Goals for Artist Journal course & testing papers

In just a few days Kate Johnson’s Artist Journal class begins. In the past I have been sceptical about “art journalling”  – maybe it’s a language thing. I think that a ‘journal’ (US English)  is a diary, which is why I don’t see the work of many art journallers, wonderful though it is, as journalling, or keeping a visual diary, as I’d put it . Much of the work is so labour intensive, with all the layering, that there is no way there can be an element of a regular entry. I’m sure these artists do work on their ‘art journals’ regularly, perhaps even all day every day, but I do feel that the ‘diary’ element is missing. Maybe I would call them an artist’s book.

My goals in this course are to .. (1) improve the way I treat each double page spread (2) draw or paint, with only minimal relevant collage (3) find a way to speed up my drawing (4) form the habit of drawing more regularly (because faster).

These drawings are preparation. I have a number of handmade books all ready to start, but I wasn’t sure which to use, as I have a Stonehenge one, a BFK Rives one, and an Arches Medium one.  I plan to use the full variety of media in this course, so I wanted to test the papers. I ruled out Stonehenge as my current nearly full sketchbook was of that paper.

First, I tested watercolours on the BFK Rives. I know it takes wet media well, but just wasn’t sure about watercolour. It has a bit of a woolly look, but generally acceptable. Then  I tried watercolour pencils on the Arches Medium. Again, reasonable, but I prefer smoother for a diary, so I’ll put that one aside for when Kate does her watercolour course.

Both these images were from Google Maps street view for http://virtualpaintout.blogspot.com The first one is Belfast (which I missed the date for), and the second is Halifax Nova Scotia which is the November  location.

Pelicans – graphite and watercolour pencils

I drew these pelicans from my own photo with graphite pencils then added a little colour with watercolour pencil. It is on Strathmore Aquarius which is hopeless for drawing.   It just doesn’t take the pigment. It is too soft. A sharpened pencil just digs a groove in it. I started with a 2b and moved up to a 6b but it didn’t make much difference.  I used a Tombow pen for the yellow in the eyes, as they are very prominent in the photo. Since I scanned it, I went back and did the black pupils in the eyes with a black pen.

You can’t get Strathmore Aquarius in Australia now. I got it for putting paint onto paper I then wanted to digital print on to, because its the one watercolour paper that doesn’t buckle. I bound a sheet of it into my book that I’ve been using for Kate’s watercolour pencil class – that was before I knew it wasn’t any good for drawing.

I have got a cold so I might go to bed now and watch Milk – I just loved that movie. I thought Sean Penn was just amazing. It completely changed my opinion of him. Even more his wonderful Oscar acceptance speech – the fact that he’s a man who appreciates elegance as a quality in another man (speaking of President Obama) makes me like him even more.

Bad drawings on GOOD paper

These are the drawings from Day One of my Campaign for Bad Drawing on Good Paper. Last Thursday I went with a friend on this harbour cruise – very different from the usual, as based on the industrial history of Sydney. With our new-ish interest in the demise of the working harbour, we thought it would be an ideal background. It was fantastic. Go, if you can, next time they have it.

I took my sketchbook with the GOOD paper (Stonehenge) and determined that although that ferry was chug-chug-chugging along, I would draw anyway. We had an ideal spot at the very stern, though people kept standing at the rail in front of me I could peer round them. So although these drawing began from the visual world, because of the momentum of the ferry, they were more than half from memory/imagination. I think that was very brave of me – straight with the pen onto Stonehenge.

So, today, I need to do some thumbnail drawings for another Cubist painting so that I can photograph it for a step-by-step project sheet for Matisse Derivan.  Will they go onto the Stonehenge or into the little spiral-bound cartridge paper one?  Who will join the Campaign for Bad Drawings on Good Paper?