A word from Alice - studio stories from Alice Draws the Line
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2023 in review
A year in review. I have made this list of 23 things about 2023 that I can think of, in any old non-chronological order! Some really frivolous things and others more significant to the development of my art practice. It has been fun to do and useful at the start of 2024 to consciously think about what I want to put into this year. -
Sketching in pyjamas…
As I walked to the kettle I noticed how the kitchen light caught the flowers I had ready and waiting to take to my friend.
The lights shining on the flowers cast such a striking, clear shadow onto the floor. Before I even managed to finish making my tea I’d found two A3 sketchbooks and put them on the floor where the shadow fell.
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Original Cut Flower pieces for Herefordshire Art Week
I thought I’d keep a record of the work that I put together for Herefordshire Art Week 2023 that was exhibited at Aardvark Books in Brampton Bryan. This is a series of my ‘cut flower’ pieces - with the species being individually painted by hand (drawn in ink and then coloured with watercolour) and then cut out, ever so slowly and carefully, using a scalpel. -
Sketch Across the World 2021 - the Elan Valley part 2
For our Sketch Across the World 2021 creative adventure, we went to the Elan Valley. After sketching on the mountain road in the morning, Kath (The Walking Sketchbook) and I relocated to the river for the afternoon. -
Sketch Across the World 2021- the Elan Valley part1
I have just discovered this blog post saved, unpublished from last year's (2021) Sketch Across the World adventure with Kath - @TheWalkingSketchbook.We went to the Elan Valley for a day of sketching. First up onto the mountain road which is where these are from. -
A day at the beach
Last week I had a day at the beach with my cousin. Despite heavy drizzle when we left Herefordshire we had a dry day at the coast, with a bit of sunshine for an added bonus!
We picnicked at Borth beach - and I sketched
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Brush Lettering for the Oriel Davies Gallery preparation work
Yesterday I delivered eight poems to the Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown, that I had written out in Brush Lettering.
I thought it might be of interest to talk through my process from the start to this point of this project as there has been so much that I have learnt.
Kate Morgan-Clare at the gallery approached me to ask if this was a project that I would be interested in before Christmas. They wanted eight poems written out to honour and elevate them as a celebration of their creation. The poems had been written by participants that took part in creative writing workshops with Emma Beynon - a writer and creative facilitator and Oriel Davies. The workshops explored a sense of place and that is what the exhibition of these poems is called. It will be running from the 5th to the 26th February 2022.
In early January I visited Kate at the gallery to discuss the project fully and to look at the space.
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It started with a New Year's Resolution...
'It started with a New Year's resolution...'
Someone asked me how Alice Draws the Line began recently and this was my response. And it's true, in 2008 I made a New Year's resolution to do a drawing a day in a sketchbook. I missed a few days but I did it, a directly observed sketch for the year.
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Sketching in the rain
Last Saturday, my friend Kath and I went on a wet weather sketching adventure.
It was so wet that we wore full waterproofs and both were armed with a large umbrella each.
I found a couple of different positions to draw from, this one (below) being the first. A forked branch above me made the perfect place to hang my umbrella and I was able to sit underneath it in the dry. I had a seating mat with me as I didn't trust how waterproof my trousers were, plus it provides a bit of comfort.
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2022 Wall Calendar planning
Back in January 2020 I had an idea for my 2022 wall calendar. I'd like to do one that lends itself to a landscape format, and so I was thinking about what I could draw that works that way on the page.In January I set to work. On one cold, damp day I paused on my work and started collecting bits around me. It felt very much like I was back at Forest School! -
Sketching in a field
The other day I went for a walk from the studio. I popped my A6 sketchbook, pen and watercolours in the pocket of my dungarees (-the fact that these fit in here is an exciting new discovery!) and took some tea too. There is something wonderful about working outdoors. I often fool myself into thinking that I need more kit or more time than I do - my favourite results are often created using a small piece of paper and just a pen and drawn quickly - no fretting or over stressing the situation. -
March Meet the Maker - part 5
The end of the month is upon us and so that means the end of Joanne Hawker’s Instagram prompts for the month are also ending. The last few I’ve covered here. Next year I hope to do the whole month over on Instagram too. So the final four prompts were; - Favourite - Reel - Range - Looking forward So, first up, Favourite
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