Drawings on Linen

The past few days my mind has been in a peculiar and emotionally draining place. I feel like I'm on the cusp of a whole change in direction, artistically and spiritually. I've been listening to new music, playing with new materials, going new places, thinking new thoughts and talking to new people. I can't quite put it into words, but I am being challenged, the boundaries are being pushed, and I'm craving something more than what I have come to accept thus far.

In light of this, the series of six female figurative portraits I am doing for uni and hopefully to exhibit at Kickarts all are far more experimental and hopefully thought provoking than previous works of mine. All the works are on cream or cobalt blue linen, primed with gesso and drawn with charcoal, water-soluable pencil, watercolour, ink or whatever else is handy. They will be embellished with various textiles. All you can hope for as an artist is to, challenge the viewer and represent what it feels like to be human in some way. Inspired by the emotiveness of Egon Schiele and Gustauv Klimt, I hope these upcoming works may be a bit more captivating, in a way I was never able to in the past.

Image by Egon Schiele

Art College Girl

For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of going to art college. Attending life drawing classes, discovering the history of my lifelong passion in art and being surrounded by a motley crew of creative people and the fruits of their hard work, including hopefully mine.

So the moment has finally arrived for me to take the plunge and throw myself whole heartedly into art college experience and product design in particular. So far it has been everything I have dreamed of and more, and it has barely begun. I the excitement and satisfaction is mostly due to the realization that I am there now, I did it and nobody can take this opportunity away from me and I haven't been dooped, there is so much to be gained from attending. The remaining excitement is derived from my nerdish reading into my course outlines and finding out that yes I will be doing 6 weeks of life drawing, I will grow rounded knowledge of post-modern and modern art history and I will be completing design assessments that will prepare me for an actual career in design, not to mention hopefully making lifelong like-minded friends.

No joke, I've been getting involentary excitement quivers that I am living out the cliche' of attending art college as many greats have done before me including Andy Warhol, John & Cynthia Lennon, Mark Rothko & Edie Sedgewick, just to name a few. Ah it feels so bloody good to be doing what you love! Don't fight it xx

Yes , yes, Bloody Hell... YES!

"For the million, billion things which lie in wait for us every hour of the day, to please our sight and fill our eyes with perfection. I shall envy no man, for the things which are precious and everlasting can be found in our own heart. Yes, with the help of God, and with no other mortal ever to know … I shall do great things."

- Florence Broadhurst, before she began

So it is official, I got into the Bachelor of Design at Griffith University, Queensland College of Art in Southbank, Brisbane. Although I was advised I would have no trouble, I was still nervously anticipating my results with QTAC. Seriously art world, here I come; there will be no stopping me now xx.