Miniatures

Every so often I get the urge to draw again, but i'm finding it difficult to get any ideas. So, I decided to raid my sketchbooks and "inspiration" stash of images for some small things to work on. The first is drawn from one of many small photo postcards I acquired and have been wanting to do something with for years.

In contrast to the sombre black and white portrait, I found a lovely picture of my Auntie as a child. For some reason I chose a smaller scale for this as well (roughly A5). I think maybe working smaller is less daunting when you've had a creative block for awhile. 

The Beats

I decided after the Degree Show finished (a whole 4 months ago now) that I needed some new projects to work on. So I've been working on a portrait as a present for some family friends- The Beat family. It's A3, which is fairly small by my standards but the larger versions I attempted just didn't look right. This is the first time i've done a portrait with so many people in it, which was quite a challenge. Hopefully I managed to get everyone's likeness. 

My favourite particle physicist

OK, so he's actually the only particle physicist I know- Professor Brian Cox. I have been in awe of this man for a good few years now, ever since I first saw him on TV talking about science. If you know me, you'll know that science is (sadly) not one of my strong subjects but I think that Brian's enthusiasm on the subject is enough to teach anyone the basics at least. Prof.Cox- I salute you.

I'm not sure about the background on this one- I just went a bit crazy with pattern and colour to see what would happen. I used coloured pencils for the initial portrait and then introduced my old favourite- the permanent marker. The halo-esque shape just proves that old habits are hard to break. I do quite like the idea of depicting Brian Cox as a modern day icon.

Busy week

I've been back in Edinburgh again this week (it may be becoming a habit). The above photo was taken last year when it was sunny and warm on our visit to the Fringe festival. Unfortunately, yesterday it was raining heavily all day long, so no photographic evidence from the visit- although my camera is still playing up a bit anyway so it may not have let me take any.

I took my friend and boyfriend in to Caravan to see the exhibition. The team have uploaded photos online from the opening night so I thought i'd include a couple (courtesy of the lovely Abi I believe):

Me with my work installed in the gallery 

Opening night= balloons and good times


After our gallery visit we headed to Pleasance Courtyard to see Isy Suttie's fringe show.  Isy was amazing and her mixture of comedy, storytelling and singing was enough to brighten our day despite the rain- I would highly recommend going if you're in Edinburgh this month.

Our final stop was the show that my boyfriend, Sean is starring in. The Michael Farcical show is part of the free festival line-up this year and has been really well received.  It finishes on Saturday- so get there while you still can. Sean and his fellow farcical-ists all did really well (I would never be able to get up on stage and do a show to a room of strangers!).

There may also be an artwork related update soon!

Caravan Exhibition

Last night was the opening of the first ever Caravan  exhibition. It was great to see all the other work and meet the artists who made it. Also a big thank you has to go to the brains of the operation; Abi, Ian and Julz and their friends/families, who made it all happen.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos because my camera is broken (sad face), but there were lots taken so hopefully they will appear over on the Caravan blog soon.
If you're in Edinburgh over the next two weeks, pop in to see the exhibition at 28 Lady Lawson Street.

A productive day in Edinburgh

Yesterday I went through to Edinburgh to drop off some pieces of work for the upcoming Caravan exhibition. I met some of the lovely team, who were very happy and enthusiastic about my work. The exhibition opening is most likely at the beginning of August as there have been a few setbacks with getting the actual Caravan up and running on time. I will update as soon as dates are confirmed.

After dropping off my work, I tagged along with a couple of friends as they viewed flats in Leith. They are hoping to move to Edinburgh in September. Although it seems like everyone is leaving Dundee, the good thing is I have friends in most of the other major cities now to visit.

Although I seem to have been experiencing the post-Degree Show creative slump, I have some new ideas milling around in my head at the moment to move my work forward. Here's some snippets of what i've been looking at. The religious ideas and the aspect of icon worship that appeared in my Degree Show work will remain- but I am branching out in new directions. I also want to explore how death is viewed in different cultures and religions, starting with Mexico's traditional 'Day of the Dead' festival. I love the idea that they celebrate the lives of their loved ones who've passed on and invite their souls back to join in on the party...

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Day of the Dead

And i'm back!

So, it's been a while since I updated my blog (again!). Since I last updated, i've been doing all sorts of exciting things:

I graduated on 23rd June (to a backdrop of torrential rain and thunder!)

Spent a week in sunny Berlin, drinking lots of this stuff.

I also turned 22 last week. But my most exciting news is that i've been invited by the lovely people at Caravan to take part in their opening exhibition.
You can check them out here-  http://wearecaravan.tumblr.com/  

So now I have to decide which pieces will be coming down to Edinburgh with me next week when I get to see the gallery for the first time. Possibly these three pieces among others, although I may well change my mind:

Ava Gardner

Arlene Dahl

Bob Hope