With a new president come new ideas.
I have been a member of the Cambridge Drawing Society for several years and the standard of work seems to rise annually.
Our new president who is also an avid sketcher, introduced a visit to The Heong Gallery specialising in contemporary art with some sketching after the talk. The curator gave us a wonderful insight into the work of Syrian Artist Issam Kourbaj who lived in Aleppo before it was decimated by the Russians. His work describes the feelings of the people of Syria losing their homes.
The talk was fascinating but I find it difficult to listen for 2 hours without using my hands so I sat on a small stool and sketched as the curator talked. I had arrived early and already made a sketch of the Cedar tree by Ai Weiwei in the courtyard.
A wonderful morning learning about Syria, contemporary artist Kourbaj and sketching. What could be better to fill a Sunday morning!
Delighted to have all four entries accepted for the Cambridge Drawing Society exhibition which is open from 21 to 27 March.
Taking place at the Pitt Building, the exhibition will be open from 10am to 4pm every day and show the best works by artists living in Cambridgeshire. Entries are by both amateurs and professional artists and the standard is very high.
besides my 4 framed oils on the theme of books in trees, I have 2 Urban Sketches and lots of greeting cards for sale.
I teach 2 art classes at my home studio. We do all kinds of art with most people wanting to draw and paint in acrylics. We decide themes etc and I show them techniques and give out tips, encouragement and tea. Once a term we go drawing in one of the wonderful museums in Cambridge. One of my students favourites is the Museum of Classical Archaeology in Sidgwick Street. It is a bit like life drawing only the statues stay still and they are mainly white so we can see how the muscles are shaped on these perfect bodies from Roman and Greek times.
I also draw when there, I feel it is good for my students to see me drawing instead of always telling them what to do! Over the years of visiting this museum, I have drawn many of the plaster casts with perfect athletic bodies, and now I tackle the 'broken bits' which can be a bit of a challenge.
These 3 heads are the remains of some sculptures from Lykosoura a city in Arkadia, in central southern Greece, that the ancient writer Pausanias believed was the oldest in the world. The local cult was of the goddess Despoina, meaning Mistress. In her sanctuary was a group sculpture of her and her mother Demeter seated on thrones, flanked by standing figures of Artemis and the Titan Anytos.
The second drawing is from a relief panel found at the Harpy Tomb of Kybernis. I drew it because I rarely see sculptures of people eating.
Amazing what I learn when I go drawing with my students!
Every January I follow an online group and make a sketch a day based on the prompts given each morning. This is the second year I have joined the 64 Million Artists group. I love their prompts because they are not specifically aimed for drawing. For example today's prompt is to 'build the largest tower you can from cards'.
64 million artists is a kind of collective for disability groups and others such as men in prison or well-being groups or autistic groups so every prompt is designed to be completed by as many people as possible in any way they find fit.
I do it to help my drawing skills and to think-outside-the-box.
I have added 2 finished sketches that link up as the prompt, I hope you enjoy them
You can see all my finished drawings on:
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