The Errant Artist

Thanks for the fish

2011-06-25T21:41:00.002+01:00

The only reason I'm actually writing something here, is that it would feel like a book without an ending. So, what's left to say is, so long ... Ten Thousand Things

Closed

2011-06-15T19:06:00.000+01:00

The other side

2011-06-06T14:59:00.001+01:00

I have created a new blog for writing on: please visit it at: Ten Thousand Things

Cosmic Cephalopod

2011-03-17T14:33:00.003Z

This is my first painting to go up here, and was done with acrylics on canvass.

141

2011-02-25T12:54:00.003Z

141 used to be the extension to the bacteriology lab that my father-in-law worked in. However, I decided to take a new slant on the phone in question, and other than an engaged tone, there's only 6 other extensions to call, who they go through to however is a different matter.

Something's not right here

2011-01-28T22:22:00.001Z

Trauma

2011-01-26T15:38:00.003Z

Most of my art tends not to come from such a dark place within myself, however occasionally situations arise in life that can force feelings back out into the open again. This piece comes from a trauma I struggle with when unwanted sound comes my way, and manifested over two years of my life during 2006-2008. It was not a place I desired to relive, and I don't really want to go into a full explanation about it. So, hopefully the art speaks for itself.

Building Blocks

2011-01-12T17:15:00.001Z

This was originally started as a nudge to get me back into drawing something, however it has ended up being framed and on a wall!

Devoid

2011-01-07T15:07:00.001Z

Cow

2010-11-25T14:17:00.003Z

I have been rather out of doing any art over the past couple of weeks for various reasons, however I have been using my creativity in a slightly different way, I learnt to crochet! Since then, I have been busy making lots of things, and thought I'd share my first crocheted cow with you.

The Making Place

2010-11-05T12:23:00.001Z

Hunter's Retreat

2010-10-20T17:02:00.002+01:00

'Hunter's Retreat' (thanks go out to Ian who came up with the title), was inspired after seeing three different takes on one shape, and is primarily a pen and ink drawing, however a paintbrush was also used. The piece is actually A3 in size, so I've had to take a photograph of it, unfortunately some of the texture of the artwork has been lost due to the conversion and size reduction needed to display it here.

The Wanderer

2010-10-12T10:10:00.000+01:00

I created this montage after becoming inspired by a shadow cast over one the wardrobes. The piece is made using old photographic paper that has changed colour due to its exposure to sunlight. Over time is it also possible that each piece of paper will continue to slightly change hue, so it will be interesting for me to see it in a year's time.

XV

2010-10-08T09:26:00.002+01:00

I had become annoyed and frustrated prior to drawing this piece, and it wasn't until I had finished it, that I realized it had come from somewhere very deep within myself, basically what in Jungian psychology is called the shadow.

The reason I have called the piece 'XV' is it also appears to be my own representation of the 15th card in the Tarot's Major Arcana. Due to this realization, I might re-draw the piece more precisely and not in charcoal; and am contemplating whether I should experiment in drawing my own representations of the other cards.

The Room

2010-10-07T11:23:00.002+01:00

This drawing was done back in April 2009, as an illustration for a short story called The Room It has since been decided that the illustration can now also appear on my blog.

Refraction

2010-10-06T09:47:00.006+01:00

I have always found it difficult to make a true representation of any artwork I do using either charcoal or pastels, as the colours never seem to translate quite correctly on the computer and the subtleness of shading is often lost to some degree.

'Refraction', although rather simple in its abstract style, can be interpreted in several ways. I will leave it up to you to consider any meanings, free from my own thoughts, as the piece will no doubt be perceived slightly differently by each viewer.

Windrush Hill

2010-09-20T10:49:00.006+01:00

Way up high on Windrush Hill
I stand for hours to test my skill
Like a sail upon a stormy sea
Completely as one, I'm free.

Me and my shadow

2010-09-16T13:24:00.002+01:00

For the past few weeks I have been concentrating on drawing up blueprints, so I thought I should share this very quick cartoon drawn on my new whiteboard.

From behind the curtain

2010-08-02T15:55:00.000+01:00

2010-07-29T17:40:00.007+01:00

On and off over the past week I've been working on something slightly unique to me. Partly because it is Gouache on stained wood and a re-creation of some of my previous artwork, but also as it is painting instead of drawing.

2010-07-18T17:54:00.002+01:00

In true form to my blog title I am still finding the Errant side hugely outwaying the finished artwork side, so seeing as this appears to be a continuing thread at the moment, I thought it was time I wrote something about my artistic struggles.

The major issue is not only in finding enough time, but also in finding the right time when I'm feeling the inspiration to draw, and matching up these two parts has become a tricky issue.

I naïvely thought that when we bought our rural village house, almost two years ago now, that I would have more available time. Admittedly I am using my artistic design skills almost every day, but in re-landscaping over half of our 120 foot back garden, our front garden, and in restoring all the glossed wood in the house back to varnished wood; in short, planning, maintaining and improving everything.

Add into that all the normal household requirements, plus baking, and more often than not I am physically, mentally and inspirationally spent to even contemplate art, let alone to actually sit down and draw, if I have any ideas left to draw on in the first place!

I do actually have a rather large piece of art that I have been fleetingly working on for the past two months, but as to when it will be finished, well your guess is as good as mine.

I do envisage a time when this will not be the case, however as long as it is for now, I really do need to find a workable solution. Several months ago I made Thursday evenings a time to sit down and concentrate on ideas and artwork, but although this can work on occasion, for the most part I find my inspiration cannot be channelled into a specific time slot, so the idea has basically become unworkable in the long term.

Presently still unable to find a workable solution, I am hoping that if you have any suggestions, ideas or advice on how I can manage my life and art together please leave a comment.

Just deliver them!

2010-05-21T12:41:00.001+01:00

I've been busy

2010-04-15T22:53:00.001+01:00

Frustration in a box

2010-03-23T17:23:00.001Z

The Mushroom Cap

2010-03-12T08:45:00.000Z

Health and Safety Gone Mad

2010-03-08T00:01:00.001Z

The Rabbit Stone

2010-02-26T11:00:00.001Z

Ewe were not invited

2009-12-31T11:58:00.001Z

The DIY Beanie

2009-12-21T09:55:00.000Z

The 11th Hour

2009-12-16T10:49:00.000Z

The Night Hag

2009-12-08T09:38:00.000Z

Rapunzel

2009-11-30T11:33:00.000Z

Ewe may not pass

2009-11-24T10:57:00.000Z

Introducing Deefa

2009-11-18T11:36:00.000Z

Yay-Whoot

2009-11-11T12:15:00.000Z

Bag of Inspiration

2009-11-06T10:15:00.000Z

Tell it to the bubble-head

2009-11-01T16:13:00.002Z

We can take you no further

2009-09-29T16:46:00.001+01:00

Oh, the embarrassment!

2009-09-08T10:38:00.000+01:00

Forgotten

2009-09-03T09:13:00.000+01:00

The Disembodied Voice

2009-08-26T09:51:00.000+01:00

Sunglasses at night

2009-08-18T10:56:00.000+01:00

The Overseer

2009-08-10T08:06:00.000+01:00

The Intersection

2009-08-04T14:56:00.000+01:00

Active-wear

2009-07-30T09:18:00.000+01:00

Ramesses II

2009-07-22T12:28:00.000+01:00

I'm a Lady

2009-07-14T13:37:00.000+01:00

The Folly

2009-07-06T10:36:00.000+01:00

Yay-Whoot and the Pooch

2009-06-30T16:55:00.001+01:00

Midsummer Fairy

2009-06-21T08:55:00.000+01:00

Oh Bats!

2009-06-15T08:20:00.000+01:00

I will be your waiter for this evening

2009-06-10T08:08:00.000+01:00

Up

2009-06-01T09:17:00.000+01:00

Stop yo-yoing

2009-05-26T08:15:00.000+01:00

Bastet

2009-05-20T09:02:00.000+01:00

Ring My Bells

2009-05-15T19:44:00.000+01:00

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

2009-05-05T23:20:00.000+01:00

The Wendy House

2009-04-27T11:50:00.001+01:00

Pesky Wabbits

2009-04-17T20:32:00.005+01:00

Two days ago, I was more than surprised to see one of the wild bunnies, from the field opposite, looking suspicious on my next door neighbour's drive. Convinced that this rabbit had to be up to no good, I peered a little closer. Nonchalantly it turned to throw me a glance, then disappeared under the hedge. On inspection everything appeared to be normal, no incendiary device left behind, or any other heinous reminder that there had been a rabbit there. The hours ticked on, and slowly my thoughts moved away from the furry horror.

The following morning, I drew back the bedroom curtains and looked out into the back garden. Bounce, bounce, hop, bounce! I blinked a couple of times, just to make sure I was not still sleeping, but there it was, the same rabbit, now brazenly bouncing around our lawn. It seemed to spot me, stopping to glare up at my horrified face, before hopping into the rockery surrounding our pond. Certain that it was nibbling at the flora, I glared back as it sat sheltering from the mist of rain, underneath one of the conifers. Drip, shake, drip, bounce, shake, drip. Indignantly I left the rabbit to its scheming, and marched off to locate the camera.

Half expecting the bunny to have miraculously vanished, now that I could photographically incriminate it, I looked outside, secretly glad that it was still where I'd last seen it. Deciding that 'Operation Rabbit Cam' would work best from the patio windows, I rushed downstairs, and positioned myself accordingly.

Bounce, bounce, glare, bounce, the rabbit approached. We eyed each other up, seconds passing like minutes; I snapped several shots off, then waited. Suddenly the furry invader sat bolt upright, as if waiting for orders from the General of some hidden rabbit army lurking on the periphery of my garden. I continued taking more photos, still unaware of the dangers ahead.

The rabbit charged, I loomed forwards, with only a window pane between us, and with one quick glance we both realized the potential horror of each other's actions. The bunny retreated back to my pond rockery, and I stood gazing down at my three troughs of baby lettuces, suddenly feeling Mr McGregor.

Jayne

2009-04-11T19:21:00.001+01:00

Helpful

2009-04-03T16:05:00.001+01:00

Changes in the Wind

2009-03-28T11:46:00.001Z

Cuckoo?

2009-03-20T08:30:00.000Z

Growing a Bear

2009-03-18T11:15:00.028Z

Since last week I have started to produce illustrations for the site Growing a Bear. I thought I should mention it, as the illustrations I draw for this site will be exclusives, and therefore not feature on my blog here.

The Suspect : Part 2 - "Number 4 dunnit"

2009-03-13T12:47:00.000Z

The Suspect

2009-03-10T17:29:00.000Z

Time Management

2009-03-04T16:56:00.002Z

2009-03-04T14:05:00.003Z

I've decided that this 'as and when' art isn't exactly working for me, plus I've had a few private comments about people missing my art. So, as of this week I've decided to upload some form of artwork, at least once a week.

Presently I am working on an Un-named, which is about half the way done. I should have enough time to complete it today; and then I'll upload it either late afternoon or early this evening. The great thing is that I am actually really enjoying drawing again.

Beyond the Realm

2009-02-06T15:45:00.001Z

2009-02-04T18:17:00.002Z

I've been working on a rather surreal piece of art this week, which was initially inspired by various shadows that I had noticed cast upon my wall last Friday. I made a quick sketch of them, and then on Sunday studied their form for some time, before making another sketch, still based on their idea, but also with my own thoughts thrown in.

I am hoping to have the final charcoal version of the drawing completed by tomorrow, so it will either appear on my blog tomorrow or Friday.

2009-01-29T21:59:00.000Z

I've been advised to think about possibly writing little but often, which I agree is a good idea. Today has not been about art in the slightest, because it has been predominantly a baking and cooking day. For those of you who don't already know, I bake all of the bread we eat these days; so I started off the morning making twelve rolls and a loaf of basil bread, before making some spinach ricotta for this evening's cannelloni. We have family coming over on both days of this weekend, so I also needed to make a carrot and corriander soup, a chunky vegetable soup and finally a vegetable flatbake, which is sort of like a quiche, but not exactly.

I have also found four woodlice today; two in the dining room, and two in the lounge. Apparently, they come from space, however I'm more inclined to think that people, or the cat, are bringing them in from outside, which is where I returned them to.

2009-01-28T14:18:00.002Z

I am hoping that once I have written my first entry since the blog changes, that writing will become easier, as this is pretty torturous at present. I have sat for countless moments idly gazing out at the garden, whilst the bird population flock in to find all the tasty morsels left out for them; and yet a self imposed shield appears to continue stifling my inspiration. Fortunately it only has the slightest of grip when it comes to my art.

Since buying our own house, almost four months ago now, I have discovered an aspect of myself which had been previously hidden. I have become 'house proud'! Household management continuously takes a fair amount of time, not to say energy, and then when you add in, baking and cooking, plus all the other items that slowly need addressing when you move into a new property, your time in the week quickly ebbs away.

Over this past month, I began to consider what was important in my life, and realized that maintaining a clean, comfortable and happy home environment was one of the top items on my list. I also came to the conclusion that this blog, or rather the demand of three drawings a week, was not only difficult to achieve now, but had in effect started to kill my art.

The idea behind my blog's new name and re-design, is to allow my art the time it hasn't previously had. The half an hour drawings, such as the Un-named, will still pop up, however I can now also work on art that may take weeks to complete. I am also hoping that whilst I may be errant in uploading art as frequently, I can write about my life, thoughts and inspirations instead.

Change of use

2009-01-16T15:29:00.001Z

Trapped outside

2009-01-14T18:41:00.001Z

Who moved my honey?

2009-01-12T08:37:00.000Z

Need to write more?!

2009-01-09T08:39:00.000Z

Frozen Land

2009-01-07T08:53:00.000Z

When the Crown Slips

2009-01-05T12:08:00.001Z

After an impromptu two weeks off from everything, I am back!

Never vacuum in a gown

2008-12-19T08:06:00.000Z

Pathway

2008-12-17T08:06:00.000Z

The Past

2008-12-15T08:45:00.000Z

The Hoard

2008-12-12T08:42:00.000Z

Buried Mind

2008-12-10T08:03:00.001Z

Ursa

2008-12-08T12:52:00.000Z

Solve it

2008-12-05T08:10:00.000Z

For you

2008-12-03T08:13:00.001Z

The cereal of the moment

2008-12-01T08:38:00.000Z

Who did it?

2008-11-28T08:31:00.000Z

Where is S?

2008-11-26T08:10:00.000Z

No idea

2008-11-24T09:31:00.001Z

More fun than leaf collecting

2008-11-21T08:12:00.000Z

The brother in-law

2008-11-19T08:16:00.000Z

Wait until the dough rises!

2008-11-17T08:23:00.000Z

Get your freak on!

2008-11-14T08:26:00.000Z

Is it empty?

2008-11-12T08:15:00.000Z

Painter's Palette

2008-11-10T08:56:00.000Z

Sasha

2008-11-07T08:34:00.000Z

Boo!

2008-11-05T08:20:00.000Z

The Deity

2008-11-03T08:49:00.000Z

Fly me to the moon

2008-10-31T08:16:00.000Z