The snail stowaway

Today I have been accompanied on my bike ride by a stowaway snail. The cheeky thing decided to make a home on my bike wheel, so I thought I would be nice and not evict him from his resting place, but take him on an adventure with me. He woke up a bit by the time I got to the cycle track and started to stick his 'horns' out. I'm not really that surprised. After three miles he'd started to make a run for it, so I let him escape as he was getting dangerously close to my brakes and the edge of the tyre. I hope I haven't made him sick.

                                        Copyright Rebecca Gregory 2014

I've included this snail drawing so you can see a page in progress. I'll post a photo of it completed later. It's the last page in my book, so I'll be starting on number two soon. (Woo hoo! Starting this visual journal feels like the best thing I ever did) Here are some more of the last pages:

                                       

Please note: Henry is my car, I am not being cruel to a child by buying him car mats.

                                     All images Copyright Rebecca Gregory 2014

Looking at this last double page I can see now that I've scanned it and got it on the screen that I need to add more colour. The page on the right would be improved with a rough colour background next to the jam jar, as I am not planning on colouring the drawing itself. Sometimes when I've looked at a drawing too much I can't tell whether it needs anything else to finish it off. Scanning it and looking at it on the computer helps me to take a step back and get a different perspective. The same effect can also be achieved with a mirror.

Thunder and lightning. And an Iris

I thought as it's raining today, now would be a good time to write my blog. I decided to go on a walk today to wear my new shoes in, but unfortunately this was not one of my best ideas ever as I got caught in a MASSIVE thunder and lightning storm. I could see the storm coming when I set out, so it was my own stupid fault really. I got stuck under a subway for about 15 minutes and nearly drowned as it was flooding from both ends. I really should have learned to swim. Anyways, this is not really about art. Here is some art:

                                             Copyright Rebecca Gregory 2014

I have been drawing in the garden this week, so I thought I'd make the most of the irises. (I think they look a little bit like tiny mauve aliens) I did the purple handwriting first on a separate piece of notepaper and stuck it in. I don't usually tend to stick things in my Moleskine books as it breaks the spine, but I thought just one thing wouldn't hurt. I didn't really like it at first as I thought the lines and the stark white paper were too harsh, so I created the background in pink and white acrylic and emulsion and made sure I painted over the edges of the paper to integrate it into the page. I think the iris works well with the writing as the colours mirror each other. I was going to draw more, but I think a single flower is much more of a statement on its own. It would have got too overcrowded otherwise with the splodgy (technical artist's term) background.

                                              Copyright Rebecca Gregory 2014

I deliberately didn't use too much colour on this page for the same reason. It's quite a detailed page and I like the way the coloured parts stand out. The baseball boots are just not the same without the colour!

Art camp

I'm not really at an art camp, I've just been drawing in the garden and making the most of the weather. As I write this it's blowing a gale outside and blizzarding blossom everywhere. I can hear the wind whistling down the chimney like it does in the winter. Good job I made the most of that sun. 

This blanket is my 'studio.' One day I'd like an actual studio; I'm hoping for an old tube train carriage in the garden (won't fit though) or a shed or summer house that I can graffiti (won't fit though). I'd paint a huge monster round the door so that I'd have to walk through it's open mouth to get in. I've designed it already, perhaps a bit prematurely, but you just never know.... Below is a drawing of it that I found in my sketchbook. (I left my neeeeew shoes in the photo cos they are cooool)

This week I've mainly been drawing some mouldy old cabbage. This leaf had gone multi coloured in its old age and had some fascinating patterns and textures.

I started with the top half of the outline in fine liner, then added the stalk and some of the veins in the top half, just so I could see roughly how everything was going to fit. Then I finished off the bottom half of the online and added in all the smaller veins last. Because the leaf was all wibbly wobbly it didn't matter if the outline didn't join up properly as I could just use artistic licence and make it up. (Sshhh, don't tell anyone...) I started to colour the bottom of the leaf in neatly, but then changed my mind and worked more loosely as I think this works better. I've smudged some of the pencil crayon with my waterbrush and coloured roughly over the lines. Sometimes I do colour in neatly, but I think this style suits the cabbage more.

I have also completed more of this drawing. I've used my coloured pencils and waterbrush again, smudging the colour of the bricks roughly first, and then whilst it was still wet, cross hatching over the top to give a darker tone.

I haven't yet decided whether to add the houses across the street in the background or not, but the good thing is is that this view never moves, so I have plenty of time to decide (and procrastinate). It was April when I started this drawing, hence the lack of greenery in the flower beds. 

I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that the gate is up now. And on that bombshell, it's time to end the show, goodnight.

Sketchbook journal part 4 and Flickr....

This drawing is Taunton Road in Swanage. I cheated and did it from a photo when I returned home from my holiday, as there was way too much beach combing to be done, and I just didn't have enough time. I applied a wash of watercolour first in a very vague shape of the outline of the houses. The houses are all red brick, hence the orange. I drew the houses in Bic Biro (no cheap crappy ones as they fade badly) and used thicker lines for the chimneys to make them stand out. I like the quality that Biro gives and it's very easy to shade with just by pressing softly. I have drawn the bricks this way, but only a few, just to give an impression. Often it isn't necessary to draw everything. 

Something old and something new

The patterns on this page are from my Grandparent's living room carpet. I was going to make a drawing of all the patterns in their house, but there were way too many and I gave up.

And also, LOOOOOOOK, I have started a Flickr page for all of my artwork, so if you'd like to see more go to: www.flickr.com/photos/rebeccagregoryart

Here is a little taster just to tempt you...go on, you know you want to....

                                      All images copyright Rebecca Gregory 2014

Sketchbook journal part 3

Here are some more pages from my journal...

 

 

                         

                                    All images copyright Rebecca Gregory 2013/14

Sketchbook journal part 2

Ok, I've been doing some scanning.... There's quite a lot of my visual diary I haven't shown you yet. I started it in March 2013, so it's been my companion for a while now. It even managed to get us a parking ticket as we carelessly abandoned our campervan in the Hobbycraft car park and walked across the road to Waterstones to buy it. (Which apparently is not allowed)

The churchyard picture was drawn using a 0.1 fine liner and water soluble pencils. The trees in the background I have roughly coloured in and scribbled, just to give an impression rather than drawing them in detail. I chose not to colour in the gravestones as I think they stand out more this way. If I was to colour them in I think they would be too similar in colour to the sky (which was very dingy that day).

The marker pen that I used for the writing, and also a little bit of shading was running out, but I purposely keep them when they get to this stage, even though most people would throw them away. They give a much more subtle effect and are much better for shading. I put a sticker on the end so that I don't get it muddled up with my good marker.

                                   All images copyright Rebecca Gregory 2013

Throwback Thursday-2004

I have found this old sketchbook from 2004 lurking under my bed and have been looking back at it.

It was dated June to September 2004 (I was 19) and was a university project to fill the time between finishing my foundation year and starting my degree. The title of the design brief was 'summer holiday visual journal' and that's exactly what it was. It was quite interesting to look through. My style has changed quite a bit. It was much more loose and scribbley back then. This was influenced greatly by a book I found during my foundation course in the fine art studio by The Neasden Control Centre. (Www.neasdencontrolcentre.com) It was from the university library and I became instantly fascinated with it. I then had to wait MONTHS for whoever had borrowed it to return it to the library, and it was always being renewed then being late back. I got it in the end though, and I later bought a copy for myself, and was so glad I did as it's out of print now.

Here are some of the pages I like:

There was some filming taking place in Lulworth Cove the day I drew this. The film was 'Beyond The Sea' starring Kevin Spacey. Quote from the lady in the Lulworth heritage centre about Kevin Spacey: "He's a little man with sticky out ears."

 

                                      All images copyright Rebecca Gregory 2004

Some things that happened in 2004:

- I watched Euro 2004 on the telly. I cannot remember now who won, but it was not England.

- I bought some red Converse All Stars (I still wear the same pair today!)

- our noisy neighbours went on holiday for a WHOLE WEEK and we had PEACE and QUIET. I was able to sit in the garden and read a book for the first time ever.

- I went on holiday to the caravan in Dorset. Some rain happened.

- I ran the Sport Relief Mile

- I went to the WOMAD music festival. I think it was possibly my first music festival. The green ribbon attached to my sketchbook was originally tied to the car ariel that day.

- we tried and failed to get Glastonbury tickets. We went on a day trip to Brean Down and I sulked about all the people enjoying themselves at Glasto. It was windy.

- our noisy neighbours ACTUALLY MOVED HOUSE. We had a celebratory cake. With little flags on.

- some other stuff happened too.

In the back of the book I wrote a list of the things I thought were 'cool' (to me, at the time)

- vampires

- pirates

- monkeys

- bats

- 'skellingtons'

- VW campers in nice colours (well well...)

- weird stuff