My first submission (rejection)

On the basis that 100% of the paintings that I don't submit, don't get accepted to exhibitions, I submitted a painting to an exhibition.

Walking up to the submission point I was thinking, "Oh, I hope I don't see anyone I know." So naturally I bump into someone I know. On the plus side I won't be so worried about that next time.

As you might have guessed from the title, my work was rejected. Sadly they don't give anything as useful as feedback, so I am left wondering, was it:

• Just not good enough.
• Not to the selectors' taste (collectively/individually).
• Too like other submissions.
• Poorly presented (stretching, framing etc)
• Was it the composition, brushwork, subject or narrative that were lacking?

Frustrating this, isn't it!

So my mission... to find out, not what those particular selectors thought of my work (I am sure they have better things to do than be pestered by many thousands of disappointed artists) but what and how the selection process works.

My plan... to volunteer to do some art handling at a selection.

[Edit] Size matters! As I just discovered on Katherine Tyrrell's amazingly comprehensive Making a Mark blog. The scale of my submission was something I hadn't considered.

I've been wanting to work larger for a long time but have been a little put off by the expense, logistics and my recent development into oil paints. Clearly it's time to re-examine that thought.

Extreme poses life drawing

These drawings are from my regular weekly life drawing class tutored by Paul Fowler at Pegasus Art. The model poses within in a web of ropes. This provides the opportunity for some amazing and dynamic viewpoints that would otherwise be impossible, although it does have the side effect of making it way harder! Above are a couple of drawings from the last session.

An analytical aside (don't say that aloud!) I think I am beginning to pick out elements of the (typically awesome) poses in this class which are beginning to tie in with ideas from my studio work. Yay connectivity!

Drawings - Anatomy

I went to a fabulous anatomy workshop with artist Alan McGowan at the Bristol Drawing School a while back (I do hope to catch up to myself soon!); below is a shot of Alan's demonstration drawings from the workshop; he built these up as he explained the muscle groups:


I feel much less overwhelmed by anatomy now but still, I never knew there was just so much of it! And it is incredible.....your scapula (shoulder blade) is actually translucent, WOW! Ok, so that isn't exactly prime information, as the opportunities to draw disarticulated shoulder blades are pretty limited, but still, Wow. The body is just the most amazing thing. Here are a couple of my drawings from the workshop:


Seeing Alan's anatomy drawings and studies has inspired me to start my own anatomy sketch book. I hope it will be a good way to interrogate my ever increasing collection of artistic anatomy books to improve my knowledge and understanding. I'll post some pages once I get going with it.

Stones

Someone put these outside my studio the other day; I love stone with holes in! I think I need to add something to the collection.

Up next....some actual drawing!

After

Here's what my studio looks like after few weeks of occupation:


A couple of people were asking about it, so:

How I found it - I mostly looked online, searching local commercial estate agents for workshop or very cheap office space.
What to look for - To make a meaningful search it helps to have some idea of what you want. Consider:

• Location, affects travel time and costs.
• Size, how much space do you want/need? (Calculate the area of your living room and scale accordingly to get an area of what an area looks like.)
• Facilities: I looked for good daylight, independent access, parking, toilets/access to water. What might your visitors need (if you do an open studio, exhibition, workshops or simply hire a model)?
  
• Terms:Is it a lease or a licence? (Ensure you know the difference)
  
• What is/isn't included?
  
• Costs: What is your budget? Don't forget business rates, insurance, electricity, heating, service/maintenance charges and other services etc.

Beginnings

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
- Confucius


This is my first step; my studio. Although it is in the nature of beginnings to start without you noticing, this was the step I took. It now (post photo) has lights, power and paintings.