My Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project 2012 Sketchbook

Well...here it is:  My Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project Sketchbook so far.  It's called "A Path Through the Trees".  Those of you who follow me on facebook or have strayed onto my Flickr account will have already seen most of these but here they are again for the rest of you..."A Path Through the Trees".


I had no intention of it being a series of pen and ink sketches.  It was supposed to be a collection of multicoloured textural studies but, as always, things didn't turn out as I expected...I'm rather pleased.

For those of you who have asked, I'm not sure what the red path represents...other than a journey.  It's one of those symbols which appears in various forms in the art of so many cultures, meaning different but often very similar things...perhaps I'm referring to one of them, or perhaps all of them and maybe some others I've not pinned down yet too.  As for where it is going and where it will end up...I've about five double pages before the journey is complete and I'm afraid that at the moment I've no idea.  It does have a narrative of sorts but I'm not sure there's a punch line.

So, take what meaning you want from my sketches and may your own path through the trees of 2012 lead you somewhere beautiful and interesting.
 

Happy New Year!

To view my images in greater detail, and to be the first to see the final few pages as I finish them go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/naomiadams/sets/72157628211091783/

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A path through the trees

I thought it was about time I started on my Sketchbook Project sketchbook (rather than thinking about it, talking about it or blogging about it.)

So, these are my trees...I dream about them...or at least an increasing number of my dreams are set amongst them.  They are sometimes peacefully bathed in afternoon sun, sometimes moon-drenched and menacing.  Sometimes I know my way between the trees instictively and sometimes I am utterly lost or trapped.  They can protect and obscure me from the monsters at my heels or they can trip me and get in my way depending on the mood of the dream...and they sneak out into my art from time to time, especially when I'm given a blank sketchbook entitled "A path through the trees".

What do you think?

I don't dream of the red path...perhaps it's there so I can find my way back.

Sketchbook inspiration

Following my last blog entry all about my love of notebooks, I decided to take part in the 2012 Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project.  (For those of you who haven't heard of it, you'll find a link to it at the bottom of the page.)  Oh, I'm under no illusion that my sketchbook will be seen by thousands of people, I just like the project's inclusivity, I love the notion of all those thousands of pages, lovingly made, unique and tactile,  lining the shelves of one exhibition and I adore the idea of hundreds of people clutching library cards and actively engaging with the surprises each sketchbook might contain.   Being a part of it will bring me joy even in the anonymity of joining the thousands of other creative souls submitting their offerings alongside my own.  But I'm still a bit stuck on exactly what to do with mine so I've been looking for inspiration.

I love books: I love finding them, giving them, having them, keeping them, reading them, but my husband has recently bought himself an e-reader and I have to say that it is hard to see why you would choose to read a conventional novel any other way these days.  There'll always be the traditionalists who insist that there is nothing quite like the feel of the pages between your fingers and the smell of the print but, if I'm honest, I can't think of a more convenient and efficient way of owning and reading a vast library than to store them and read them electronically...which makes me wonder about the future of the book...and get really excited.

Now that the e-readers are arguably beginning to take the place of the traditional book perhaps  it will free the medium to explore what it has to offer that modern technology has not.  Oh I love a fabulously woven tale full of mystery and adventure but I am in no way attached to paper on which it is written.  The books I covet and treasure are far more than a place for the printed word; they are the beautiful ones,  illustrated objects of beauty and imagination and there are artists out there doing wonderfully imaginative things between the pages of some beautifully crafted books.  

   

 So, with this in mind and inspired by the books I've been looking at recently, I'm going to try to do something tactile & textural.  Something which is not confined solely to a flat sheet of paper.  Something which is only possible in a sketchbook of this nature and which celebrates what makes a book a truly unique medium.  I'm not sure how it will turn out but here I go.  I'll post images of the finished sketchbook on here but with a bit of luck, you won't get the whole picture unless you see it with your own eyes and feel it with your own hands when the exhibition arrives in Britain later next year.

If you would like more information about the Sketchbook Project 2012 or you would like to take part, please follow this link: Sketchbook Project 2012

My notebook of loveliness

 

Here it is.  I have other note books: There’s one filled with to-do lists which tells me I should vacuum more often, there’s one filled with shopping lists which tells me I should buy more fresh fruit and there’s even one in which I’m supposed to keep a record of my finances...which tells me that I am rubbish at keeping a record of my finances and that even without all the figures available it is clear that I should spend less.  These are objects of necessity which stop my life disintegrating into chaos and which lecture me at regular intervals from their pages about how I should do better, be better...

But this little beauty is different.  

This little book is where I put my ideas as soon they introduce themselves to me.   (If I don’t jot them down immediately, they can wander off and get lost).  I tend to have it with me most of the time ready to make a quick note of a good exhibition, an artist I’ve not heard of before or a fluttering butterfly of an idea for a painting I’d like to explore.  It’s not all about artwork, but since it’s a record of joyful things I’d like to do at some point, it does often seem to be art related.  It is a bit tatty, rather disorganised, sometimes unreadable but it makes me smile every time I look through it’s pages at all the possibilities and potential it contains.

So today, I would like to thoroughly recommend the practice of keeping a little joyful notebook.   It is a wonderful thing and a perfect antidote for those of you who suffer, like me, from the occasional bout of task-list-burnout.  It doesn’t have to look like mine (sometimes it’s easier for me to draw rather than write my ideas down) but whatever it is that makes you happy, a list of things you’d like to do when you get the time could give you a never-ending source of inspiration.  Then, if you find yourself with a free hour, afternoon or week-end, you’ll be able to fish out your little book of loveliness and find something lovely to do.

Today is the last day of the school term.  My little boy goes to nursery a few afternoons a week, my big girl is at school all day and the time they spend eagerly learning and playing at their respective places of education, I have spent eagerly learning and playing in my studio ever since it was completed...but all that’s going to have to change.  I’ve now got 6 whole wonderful weeks to spend with my beautiful children uninterrupted by school runs, after school clubs...and without the opportunity to pop down to my studio with a cup of tea and a promising idea.

Instead, we’ll visit some galleries, wander around a few museums, take a couple of excursions and go inspiration hunting.  Eloise and Isaac are a constant source of joy to me so I think that I shall harness their unlimited interest in everything around them in order to make this summer break a time of ideas rather than a period of actual creation.  Oh, the chance to spend such quality time with my children who seem determined to grow and change and learn relentlessly is one I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time but it does mean less time in the studio...and I’m going to have to rely on this lovely notebook of mine to keep track everything.

So, when the school term begins again in September, having been inspired by my amazing children and our escapades, I shall wave them off with a smile on my face, my notebook in my back pocket and a long list of new and exciting projects to embark upon.    

Watch your step...

Want a small preview of what I've been painting for an exhibition I've got coming up?
Oh go on then...

It's one in a series of six studies entitled "Watch your step".
Everyone likes pictures of bricks right?

"A job well done"

Well, here it is, my studio's first offering.  It's small, it didn't do as it was told and I nearly threw it out of the window a couple of times but, although I'm not completely convinced the person I have painted it for is going to like it, I think it's a good start...

"A job well done"

(12cmx12cm)

Hope you like it. 

My favourite exhibition companion

My 6 year old daughter Eloise has got to be one of my favourite people to visit exhibitions with.  I love the fresh eyes she brings to the shows she sees.  She has no pretensions, she says exactly what she feels with no hint of self consciousness and seeing shows through her eyes, accompanied by her rather insightful commentary, has to be one of my favourite things to do. 

 

This week-end I took the family to the Royal Academy of Art to wander around the Summer Exhibition.  My husband strolled around with the interest of a stranger in a foreign land, pushing my 2 year old son in his pram who busied himself enthusiastically pointing out all the exhibits depicting trains, boats and any other modes of transport he is currently passionate about.  Eloise on the other hand examined the rooms meticulously, deciding what her favourite piece was in each room (a game I'll admit I play in my head when visiting most exhibitions), what she liked least and commenting concisely on what she thought their merits were...or were not.  

 The thing is, you would have thought that with my influence, Eloise would have the same taste in art as me...but you would be wrong.  Eloise’s taste is much darker than mine and we don’t always engage with the same exhibits.  At the end of our tour of the exhibition’s many rooms I asked her if there was anything she particularly liked that she would like to have a final look at before we left.  She took us immediately to her favourite piece; a coffin made from chicken bones, batteries, bottle tops and other modern day detritus.  It was a world away from the beautiful abstract I had chosen as my favourite to which, when I pointed it out to Eloise, she shook her head, tutted and quickly retorted “Oh no Mummy, it’s just like one of yours.”  Sigh...Although I would love my work to resemble the painting in question, I don’t think it was meant as a compliment...but how boring it would be if she shared my tastes and views. 

As it is she is a priceless and unique source of inspiration.  What wonderful discussions and disagreements we’re going to have as she gets older. I really can’t wait.

My new studio

Hello Everyone!

Well, here I am, sitting in my spangly new studio...without the first clue what to do next.   My shelves are lined with jam jars filled with brushes, pots of paints and endless possibilities all within easy grabbing distance, the late afternoon sun is shining through a smear free window onto my new white desk which is clear and ready for whatever project I embark upon next, the floor is spotless, the sink gleams...it all looks rather neat and tidy. 

My mind on the other hand is a butterfly house of fluttering ideas and the pocket notebook I carry around with me most of the time in order to jot down things I’d like to do as they occur to me has become rather overworked and crowded recently.  I’ve got so many lovely things to be getting on with, I just can’t decide what it is that I want to do first.

Whatever I decide upon, I’m determined that it will be the first step towards getting this beautiful new studio a little ragged around the edges.  I really hope that this time next year, I’ll be sitting in my not so spangly studio, my shelves a little less organised but still lined with endless possibilities, the afternoon sunlight shining through a window I have been too busy to clean onto a desk covered with paint spills and ideas, 3 projects on the go and a new note book as full as the first...without a clue what to do next.

 I’ll let you know how it goes.