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June 24, 2016 13:49
I drew this rabbit one day and it quickly found a home in Scotland.
I often think of the cruelty that exists in the world simultaneously as I think of the beauty that I am creating. By drawing the creature, I'm creating a memory of it- so I don't forget it's existence.
Sylvia Plath's poem touches on these thoughts but ofcourse has a personal tragic undertone that reflected her volcanic relationship at the time. I thought I'd share this poem today.
The Rabbit Catcher by Sylvia Plath
It was a place of force -
The wind gagging my mouth with my own blown hair
Tearing off my voice, and the sea
Blinding me with its lights, the lives of the dead
Unreeling in it, spreading like oil.
I tasted the malignity of the gorse,
It's black spikes,
The extreme unction of its yellow candle-flowers.
They had an effiency, a greaty beauty,
And were extravagant, like torture.
There was only one place to get to.
Simmering, perfumed,
The paths narrowed into the hollow.
And the snare almost effaced themselves -
Zeros, shutting on nothing,
Set close, like birth pangs.
The absense of shrieks
Made a hole in the hot day, a vacancy.
The glassy light was a clear wall,
The thickets quiet.
I felt a still busyness, an intent.
I felt hands round a tea mug, dull, blunt,
Ringing the white china.
How they awaited him, those little deaths!
They waited like sweethearts. They excited him.
And we, too had a relationship-
Tight wires between us,
Oegs too depp to uproot, and a mind like a ring
Sliding shut on some quick thing,
The constriction killing me also.
Posted June 24, 2016 13:49
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May 12, 2016 14:10
As Program's Chair of Huntington Beach Art Center, I interviewed the wonderful photographer Mr Kurt Weston. You can visit the interview by clicking here or read below.
Posted May 12, 2016 14:10
April 22, 2016 14:17
Really loving experimenting with software to enhance my hand-drawn studies! My new work takes such a long time to produce, whether it be fine lines or lots of dots. Being able to create different works of art and sometimes even add colour with a few clicks is really exciting. This is my latest digital work based on my drawing of a Peony Rose.
Posted April 22, 2016 14:17
April 1, 2016 21:03
March 11, 2016 22:24
February 19, 2016 14:24
I recently went to check out Open House Creative in Costa Mesta, California.
The first person to tell me about Open House was the owner of a framing company Best Framing in Costa Mesta. I was having some new prints framed, one by the artist Heather Gabel and the other by Scottish Band, The Phantom Band. On seeing the prints he exclaimed 'Wow, interesting work. You better check out Open House! It's just around the corner and they have a workshop and exhibition space'.
I joined their mailing list and was lucky enough to spot this week's Printmaking class with the local artist Danny Schutt. I jumped at the chance to get involved after a week of experimenting with Solarfast film.
At art school printmaking was one department I used to walk pass (as I trundled down to sculpture dep) and stare in through the big glass windows at the beautiful big press. I knew I would regret not making use of the wonderful facilities at Duncan of Jordanstone but there was never enought time to utilise everything at art school.
Recently I've been thinking of ways to add colour to my work and printmaking may be a great way to retain my drawing but add depth with colour!
I really loved the workshop and the process of monoprinting from inking up the plate, to mark making, to cutting paper - it was an evening of freedom, a little chaotic, no rules and like my sculpture resulted in a number of abstracts...
Posted February 19, 2016 14:24
February 11, 2016 14:44
#art
If you happen to be in Orange County this Friday evening, please join myself and a group of female artists for Location 1980's 'The Art of Love & Beauty' exhibition. I had never been to the venue until I dropped off my work this week... even the art on the outside of the walls is kick ass!
I'm super excited to be showing with such a talented bevy of beauties and look forward to making new connections and discussing my work.
There is also a special ladies only event before the show from 6-8pm, for more information on this please check out the facebook page by clicking here
I have a total of 5 works on show, including a sculpture made in Scotland!
Stay tuned for a review of the event with more photos here soon.
Bx
Posted February 11, 2016 14:44
February 2, 2016 19:50
I'm very pleased to be taking part in this year's 'Centered on the Center' exhibition at Huntington Beach Art Center, with some of Orange County's most talented artists here in California.
The art center is an amazing resource for the community of Huntington Beach and further afield. It makes art accessible to a wider audience and has an excellent line of exhibitions throughout the year. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Director Kate Hoffman has in store for this year's line up of exhibitions.
I have added a few pictures of my latest work in situe below, it's title, 'My National Flowers'. The work is an exploration into my identity and my dual citizenship. I used a staedtler pigment liner on watercolour board. This was about 30hrs from start to finish, I'm really enjoying the depth of detail I'm achieving. However I also love keeping line simple.
I hope you enjoy having a sneak peak of the show, but if you are in the area do stop in, there is such a diverse range of works in one room. The show runs until March 12th 2015.
Posted February 2, 2016 19:50
December 15, 2015 17:37
A few quick snaps of the show at the Huntington Beach Art Center, on until December 22nd.
I really enjoyed seeing everyone's work, including a beautiful sculpture by local artist Bob Vale. To me his work captures a moment in the life of a wave - it's symbolic of this surfer town.
Posted December 15, 2015 17:37
November 21, 2015 19:45
I'm very pleased to be taking part in this year's juried Annual Member's Show at The Huntington Beach Art Center here in California. If you are in the area do stop by, I had a sneak preview the other night and the output is fantastic. Big thank you to all the staff at the art center for such a quick and amazing install!
The exhibition runs until December 19th 2015.
Posted November 21, 2015 19:45
November 4, 2015 22:46
I've recently with the help and support of my amazing husband set up my new studio in Huntington Beach.
I have the urge to make sculpture again whilst continuing with my drawing in this new space.
So what is inspiring me at the moment? I feel most at ease expressing what I know and this at present is my own personal experience. I have started to look inside at what makes me, well me. Having travelled the past couple years and lived an 'expat' lifestyle at times I have felt isolated. Isolation aswell as many other feelings including happiness :) are areas I plan to explore.
My most recent study completed only a few hours ago, is a self portrait of myself as a child. It's title is 'Sam killed a seagull'.
One of my childhood memories of growing up was my beloved pet cat Sam, aswell as our back garden. The day Sam and his friend (a ginger tom cat belonging to our neighbour) Timmy caught a seagull was truly an unforgettable scene. I came home from school to my back garden covered in white feathers, from one end to the other. I remember feeling anger too. I hated seeing the birds be toyed with and not put out of their misery. It was perhaps only a couple years earlier, I lay with a black bird in a shoe box (one of Sam's previous near murders) praying that it's little soul would be saved. I waited with that bird until the sun went down and my Mother was calling me in to bed. The next day it was gone.
I decided to make my line drawing more detailed than usual and more complex in terms of composition using a Staedler pigment liner 0.1mm.
Posted November 4, 2015 22:46
October 28, 2015 23:36
I have been going to a untutored life drawing class lately.
A whole afternoon of drawing with whatever materials you choose!
This study, I later developed with ink took me back to my high school art class. I remember one lesson we were told to just make shapes, colour, pattern with whatever we wanted, however we wanted. 'Freeing the mind' - we were children at play. I've never forgot this lesson by my high school teacher Mrs Corbett. It was a lesson in using your senses, feeling the materials, choosing the colours and in doing so finding a way to express ourselves.
Whenever I need to reboot and review my practice - I play, just like this. It realigns my thoughts.
Posted October 28, 2015 23:36
October 27, 2015 16:30
This is is a little tonal exercise I set myself this week. Most of my portfolio to get into art school comprised itself of portraiture. An area I haven't visited in some time. I used an old bit of mounting card and began with a 4B pencil - not the best (Tad soft/dark). I wish had started with a 2B.
However, I enjoyed the process.
Thank you for the loan of your face Mr Walken.
Posted October 27, 2015 16:30
October 23, 2015 14:03
About three years ago my older brother asked me to design a tattoo to commemorate our mother who passed away when we were teenagers.
Our Mother was the most beautiful woman you could imagine, auburn hair, high cheekbones - she could have been a movie star and her heart matched that beauty ten fold. So designing a tattoo that could live up to her was a hard ask to say the least. However my drawing always tells a story and this is what I aimed to do.
Blackbirds always surrounded our garden in Milngavie, Glasgow. However there was one feathery friend that always came to our back garden to sing with our Mother. It was her blackbird. Yes it sounds like something out of a Disney movie... but my Mum could whistle like a bird and there they would sing together in our garden - which she tended to religiously. Roses also had to be an element to represent our garden and our home we grew up in together. Our grandmother taught my mother and myself how to tend to these beautiful flowers and the thistles were an element that Steven and I had discussed to represent our home Scotland.
This is the tattoo design I came up with below. I can't tattoo sadly so my brother searched New York for a tattoo artist he could trust that could retain all these elements. I was very excited to see the final product and only recently did I see it in the flesh!
My brother discovered South Shore Tattoo in Amityville NY and the owner and artist Mike Nomy. If you have the time have a look at their website they really are a talented collective of artists.
Mike and my brother discussed elements of the tattoo that had to remain and how it would best fit to his desired location on his arm. The picture was a guide and I love how Mike interpreted the design and re-worked it to suit the posterior muscles on my brother's upper arm.
The colours brought the whole picture alive and ofcourse, tears procured from my eyes when I saw the first photograph from my then home in Singapore.
Whenever I see or hear a blackbird, I feel an immediate connection to this small winged creature.
Thank you to Mike Nomy and South Shore Tattoo for all their amazing work.
Posted October 23, 2015 14:03
February 24, 2015 16:42
Home is where the Art is
I love looking at artist's studios and their private dwellings. I guess it helps me feel closer to understanding their artistic process. If you google Mondrian's studio with Bed, it's amazing how quickly you are transported to his paintings...clean lines and constructed balance.
I once made my brother drive me the whole way to Montauk so I could see Jackson Pollock's studio and his famous paint splattered shoes. Unfortunately we were sidetracked by the lighthouse, Acrophobia and then beer... I never did get to his studio. However I will one day.
I love these black and white images of three of my favourite artists. Isamu Noguchi, Rodin and Frida Kahlo. Although the only one that doesn't feel staged here is Rodin (below) and he has the best beard I've ever seen.
Pictures can be found on flickr.com & Pinterest.com
Posted February 24, 2015 16:42
January 22, 2015 17:20
Cat's Cradle
New artwork for 2015
Keep an eye out for more in the next few months!
Posted January 22, 2015 17:20
August 12, 2014 05:24
'And Hoggle, if she ever kisses you, I'll turn you into a Prince'
As a child I was obsessed with fairytales and as you can tell from the title of today’s blog, the 1986 movie Labyrinth.
Fantasy is escapism, from our world to another. It lets imagination thrive and the idea of wondrous possibility. So I ask myself, if something could be possible is it therefore achievable, graspable? Say to find those fairies down by the bog!?
This is something I love about story telling. You have the opportunity to create worlds, to inspire, to help children (and adults!) ask questions and learn about the world they live in.
Furthermore, this is why I simply love art. Whether it is music, film or architecture, art enables this inert sensibility we all have to connect with our world, our memories and the time we live in.
I recently had an idea for my very own children's book. It will probably be a good year in the making but to aid the creative process I recently undertook a course in children's book illustration.
This week will be my final class at Nanyang Academy of Fine Art with tutor Patrick Yee, so I thought it best to document this inspiring experience with a few snippets!
Creating characters
From day one I decided to forget everything I had been told at art school and life drawing class and just absorb.
Having no story line to feed from, cats of the larger variety became a frequent inspiration.
That being said, for most of the course you are constantly feeding from your own personal memory, much like writing, you imagine your character/s and try and map them onto paper.
We often focused on creating two characters, one human and one animal. An interesting way to make your characters connected on paper is to give them similar facial expressions; including shapes of eyes, nose and mouth. You can also do this using colour; for example, both characters could have rosy red cheeks or the same colour neck tie.
Bright colours are also a way of captivating your ever learning viewer. Materials can range from, poster colour to food colouring to Chinese ink. Experimentation is key! In no time you may find your leading man, lady, cat, dog, alien...or mouse in a top hat.
Crayon & Poster Paint
Poster Paint & Chinese Ink
Finding your own personal style of drawing is very important and although I enjoyed drawing Mr Mouse (above) for technique’s sake, I feel I'm drawn towards more detailed studies. I can however see this style working perfectly in a Julia Donaldson book and ofcourse for a certain age group.
I'm inspired by Illustrators such as the contemporary artist Victo Ngai and also Arthur Rackman's beautiful fairy tales illustrations. I identify with their use of fine line, as this is where my heart lies when it comes to drawing. However it is good to come out of your comfort zone and try new things. The next Landscape series was one of the most enjoyable.
Landscape: Starlight
The pictures above are mixed media night scenes, the trees and the buildings carved out by a handcut stencil. Food colouring or Batik Ink can be used to create your evening sky. Additionally hand drawn elements can be incorporated to the scene for added depth.
Landscape: Seasons
Summer
It really amazed me at the speed in which you could create a colourful landscape using ye olde poster paint. I haven't used this stuff since school but loved every minute and it's cheaper than most.
Autumn
Winter at sea
I love winter so I missed out spring
Over the duration of the course we covered many techniques. I would like to experiment more with detailed ink works for my characters. Perhaps etching/engraving may be a possibility. I love the engraving work of French artist Gustave Dore. His dark, inky works are completely exquisite.
It felt good to have an experimental period of study. It’s almost like stretching before a workout.
Be sure to keep an eye out for further art work and illustrations.
Thank you for reading.
BLH
Posted August 12, 2014 05:24
August 29, 2013 05:00
It's that Lucky 13
It's been a very busy, wonderful and exciting summer. I left the shores of Singapore to go home to Scotland a month ago to see family & friends. Before doing so, I thought it was time to get my art out there...
Culture Square is an art gallery located on 72 Duxton Road, Singapore. The gallery acts as a platform for emerging artists to show their work and for the public to have the chance to buy one off pieces of artwork at affordable prices. Having been given the opportunity to produce work for the gallery, I set to work in late May.
As you may have read from previous blog pieces, I have been looking at Greek Mythology as inspiration for my recent drawings. It's been a really enjoyable experience delving into individual stories and working towards a new collection.
There is also a diverse range of works to be seen from recent graduates of LASALLE College of Arts and beyond, so if you happen to be visiting/living in Singapore, I certainly suggest popping in.
To help you to understand a bit more about my work on show, I wrote the following Artist Statement which you can also read on the Culture Square website...
‘The function of Art is to disturb. Science reassures’ George Braque
I have always had an obsession with line, a mark which evolves, developing little by little. It is direct, able to be controlled and often spontaneous.
Storytelling informs my current art practice, from myths & legends to perplexing daily news. Nurtured by my imagination, the works will often highlight a contemporary significance.
My current body of work is inspired by characters and notions in Greek Mythology. I find the portrayal of different species (including the imaginary) fascinating and consider man’s dominance in our world today.
If you happen to be free on Friday the 13th of September 2013, Culture Square will be hosting an event with myself & five other artists.
Details of this event can be found by clicking here.
Hope to see you there!
BLH
Posted August 29, 2013 05:00
7 comments
July 17, 2013 23:18
My day with Picasso
It was raining outside and I had just got back home from a gym/physio session where I pushed myself a little too hard.
I had read about the Pablo Picasso exhibition at the Tyler Print Institute Singpore from a flyer and was eager to see the show, so with umbrella in hand I ventured out into the city.
After about 30 minutes of walking, I realised I was pretty lost. As always, Google Maps saves the day and I realised I was closer than I had originally thought.
I found myself at the entrance just as rain drops started to pelt me in the face. I made my escape up a black staircase and through a set of glass doors to the exhibition space.
The first series I was introduced to was like seeing an old friend.
I was looking at Picasso's Bull series of 1945 entitled The Bull. I remember writing about this work in art school; it helped me to understand the importance of drawing when creating form/space.
To give you a little history, the Cubist’s main aim was to represent that which cannot be seen all at once. Instead of depicting one viewpoint they aimed to foresee from all angles. They wanted to see everything, not just a moment, an entire environment. The main reason in doing so was to represent the subject in a greater context, relating to depth and of course space.
Picasso was the founder of Cubism along with George Braque. He used a kind of observational dissection in The Bull across 11 lithographs. The first image we are confronted with is a physical organic shape, generous in mass. At this early stage your eyes recognise it to be a bull. As the series continues, Picasso begins to deconstruct the bull, breaking him down, drawn with minimal lines and various geometric shapes. He constantly alters the linear appearance in order to redistribute balance in the composition. You're left looking at a collection of lines, which your mind recognises as a bull not because of its shape but because of the lines that indicate its surface mass and weight. The lines now exist, consumed in the task of representation.
You can see further examples of Picasso’s method of working as you continue through the exhibition in his work Two nude Women. This series is made up of 18 lithographs. The two women like the bull change and contort until we are left with abstract shapes. It’s a beautiful window into Picasso’s mind and even heart. I remember hearing that the women in the prints were his lovers, Francoise Gilot & Dora Marr. The figure in the foreground denotes Picasso’s secret lover.
You begin to realise how important the women is his life were to his art, you can also see an interesting use of colour choice in his Lino cut series Woman with a hat where his last wife Jacqueline is pictured. He truly created art for love, or is it a Love of making art from Love?
There is also an enchanting interlude of photographs of Picasso in his home/studio by David Douglas Duncan. It certainly is worth going to see if you have the time and what makes it even more wonderful is the exhibition is completely free.
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite Picasso quotes, it always gives me a fire in my belly to start making work. Pablo Picasso will always be a tremendous force, never to be replaced.
“What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who only has eyes, if he is a painter, or ears if he is a musician, or a lyre in every chamber of his heart if he is a poet, or even, if he is a boxer, just his muscles? Far from it: at the same time he is also a political being, constantly aware of the heartbreaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. How could it be possible to feel no interest in other people, and with a cool indifference to detach yourself from the very life which they bring to you so abundantly? No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.”
Pablo Picasso
BLH
You can also view a slide show of the Bull series by clicking here... BULL
Quote take from: http: //www.goodreads.com/quotes/335037-what-do-you-think-an-artist-is-an-imbecile-who
Posted July 17, 2013 23:18
June 19, 2013 08:23
Seven years ago
As you know from my last post I am currently studying Greek Mythology. It made me think of a piece I made year's ago which used Medusa as inspiration. Which led me to think...Didn't I have a Deviant Art page at that point in time? Could I possibly see that image again?
I found work from SEVEN years ago, (Doesn't make me feel old at all) and the piece I was thinking of you can see below.
Another work was titled Curl and related to the nursery rhyme, 'There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead, when she was good she was very good, but when she was bad she was horrid'.
It's amazing to look back at old work, it's also interesting to see how important line/storytelling was to me then and still is today.
You can find more of my work from seven years ago at trip-the-light.deviantart.com/gallery/ - however I will not be using the site, so any messages please send to me using my comments page.
Now back to the present we go....
BLH
Posted June 19, 2013 08:23