When a Distance isn't a Distance

Technology and the internet has transformed our lives, and there's no going back, only faster and faster forward.
This is very exciting, and just about anything we can think of can be reality very quickly. However, this doesn't mean that everything happens quickly. Change is rapid, communication is instant, BUT the skills we need to be really good at something take almost as long as they ever did. This is not a bad thing, it is just the way it is. And perhaps the learning of deep skills is the saving grace that people are seeking - the time and focus required to be really good at something is in that place where the fast-moving world can't reach, once we start focusing - it is a mindset, a choice, a commitment, a discipline.

One of the beauties of the internet is that it reduces miles between us. It means that we don't have to be beside the teacher any more. This week I accepted a new student for Distance Learning - she is in Kansas City Missouri, 4164 miles from me. Or a click of the mouse. It's so exciting to exchange knowledge and create new bonds across the globe - or just across the pond.

And because the requirements of students is different I am beginning to personlise the courses so students get to venture more into areas that interest them individually. This makes it never endingly interesting for me too.

So while students may rightly regard their creative learning experience as a journey, they aren't alone. It's my journey too. In fact, I'm the navigator.

Distance Learning - for info on the course, which has modules in Drawing, Water Colour, oils and portraiture, email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Pencil Drawing, portrait first stage

These drawings are the first stage in a portrait commission. I don't always do a full tonal drawing but I really enjoyed spending the time on this. It took 11 hours in one sitting to do both studies.

I drew them quite freely as I wanted them to look like a drawing - the aim was to give the client an idea of scale, rather than get a strong likeness at this stage, although it does look like the boys.
Working in Black & White helps focus attention in the right place, without the distraction of colours. A portrait is about the people, not the colours.

Next up - Big drawing Workshop, Portrait Workshop, Distance Learning kick-off, Water Colour Landscapes & Skies, Oils workshop. For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

'Little Star' Guitar, step by step colour pencil

This is a small artwork, a commission where the client was giving the artwork to the guitar player, David Bell. He calls his guitar Little Star. I decided to use colour pencil as the strings would have been incredibly fiddly (excuse the pun!) if I'd used oil paint.

As you can see, I start with an accurate line drawing of everything. 

This is so that when I add the colour, all I have to decide is what colour I need, not where to put it. 

                          A careful series of layers.

And a close-up to show the pencil strokes. Bear in mind that this IS an enlargement - the lines are small and close together, not long, and with an even pressure - not heavy. More and more layering means that no lines at all are showing in the end result. In colour pencil, less is not more, more is just enough.

Little Star, by Julie Douglas, Colour pencil on Bristol Board, approx 14cm x 14cm

For info on courses, workshops, events and commissions,  email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

A few yummy shoes, pencil

Recently I got my classes drawing shoes - very good fun and loved by all. Here's a group shot from the Thursday Girls.

One of the important things to consider BEFORE we start drawing is the view point. Rather than just plonking an object on the table and getting stuck in, it pays off to spend 5 or 10 minutes playing with the height of the object - try putting it on the floor and looking down on it, or putting it high so you have to look up at it. With these shoes, I put them on a box on the table to make them roughly eye-level. Much more interesting.

 Raising the viewpoint by just a few inches can make all the difference.

Lovely colour pencil study by Pat F, student.

Textured pencil work, by J McI, student 

Drawing - always the best route to everything else. 

For info on courses email jule@juliedouglas.co.uk

I'm bananas about you...

Close-up from Lucy's water colour

Recently I held a children's class, for just three extremely enthusiatic young ladies, aged 8, 10 and 13. Quite a range in ages, especially as they didn't know each other. But impossible to tell their ages from looking at their artwork.

Focus and attention.

I was delighted with their attention to me, their willingness to persevere, their warm laughter together which I could hear while I was in the kitchen making them a cup of tea, and of course, the wonderful paintings they produced.

Lucy's banana, complete with heart motif!

Look at how much care they are giving - softly applying the paint, mindfully getting the right pressure on the brush. I had expected to cover two subjects during the session, but the girls were so engrossed in this exercise, and learning so much from it that I allowed them to keep going. So these paintings took two hours to complete, and not a sigh or a moan from any of them. Pure joy.

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Given the right  materials, constant encouragement and explaining what they should look for, until they FIND it, allows people of all ages to produce the most stunning artwork. From 8 to 80. (Though I had a lovely student on my distance learning course who was 92 at the time. How fabulous is that?) But more even than the artwork produced is the process involved in doing it, for these young people - focus and concentration are life skills, the ability to stick with something even when it is difficult (because we all know how to quit already) is confidence building, sharing that striving in a group situation increases the learning value and exposes students to alternative ways to solve similar problems - helping them see solutions instead of problems, in an atmosphere where they cannot fail (for I won't let them) and the satisfaction of getting to the end is priceless.

So, although I'm mad about their bananas, it's only a little bit about the bananas. Its all about the everything else.

Well done girls, you're brilliant and I look forward to doing more. xx


Next up: Portrait workshop, Oils workshop, Water Colour workshop and childrens classes. For information emsil julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

What do I do?

I have just done a straight eight day teaching run, which included five late nights and ended with a talk to NI CTC (which is the Cycling Touring Club, to you and me) entitled, 'What I Do'. Astonishing how one can wonder, before doing a talk like that, What is it that I do..? Fortunately, a good rummage in the storage boxes turns up a lot of paintings, and I remember that Oh yes, sometimes I do THAT!

I was glad that my work is small, making it easy to pack up and transport. 

It's not that I don't know what I do, it's that I do many different things, and working out which one people want to hear about is always interesting.

Tiredness manifests in interesting ways towards the end of a long run of classes. By day seven I was feeling a bit vague, and admitted to the students that I was feeling.. er...indecisive. Today, I think I've passed myself going round the corner.

Many paintings and drawings have been successfully brought into being during those days. At the weekend I had a truly international group of students - from Donegal, Dublin, Wexford, Co Down and OMAN!

Pears in Oils. Top, by Sarah B, student, bottom, by Geraldine O'K, student.

Niamh and Robert, poetry in motion, practicing their water colour washes, in unison! 

Some students were  doing Oils for the first time, others were working towards portfolios. We covered a lot of ground - water colour, drawing on location, observation studies and sketch book work. Everyone was out of their comfort zone for some of the time.

Fabulous drawing by Niamh, who thought she couldn't draw... 

Next up - Childrens Drawing class, Belfast.
email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk for info

(ps - I notice lots of uninvited ads on my blog, and I'm working out how to get rid of them. Bear with me!)

Loving my sketch book. Water colour.

The thing about the Sketch book is - well, there are lots of Things. Every sketch book is completely unique and you can't do it wrong (unless you don't do one at all). It's a bit of a sanctuary, a safe place, a starting point. A place to be free and to try, to make a mess and not mind. Making a mess is rather rewarding. Being PREPARED to make a mess means we're less likely to. 

The sketch book is also a working-out place, as well as keeper of doodles and notes. Its brilliant for warming up or for keeping your hand/eye in. And for keeping your sanity. Perhaps that's it - it's your foot on the ground, while the rest of you floats about. What a lovely thought. 

Bunch of bananas, water colour and pencil, moleskine sketch book, Julie Douglas

 I sent the above banana painting out in a recent email to students and one reply said 'the bananas actually look happy..'

!!

Liz's beetroot, water colour in Moleskine sketchbook, Julie Douglas. Unfinished and not minding. 

Next up - Oil painting workshop, Belfast. Email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk for info

Drawing back from the edge.

Cloth in pencil, by Julie Douglas. Moleskine sketch book

Last term I started my Masters-Mistress at college
(see  http://juliedouglasdrawingpaintinglearning.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/mistress-of-arts-college-and-portfolios.html).
Studying Multidisciplinary Design means that all students come from different disciplines, and we each carve our own individual path to our personal goals, although we attend workshops together. The advantages of this varied group of students is incredible - we have huge skills between us and are constantly helping each other with things, as it seems the easiest and most obvious way forward.
In fact, Collaboration seems to be the only way, both in the creative workplace and in any business setting where the business hopes to expand or even just to survive. Puts a whole new perspective on the phrase 'I know a man who Can'.

The work is stretching and rewarding but absorbs hours like a sponge. So to do the Masters I knew that something in my routine would have to 'give'. And that something was time at my drawing board.

Uh-Oh.

Now, to a certain degree this is FINE, particularly as I made that decision. Creativity has many forms. However, I have got so much college work done that I can now get back to the desk. Which is so much easier to say than to Do. The next discipline, then, is to actually get to the desk (and not because its covered in paper and files). The Habit has to be carefully reformed. Or perhaps less carefully and more CONSCIOUSLY.

My desk is in a sunroom at the back of the house, and at this time of year, its a fridge. So, any old table will do. The next mental hurdle (for it's all in the mind), is Time. My artworks are demanding of time and effort (What? Did you think it was easy?! There's a good reason for all those corny sayings like 'Suffer for your art'.. ) and so, like preparing for the marathon, small steps of preparation are needed. But they may not be what you expect them to be. Here's my list of kick-starter steps

1. A commitment to another person.

2. A commitment to yourself.

3. A determination to not give up (it takes a lot of self motivation to be self motivated...)

4. Forgiveness

5. Praise

6. Acknowledgement

7, 8, 9, 10. Humour.

11. A mantra to say in your head.. Mine is 'stay in your chair, stay in your chair..' - if I get up, the spell is broken.


So, here comes the sketch book, oh joy.

Mushroom on tinted card, colour pencil & pastel pencil, Julie Douglas

its also important NOT to be Tidy (if tidying is a way of avoiding sitting to work). Draw amidst the chaos and Order will appear.

The best way to stop myself knitting was to draw it.... 

Cable pattern, pen, by Julie Douglas

Pen is a good idea too, as rubbing out isn't an option - Draw on regardless.

Sometimes, a doodle turns into a drawing - usually, as in the case below, on the back of something else..

Although this is rough, each drawing is leading into the next, until the finger-tips drawing, which begins to look more confident. Tip - don't judge your work, just draw ON.

And soon, a new Habit emerges...

Hands in pen, Glass in Colour pencil and Pastel

So far this month my classes have been using pencil and pen, and next week we'll get back to some water colour. I decided to tackle two difficult subjects in one session - hands (which are not the easiest thing to draw, but better than feet!) and glass. In fact, nothing is easier or more difficult to draw than anything else, it is our perception that makes it seem that way. So, to make it more intense, we did hands in pen - no going back, only adding more!

Helena, student

Geraldine and Nisa, students

There was a mixed reaction when I said 'pen', but my students are so very well behaved that they just gulped and... JUMPED RIGHT IN! Excellent. I'll take more photos to add.

Linda A, student

Working like this for an hour, realizing that you can alter and change and 'correct' by adding more lines, not by rubbing out, simultaneously 'loosens' any anxieties you might have about tackling this subject (just the opposite of what you might expect) and gets you in the right frame of mind to move on to chalk pastels for a large study of glass. I am often asked how to draw glass, particularly by Distance Learning students. The answer is to place the glass into an environment of Colour. For this study I put the glasses onto a CD, two apparently colourless objects, but we ended up with the most amazing rainbow! (although you can't tell from the photos, none of the colours in the drawings were 'invented' - this is what we could see in the CD).

June and Helena, Students

Nisa and Geraldine

Jayne and Deirdre, students (work in progress)

I was so pleased that everyone believed what was in front of them. The studies were a mix of pastel with colour pencil - I discovered that colour pencil will actually 'smudge' along with pastel, in a way that it doesn't when used alone.

Next up: Portrait workshop, Intensive Portfolio Weekend, Children's classes.
For info email: julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Busy holidays. Step by step oil painting

So I had two weeks off college, but that doesn't quite equate to two weeks OFF. No. I did some classes, got up to date with my Distance Learning crits, did The Christmas, got back to my drawing board and finished the tiny Mince Pie. I notice its taking a really long time to dry, for all the size of it. White paint is the culprit - slows the drying process. I put my thumb on the front of the star yesterday to 'make sure' it was dry to varnish, but no, oops - hope the thumbprint doesn't show through..!

stage 1

The first stage always looks terrible so I try to do this in the afternoon or evening, so its dry for the next day to crack on with the colour and more steady observation. This is on board, so needed 3 layers of paint.

blocking in more thickly

Working so small meant I was inclined to occassionally put my finger onto a wet patch. I ended up holding it in my hand to paint. It was lovely to be painting again - remembering the delicious sliding and slipping of different pigments, and nudging the paint around.

big for a mince pie, small for a painting!

The biggest thing to remember with this kind of painting is that more observation is needed with each layer - working from general to specific.

All done, albeit it a loose study, and I feel more human again, after a long absence from Painting. 

and also, between walks, I did a LOT of... knitting! The best things ever are these fingerless arm-length mitts, which keep my arms warm when I'm sitting drawing, very quick to knit.

Upcoming workshops: Portrait workshop (Dublin)
Oils, Water colour landscape and Portfolio Preparation and childrens drawing, Belfast.
For info email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk