Continuing - very slowly it must be said! - my series of shoes and bags. Or in this case sandals and probably quite old ones compared to most women's collections.
I've been reading David Hockney's controversial book Secret Knowledge and pondering, amongst other things, why art has so much nonsense attached to it. When we ask 'is it art?' it's as if to qualify it has to be something magical, something out of this world, loaded with meaning that can't be explained, done by the hand of some demigod with mystical powers. The more of that propaganda I read the more convinced I am that 'Art' does not exist! Art can be many things but one of them, for me, is that it can simply be a record. I think that is (just) one of the reasons why I admire Holbein so much. His portraits are a very accurate record of the times. His faces are real people, his honest portrayals cut through the centuries the way, I feel, no other artist has managed. If he had been an impressionist, for example, we wouldn't have had all the same amount of information about the sitters or the environment they lived in.
So I rather like this recording of things. They probably show a lot about me and my taste and as time goes on, of passing fashion (or lack of it!). I have a terrible memory but these possessions tend to spark off long forgotten things. The top shoe is a little bit too 'classic' for me normally but I bought them in Kuwait to match an outfit I wore to a do at Al Boom restaurant (actually a huge wooden dhow and the only photos I could find were on someones blog, written at the time I was there). The middle sandal is elasticated and really comfy but that square toe has me tripping up all the time so they hardly got worn! I can't remember when I bought them but they remind me of Marks & Spencer in Marble Arch (my Mecca!). The one on the right is a beaded one that reminds me of Marina Mall, the place I bought it. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever worn them! It's that jutting sole again!
And the less I say about this drawing the better! Perhaps no-one will notice but this should have been abandoned but I kept trying to revive it for the sake of the blog. Oh well, it's only a record of my fave bag of the moment. The problem was I started it in May but took up watercolours just after I got the outline and a bit of shading done, then gave it up( there are a couple of splashes on it where I was practising my splodges and drips!). So now the bag is more floppy and the highlights and folds drove me mad trying to get them to look the same. I know what's wrong with it but I just can't be bothered now, it's time to move on!
22 comments:
Felicity, I am blown away everytime I visit here. You are such a fabulous artist!!
Hi Felicity. It's very interesting the level of detail you get in your drawings. GOOD JOB!!!!
Felicity! Oh my gracious, hon, these are so brilliantly done, I am breathless!!! Mercy, what fantastic work!
"should have been abandoned"??? I thought it was a PHOTO!
You're absolutely right, Art doesn't exist. I'm not completely sure but I think it was the art historian Ernst Gombrich who said that "art is what artists do." Or, in other words, "there is no Art but artists." I agree with that 100 percent.
I also like what you said about art as documentation or recording of things. That's the way I see my own sketching... it's a piece of time that I'm able to freeze when I draw, not unlike you freeze a moment in time with photography, but more personal because you create it with your hands.
Well, that's my two cents on the subject.
Terrific drawings as usual, the hand bag is just brilliant!
I agree about Holbein - I had a good close-up stare at some of his pictures in the National Gallery, whilst in London recently. They are truly amazing! I also nearly bought a book on The Ambassadors yesterday (I love a good nose around in Gallery shops and came across it on a visit to Compton Verney Gallery) Not only was the painting wonderful, but the meanings and history of the painting were so intriguing. You can definitely see his wonderful skills - and he is acknowledged the world over as an "artist" It is -I guess because of the lack of photography! - representational, but no one thinks less of it and by being accurate are saying loads of things about the person being painted. Images are altered and become interpretive in order to portray the person in a certain light ie wealthy, attractive, etc. I guess I'm trying to say that art can be all things; representational drawings are not just "skill/craft" but say something wonderful and personal about whatever is being recorded. Your drawings and paintings are art and you are an artist. You choose your subject matter, and that choice includes the history of the article and what it means to you. It may not be obvious, but these choices come across to us the viewer. I can see the sole of the shoe that gets in your way, or the way another shoe is worn, and I can identify with it/you. I look at your bag and think, "I like that bag; I bet you could get a lot in there. I wonder if she has her husbands mobile and keys in it?" I can't draw like you, but appreciate the intricacy and subjectivity of seeing an object in that way, so I'm reduced to using a camera. Have you ever thought about putting your objects into a background context of some kind? They would look wonderful in abstract textural colour. Anyway, that's me for this morning! The wittering rainbow
your drawings are fabulous! I love the bag :D
why art has so much nonsense attached to it. When we ask 'is it art?' it's as if to qualify it has to be something magical, something out of this world, loaded with meaning that can't be explained, done by the hand of some demigod with mystical powers.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I wish I could my thoughts down as coherently. For me art is an attempt to capture or portay an emotion.
SOOO excited to see some new Felicity drawings...and, yes, they are classics. These are just BRILLIANT. Each and everyone. Plus, shoes and bags just have to be some of my fave subjects. I think everyone should be MADE to draw them. Ha ha!
I just love the shoes, all of them. And the bag, well, I'm sorry I don't know what you are talking about?! I think it goes to the top of my fave Felicity drawing list (it's somehwere up there fighting it out with a ceramic bell, a keyring, a couple of cats).
Thanks for making me want to draw today. I'm going to go and dig out some shoes....
incredible drawings!!!
Thanks very much for those great comments - and much food for thought!
Gabi, you said it much more succinctly! I like that it is 'more personal because you create it with your hands', that's it exactly. I thought someone might comment that photography does the same but that explains the difference. Also, I think for most photographers, they can capture a moment but not really see so much as an artist who has spent time looking and rendering.
Annabel thanks, there is lots to think about there. You're right, I can get a lot in there! I always joke that I should put a bin liner in my bags, I carry around so much junk!
Andrea thanks! I'm glad you like the bag, I sort of like it but I know it's been way too overworked. And I SO agree that everyone should be made to draw them! Wouldn't that be fun/interesting?! Oh, now I can't wait to see yours!
Felicity -- what wonderful drawings! If you're not happy with your bag drawing, I'd be happy to take it and claim it as my own...
:-D And thanks for bringing up such an interesting topic of conversation!
Hi Felicity,
I suppose you're allowed to be disgruntled with your own art, but I'm compelled to tell you I think the bag is amazing.
Fantastic drawings and loved all the detail in the bag. I think other people understand and relate to realistic drawings and value the skills of someone who can draw and record in this way.
Hi Felicity- I SO appreciate your commentary on art. Just today I was talking to my mentor at school about how I would like to get my work in some juried shows...but I feel more like an illustrator than an artist. I don't know, something about calling myself an artist makes me feel like a bit of a poser.
Anyway, this is all to say, thank you for your words.
Well I don't know...it looks pretty damn brilliant to me!
MD
Your shoes are beautiful, and your bag is overwhelming. Wonderful job on all.
Great drawings, specially the bag is really awesome!
Beautiful rendering. You and Andrea Joseph definitely come from the same mold with this style.
Such realism! Very disciplined. Have you seen the work by John (I think) Wheeler of Maine?
Mis-remembered the name: John Whalley.
you are such a talent!!! wonderful wonderful work!!!
These are all great sketches or should I say drawings? That beaded shoe is wonderful, but that bag is just so awesome! When I first saw it I thought it was a photograph. Then I looked at it again after I read what you wrote, and I still thought it was a photograph until I blew it up to see it. That is just fabulous. I have to agree with you about your thoughts on art. I noticed back in the late 80s/early 90s how the magazines started depicting artists; making them out to look like rock stars on the covers and I just found that distasteful. It seems if you don't have a gimmick, you get no attention. There are plenty of really talented artists out there that are taken for granted.
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