Exciting new work

After a bit of a hiatus I'm getting back into really focusing on producing work, and there's been a bit of a change of direction for me too, which is very refreshing. I've been distracted by other things in my life over the past few months, but this work feels really fresh to me, and has really helped to rejuvenate my motivation.

Recently I've become more interested in drawing than in painting, and this is what I want to concentrate on for now - to the point that I left my paint and brushes in storage in Stockholm! A few months ago I worked on some smudged and layered charcoal drawings, really enjoyed this, and felt that this was something I'd like to take further. As I'm currently between England and Sweden as well, it seems logical to make work that can be moved around more easily than large canvasses. Further to this, rather than concentrating on images of faces, I'm experimenting with drawing body parts, just to bring something new into my work.

Weathering is still of interest to me, and using paper rather than canvas allows me to explore this theme in a new way. I've been weathering the drawings using various combinations of screwing up the paper, and getting it wet, building up layers of charcoal. I particular like screwing up the paper before drawing, as the textured surface guides the drawing in some ways. I really enjoy working with charcoal and getting quite messy - I see the smudges and shadows in these drawings as a positive, something to build up texture and layering within the drawing. Fixing the images at different stages also contributes to the effect. 

I'm planning to experiment with different types of paper, and keen to also try scratching or scrubbing the image once I have some stronger paper or thin card. I'd also like to experiment with drawing and sewing whilst the paper is still a bit damp - this isn't really possible with the brown paper I'm currently using because it's very thin and fragile, especially when wet.

Embroidery is still important in the work, and I've been using embroidery as a means of repair, not using it to embellish the imagery in these pieces. To contrast with the smudged, dark charcoal, I'm intentionally using embroidery thread in bright, vibrant colours. I'm full of enthusiasm about this new body of work - it's a departure from my previous work, and feels like it's something a bit new for me. 

Although these pieces can stand up for themselves, they're also preparation for a new work I have in mind, which is very different to anything I've produced before, and which I also feel very excited about. I'm still thinking it through now, but I feel like it could be something quite special. 

I've received a really positive response to these pieces so far, and I'm really in the right frame of mind to keep working on these ideas. I think I needed something new to really grab me and make me throw myself back into my work, and this idea is really working for me now. I think this body of work has relevance to work I've produced previously, but is still bringing in a new angle.

My art fair experience

Parallax Art Fair finished yesterday. This was the largest exhibition I've been involved in as of yet, so it was a new experience, and provided great exposure for my work.
Due to other work, including curating a show, I feel that I didn't prepare as far in advance as I should have for Parallax, and I've certainly realised that something on this scale needs more preparation than other shows. I think taking on other shows and responsibilities since agreeing to be part of Parallax might not have been the best idea, and I've realised that in future I need to be more mindful of the workload that I take on.
For consistency, the organisers of Parallax have very specific requirements for how work should be hung. I was under the impression that this wasn't very flexible, and this was the element of the show that caused me the most difficulties, but upon attending the show I noticed that very few people had actually hung their work in the way described by the organisers. If I exhibit at a Parallax event in the future I think I'll be less concerned about
hanging the work in a way that suits me better.
The show was very busy, and during the private view it was difficult to just walk around because it was so crowded. Not every single person at the venue would have seen my work, but I was pleased with the number of visitors. When I attended the fair yesterday a lot of other artists commented to me that it was quieter than they had expected, but there were still a lot of people coming through. The fair was held in Chelsea Town Hall, which is a great location with plenty of foot traffic.
I was really impressed with the huge variety of work and styles in the show. Understandably, not

everything was to my personal taste, but I feel that anyone could have found something they liked. I really enjoyed being involved in a show that was so diverse. The artists showing encompassed so many different styles, backgrounds, and interests, and for me it was great to be part of a show including artists I doubt I'd ever exhibit with otherwise. I feel that my work was exposed to a really diverse audience, and probably to people who would never normally see, or choose to see, my work. In relation to my own tastes, I really liked that there was so much vibrant, colourful work in the show.
It was interesting also to meet other artists, particularly artists from outside of London. Generally artists were friendly and supportive of each other, but one thing that I found really disappointing is that some artists were perfectly happy to leave their flyers in other artist's spaces, stand in other artist's spaces blocking their work whilst talking on the phone or to a visitor, or leaving their belongings in another artist's space. I noticed this happening quite

a lot, and a couple of the artists near to me were culprits. I think that one person in particular was just ignorant rather than genuinely rude, but I was quite surprised that some artists had so little regard for others. Perhaps they were just very concerned with promoting themselves and ensuring that they were seen, but I feel it's a poor attitude to do this at the expense of others.
When I saw an artist putting her own flyers in front of my work and business cards I quite happily moved them into her own space, and I hope that others who found this happening took the same approach. The fact that this was happening is probably just the luck of who I was placed near to, and may not have been an issue with other artists or in other parts of the venue. I don't think this would put me off exhibiting at an event like this in the future, it's just unfortunate.
Sitting in my space yesterday was great because I met a lot of different people and got plenty of feedback and comments from the public, which was really positive for me. Many people asked

questions about the work and made comments, which made me happy. I had quite a good position in the room as my work was at the very back, whereas there were aisles going up the room towards the back, meaning that some people may miss work in one of the aisles, whereas my space was fairly unavoidable.
The pieces I showed were made between 2011 and 2013, including the paintings made in Iceland, and I don't intend to exhibit the same work again in the near future. I have more recent work that I'm pleased with, and I feel that the work with weathering is continue to develop in new ways, so I'd like to focus on that for now. Furthermore, I don't want every show I have to be repetitive and only show the same work. These pieces have all been exhibited at least three times, and I feel that this is enough.
Unfortunately I didn't make any sales at the show, but I feel this was a really valuable experience in terms of exposure for my work. The fair was quite different to the exhibitions I usually take part in, so it was a new experience for me. I'm really pleased that

I was given the opportunity to take part, and I hope that the exposure my work gained will pay off in the future.
On the whole this was a really positive experience, and I would be interested in exhibiting with Parallax again in the future. I really enjoyed seeing the other work in the show, and will definitely attend future fairs as a visitor. It's exciting to see so much work in one place, and to be exposed to so many different artists all at once. If I exhibit in the future I'll definitely prioritise this show over other work and be more sensible with my preparations. I've been working towards this show since December, and now that it's over I'm looking forward to working on new exhibitions and projects.

My residency has begun!

I arrived in Iceland on Tuesday, and in Skagastrond yesterday to start my residency! I really am so happy to be here, and just having a proper studio space again after quite some time is inspiring me to get working. As soon as I arrived yesterday afternoon, despite being exhausted, I got started on my work, and already I've manged to get a few things done. This is exactly what I want, as my time here unfortunately is limited, and therefore I don't want to waste a moment.
So far I've done a few sketches in preparation for the first two paintings I'm planning, and have made several abstract pieces on paper, which have been left in various locations in the village to become weathered. Already, after less than 24 hours, I've noticed that most of them are becoming damp, and hopefully this will have an affect on the surface. Working in this manner is also giving me an opportunity to gauge which locations work best for what I want to do.
As I was walking back from the studio last night I unfortunately found that one of the pieces had been torn up! It would appear that this was done intentionally by an unknown person, as the conditions have certainly not been extreme enough to cause this naturally, and none of the other sheets have been affected at all. This morning I gathered the ripped up pieces, and got to work. As I stated in my proposal for this residency, I'd be keen to look into embroidery as a means of repair where necessary, and this was certainly necessary. The paper may not have been weathered naturally, but there was certainly an effect. I suppose that's a risk you take when leaving work in public.
I've spent a good few hours today reassembling the paper - working out which piece went where was surprisingly challenging. I find the result quite interesting, even though it was not what I had initially had in mind. I'm looking forward to seeing the progression of the other five works that are outside, and looking forward to getting canvasses outside too. I'm planning to start the background for one or two pieces this afternoon, meaning that I can complete the portraits soon.
All in all, I've been here a very short time but I'm already so glad to be here. Although I wouldn't choose to live in Skagastrond on a long term basis it really is beautiful, and I'm really enjoying myself. The other artists here are all really nice, and I'm so grateful to have this time to focus on my work, and to think and reflect more generally. I hope that my whole trip is as successful as the past couple of days have been.
For more images of the work I'm making here please visit my Facebook page.

Pre-residency Experiment

Prior to my residency, I've tried out natural weathering on paper, as I hoped that paper might react to the elements more than canvas did. This piece has been on my balcony for quite some time now, and I'm impressed with the result. There was a massive downpour yesterday, and the paper was completely soaked. Over the past couple of months the paper has been rained on and dried out on several occasions, which has affected the shape of the sheet, I'm pleased with this result. As it rained quite soon after I first put the piece outside, some yellow ink has spread slightly.
Unfortunately the results have still not been overwhelming, as the weather conditions in London just art extreme enough. I'm hoping this will be the fundamental difference that will make my work on this theme more successful in Iceland. The first thing I intend to do is to place several abstract pieces on paper, very similar to this one, in various locations around the village I'll be staying in. It's a good starting point, which will allow me to gauge both where the best locations are for weathering the work, and also to ascertain quite quickly how the weather is going to affect my work, and how successful I'm likely to be in my endeavours.
I'm really ready to go now, and can't wait to start working. I've been writing a lot more recently, plus it's difficult to paint when I've sent my paintbrushes to Iceland, so I'm really excited to get back to painting and drawing.

It's almost September

It's almost September, meaning that in just over 2 weeks I'll be in Iceland taking part in an artist's residency. It's such a great opportunity, that I've been waiting for for so long, that it feels quite surreal that it'll be happening to me in just over 2 weeks. I've spent a long time preparing, and surprised myself with how efficient I've managed to be, I can't really believe the time is nearly here.

My preparations have gone quite smoothly so far, even though it's felt a bit overwhelming at times. I can't help but feel that something is bound to go wrong! I'm worrying over nothing, I know it'll most likely be a wonderful experience, just as I want it to be. This experience feels like a big step forward for me, and I can't wait for the time to come.

I'm so excited to have a chance, however brief, to concentrate purely on my work, no distractions. That's near impossible when you have a normal office job as well. Ever since I graduated I've realised how fortunate I was to have several years devoted to art and nothing else. I've really missed being in that position, and now I'll be able to do that again, even if it is only for one month. I've got a fairly solid plan of what to do, I know exactly how I want to start off, so I'm ready to dive in as soon as I get there. I don't want to waste any time at all, because I now appreciate how precious the time is.

Everything has gone well so far and I definitely feel ready to go!

My impatience

 I'm so impatient. I've left the painting outside for longer than I expected to, and unfortunately there has been little change in it's appearance. You may be able to see that the ink has been bleached significantly, and there is also some dirt on the surface from when it rained. Unfortunately there isn't much more development than that, and I certainly want more.

 Over the past few days I have debated taking matters into my own hands and using various methods to weather the canvas myself. Hopefully if I try this natural approach again when we're further into winter there will be better, and faster results. However, doing that feels kind of deceptive to me, and feels like I'm compromising my original concept. I feel like I need to put up with feeling frustrated and just let this happen naturally.

At least I have other work to do in the meantime. Today I started working on the first of the two portraits I've recently had commissioned. They are both of children, which is something new for me, so I'm doing a lot of preparatory sketches. These pieces also will not include text or embroidery, just a straightforward portrait, so it'll be a change. That's the plan for today, and hopefully I can start painting the figure in the next few days.

The old and the new

This is the final piece from my body of work on my time in Finland, featuring stereotypical English phrases translated into Finnish. Selected pieces will be shown in central London from June 8th.

I've already moved onto new things, working with the themes of self-examination and the conflict between public and private lives. This work will centre around a list of 50 little known facts about myself, confronting the viewer with them, and questioning how much information is too much. The viewer might react with interest, shock or disgust at finding out these facts. I'm expecting to show some work on these themes at an upcoming show in July.

New work to end this

I'm getting started on a new piece, which will be the final part of my body of work on my time in Finland. I've really enjoyed making this body of work, and I'm proud of what I've done, but I feel like it's time to move on. When I started this work the experience was really fresh for me, but now six months have passed and other concerns have come up for me which I'd like to work with.
Recently my work has become concerned with human experience, not just relationships, and I think the new piece is more reflective of this. I'm very interested in language, and whilst I was away I was very keen to learn and speak as much Finnish as possible. Even now I still try to keep practising with it. In London it's very normal to hear foreign languages around you, so I didn't find it too daunting to be surrounded by the Finnish language. Finnish is such a minority language that few people are familiar with it, so I thought it would be really interesting to confront my audience with it, allowing them to share my experience of being surrounded by it. I think it will be easy for an audience to relate to this piece, as viewers have likely had the same experience whilst on holiday abroad, or may have lived abroad themselves.
I've chosen to embroider a variety of stereotypical English phrases and concepts, translated into Finnish. The image is of a trial piece I did yesterday, reading "cup of tea". I'll provide a handwritten board with translations, otherwise no one will get the joke of the two cultures being mashed together, unless a Finnish speaker happens to see the work.
For this piece I'm using a style more reflective of handwriting than the block capitals I used previously. This adds to the human element.
I think my exhibition will provide a strong feel of my Finnish experience, and I'm very glad that I'm able to share this with others.
Additionally, I'm currently applying for an artist's residency in Turku for Autumn 2013. I might be back sooner than I think!

Starting something new

I've decided to begin something new within my work, but I've been so busy doing it that I've only just remembered to write about it!
I've now completed 6 portraits, which I'm happy with, and it would be a good idea to have something slightly different to go alongside it. Working on something new is convenient now, because I had a subject for another portrait, but I wasn't sure who to use after that. I wanted each portrait to be of someone significant, who played a big part in my life in Finland, rather than choosing people I'd only met once or twice just because I needed a subject. I can think of a couple of people I might like to work on if I decide to make some more of these portraits, but after that I might end up scraping the barrel.
Recently I'd also started thinking more about memories I have of my time in Turku, and memories of the people in my work. This, and the use of my friends as subjects, relates to the idea of my internal world, and my domestic life.
I had an idea of filling a bag or envelope with pieces of paper on which my memories are written. Someone can take out a memory and read it. This worked well in my sketchbook, but I'm uncomfortable with doing this in a gallery setting, as there is a risk of theft. I don't want my work, or my memories, to be stolen.
I hit on the idea of embroidering a surface with the memories I have of the people in the portraits, colour coding the sentences to correspond to each image. Embroidery is traditionally a feminine, domestic act, but this is not highly important in my work. What's more important is that the embroidery will be consistent with the portraits. The surface I'll be using is a blanket I got on a night train in Norway, when I was on holiday. The blanket is too thin to be of real use to me now, plus it provides symbolism. It is an object that I acquired during my time away from England, even if it didn't actually come from Finland.
I feel that the blanket piece could still be considered as a portrait - a portrait of me. I think that your experiences and memories shape you, and make you who you are, and all of these memories and events have formed me and my life today. In a way, this piece puts me alongside my friends.
I'm planning to start sewing the blanket during Christmas, and this week I've been working on some preparatory pieces. This work may take a while, so I'll see where I am after that. In the future I'm quite interested in doing something focussing on the continuous line drawings I've been doing.

Some recent images

I've been working hard, and haven't posted for a few weeks, so here are some images of what I've been doing.


Two continous line preparatory drawings


A preparatory painting for a piece I'll probably start on tomorrow


The fourth final painting I've completed. I was aiming to finish five by Christmas, and I've just about done that already. I'll get started on the sixth one tomorrow.

Lots of experiments

Due to moving house and having no internet I've been unable to update this blog. However, I have been working away with preparatory work, and I now feel quite ready to start working on the final painting of Emmi. I've laid down some blocks of colour on the finalo canvas, and today I plan to start the portrait.
In a discussion yesterday it was suggested to me that the poetry and painting are at odds with each other - the poetry is deliberately mixed up and random, whereas the painting is intended to be clearer and direct. I'm trying to hit a balance between the work being immediately readable, and therefore not very interesting, and being complicated and challenging. I want to viewer to have to consider the work a bit, not just look at it once, understand it, and move on.
In order to create more harmony I'm thinking of adding a rough, continuous line drawing, layered on top of the portrait. In my view this will add an element of confusion, without making the image indecipherable. I hope that the loose threads will also add a degree of disarray.

The other thing I'm currently working on is a philosophical text to be shown alongside these paintings, examining the nature of distance and separation. The individual works are more concerned with particular people, whereas this will reflect on distance and long-distance relationships more generally. I began writing notes on this last week, and don't want to publish too much right now.
I'm also considering how to present this text so that it fits with the other work. This is still in the early stages, so nothing is certain yet.

Embroidery experiments

I have continued preparatory work by experimenting with embroidery, and the idea of physically connecting the portrait to the poem. I think it's worked well. The embroidery works to add higlights to the image and provide extra definition. I like the contrast between the tight, controlled stitching and the loose, fluid strings connecting the two pieces. I think the strings, running across the subject's face, could be interpreted as a block between the viewer and the subject, however fragile it may be, which reinforces the idea of separation.
The loose strings are tangled here, which I'm not sure about. I would prefer them to simply overlap and hang freely. However, the idea just popped into my head to weave strings together
where they hang loosely. I'd need to ensure the web obscured the image, but didn't block it completely.
I also think that, considering the final piece will be on a larger scale, it might be interesting to combine cotton thread and wool as they hang between the pieces.

Preparatory sketches

Once I've chosen an image to work from it's important to me to familiarise myself with it before starting on a final piece. I usually make multiple preparatory sketches to get myself comfortable. If the piece is to include another element, such as collage or text, I often experiment with this in the initial drawings too.
This is the first sketch I've made to prepare for this piece. I chose the photograph because it shows the face clearly, and I think it is a beautiful picture of my friend. This was a simple sketch done with a pen, but I'd like to try something that also incorporates embroidery before launching into the final piece. I haven't used embroidery within my work for quite a long time, so I'd like to experiment with that.
My style of painting uses much bolder lines than in this drawing, so I might also do a preparatory drawing or painting with bolder, thicker lines. I often begin a painting by creating a simple collage as a background, and I have recently got into laying down blocks of colour. Starting the portrait is less intimidating when there is already something on the canvas. I may also experiment with layering the image with colour blocks before moving onto the final work.