Friday, July 13, 2007

A Day of Drawing

 

 


I have been a bit down in the doldrums lately- I think part of the problem is sitting and sewing for long lengths of time- you mull over things and if you are not in a great state of mind to start with ,things can quickly slide into a murky pool. Plus I am not a winter person at the best of times- and the rain ,rain, and rain is starting to get to me. It is much needed, but the ground is too soggy to go walking at the moment, which is always something that blows the cobwebs out.

I purchased a book recently entitled Raphael, Durer, and Marcantonio Raimondi; Copying and the Italian Renaissance Print by Lisa Pon, ISBN 0-3000-09680-I, and have been enjoying the detailed descriptions of the process of engraving and copying, largely because I have really had to look and study the prints in the book to really see the differences. I must admit to being a lover of prints , after many years ago seeing a room full of William Blake prints in the Victorian National Gallery- not that William Blake is my favourite, but I was really amazed at the quantity and the quality of the work. I absolutely adore the work of Albrecht Durer so spent a little time today working out why he appeals to me so- I did a little drawn study inspired by a small detail from the background in the Betrayal of Christ from his Small Woodcut Passion series.The detail of his original print is simply amazing and my drawing can go nowhere near capture even an iota of his detail- however I was interested in the difference of the tree with the blank space as compared with the drawn in space- and much prefer the latter. The tree with the space filled in seems so much richer- I guess that is why I stitch so heavily.... sigh.....
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5 comments:

mzjohansen said...

That sounds like a terrific book - and your drawing is wonderful as well! Happy lights help me in the winter !

Helen said...

I do like your drawing. It reminds me of the victorian illustrators Caldecott http://www.tate.org.uk/collection/N/N04/N04049_9.jpg
and also arthur rackham. It is that quality of line that does it and I can certainly see a similarity in your own work.

Anonymous said...

Dürer is amazing -- an endless fount of inspiration. You have now inspired me to look in my Drawings from the Masters books for needle doodle inspiration. Thanks :-)

Anonymous said...

Gurgle. Going back to this page after watching the Tour de France, I was struck by the muscly tree. Trees convert into life drawing? But the lines are so like the cyclists' legs!

Digitalgran said...

I love your trees too. Helen S is a friend of mine and I was looking at Caldecott's birthplace in the City of Chester the last time I was there. I was on one of 'The Rows' going into a lovely quilting shop called The LIberty Bell and noticed the Commemorative plaque at Randolph Caldecott's birthplace, 16 Bridge Street in The Rows (at first-floor level).
(When Randolph lived here, it was number 150.) Chester, England




Memorial plaque in Chester Cathedral, North-West Apse.