View, and at my 'Experimental Mark Making' workshop. It's been a fantastic experience to see all this work together- over 30 original works of art were on show last Saturday evening at the Private View, many of the paintings found new homes which was wonderful. Best of all though, were the conversations that the work sparked, these have really inspired me to keep experimenting, searching for new and exciting ways of drawing! A special thank you to Create98 for hosting the event and supporting me with this idea!
I was recently interviewed by Create98 for their blog post. you can read the full interview below....
Finally, I was thrilled with some of the work from the workshop- some gorgeous pieces were created. If you would like to keep updated as to my next workshop, please sign up to my Studio Notes. Places are limited to just 10 people- the next one will be in the Autumn!
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