Development, inspiration and research
I have been developing my ideas over the weekend. So many idea's, so little time! I have been working on my double page spread in my A2 book - last Tuesday afternoon, Kath had asked us to create a composition of shell drawings or anything else we wanted to draw relating to World of Water that would fill a double page spread of our A2 sketchbooks, including any wording or media we liked. The only stipulation was that the drawings were from observation, not imagination or photo's. I started with a shell in soft pastel that filled half of one page:
I am happy with the textures I created, but it needs fattening up a bit - the proportions aren't quite right.
I then continued to add a further 3 shells, each approximately half a page in size, overlapping each other in a little group:
I needed a background to pull them together - my thoughts included a collage of paper images representing sand, I looked at magnified sand and thought I might draw in enlarged grains of sand:
I couldn't decide what to do so I put it to one side and followed other research routes.
Having researched Terry Setch, I liked the concept of including pieces of rubbish that he found on Lavernock beach in his work to highlight the pollution of our oceans and beaches - litter in general is a particular bug bear for me, and I have been involved with beach clean-ups previously - collecting litter and recording what types of items have been found and passing the information on to the Marine Conservation Society to help them collect data.
I found a local beach clean up was happening on Sunday, so I signed up, but then had an e-mail from the organiser explaining that over 100 people had registered to help and that a news crew were attending, so I decided to go have a look at Lavernock beach instead - where Terry Setch finds inspiration (along with many other artists).
I had expected to find things like empty water bottles & had taken photo's of posh expensive water bottles lined up on supermarket shelves - thinking I would make a beautiful painting of neat rows of shiny water bottles but somehow incorporating the discarded ones.
I didn't want to create a piece that was obviously drawing attention to a cause - it's not really my style. Whilst I appreciate some of the idea's behind Terry Setch's work, I don't necessarily like much of it. There are a couple of pieces that I enjoy looking at, but I do find most of it ugly. I personally enjoy art that is beautiful - I think there is enough vulgarity, shock and ugliness highlighted in the news and on social media - I want art to be an escape. I am, however, starting to understand that there can still be meaning in 'pretty pictures'!
My pre-conceptions turned out to be incorrect (as is so often the case!). I did find litter - lighters, bricks, cigarette ends, but no water bottles. Well, not whole ones, and not plastic. My attention was completely diverted to little jewels in the sand - sea glass!
I had taken a collecting box with me and instead of collecting litter, like a magpie I found myself picking up beautiful, misty, rounded nuggets of green, aqua, clear, brown, blue and orange glass.
I had no idea what I was going to do with it at the time, I just loved that I had found beauty in what was essentially rubbish washed up on the shore. I also love the idea that glass is made from sand, and once it has been used and discarded it ends up right back here on the beach, gradually being ground back into sand over decades by the salt in the ocean and motion of the tide. I also collected a box of sand as if you look closely, you can see the tiny granules of glass mixed in with the shell and stone.
When I got home I decided to glue some of the sea glass and sand to my sketchbook double page spread shells - it had the added bonus of stopping the pastels rubbing against each other and smudging/blending (even with fixative applied!)
I am quite pleased with the effect, however I wish I had put the sand down first and drawn the shells over the top - sandpaper is a popular surface for pastel painting, so it should work. I would also have placed the sea glass, shell and large-grain sand more naturally - this is placed to keep the pages apart slightly. With the darker background it became very apparent that the bottom left shell was far too pale, so I have since added more colour and shading:
...So what next? Next I need to trial pastel painting on the home made sandpaper. Then I need to work out a more naturalistic shell composition and way of placing the sea glass, shell and large grain sand.
A friend also sent me this poem on facebook, which I would like to incorporate in some way:
I still have other idea's I would like to pursue;
lino printing on clay - I would like to do a lino cut of the crannog centre where I got married, set in clay with reeds and feathers from the lake and some petals from my wedding bouquet set in the clay somehow. Perhaps a little self-indulgent though I guess...
I still like the water bottle idea, even though the initial concept has gone out the window, I do like the idea that glass is made from sand, then returns to sand, so something incorporating sand, new glass and sea glass still appeals. There is an artist I follow in instagram called Antuan_elle who makes beautiful fluid acrylic/resin beach scenes incorporating shells and gemstones - I was thinking of trying this process, however everyone seems to be doing it these days. I need to have a think to see if I can come up with an original take on it.
I was also inspired by the textile design taster session at Cardiff Metropolitan University and would like to experiment with embroidering the patterns of water droplets and waves on fabrics...we will have to see what this week brings. For now, it's 1.30am and I need to get to bed! Ninight, sweet dreams...
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