Rosettaarts

17th October 2024

in

Going way back now to my A--Level in art and design at Rosetta Studio Workshops (Rosetta Arts). I remember painting the banana skin all day one Thursday, sitting at the back of the studio, no central heating (just one or two electric heaters placed at an inconvenient distance from where I was working), damp from the rain and cold from the soaking I got on the way to the studio that morning, but persevering to get something i was actually quite proud of at the time. I still have this tucked away somewhere, an occasional reminder of how far I came over the intervening years. Also how happy I was then, painting something so ordinary in conditions that were less than ideal and loving every second.

22nd August 2024

in

I think this goes back to 2009/10. It was a pastel drawing I did of the corner of my studio space at the time. The rolled up canvases, the old chair and my boots on top with tubs of acrylic paint underneath. My studio at Rosetta Art Centre was a room sectioned off from a larger one that housed about 5 other artists. Quite often I was on my own in there and could really enjoy the solitude. It was a particularly experimental time for me, never really focusing on one style of work or subject over another; one minute making large scale relief works, another dripping inks onto wet paper and seeing what happened. From time to time I would really enjoy pinning up large sheets of paper and drawing whatever was in front of me, or setting up a still life (often boots and shoes) and drawing in pastels and charcoals. It was actually quite liberating. This was one of those that I was really happy with. Eventually I remember recreating this same drawing as an acrylic painting on canvas but that one I think has been lost to time, as has the version you can see here.. I don’t recall the painting saying much more than this work though, so I’m glad I still have a record of it at least.