Jeni Caruana
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Commenting on Comments

30/10/2014

0 Comments

 
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This is one of my 'Hypogeum' series - see the bottom of this post for info.....
Well!!

Thank you all for your feedback and comments – it’s been really interesting and helpful, and most of all it’s been good to know that people are actually reading these blogs!

Some people replied by commenting directly on the blogpost, so you can read what they said – and my replies – just below the last post. Others replied by email or on FB, and some in person. I think some of their comments might be interesting to share too.......
Someone said that maybe every week was too much? She said she didn’t have time to read one that often and that perhaps I should post less. What do you think? 

Other than that the comments were very positive and they gave me many ideas on what to write future blogs about. 


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Cath said she liked my sketch of hands, and that they were the most difficult thing to draw – to which I replied 
“The trick to drawing hands is to approach them in the same way as everything else - look at the shapes they make in space, the shapes in between the fingers, the shapes of the things around or behind them - the air shapes and the un- shapes! 

   That way you draw what you really see instead of worrying about the bunch of bananas or fat sausages that your brain compares them to. We should be able to draw our hands really well- we have a spare one hanging around all the time to practice on :-)”

John said “Your versatility is amazing. I love your professional touch.!”

I said  “I think I just get bored easily - and like the challenge of trying something new all the time....” 

And it’s true – I love trying to draw on an unusual surface or capturing something that’s moving, or dimly lit. This evening I am going to try drawing at a Flamenco workshop. It might work, it might not, but I am looking forward to the challenge. I did the basic paintings for these during a performance by the same group earlier this year. I have only just seen how they could be finished though. I ruined another three, which was a shame, but that’s the way it goes.
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Sally said “I love the fact that your work is spontaneous and accurate at the same time. Do you check proportions much or is your eye trained to the point where you don't need to check? I have recently started going to a life class. It is very good practice as they do a variety of very quick and some longer poses. So far I have been using charcoal and chalks or pencil and some pen and wash. I might try your idea of gesso and acrylics.    Your enthusiasm is very inspiring.    Hope you get plenty of feedback.”
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It’s always great to hear from Sally – we went to art college together SO many years ago!

I said “ Do you remember way back at college that I did those clown mobiles? I made cut-out clown figures which latched onto one another and hung from a circus tent thingy. I probably still have it all somewhere in the depths of my studio! Anyway, I needed to make lots of little figures in strange positions, so I started drawing footballers on the TV. That's where it all started really, when I think about it. To draw things that quickly, you have to sort of freeze-frame the image in your mind and then draw it before you look back again. In time you are able to work really fast and it gets easier and easier. 
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quick
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quick
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slower!
I go to life classes regularly too. Life class is great practice and it kind of helps you to feel inside someone else's body, which is the other part of drawing them (the weird part!). The longer poses give you time to measure and consider how the body works, but the short poses are great for just getting the essential impressions down. 

Do try gesso - I love the stuff.... it's great with ink too. When I was in the UK last time I bought some watercolour ground (Daniel Smith, I think), which must be similar but more absorbent. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it will be fun -there's so much to play with!!!"

 
Do keep your comments coming – I’ll try to help in any way that I can. The internet is such a gift to communication and information sharing..... 


Talking of which, for those of you in Malta, I have two invitations for you; one is to a charity exhibition on the 17th November
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And the other is to my next First Friday Gallery, on the 7th November. This will be the last one I do before Christmas, and next year I will be doing them as and when rather than monthly. I will be displaying my Hypogeum paintings, which have been in storage for years. I want to surround myself with their energy again as I feel this is the time to finish the series and exhibit them all. Come and see!
I have a whole website dedicated to my work in the prehistoric temples of Malta 
www.thewisestonesofmalta.weebly.com   

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Drawing Conclusions.....

23/10/2014

16 Comments

 
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I wonder, can you help me?

People quite often tell me how much they enjoy my posts, so I know that they are being read, even though I rarely get any online comments. I wonder why that is? Don’t you have any questions? I will try my best to answer if you do.

Are there any aspects of drawing that you would like me to tackle? Or go into more deeply? 


My New Year’s Resolution for 2014 was to post a blog every week, and I have managed it, more or less. It’s been fun and very interesting, as it made me think about how to explain in words a lot of the things I demonstrate in classes. I have had to distil my rambling notes into – I hope – readable snippets that are both interesting and useful.
 I have also opened my old sketch books for the first time in years, looking for drawn images to illustrate the blogs with. I have so many of them, dating back to my college days in the early 70’s and they have brought back many memories.



How about this one – I drew this from my hospital bed when I was about 21, after having a pretty serious op to remove my infected tonsils. 





I have come to the conclusion that I have always been obsessed with drawing. 
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gosh, I was thinner then....
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...... and interested by Escher's idea of drawing the drawing, drawing itself.
I would love to infect a few people with that obsession too....  there is nothing to compare with the feeling of losing all connection to time and ‘real’ life and being totally absorbed in the lines that magically appear. It is, I realise now, akin to meditation as it generates healthy alpha waves. Worries switch off and all that matters is the careful study of something outside yourself that you can translate into a different manifestation. The act of creation is thrilling, even if the results aren’t always perfect. If it was easy to draw perfectly every time then there would be no challenge, no reason to practice and try until you make drawings you can be proud of.
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draw yourself drawing your feet
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A distant ex's very untidy college digs!
What to draw? Draw anything and everything. Complicated things are somehow easier than seemingly simple ones, as there are more ‘hooks’ to get you hooked. And yes, that’s it, drawing is addictive. I’m definitely hooked, and I’m a pusher too.
16 Comments

Drawing Deeper

16/10/2014

2 Comments

 
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Flower scent
      Learning to draw deeply means using as many of the five senses as can be interpreted at once. You use your eyes, but do not close off the other senses - quite the opposite. All five play a part in the kind of observation you need to make. For example, you know the roughness of sandpaper by its touch, a flower by its smell, an orange by its taste, the difference between instruments by their sounds. You can know these things without seeing the objects at all. It is this involvement of the other senses with your ‘seeing’ that makes art what it is.   
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Chickens
 If you rely on your eyes alone they will often mislead you. A man from Mars would see what you saw, but not what you know. A small square in the distant landscape would mean a house to you; you know it has walls and a roof. The sound of voices means people live there. A smell could tell you they are about to eat. You could see fruit on the trees outside which make your mouth water……….. the Martian will see only coloured shapes. If you both sat down to draw, the results would be very different. We are often able to draw things we know well, whether an artist or not. A golfer could draw a golf club, a yachtsman a sail. Ordinary seeing, therefore, is not enough. We draw things better if we can understand them with our other senses too.
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Artichoke
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'Portal' Ta'Hagrat Prehistoric Temple, Mgarr Malta
   Drawing an object by engaging all the senses is similar to meditation. Time slips away, outside sounds seem far off, it is very difficult to speak coherently and to draw deeply. Alpha waves flow. This is because drawing engages the right, creative side of the brain, and overrides the language and logic based left brain. It's a very healthy way of spending some time every day, relaxing and yet pleasantly tiring at the same time. 
     As we practice drawing in this way it becomes easier; the synapses and neural pathways learn new ways of connecting. In my own case, I 'feel' whatever I am focusing on in a textural way that is difficult to explain in words. Stone walls feel very different to grass, for example. Classical music feels different to dancers.    
  To experiment with this a little, find a nice juicy piece of fruit. Hold it in your hands and close your eyes. Squeeze it gently - how does it feel?  How does it smell? If you lick it, what does the taste and texture do to your tongue? Does that bring up any memories for you? An orange might remind you of a Mediterranean holiday, sangria under the stars. An apple might bring up childhood scrumping adventures, feeding horses, apple pie....... let yourself wander for as long as you like. 
     When you really feel that you know much more about this piece of fruit than just the surface appearance, try drawing it, keeping the memories as vivid as possible. Try cutting it open and drawing the sections too, eat some of it and draw how THAT feels too. 
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Pumpkins, mixed media
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Onions, Indian ink
Your drawings will encapsulate the feelings that arise as you draw, and that is what makes art such a potent form of communication. It can go so far beyond words and touch us much more deeply than any amount of explanation or rationalisation.
     Draw for yourself. Learn some techniques, because they help you past the frustration of 'not being able to' and then draw, paint and express how you feel, because only you know that.
2 Comments

October 09th, 2014

6/10/2014

0 Comments

 
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Flying Trapeze
Something different this week - I thought you might be interested in how some of my paintings come into being. As many of you already know, I love to paint on the spot at live events. It would be much easier to copy photos of course, and the end results would be much less impressionistic and more realistic. But that isn't why I do it - the buzz I get from having to be so focused and attentive to what I am seeing, and then allowing my hand to follow instinctively is hard to explain. Copying a photo just doesn't do it for me.

I am lucky to be able to paint at many different events in Malta. Because the country is so small, I am quite well known for asking if I can paint at perfomances and rehearsals, and most people say 'yes' quite readily. 
 I usually begin with a sense of trepidation - what have I talked myself into this time? Will I be able to do it? Will I just produce an embarrassing mess? This has happened in the past, so it keeps me on the edge I suppose. I am certainly not complacent.

The painting above, 'Flying Trapeze' was started on the spot at a circus performance a couple of years ago. I had asked to paint there, not knowing what to expect, and had turned up with two enormous sheets of paper - and then felt completely overwhelmed. There was just so much going on and I wished I had brought smaller sheets, and that I had gessoed them. For some reason I hadn't. 
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Gesso is great - thick white (or black) creamy stuff which is traditionally used to coat canvas or wood so that oils or acrylics don't sink into the surface. I buy great tubs of it. It's a wonderful secret weapon for saving money and sanity. It will completely cover any painting that hasn't worked and give you a nice clean surface again. It's water resistant, so using watercolour of gouache on it is really interesting, as the paint sits and collects on the surface, drying in lovely pools of unpredictable patterns. 


I gesso sheets of paper, wood or board and, if I am working live, use acrylics as they cling and dry quite quickly. Sometimes I add colour to the gesso to give unusual and exciting backgrounds. I like to work on a neutral or black background at night, as this helps the subject to be lit as I see it. 
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So, back to the 'Flying Trapeze' experience. The circus was outdoors and the evening was typically humid. As I said before, I hadn't gessoed the paper, so the suface became extremely absorbant and the paint was soaking straight in and not flowing. I did the best I could and just drew with paint, trying to capture all the movement and excitement. I wasn't that happy with the results (but then I rarely am at the time) and put the drawings/paintings in the cupboard and forgot about them.

I found them again the other day and wondered how to work on them without losing the action in them but still allowing the paint to flow. I put a thin layer of gesso over everything so that I could still see the figures, and then used three colours of gouache; orange, yellow and blue. I wish that I had taken a 'before' photo to show you, but I do have the other sheet still untouched...........
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Circus sketch, 72 x 102 cms
 This has a bit of every act at the circus on it, and might descend into complete confusion when I start to work on it, but it's an interesting challenge. I also have an acrobat, which was on the same sheet as the trapeze artist, so this shows you what I did on the spot.
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acrobat sketch
It is very sketchy and unfinished, but the proportions and balance feel right. I like the tension in the body and I will have to be careful not to lose it. 

The message is - have some fun with pictures that you are unhappy with and are not too attached to. Let go of the outcome and experiment. Play with different approaches, methods and materials. You will learn an awful lot from this, even if the end result is a total mess. 
If it is, just gesso over it and start again!
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The Practice of Drawing

2/10/2014

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    The impulse to make marks is as natural to humans as the impulse to talk. Babies spend their first year or so making strange sounds, imitating what they hear. Through practice and interaction, copying people around them, they learn to make the sounds that others understand. Without this vital preparation they would not be able to communicate. Children are then taught to read and write, again making mistakes and slowly learning the basics. . 

Only when they are comfortable and confident with the rules of grammar, composition and writing techniques can they take the next step; that of creating an original piece of writing. To do this they need to reach out for raw material; something which inspires them to write and to want to share their thoughts.     
In much the same way, small children make marks to represent what they see around them. They start with scribbles and random dots, but as they gain control of their hands, the marks become recognisable as people, animals and other objects. They are also happy to copy things that other people draw for them, which is why Maltese children usually draw houses with pointed rooves!
     Learning to draw is similar to learning to speak in that it is a perfectly natural thing to do, but for some reason we don't think it should be a slow process of making mistakes and learning through practice. We seem to have an unrealistic expectation of being able to learn a few basic techniques and then turn out masterpieces for everyone to admire.
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  If you go to a singing teacher he will give you breathing exercises first, not a song. No one would expect you to sing those exercises before an audience. 

Do yourself a favour -  don’t expect to turn out ‘proper’ drawings when you are doing exercises. They are designed to help you learn to SEE and are steps to being able to draw well. Your progress will show in how differently you start to see things around you, not necessarily in the drawings themselves.......

          Never be afraid to make mistakes; they will teach you much more than anything else.

         “The sooner you make the first five thousand mistakes, the sooner you will be able to correct them” Kimon Nicolaides  'The Natural Way to Draw'

               It all depends on you, and how much you are prepared to invest in practice.
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    Jeni Caruana

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    ​I love to paint - and draw - and help others to discover their creative side too.....

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