Still in the Red

Posted on November 12, 2023 by iansblog

Still in the Red

Another New Studio

the studio in a convex mirror

Quick, said the bird, find them, find them,
Round the corner. Through the first gate,
Into our first world, shall we follow
The deception of the thrush?

TS Eliot ‘Burnt Norton’

Despite my best efforts the concerns I had when developing the geranium project remain central to my practice and I feel as if I’m in a dialogue with the inherent nostalgia evoked, in particular, through the Four Quartets

The work I started and discussed in my last post led to me making the space to build a large sculpture based on the three trees maquettes I’ve been making. The sculpture must have spaces inside its mass that are inaccessible to adults because that’s the truth of the actual location (I am working alongside on a VR project that will express this better). In order to clear apples from the garden I need to get on my knees and that act immediately changes my relationship with the earth. I am attached more strongly to the ground, limited in my ability to move and given a different view of things. It’s this feeling I carry in to making and essentially try to replicate in the process. The object is the manner of its making.

The build process

In this case that starts with an external armature to which I can attach shapes based on those that have grown. Each of the stages is followed by a Polycam scan of the sculpture at that stage.

with the armature removed

When I’ve got the basic form I remove the armature and make sure the structure can stand.

with the armature removed

This, if you like, is the outline, and I can then build on this to fill out the form I envisage.

adding form

I used cartridge paper to do this and I’d normally make this more rigid with resin but my current studio arrangements don’t allow for this. It’s always worth noting that the material determines the quality of the form.

adding form

The form, once complete can be painted and in this case it will be red.

First coat of Red

The piece is about seven feet tall and will intially be painted using two shades of red. I’ve managed to put the first one on so far.

First coat of Red

I’ve found time to work on some of the drawings and my sketchbook, this is the third red garden drawing

Red Garden Three

Still not finished.

You’ll have noticed this at the top of the page, try to visit if you can, the other two are really good!

New Start

Posted on November 2, 2023 by iansblog

New Start

Another New Studio

After having Covid19 and therefore doing no work between the 2^nd October and the 18^th October, I found I’d reached the point where I didn’t know what I was going to do. Both the summer projects were finished and while I have a list of several things I’m interesting in doing I wasn’t really committed to any of them. So I wanted a New Start.

So on the 18^th I went in to the studio with a view to experimenting with the Redfilm output

I had two large boards ready for drawings and I decided to use these to make drawings to complement the films.

red garden underpainting

18/10/23

This drawing started as ‘red_garden’ and was taken through the underpainting using pastels with water through the day.

red garden ink layer

23/10/23

A week later I’d had delivery of some more Red media including Ink Blocks from Derwent [link] and the drawing was worked up as seen with the addition of some highlights using white charcoal, as seen below.

red garden 23102023

23/10/23

red garden two underpainting

18/10/23

The drawing above was begun as ‘red_garden_two’ and the underpainting was done with pastels and some very cheap pre mixed poster paint.

red garden two ink layer

23/10/23

Again I further worked up the drawing on the 23^rd with the ink blocks and finally added highlights with white charcoal.

red garden two 23102023

23/10/23

red garden three

23/10/23

Also on the 23^rd I started a 3^rd drawing on an A4 board, ‘red_garden_three’ produced in the same way.

studio 23102023

23/10/23

I ended the 23^rd with the studio looking like this and decided to change it when I came back as the mirror experiments with the film didn’t work.

Studio from Window 25102023

25/10/23

So on the 25^th I took down the projection room with a view to making a smaller one to view the edits in isolation.

Studio from Door 25102023

25/10/23

The day was finished with the studio looking like this and I discovered that Covid19 has left me completely knackered after what seems like not much work.

Red Sketchbook 19th October onwards

19/10/23 onwards

While this was going on I continued to work in my attic studio using stills selected from the films to develop ideas in my sketchbook as the starting point for new work going forward. Initially this was envisaged as two dimensional and Virtual work but very quickly grew into physical sculptural form.

Maquettes made from 20th October onwards

20/10/23 onwards

studio from door 30102023

After the 30^th I’d finished the viewing room and made a space to build a large sculpture.

studio from window 30102023

I also did some further work on the red drawings.

red garden three 30102023

This is red garden three, the A1 drawing.

red garden two 30102023

This red garden two,

red garden 30102023

The Red drawings are not finishshed and I’ve started a large sculpture that will be featured in my next post, but that’s my new start.

Drawing

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The October drawings can be seen here

Draw Every Day – October 23

Draw Every Day - October 23 Continuing to draw every day, using sketching pens, japanese ...
See photo »

…and the September images here

Draw Every Day – September 23

Draw Every Day - September 23 Continuing to draw every day, in a new sketchbook using ...
See photo »

There is a link to the previous month’s Gallery on each page.

The drawings are posted to Threads and Instagram each day.

An end of frustration?

Posted on September 24, 2023 by iansblog

An end of frustration?

(Another New Studio)

I finished(?) the NHS project after quite a lot of stress and setbacks. It was still completed on time but I had far less time in the studio.

The interruption of the sculpture project has left me a little non-plussed about the direction of my work and how to find ways forward against the pressure of completion. Ideas reach fruition and then need to be rendered physical when the desire or drive to create is spinning off in its own directions. Today I read an article about Michael Raedecker on Artspace where he says

“Inspiration can come at the most unusual moments; riding on a bus or reading a book. But most of the time you just have to work for it,” he tells Artspace. “Sitting down, making sketches, browsing in catalogues, looking at images, and letting the intelligence of the work guide the selection.”

Its the obviousness of the statement that woke me up, making begets making, so the only way to know what to make is to make.

Earlier in the week I went to see “The Weight of Words” at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds.

Leaving aside the lack of overall context beyond the the declaration that the, very broad, selection of artists explore the overlap between sculpture and poetry, the exhibition inevitably questions the very nature of what sculpture is. The works in the exhibition are interesting, poignant and thoughtful in all sorts of ways, they are also often flat, digital projections, printed, photographed and less often strictly three dimensional. The lack of context serves to expand the possibilities of the precept at the heart of the overlap between sculpture and poetry and made me wonder where the notion of concrete poetry sits in relation to this selection of work. The website is very good and the exhibition is on until November so I might go again.

two apples with shadow

When I did get in I worked on apples drawing, adding strong shadows from the studio window.

large rose painted out

I also kept working on the big roses drawing, finally whiting it all out and then adding a drawing of Old English Roses

Old English Roses 120923

Each step of the process has taken more thinking than necessary as I was really disgruntled by the way the lemniscate impinged on everything else I wanted to do.

Old English Roses 120923 addition of red shadows

So after the first drawing I added the red shadows onto the edges of the flowers and then darkened the shadows.

Old English Roses 120923 darkening shadows

The drawing was left for a good few days after this stage.

Old English Roses 150923 white highlights

I had a short window to get back into the space and added some white highlights to the flower heads.

Old English Roses 220923 darker shadows

And then thought about using some stronger colours. So I blacked out the shadows and darkened some areas again but it still wasn’t defined enough.

Old English Roses 220923 stronger colours

So on my next visit, the 22^nd September with the lemniscate out of the way completely I took some oil paints in to use to give the roses much more body. That’s where we are so far. Finished?

Drawing

I’ve ditched Twitter, one too many Musks, but I’ve started to post on Threads as well as instagram.

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The August drawings can be seen here

Draw Every Day – August 23

Draw Every Day - August 23 Continuing to draw every day, in a new sketchbook using sketching ...
See photo »

…and the July images here

Draw Every Day – July 23

Draw Every Day - July 23 Continuing to draw every day, in a new sketchbook using sketching ...
See photo »

There is a link to the previous month’s Gallery on each page.

The drawings are posted to Threads and Instagram each day.

ian-latham.com

Paintings and Sculpture – Drawing – 3d modelling and virtual environments

Tag Archives: Sculpture

Still in the Red

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New Start

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An end of frustration?

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