St Ives.

Hello.

I came back from a lovely break in St Ives yesterday, I usually take this opportunity to do more of my photography work but this year I wasn't in that exact creative mindset, I had more of an urge to draw (which is great!). Did a few silly sketches and revisited some landscape drawing which it only dawned on me that I've always done this type of drawing even from an early age. Here are a few doodles:

On the scenic train journey down just before we stopped at Plymouth I saw this idyllic pocket of land next to a river. The building was this small stone structure with 3 metallic gates and what I can only assume was a pagan symbol above the central gate. Completely untouched and resting upon this small hill and absolutely surrounded by trees. It seemed strange that this was obviously quite isolated from everything else but yet very visible from our train carriage.

The title is pretty self-explanatory really.

Seagulls are horrid.

Honestly, they really are, the only negative aspect of Cornwall in my eyes.

I'd go as far to say that I prefer London pigeons over them.

View from Porthmeor beach 1

View from Porthmeor beach 2

View from Portmeor beach 3

(L-R) My brother Matthew and my sisters Hazel and Eden.

After going to the fantastic Alex Katz exhibition at Tate St Ives I was drawn to replicating his sketching style (example just above) - it's something I often do when I come across an artist I like, 'you have to speak in a lot of different voices to find your own' kind of thing. It's a similar process to singing one of your favourite songs for example.

Anyway, his method of sketching in particular was to draw and not to think, so that you can create a fluid piece of work without obsessing over minute details. Beside his sketches I was absolutely fascinated by his paintings, he was one of those artists that just seemed to click with me. It makes the experience much more enjoyable when you 'get' an artist and what they're about. I found it surprising that he came about in the 50's when Abstract Expressionism was at its peak and was going against the likes of Pollock and De Kooning.

The paintings in particular, for me anyway, had this great element of being like photographs. Especially his paintings of when he went on holiday various years with his friends to Maine. He managed to capture these intimate moments with his friends very much like a photograph does, which instantly draws in a nostalgic element (which is always a strong tool) but the use of his vibrant colours gave it a timeless kind of feel. Here's a good example. I realize that almost sounds like an oxymoron but have a look at his work and hopefully you'll see where I'm getting at. All his paintings had a very strong sense of 'film' like you could imagine a lot of the work being used for advertising and used in general today. He turned 85 this year and is still working.
If you're in the area, I really recommend having a visit.

TTFN