These drawings were made in Procreate on iPad with the intention of producing physical drawings from them in ink on paper. However, when I began experimental drawings yesterday I found it didn't work for me at all. I'm not entirely sure why; something to do with the materials and the pens I was using just didn't gel and the drawings were clumsy in a bad way. I tried a variety of papers, even working over a mono-print texture, but it didn't solve the problem. The results of each experiment were only marginally different, lacked character, and yielded nothing satisfactory. It's possible the digital work doesn't translate well into drawing, or perhaps it doesn't suit my style, being too representational; but I had to face the fact that the digital versions were superior, and better left in that domain for now. The main problem lay in the quality of my mark-making. I used Procreate's 'ink bleed' brush on a minimal line size for the digital versions shown here. It has a slightly soft, broken line which provided a light intricacy. This was missing altogether in the physical drawings. It is possible that if I worked them on a larger scale the marks would be relatively smaller and more delicate. Around A2 size (594mm on the long dimension) would probably be better, giving them space to breathe, whereas I was trying them at approximately A5 (210mm on the long side) and the results were too crowded. Also, my current mapping pen is new, full of ink, and producing a dark line. I generally prefer the lighter, finer lines of part-used ones for intricate drawing. I was working with the Christmas exhibition 'On a Small Scale' at the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh in mind, but I can see from my experiments that these won't do for that particular show - fortunately, however, I have plenty of other ideas on the go which I shall get on with, and perhaps return to these lovely moths and plants at a later date.
Progress of the Voynich inspired drawings. Initially I had no interest working on my iPad other than getting outlines and compositions just right, but developing my own mark-making and tones to suit produced surprisingly beautiful, delicate results. I didn't imagine I could produce anything so fine with a stylus. Gradually they became works in their own right; I suppose you could call it digital, but the process is exactly the same as when I draw with ink on paper. I have discovered a way to achieve the intricacy I aim for in my work on iPad. At first it occurred to me that this was a perfect method for producing prints on art papers which could perhaps be hand-coloured, harking back to my days working for the British Museum as a hand colourist. Later, I realised I was setting myself up for continuing my drawing practice during the poor light of the winter months, as no extra light is required; with the huge increase in energy prices I definitely will not be burning up money on lighting this year. Previously I have been forced to abandon physical drawing in the dark winters, but I now see a way to prepare for drawings when the brighter days of spring and summer arrive.
Before going forward with the new Voynich-ispired work, I finished this glacier drawing during the week. I began it along with a partner drawing back in March when I grabbed some time in the studio before starting the Binky children's book illustrations in earnest. Given that I have had both glacier drawings stowed away for 6 months while doing completely unrelated work it was surprisingly easy to pick up the threads again, and I was happy to be drawing on paper again.
The great lady pictured at Balmoral, where she passed away aged 96 today. Words cannot express how I feel; for my whole life, and the lives of millions of others, she has been present at our centre as the essence of Britishness as our calm, sensible, durable rock through hard times and good times.
RIP our beautiful Queen, you will be sorely missed. Yesterday I was working on colour separations of two bright compositions with a view to making a pattern (here on my Binky blog). The proportions and 'attitude' of the designs were just right, and I grew interested in working them as drawings, picking up on something I was thinking about in May (you can see the original page from the manuscript here).
I was turning over ideas as to how to take them into the delicate realm of drawing today when I received an invitation to submit work for Open Eye Gallery's Christmas exhibition. I thought the Voynich inspired works could be perfect for that, but didn't yet know which direction to take or whether I had anything at all there beyond an idea. I didn't want to lose their quirky nature, so before accepting the gallery's invitation, I took an unprecedented step to see if my ideas would work - I traced outlines of the previous colourful experiments on my iPad. This enabled me to put several compositions together quickly and experiment with different drawing techniques. Working in Procreate, layers' visibility can be toggled on and off. I was interested in the marks where outlines were removed; they look so airy. Choir of Angles, a detail of initial workings for an illustration I'm working on at the moment to accompany one of my 'dreadful ditties'. It's a good example of how ideas exchange and flow between my Heather Eliza drawings and my illustrations as Binky (not surprising really, seeing as I am actually the same person). The first idea appears in a 2008 sketchbook, and then again in an altered form in another sketchbook from 2013 which I devoted to 'daily doodles', most of which turned into two days' work.
You can see how it in its final form as an illustration here on my Binky blog. |
Welcome to my work journal - a weekly update on drawings, work in progress, doodles and day-dreaming.
I changed the website address a few months ago, so some older links on previous posts are broken. If you click one of those and it takes you to a strange page, simply replace the .co.uk after the heatherelizawalker. with weebly.com and it will work again. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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As well as the work you see here, I illustrate under the name of Binky McKee (my mother's maiden name was McKee, Binky was every single one of my great grandmother's many cats!)
If you would like to visit my Binky website, please click the picture above. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Dissolving PeopleA symbol on the footpath outside a local primary school gradually disappearing as the image breaks up and wears away until eventually it is obliterated by leaves and barely discernible. Photographed at intervals of several months between February 2021 and November 2022, oldest at the top.
(My shoes look so new in the first pic, and note the transition to new phone in the last photo). <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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April 2024
(Sorry the archives don't nest!)
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A 2013 work book, still very much in use Please note all images on this website are ©Heather Eliza Walker 2013 - 2020, and may not be used or reproduced without prior consent. |