Relocation

After many months with the good intention of updating two blogs simultaneously, I've failed to give my first love the attention it deserves. For now this blog will rest frozen in time, as I continue to move forward with my other blog, which is an integrated part of my website. You can follow me here at www.pandahorse.com

Cutting Out The Control

Yesterday evening my fiance and I took a trip across to the Wellcome Collection as he had missed out on joining me to see the Death exhibition a few weeks back. I left him to wander through this incredible collection and made my way up to the first floor where I planned to draw any of the various treasures on display. I'd brought along a couple of the painted palettes that I mentioned in my last blog post to be used as my drawing surface. After doing a brief round of the gallery I decided that a particular cabinet would go very well with one of my painted textures. This cabinet glistened with an array of medical saws and knives, used for amputation. Whilst drawing I overheard the tour guide explain to a visiting group that one of the fastest surgeons of the time was Robert Liston who could perform the removal of a limb in an amputation in 28 seconds. This was a time when speed was thought to reduce pain and increase the odds of survival!

Drawing directly onto my painted texture, I found I experienced a very different sensation from the usual one I get when drawing into my sketchbook or composing finished drawings and images using the computer. I felt like the stakes were high - there was only one perfect texture that suited the subject matter, and this could have easily been ruined by an incorrect stroke of the black ink pen, an awful drawing or bad composition. Plus I only had the luxury of about an hour to draw and then the only way I'd see the objects would be by another visit, by which time I would have most likely 'moved on' from this particular drawing. This sensation is something I thrive on - there's nothing like the mixed emotion of thrill and terror when the stakes are high. It seems like too often many artists fall into the trap of being able to cmd+z or erase unsightly lines - it makes for laziness and ultimately uninteresting and well-trodden lines. I always find that the little 'mistakes' I make in drawings urge me to explore a 'solution' and I end up with something exciting and quite different from what I had first planned - it always nice to be surprised, even by yourself, now isn't it!

 

More Than Just a Pretty Palette

Since the silly season and a brief visit from my mum in early January, I've been glued to my desk drawing and colouring a new animation I am working on. Finding myself flooded with tiles of painted textures that boast an array of colours mixed from the acrylic spectrum, I felt like they had more creative potential than just being a colour palette. So I'm pushing myself to find new ways of bringing these textures to life.  The first instalment is below!

Sweating Out Xmas

Christmas and New Years have passed by, swiftly launching us into 2013. However, one thing that hasn't yet disappeared is the Christmas sweater. While I was doing a brief stint of Christmas shopping late December last year, it seemed that every store I poked my head had their own knitted versions of snowflake, reindeer or santa sweater. And despite the annual post Christmas lull, the sweater still stands strong throughout stores big and small across London. So for a change I decided to keep up with the latest fashion trend, and made my very own knitted version of sweater....well almost....my version was crafted instead with a pen, hung for display on the cover of a greeting card, then given with love to my fiance!

Jumping for Joy

Another Christmas has lept by once again, leading us into 2013, a year that already promises to be full of exciting new experiences and challenges. This particular Christmas however, has already a found itself a special spot in my memory. During a peaceful stroll on Christmas Eve, winding our way through the leafy walkways of Rowledge, my boyfriend pulled out a very interesting-looking ring from his jacket pocket....and asked for my hand in marriage. Shortly after the suprise and shock subsided I found myself jumping for joy! Much like the drawing (above) I created for a series of greeting cards, which I handed out to loved ones over Christmas. I'm conjuring a way of celebrating the engagement in a creative and memorable way and look forward to sharing it here soon!

Soupa Man

I had a strange dream last night about someone trying to eat soup, but couldn't because they had a napkin in front of their mouth. I decided to rescue this soupa man from dreamland and bring him into reality.

Cityscape

The recent change in weather must've unconsciously inspired this piece! It's an amalgamation of newspaper, paint, charcoal and graphite, creating a gloomy looking cityscape.