bloowabbit: October 2017

Monday 30 October 2017

2017 INKTOBER..29 - 31 Conclusion

downloadable pdfs from http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/

By day 24 I had begun to waver and had to really push myself to finish. I find this with each challenge I do. Begin with lots of interest and forge ahead for the most of it but by two thirds into it I'm having to work hard. I suppose by then the novelty had worn off.

I didn't post every drawing on Instagram which is where the sharing and liking mainly happens. The images I didn't like were kept to myself. On this blog though it seemed counter productive to hide anything as the blogs have been about doing the challenge in its entirety.

What I did get from completing Inktober 2017 was a freer style and a little more confidence. That's the value of practice. Now I've got myself a new sketchbook that'll be my focus in the next month or two. I feel I need to do some work on drawing hands, improve the accuracy of anatomy in my drawings. And I'm keen to take up Inktober 2018 challenge when that comes around.

Was uploading day 27's drawing onto Instagram when I realised I'd drawn the prompt twice. I think I like the second version better.
CLIMB

Days 29 - 31 have the Inktober 2017 Official Prompt Words:

UNITED FOUND MASK

Thanks for watching.

2017 INKTOBER 1 - 7

2017 INKTOBER 8 - 14

2017 INKTOBER 15 - 21

2017 INKTOBER 22 - 28

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All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.

Friday 27 October 2017

2017 INKTOBER..22 - 28

downloadable pdf from http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/

Towards the final stretch of this year's Inktober challenge. Am enjoying it for the most part and I didn't draw a picture per day but instead drew a few each day. This enabled me to have each blog ready for publishing at least a week in advance which reduced the pressure.

The drawings started off being very much instant without any preparation. As I got further into the challenge I found the need to sketch first in pencil before using ink.

Days 22 - 28 have the Inktober 2017 Official Prompt Words:

TRAIL JUICY BLIND SHIP SQUEAK CLIMB FALL

The face in Juicy and the ears of the mouseman in Squeak aren't that good - I did think about re-doing them. But I kept with the spontaneity of this challenge and let them be. I draw some good stuff but amongst it is the odd clanger.

2017 INKTOBER 1 - 7

2017 INKTOBER 8 - 14

2017 INKTOBER 15 - 21

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Saturday 14 October 2017

2017 INKTOBER..15 - 21

downloadable pdf from http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/

Ink drawings continue as I complete INKTOBER2017. Some prompts are easier to draw than others - ideas jump into my mind. But I felt that 'GRACEFUL' was more difficult. Began drawing a woman in a certain pose, changed her to a plus sized woman, gave her a flower to hold and it was all getting very naff. So I simply drew the flower. Not that happy with it as I feel most of the other drawings I've done in this challenge have a bit more of a story to them. In the end I had to draw something just to get past the prompt.

Days 15 - 21 have the Inktober 2017 Official Prompt Words:

MYSTERIOUS FAT GRACEFUL FILTHY CLOUD DEEP FURIOUS

2017 INKTOBER 1 - 7

2017 INKTOBER 8 - 14

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Friday 13 October 2017

2017 INKTOBER..8 - 14

downloadable pdf from http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/

The second week of art challenge INKTOBER created by Jake Parker. Seven new prompt words and I find I've established an approach that I'm using for each drawing. Black brushpen creating dense solid areas, patchy areas or uneven lined areas. In contrast to pattern made with bottom left to top right shading overlaid with circles and dark to light filling in. White areas help inked areas pop.

Check out artist Jake Parker's YT channel

Days 1 to 7 have the Inktober 2017 Official Prompt Words:

CROOKED SCREECH GIGANTIC RUN SHATTERED TEEMING FIERCE

2017 INKTOBER 1 - 7

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Sunday 8 October 2017

2017 INKTOBER 1 - 7

downloadable pdf from http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober/

That time of year when INKTOBER bursts upon the art scene. A challenge devised by artist Jake Parker.

31 days 31 drawings. I created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve my inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year mrjakeparker.com/inktober

Days 1 to 7 have the Inktober 2017 Official Prompt Words:

SWIFT DIVIDED POISON UNDERWATER LONG SWORD SHY

Pens used were: M&G0.5 ultra fineliner, Pentel brushpen, Pilot G-2 07 gelpen. Paper is Winsor & Newton Pigment Marker A5 pad.

When the drawing is done upload it to Instagrasm with the hashtags #INKTOBER and #INKTOBER2017 If you do share the challenge on a blog or video then give credit to its creator, Jake Parker.

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Thursday 5 October 2017

Bounce! workshop: Script Writing with Hanna Slattne

A Swedish dramaturg called Hanna Slattne held a script writing workshop for Bounce! arts festival. We were a motley crew gathered, creators of poetry, short story, performance and film. All interested in developing a different facet of writing to hone our own skills.

Hanna explained the difference of script writing, that it wasn't a literary exercise but one that 'tells a story with action'. So, all the efforts I take to conjure a short story were of no consequence here. When we'd been taught the basic toolbox and set a group task re-writing the story of Little Red Riding Hood we were then set a personal task. To script write the 1st scene in our story.

I had to begin the task three times before being able to drop my usual short story process. And this is what I came up with...

Lily's Journey

Lily is lying awake in her truckle bed at the foot of her parents' bed. They are asleep in the dark, her mother breathing softly, her father snoring. Lily is fully dressed and wearing her red cloak beneath the covers. She arises slowly, trying not to make her bed creak. She stands and looks over to her parents.

She moves slowly to her mother's side of the bed and slowly begins to slide her hand below her mother's pillow. With every exhale in her mother's breathing she slides her hand a little further, bit by bit until her hand touches the keys. Curling her fingers around them Lily slowly retrieves the keys in the same way. Her father snorts and her mother turns in her sleep towards her daughter.

Lily holds her breath until she's sure both parents are still asleep, grasps the keys tightly in case they rattle and moves away from her parents' bed. She bends down to reach her backpack from below her own bed and quietly leaves the bedroom.

She tiptoes down the stairs in the darkness missing the steps that creak and makes her way to the back door. She finds the key that fits and slowly turns it in the lock, tensing at the loud sound in the silence. She stands still, listening until she is satisfied that no one stirs upstairs.

The back door is now open and Lily is free. She quietly closes the heavy door, slips the keys under a plant pot and hurries down the path.

The moon is bright so she stays to the shadows of the houses along the street, running when the moonlight breaks her path. She hears the strike of a match and stops, holding her breath.

In the shadow of the house ahead stands the woodcutter. He's watching her, his eye is lit by the flame.

WC: You're out late, or is it early?

Lily stands in fear, looking at him. The woodcutter inhales his lit pipe.

L: I'm...I'm..going to see my grandmother.

WC: She'll not thank you for waking her at this hour. Or do you mean your other grandmother?

Lily struggles with emotion.

L: I love her. I need to see her.

WC: No change in your father then? We all miss her. But you need to bide by your father's counsel. Go back to your home.

Lily's eyes have filled with tears but she stands her ground.

L: I'm going. If you stop me I'll just go again some other time.

The woodcutter puffs on his pipe staring down at the girl. He sighs and spits on the ground.

WC: I'll walk with you. No young girl should walk through the forest alone. There's a beast that hunts there. He'll have you in a single mouthful.

The Woodcutter bends to lift a large axe. Lily sniffs, wipes her eyes with her sleeve and follows the man towards the forest edge.

I felt the approach was a more informative way of writing a story. It is about how I tell the story but contains nothing of me or my emotions in that telling. Once I got into the rhythm I found it straightforward although when I re-read it today I did edit it, losing anything that I felt was unimportant. I daresay a seasoned script writer might edit it further.

Arts & Disability Forum (ADF), the charity behind the Bounce! Arts Festival, may well be holding more of these workshops. I hope it does - I'll be signing up for more.

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Monday 2 October 2017

Bounce! workshop: Monotype Printing with Alice Burns

I love the Bounce! arts festival, look forward to it every year and go to as many events as is possible. Plus, I really enjoy the free workshops.

When printmaker Alice Burns was giving a workshop on Monotype Printing I got excited. At art college I did a week in printmaking learning to etch a plate and make a print I, unlike my sister who loved to etch, got so exasperated with the intricate process. I irritated the hell out of my tutor after putting the plate into the resin box and then turning the handle (other way round prevents the plate getting stuck in the bottom of the powdered resin) twice.

For me the almost painterly process of monoprinting is faster and freer.

We used water based printing ink, sheets of thick acetate as ink boards, hand rollers and because of the heat in the room Alice added a medium to keep the ink from drying too quickly. Smaller sheets of acetate became our plates upon which we placed a sheet of paper and traced/drew onto with a pencil. I found the eraser at the end was useful to create softer lines.

There was some guesswork as I frequently forgot, when tracing over a drawing, to remember which lines I'd traced. Some prints ended up missing an eye or a leg!

After the initial print a ghost print could be made, a 'negative' by placing a second sheet of paper over the plate and using a clean roller with a lot of pressure. Results are apparently better using a press.

The lurcher image I chose was one Alice had drawn, among a selection provided for us to use. It was a friend's birthday today and she has a whippet called Breeze. I used this image to trace and added various marks as shadow and background.

I'll be buying some inks, some acetate and digging out the lino-printing rollers I've held onto over the years. Knew they'd come in handy.

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