There will be twenty articles on seeing and doing... or “Art Classes” for want of a better phrase... in which I will describe how I feel about what I did at Art College 40 years ago to what I do now with expressive tools other than cameras and lenses. Some articles may start off being short and be extended as I find new thoughts and images to inspire... which may be my own work-in-progress, a visit to a gallery in a far off city, a critique in a newspaper or a book from the library... I have an open mind on this.

5-minute Nude As a group we had several sessions of “other” art disciplines each week. For example there was at least one half-day session with a nude model in a life-class... and part of that session was often set aside to complete sketches, drawings or paintings in just five minutes... My first Moleskine My first sketches of Trish in a Moleskine notebook turned out darker than I thought... but it was my night-time efforts that made them so. The next morning revealed quite different colours and tones... My First Painting I am including this watercolour in my “20 Art Classes” on the basis that it is my first recorded painting. However, although I know nothing about the actual subject, have never been to the location and can barely remember doing it... Negative Space #1 In this drawing I expressed my interpretation of the subject by using the negative spaces between the physical positive shapes of the leaves to create an image of a plant... in a way a reversal of the photographic process. Negative Space #2 A palette evolves which I use more and more for subjects that don’t feature those colours naturally... then I also look for subjects which I would not normally regard as being material for my art but which attract me because they have those colours. Photo Art or Crap? Looking through a box of rather old prints I came across this photograph... or rather it was a photograph. It started off as a 16x12 inch print; the circa-1970 image being of a stylish hairdressing salon in the centre of Manchester... Practice, practice... When overlaid with tracing paper which has the same chair segments but in solid colouring, I am able to change the orientation of the layers to create different designs and interactions of shapes to suit my eye and taste...

Articles coming soon include...

Razzle Dazzle... part 1
Razzle Dazzle... part 2
Still-life #1... Bottles
Mae West "Lips" sofa... mixed media
Childrens faces - wax crayon
And much more...