Finding grace in preparation
I started painting on board towards the end of last year, and have discovered that it works well for me.
Because my paintings usually begin with quite a detailed drawing, I've found I'm much happier with the smooth surface of board rather than the knobbly surface of a canvas. The smaller the canvas, the more annoying the knobbles.
Pre-made, pre-stretched canvas always comes ready-primed, which means you are free to start slapping on colour right away. But I get my boards cut for me at the local timber merchant, which means I need to prime them myself.
At first I found this irritating – I have to wait quite a while between coats, and also it takes a fair bit of patience and a steady hand to ensure the primer goes on smoothly.
But today it struck me that this practice of priming my boards is actually quite meditative – akin to taking a breath and tuning into whatever it might be that will appear on those boards. Like a dancer preparing her shoes, or when Martial Arts students bow for a class, as a gesture of respect for their practice.
I suppose what I'm talking about is mindfulness. Or, to quote Edina from Absolutely Fabulous: 'I'm trying to do my mindlessness!'
Pearl
The enchanted rose
A twinkling, swirling piece of piano music has been dancing through my head for the past few days.
But maddeningly, just a tiny section of it. No matter how much I scoured my brain trying to figure out where it came from, I couldn't find the answer.
And then, quite literally in the middle of the night, it hit me – Disney's Beauty and The Beast.
A quick whizz on YouTube confirmed that my subconscious had done its research – the music comes from the 1995 animated film's prologue. I'll paste a link at the bottom of this post.
Regardless of what your thoughts on Disney might be, don't you think these are quite gorgeous illustrations? And a cracking fairytale, too.
This painting is called 'Queen of Roses'. I painted it quite a few years ago - but maybe she's the one who gave the prince his enchanted rose?
Pearl
A new kind of paint
Non Chinese paintings
Sorry that today's message is a little late – our internet is down, and so I am at the local library, which is (gloriously!) as hot as an oven.
Anyway, following on from yesterday, I thought I'd share with you some sketches I was working on at the weekend.
I usually use a mix of gouache and ink – these have been painted with Chinese watercolour and ink. Lovely strong colours that blend out to something soft and delicate.
Magic wands
They were just too special.
But, a year after I was given them, I have finally plucked up the courage to use my two Chinese paint brushes.
They were bought from a tiny little shop called Oriental Arts, which is tucked out of the way in a residential corner of Brighton. I stumbled on the place by accident, but when I walked in, I was instantly transported to the magic wand scene in Harry Potter.
The shop was packed from floor to ceiling with absolutely beautiful and intriguing art supplies.
The Chinese take their traditional arts very seriously, and they treat their tools and materials with an almost spiritual reverence. The grinding of the paint pigment, the way you handle and care for your tools – all of these tasks are carried out with mindful, thoughtful ritual.
The owner of the shop had me 'test' out countless brushes on a sheet of scrap paper, until she felt I had been matched with two brushes that were perfect for me. And on Christmas morning, they appeared under the tree with my name on them.
Since then, they've been waiting patiently among my other brushes - because I was afraid of not using them correctly.
But this weekend I thought, maybe they'd be happy for me to use them in my way? And so I got them down from the shelf, dipped them in paint... and I love them. They have so much character and sensitivity in them – they have instantly been elevated to my two favourites.
Perhaps the moral of this little story is... don't be afraid to enjoy special things.
Pearl
Wintry thief
I told you not to accept Turkish Delight from strangers!
Or did she offer you French Fries?
Either way... you couldn't resist, could you?
And now you are riding in a giant, elegant sleigh made from glittering ice – your fingers are burning with cold as you cling on for dear life.
The Earth drops away from you so fast that your stomach plunges, and it's no good shouting for help... the wind is much louder than your voice...
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A visit from the Snow Queen
I'm not a big fan of the cold.
So when I saw a slew of excited posts about snow in my area on social media, I will admit to a grinch-like inward groan.
But after a few minutes, I went to my door and looked out. There was the snow – proper, fluffy, swirling chunks of it spinning down from the sky, dancing through pools of street lamp light, and falling soundlessly across all the land.
I was surprised to find myself feeling thrilled at the sight of – it really did feel like a magical visit from some kind of winter spirit.
I thought I'd share with you a picture of me as The Snow Queen. Beware strange women in the street offering you Turkish Delight!
Pearl
Fearless!
We have no idea what the future is going to be like – even in just five years' time.
And the solution to this conundrum, is creativity.
The problem is, creativity is massively undervalued in Western education and in our culture. It gets educated out of us.
These ideas aren't my own – I have pinched them from Sir Ken Robinson, and if you haven't seen his TED talk on this subject, I suggest you go and check it out, post haste. I have pasted a link at the bottom of this message.
One of the points that Robinson raises, is that in order for creativity to work, you have to not be afraid of making mistakes.
And one of the things I've discovered about sharing work in progress on social media etc, is that I'm sharing work that's not finished – not cooked – still in its underpants.
It's proving to be a lesson to me in learning to get comfortable with the process again.
To reconcile with myself that things will be messy, wrong, and frustrating before they will start going right.
Watching my young nephew with his paintbrush, I'm inspired by his utter fearlessness.
There is no concept of 'getting it wrong' – only of discovery.
Something to keep in mind.
Pearl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
Life story snapshots
I had an afternoon of people-watching galore yesterday.
I love the city of Brighton.
Despite powerful efforts to make the place more polished and slick, Brighton stubbornly refuses to relinquish its bohemian personality.
I had a couple of meetings, and I also enjoyed some time sitting by windows and watching as amazing characters passed by outside.
Each moment was a snapshot from someone's life story.
I am still working on loosening up my drawings.
I've got a way to go yet – these sketches still look tight to me, so I may need to create a more dedicated project towards achieving what I want.
But I'm sure these 'visual notes' will come in handy, one way or another.
Pearl
Lingering lines
My aunt mailed me some pages she'd torn from an American magazine.
These pages are drenched in fantastic, full-colour illustrations by an artist called Daniel Egnéus. His work is absolutely gorgeous, and I was inspired to have a go at creating something with looser, lingering lines, bold colour and a bit of distortion...
Pearl
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Creative courage
I've been struggling with a bit of artist's block lately.
It's always a little disconcerting when this happens.
You just have to exhale and act cool, and hope that your creative muse will think you're not too bothered. It's an exercise in trust, really – most artists will have found themselves dealing with this many times.
You just have to develop the faith that sooner or later, you will be moved back to your easel, your computer, or whatever your tool of choice happens to be.
There is a general sense that this is a 'dead' time of year, when business is slow, people are languishing in post holiday blues and the 'feel good factor' is in short supply.
But over the weekend, I happened to notice that there is evidence to the contrary.
Flowers, new shoots, and vibrant berries are parading themselves on the trees – defiant and victorious over wintery challenges. I thought, wow - they are so courageous.
And so, I came home and got out my paints and brushes.
Pearl
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Jagged edges
This was my lunchtime view yesterday
The old West Pier, which has been derelict since 1975 and was further destroyed by a fire in 2003, looks like a sculpture to me.
And, perceived as such, it is one of my ultimate favourite pieces of art. Many schemes for restoring the structure back to its former glory have been kicked about, but so far the money hasn't materialised.
However, I love the pier just as it is, as do many other people, I'm sure. This is simply another phase in the story of the building's lifetime.
Just as we will age and change, endure storms and pick up scars, so has the West Pier and this, in my opinion, makes it all the more magnificent.
I say, don't try to smooth out your jagged edges and hold onto the past. Rather, embrace your life experience, your wisdom, your uniqueness and the beauty of what you are becoming.
Pearl
A different kind of freedom
A long time ago, I took some classical dance lessons.
As I launched into an ungainly pirouette, the teacher announced that you can never have freedom without discipline.
I was struck by her words, because I would never before have considered that discipline can lead to freedom.
Surely discipline was all about the opposite? Regimen, control, authority – the antithesis of freedom.
I am an artist! I thought. I need to be free to catch inspiration in the ether, to find my muses, to follow the glittery trail of magical intrigue.
I still struggle with discipline, but at least these days I understand that it's a necessary instrument in the creator's toolkit. It takes time and practice to successfully enable magic to flourish in your life.
Over Christmas, I created a time management system to help me keep track of all the things that need to be worked on and taken care of. But don't worry – I fully intend to decorate it liberally with glitter...
Kings and Queens of inspiration
My brother gave me a gorgeous Alexander McQueen coffee table book for Christmas.
It's packed with amazing photos of his work, and weighs a ton. I've barely even got past the first few pages so far, because I like to sit and gaze at the pictures for ages, absorbing every detail.
When I was at art college, John Galliano's star was still a bright and rising one. He was still lecturing at my college, and using the library.
When he came in with his assistants, everyone would act very cool, but I'd go and stand behind one of the bookcases so that I could watch him work from between the books on the shelves.
The energy that was pouring off him was incredible – I could almost hear it crackling. He would have stacks of books piled up on his table, and he'd tear through them with post-it notes like a tornado, while his assistants rushed back and forth to the photo copier.
While working at an opera house last summer, I got to witness director Barrie Kosky working on his production of Saul. From my shadowy hiding place in the Gods, I was blown away at how Kosky completely owned the entire stage and auditorium – his energy was huge, bouncing and electric, igniting passion and vigour from everyone around him.
I'm sure I'll write more about people who inspire me – but when I'm looking for motivation and spark to help turn the early January wheels, I find it usually helps to check out my heroes and heroines.
Mighty pens
I performed a quick Google search to see who first came up with the words, ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’.
Turns out, it was the novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his 1839 play, Cardinal Richelieu.
I don’t know about you - perhaps I'm not very well educated - but I am not familiar with Mr. Bulwer-Lytton. Yet I’m sure most of us are well acquainted with his adage.
When I was a kid, I asked my dad why football is such a popular game. His reply was something about the idea that pretty much anyone can kick a ball around. You don’t need to be rich or famous, or even particularly skilled, to enjoy a game with your friends.
So I wonder if a similar reason could explain why a 178-year-old phrase about pens and swords is still with us?
Anyone can pick up a pen and, Jedi-like, wield a unique kind of power. You don’t need to be a sparkling wordsmith to write a love note that could make someone’s day, or the next Picasso before you can scribble a cartoon that could raise a smile.
If you have three minutes today, why not root out that old, lid-less Bic pen from the back of your kitchen drawer, and let it take you for a little adventure across the back of an envelope…
Pearl
Diamonds in the rain
Some friends of mine who live in Japan posted photos on Facebook of a glorious, sun splashed New Year’s Day.
Not so for England! The skies remained stubbornly sullen and the rains came sweeping through in squally, crabby vales.
However, I felt the need to work off a New Year’s Eve Chinese blow-out, and so I went for a walk in the country.
As I trudged though the mud, I looked out across barren, brown fields, and saw tangly black tree branches clawing at the clouds. There were clusters of crows hunched among them, or wheeling through the sky.
I noticed slender, dagger-sharp thorns weaving through the hedgerows, festooned with rain droplets that looked like diamonds.
Suddenly, I was struck by the unabashed beauty of it all - dark, delicate, and fierce.
I felt a thrill.
And I saw a Wintry Queen standing out there by the trees…
Pearl
Turning the page
2017… and so begins the next chapter of your adventure on Earth!
I always used to feel that New Year’s came at the wrong time of the year – surely Spring would be much more appropriate, with a riot of new life exploding all around?
But more recently, I’ve come to appreciate that this is the perfect time of year for new beginnings - in the magical, sparkling stillness of midwinter. The long nights can give an impression that time has warped and slowed down a little - there is a sense of unreality as we make our way through fog-drenched streets, or when the low, pink-hued sun gleams through bony, naked twigs like a burnished promise of new things to come.
Your dreams and aspirations are as real as the seeds currently sleeping in the cold, hard ground. Now is the time to believe in them.
Pearl
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Join me...
I have a little proposition for you.
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, winter has wrapped its dark, frost-glittered cloaks around us and very soon it will be New Year's Eve again.
I don't believe in New Year Resolutions - certainly not when there are still half eaten boxes of Christmas chocolate to be taken care of - but I do believe in magic, and I have a hunch that you might, too.
Recently I got to thinking - why do I do what I do?
Why do I paint these crazy people from my imagination, and write stories about them?
And I figured that the answer might have something to do with magic, and about the joy of sharing that magic with people like you.
I'm not just talking about the 'abracadabra' kind of magic, even though I can't get enough of that! I'm also talking the kind of magic that veils everything around us, if you take the time to look.
I'm pretty sure you must have seen it - or at least glimpsed it for yourself.
That sparkle in someone's eye, the smell of your favourite flower, the silvery shine of the moon on a black sea at night - that giddy feeling when you look up at a gaudy fairground ferris wheel screaming past your head, or the shiver down your spine when you hear an amazing piece of music.
I love all of this stuff, and I want to get more involved with it.
I want to roll up my sleeves and really get stuck in to see what sort of treasure I might be able to mine.
But I'm going to need your help!
Because personally - for me anyway - there's no point in discovering or thinking about something inspiring, beautiful, challenging or magical (in other words, creating a work of art) unless you have someone to share it all with.
And I'd love to share it with you.
Beginning on January 1st, 2017, I would like to create a daily email for you that will report on the inspiration, creativity and magic that I have found - both the sparkly kind and the scary kind.
I've no idea where this path might take me or what I might encounter along the way - but I'd like to invite you to join me on this journey, because I'd love to have your company, your feedback, to hear what your thoughts and your own magical experiences might be.
And because you are my raison d'étre!
If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, click the link below... and I'll see you in your inbox in the new year!
Autumn Queen
As the frosts have started creeping in, I have noticed the trees and plants around me have literally been on fire with the most stunning colours...
My corner of the world has had an unusually gorgeous autumn this year, thanks to the boon of a blazing Indian summer. As the frosts have started creeping in, I have noticed the trees and plants around me have literally been on fire with the most stunning colours. I tried to capture some of it on my phone...
The inspiration has been immense - not sure if I would have thought of pairing acid yellow and black with a deep rust red - and those delicious, rich purples and pinks set off with cool lime greens and dusty, ashy tones - sumptuous!
These ideas all came together in a new piece I've called Autumn Queen:
Time lapse drawing - 'Flower Head'
Time lapse footage of work on a fantasy drawing called 'Flower Head'
Hello friends - I hope everyone is having a great summer. Inspired by the lushness that's blooming in the countryside at the moment, I have created a drawing called 'Flower Head'. Here is some sped up footage of me working on it.
For this piece I used a hard lead pencil ('H') for drawing in the basic shapes, then began to fill in and add tone with softer pencils (2B and 4B). Next, I used black pen (a fine tipped liner and a fine tipped Bic) for definition and depth. Finally, I scanned the drawing into the computer to add colour.
Strawberry moons
Today is the summer solstice, and as I write, the rain is pelting against my windowpane. But apparently, hidden up there behind the clouds, lurks a 'strawberry moon'.
Today is the summer solstice, and as I write, the rain is pelting against my windowpane. But apparently, hidden up there behind the clouds, lurks a 'strawberry moon'. I find this notion rather delicious - I have visions of star-strewn clouds bathed in the rosy glow of a giant pink moon. But I've done a Google search and sadly, no, the moon won't be looking pink tonight. According to The Independent, a strawberry moon 'is a full moon, which occurs in June, named by early Native American tribes. It is a full moon like any other, but marks the beginning of the strawberry season.' And it coincides with the summer solstice once every 70 years - so if you were looking for an excuse to splurge, celebrate or just eat those strawberries with cream - you now have one.
I have mixed feelings about the colour pink - although I absolutely love a lush, blowsy, gloriously pink peony, part of me thinks the colour pink should man the f*ck up and stop wimping about. But a friend of mine, a colour therapist, says pink is actually one of the most powerful colours. 'It is the integrator of opposites in the psyche: mind and body, male and female, persona and shadow, ego and unity. In using pink, you are striving for balance - and when you're balanced, you can trust in others, take risks, and can give and receive love.'
'I have always been a romantic, one of those people who believes that a woman in pink circus tights contains all the secrets of the universe.'
Tom Robbins
My theatre-themed cards are now available from my shop (or from the stage door at Glyndebourne Opera House, if you happen to be passing). Many of my favourite people are showbiz types - from the quintessential luvvies to tattoo-smothered tecchies, and it's been really fun to work on capturing the fun, magic and heart-stopping terror of working in the theatre through drawings. It's not always easy to find greetings cards that fit in with a niche, so hopefully theatre people - both professionals and fans - will enjoy these. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Robert Poulton Foundation. Set up in memory of the much-loved British baritone Robert Poulton, the foundation aims to 'ignite a love of singing to improve lives'.
There are ten designs to choose from - let me know if you have any ideas you'd like me to try!
I've also been prop-making this week for a friend's theatre company - I can't disclose exactly what I was making as that would give away an element of the design for the performance, but once the show is up and running I'll share it with you.
I randomly found a book recently by Michel Faber - I'm not sure where I've been really, since it came out in 2002, but I've been tearing my way through the (quite literally) endless pages ever since. Set in London in 1874, The Crimson Petal and The White is basically about a prostitute and the man who falls in love with her. I am relishing Faber's dazzling characters, the dark humour, the modern allusions, and his almost gleeful revelry in Victorian London's squalid and seedy underbelly. A TV show based on the book came out in 2010 - I found this 3-minute clip of the opening scene on Youtube, and I just love the imagery.
Ah - the clouds are clearing - perhaps we'll catch a glimpse of the moon tonight, after all. Meanwhile, I have a couple of commissions waiting for me - so, my friends - until next time... xx
