The studio this month

A quick video of my drawings so far. I finally put up some shelves in my studio and was really happy to get them all up and together. They’ve become a ‘socially-distanced’ crowd, bit of an oxymoron, I know..

The more I make of these, the more I love them. I’ve actually become really attached, each one it’s own personality. So I’ve decided rather than selling them individually I’m going to hog them for an exhibition in the future. That way I can have their company for a bit longer.

But, as we finally move out of this awful period, I’ve also decided to draw this series to a close when the lockdown fully finishes here in England on 21st June 2021. It seems like the natural endpoint. They were so influenced by the pandemic it seems right to leave them there as a self-contained, hermetic (like we all were) series. Time to move on soon.

I had a few of them framed up to see what they’d look like in an exhibition. I also like them ‘plain’, just propped up on the shelves, in a more haphazard manner.

Material love

All the drawings have been made with my favourite materials and techniques. As ever, I’m besotted by using fire and smoke to make marks. There is also, white ink, gold leaf, graphite, aquacryl paint and last but not least my favourite ink which is Roberson’s Prouts Brown. I get it from Cornellissens near to the British Museum in London. It is the most Harry Potteresque art shop!

Samuel Prout – (draughtsman 1783 – 1852), painted the buildings of Western Europe, commissioned Roberson to produce this ink. It is lightfast, not waterproof and based on Van Dyke crystals. I love the colour and flow of it, it can be removed and washed away to a beautiful sandy brown colour, you can get a huge variety of effects from it. I’ve used it for years.

You can see the series in more detail on the MINDBOMBS project page, just click the link below.