Too Much Space

Posted on February 6, 2025 by iansblog

Too Much Space

Another New Studio

I’m currently torn between the idea of having a strong narrative that is followed through a particular space and the idea of a truly non-narrative space that awaits the visitor to build a story. In a sense like Homo Sapiens Nikolaus Geyrhalter‘s film from 2016 where the earth is seen to be slowly reclaimed by nature. The construction of a story, or do I mean ‘meaning’?, from an experience is something I’d imagine most of us do all the time. I have found that visitors to my virtual environments find it extremely difficult, as if the media itself leaves them demanding to be led.

‘Solitary’ 03/01

At the beginning of the month I’d started this drawing while struggling with Unity, so I carried on. First washing then the background over in a filthy grey,

‘Solitary’ 06/01

then building the front tree back out and adding extra branches and twigs.

‘Solitary’ 08/01

‘Solitary’ 13/01

Adding some lighter hues to the background between the trees and working to create a slight corona effect.

‘Solitary’ 31/01/25

In the end the tree, ‘Solitary’, looks like this and it might be finished.

Flower Painting 2 06/01

I worked over the second flower painting, darkening some of the background and adding depth.

Flowerbed 15/01

As I was still waiting for downloads at various parts of the month I started a new drawing from the flower bed.

Flowerbed 17/01

Flowerbed 20/01

The work is reaching for the multi layered and complex feeling of the overgrown bed while retaining sufficient separation between the plants. Also, hopefully, respecting the qualities of drawing with pastels.

Flowerbed 31/01

Still a lot of work required.

Abandoned Flower painting

Abandoned Flower Painting

Abandoned Flower Painting

I worked on a third square painting from the flower beds but it wouldn’t behave itself, three stages above and below the one I painted out, it’s white now.

Abandoned Flower Painting

Once I got to grips with the HDRP rendering in Unity I started to work through the scenes I wanted to place in ‘Woolgathering’

The first attempt at a meadow.

The second, attempting to get closer to the text of John Clare’s ‘Helpstone Green’

A walk up and down the hill in the second version.

And a very quick run through of the piece as it is at present. I’ve added the red gardens pieces into the mix as well at the back of the original garden. Ultimately there will be more development of that world as I move the sculptures and new ones I building now into the various scenes.

Drawing

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The January drawings can be seen here

Draw Every Day – January 25

Draw Every Day - January 25 Continuing to draw every day in Fabriano artist's Journal with ...
See photo »

…and the December images here

Draw Every Day - December 24 Continuing to draw every day, i completed book 20 on the 7th December using brush pens and a mixture of black, grey, sepia and sanguine ink, as well as the occasional graphite drawing. i then moved into a Fabriano artist's Journal with coloured pages. On the 25th December I received a set of coloured brush pens from my wife and have used them since. The drawings are made any time from 9:00 am at the breakfast table and occasionally later in the day if I'm away from home. The drawings have been posted since the beginning, 6th May 2020, on instagram https://www.instagram.com/latham_1959 You can see previous months through the galleries page https://www.ian-latham.com/blog/galleries or you can go straight to November's drawings here -

Draw Every Day – November 24

Draw Every Day - November 24 Continuing to draw every day in book 20 (a larger sketchbook) ...
See photo »

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

The drawings are posted to Instagram each day.

Less Space in the Studio

Posted on January 5, 2025 by iansblog

Less Space in the Studio

Another New Studio

In the book ‘The Garden Against Time’ Olivia Laing writes about the restoration of a garden, delving into its history and the forces around it that shape that history. She writes

“ …I was exhausted by the perpetual, agonised now of the news. I didn’t just want to journey backwards through the centuries. I wanted to move into a different understanding of time: the kind of time that moves in spirals or cycles, pulsing between rot and fertility, light and darkness. I had an inkling even then that the gardener is initiated into a different understanding of time, which might also have a bearing on how to preclude the apocalypse we seem bent on careering into. I wanted to dig down, and see what I could find. A garden contains secrets, we all know that, buried elements that might put on strange growth or germinate in unexpected places. The garden that I chose had walls, but like every garden it was interconnected, wide open to the world.”

It is a fascinating book drawing on notions of the garden from Milton’s Paradise through John Clare and the ravages of enclosure and even to Iris Origo’s war diary from la Foce, ‘War in Val d’Orcia’ with all the diversions you would imagine and never shirking the moral ambiguity at the heart of all interactions with the land.

That idea of connecting to everything through a seemingly solitary activity is exactly what I’m trying to achieve with ‘woolgathering’

tree one 16 12 24

So in December I made one more big drawing of the flower beds and worked on the VR world, firstly refining the ground so that the lawn is flat and then working on the jumps between the life size and micro views that will lead into the other worlds before finally putting in the background from Google Maps to place the garden in a bigger environment.

This is the environment before i adjusted the lawn.

This one has the new lawn

and this one has the surrounding environment.

Obviously alongside this I needed something to put my energy into when the VR becomes too frustrating so I started some drawings of trees after seeing a photograph by a friend.

As well as the one above the videos I made two other small ones.

tree two 16 12 24

tree three 16 12 24

Before these the big ‘woolgathering flowerbed’ drawing was done over two days in the studio and is around 130 x 110 cm, pastel on cartridge paper.

Woolgathering Flowerbed

I made a process gif over the two days the drawing took.

woolgathering flowerbed process

Meaning I have even less space in the studio

Even less space in the studio

I started a big drawing of the trees on the 3^rd January and also a couple of paintings based on the flower drawings while I was downloading an environment maker for Blender so that I can add a meadow to ‘woolgathering’ after John Clare’s ‘Helpstone Green’

tree four 03 01 2025 in progress

Flowers Painting 03012025

Flowers Painting 03012025

Both these are c. 50 x 50 cm

Drawing

I’ve continued to draw every day;

The December drawings can be seen here

Draw Every Day – December 24

Draw Every Day - December 24 Continuing to draw every day, i completed book 20 on the 7th ...
See photo »

…and the November images here

Draw Every Day - November 24 Continuing to draw every day in book 20 (a larger sketchbook) with brush pens and a mixture of black, grey, sepia and sanguine ink, as well as the occasional graphite drawing. The drawings are made any time from 9:00 am at the breakfast table and occasionally later in the day if I'm away from home. The drawings have been posted since the beginning, 6th May 2020, on instagram https://www.instagram.com/latham_1959 You can see previous months through the galleries page https://www.ian-latham.com/blog/galleries or you can go straight to October's drawings here -

Draw Every Day – October 24

Draw Every Day - October 24 Continuing to draw every day, began book 20 (a larger ...
See photo »

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

The drawings are posted to Instagram each day.

Even More Space in the Garden

Posted on December 13, 2024 by iansblog

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,

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

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.

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 6^th November with this setup.

Studio 06/11/24

Flowers_10 06/11/24

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

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

Draw Every Day – November 24

Draw Every Day - November 24 Continuing to draw every day in book 20 (a larger sketchbook) ...
See photo »

…and the October images here

Draw Every Day – October 24

Draw Every Day - October 24 Continuing to draw every day, began book 20 (a larger ...
See photo »

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

The drawings are posted to Instagram each day.

ian-latham.com

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

Tag Archives: Sculpture

Too Much Space

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