Some great news for me this week & Google London

This week I heard that my Bologna book (which you can see here and here) was chosen to be acquired in the Southern Cross University Acquisitive Artists’ Book Award. Tara O’Brien who chose the acquisitions  said that these books “achieved a high level of sophistication in the synergy between form and content”.

I am delighted about getting recognition for this book, because I put so much work into it. You can see the other acquisitions here.  Congratulations to Amanda Watson-Will, who is the only other winner that I know personally (through blogging). Amanda has written at more length about the exhibition and truly says that we were were in great company. It is a real honour to have our books chosen. It was Amanda’s first book. My first book was acquired by the Meadowbank College Association.

The drawing above was for the Virtual Paintout blog, where your image must come from Google Street View. I took the little yellow man for a walk around Pimlico where I spent a part of my misspent youth as a receptionist in a hotel there. I lived in an apartment next door to the hotel, in the building on the left. There was a back way out of our building in the street behind, and we sometimes could smuggle our boyfriends out that way if necessary.

Even more birds at the museum & a terrific drawing book

Last week we went to the Australian museum again, not for so long this time. I am very happy with my gang-gang cockatoo. I’ve realised that my drawing from ‘life’ (taxidermed life in this case) is entirely different from my drawing from photographs. My drawing from photographs are rather drawings of photographs.

The gang-gang cockatoo in the museum was blackish, though the ones online are more grey and pink. I’ve never seen one in the wild – endangered I think. The rosellas, yes, all over the place.

I wonder if anyone else has read this book I just bought DRAWING FROM WITHIN: UNLEASHING YOUR CREATIVE POTENTIAL by Nick Meglin. My favourite book shop has a 10th birthday sale & I went in to see what was there & came away with two books. This book has really impressed me. It’s about the philosophy or mindset of drawing. It’s all common sense, and only took me about 2 hours to read. Now I have to read it again & put yellow stickies, or maybe even highlight some places (I NEVER do that).

There is no Artspeak. Pictures of wonderful drawings, but just for eye candy – not for how-to. Only one assignment per chapter, but the intention is to implant the habit of drawing. Nevertheless, although this book is very different to Danny Gregory’s books, the writer has much the same idea, that you learn to draw by doing.  It’s also a breath of fresh air after having had teachers in art school who preferred  anything rather than realistic drawing. This writer says there’s no bad or good. It’s all subjective. There’s no place for judgement – only constructive criticism.

The thing where his ideas perhaps diverge from mine, is that he says you should draw for yourself, not to show others. I like the ‘community ‘ aspect of drawing and communicating with others who draw online.

This author says you should just draw, never ‘make a drawing’. Not worry about how the finished work is going to look. I actually think he’s right. It’s just as ‘good paper’ inhibits many of us, we all want to come up with something that we’re happy to post online. If you’re not worried what the end result will be like, you’re more inclined to stretch yourself – take risks.

Barcelona drawing

This drawing of Barcelona’s Placa Maria del Mar was first published on this blog therefore it’s a street view photo from Google Maps little yellow man. I wanted to draw this particular place, because oh, four or five year ago, when I was in Barcelona and still couldn’t draw too well , I sat in that cafe on the right and drew the lamp-post on the left. That holiday was a bit of a breakthrough, and I filled a small sketchbook, and a number of the drawings led to paintings – though not this one.

This is on Fabriano Hot Press in Prismacolour Deep Umber, then washed over with watercolour pencils. The virtual paintout blog has London for the subject for August, and I’ve done my research and have a street view photo ready to draw.

Borobudur coloured pencil & watercolour pencils

Borobudur…buddhist monument from the 9th century – discovered in Central Java in 1978. I went there when I went to Java some years ago. I took my photograph from up on the monument among the stupas. This is what the whole monument looks like.

It is very close to the hindu monument of Prambanan which I drew recently
This one was drawn in a non-watercolour Prismacolor pencil in the colour of Gris Froid (Cool Grey) then watercolour pencils after that. Fabriano Cold Press.

What I’ve been reading ( reading a lot lately) - Coronation Talkies This is a book set in an Indian hill station, by an Australian author.It’s a bit of a spoof – not unlike the books of Alexander McCall Smith, although in this case, the ‘traditionally built’ lady is Indian rather than African. I just loved this book – was discussing it with a friend at the weekend – she’d read it and ‘couldn’t put it down’.