Even More Space in the Garden

Even More Space in the Garden

Another New Studio

This is a very late blog recording November’s activity because I’ve been suffering from seasonal rubbish. Sometimes you reach what you think is the end of something and find yourself struggling to move past that point and that’s where I’ve been. When in this state every distraction is grasped with alacrity and time that should have been spent resolving things disappears.

I did manage to complete an application for funding from Immersive Arts and will find out if I’m successful in February,

Even More Space in the Garden

Flowers 10 01/11/24

At the start of the month I began a new drawing, Flowers_10, and prepped the boards for a couple more. At that point the other artists in the building were considering an open day before Christmas and I was hopeful of joining in.

Subsequently the Romanian elections taking place in the building stymied us and, as they were going to use three consecutive weekends, we were unable to progress. We’re now thinking of an exhibition in the Spring.

Flowers 9 01/11/24

Subsequently the Romanian elections taking place in the building stymied us and, as they were going to use three consecutive weekends, we were unable to progress. We’re now thinking of an exhibition in the Spring.

Flowers 1,2,3 and 4 01/11/24 backview

I finished the second drawing of the existing set up with ‘Flowers 1,2,3, &4’ and then got the opportunity to get some more free material to help complete the piece.

Even More Space in the Garden

Studio 04/11/24

This meant I had to move everything around so that I could see what I was doing. Never mind space in the garden I need more space in the studio.

Storage Space 04/11/24

I moved my projection booth towards the door so that I could make a storage space against the wall.

When I was finished I started the 6th November with this setup.

Studio 06/11/24

Flowers_10 06/11/24

Even More Space in the Garden

Flowers 11 06/11/24

Between the first and the sixth of the month I made these two drawings, Flowers_10 and Flowers_11 towards the ‘Woolgathering’ project. ‘Woolgathering’ has grown out of the exploration of space in the garden.

Studio at the end of 06/11/24

At the end of the day the studio looked like this.

Thereafter I worked to make the pieces I needed to finish the layout of the flower bed for that piece. First cutting the flowers for the end bed, ‘Flowers_5’.

Cut outs for Flowers 5

Then painting them.

Painted Cut outs for Flowers 5

It occurs to me now that I may need a new naming convention for the 3d pieces.

At this time I also painted ‘Flowers_4’ (3D)

Flowers 4 painted 13/11/24

I built the new bases I needed to complete the flower bed.

Bases for Flower Bed

And then assembled ‘Flowers_5’

Flowers 5 view

Flowers 5 (3d) close up

After this I caught up with some framing as I was still hopeful of the Open Day.

Framed Pictures 13/11/24

The smaller frames are quite effective but I had to break down some of the drawings to make them.

I made ‘Flowers_6’ and painted it

Even More Space in the Garden

Flowers 6 (3d) before painting

after which I made ‘Flowers_7’ and ‘Flowers_8’

 

‘Woolgathering’ 27/11/24

At the end of the month I built a stand to raise the piece off the floor.

Drawing

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The November drawings can be seen here

and the October images here

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

The drawings are posted to  Instagram each day.

Some Space in the Garden

Some Space in the Garden

Another New Studio

 

I made a trial VR space for the Woolgathering project. The close up fllower bed will be sited in the full garden and accessedby proximity as the player progresses towards the top of the garden. Wandering through the flower bed will eventually lead the player back to the normal scale garden.

 

I also made a 360 video version of the real flower bed to use juxtaposed with the sculpted environment. You can watch the video on Vimeo here.

I spent the rest of the month working on two big drawings of the four sculptures.

Some Space in the Garden

woolgathering view 18 10 2024

This is a big drawing done in pastels and water based media.

woolgathering flowers 1234 04102024

The final orientation of each piece will depend on the display environment.

Some Space in the Garden

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Some Space in the Garden

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Some Space in the Garden

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The pastels are varnished to keep the colours strong and the texture can be seen moire clearly in the details.

Some Space in the Garden

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Drawing

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The October drawings can be seen here

and the September images here

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

The drawings are posted to  Instagram each day.

 

More Woolgathering

More Woolgathering

Another New Studio

Further research around woolgathering led me to looking again at Ivon Hitchens and in particular an exhibition held at the Garden Museum in 2019.

and its companion exhibition Ivon Hitchens: Space through Colour‘ at the Pallant House Gallery in the same year.

The idea that Hitchens had was that space was colour and vice versa and that the paintings he made were essentially reconstructions of the particular space and time in a lyrical fashion. He talked about the visual music he wanted to compose.

There is also the notion that Hitchens, and other English painters at the time were examing Paul Nash‘s questioning as to whether it was possible to be an ‘English’ Modernist. Apparently the answer is no because Modernism is Internationalist.

This resonates for me because Hitchens was very much attached to the woodland he owned and built a house in and worked consistently from throughout his life. The feeling I have is that this landscape source is specific for the individual even if it becomes universal as it reaches out.

This begins to explain the developments I’m making in this current project.

Wool Gathering 2

woolgathering maquette 02/09/2024

After working on the flower drawings and building the maquette I applied some colour to it to see what I’d got. The thing is that the wire is too thin for what I want for the pieces I have in my mind so I ordered some 6mm steel rod.

Woolgathering Maquette

I built four bases from some of the reclaimed MDF and put together a version of the maquette as a small sculpture.

Woolgathering 06/09/2024

More Woolgathering

I then worked up a drawing of the small sculpture ‘Woolgathering [Flowers 2]’ on one of the big sheets intending to use it as the work in progress piece for my PG2 presentation.

In the end I used the ‘red gardens’ VR environment as a more complete and coherent response.

Flowers 8 09/09/2024

I worked the other drawing up to a finished [?] state and collected some more foam from the vast store of it at the studios.

Woolgathering Maquette 09/09/2024

Studio 09/09/2024

The presence of the materials ought to make the building much easier.

More Woolgathering

Woolgathering [Flowers 2] 16/09/2024

I added some pieces into the flowers 2 sculpture and built the ‘tree piece’ over the next couple of weeks.

Woolgathering [Flowers 1] 16/09/2024

Then started the ‘Woolgathering [Flowers 1]’ sculpture, built around a partial cube.

I also stretched some big pieces of paper thus declaring the other two drawings finished.

Woolgathering [Flowers 1] 20/09/2024

The next week I painted the sculpture and added the red flowers.

Woolgathering [Flowers 1] 20/09/2024

More Woolgathering

More Woolgathering

Woolgathering [Flowers 1,2,3,4] 25/09/2024

At the end of September I broke the lethargy and managed to build the ‘Woolgathering [Flowers 3]’ and ‘Woolgathering [Flowers 4]’ sculptures and positioned as I originally intended while I consider painting the new pieces.

I’ve scanned these into Polycam and have worked up blender models ready for 3d and VR.

Drawing

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The September drawings can be seen here

and the August images here

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

The drawings are posted to Threads and Instagram each day.