Catherine Stock's Blog, page 18

Frozen, in spite of the early summer heat

I am late with a deadline for the illustrations of a book. It's come down to the jacket, the most important piece. I wrote to my art director that I am torn between the power and energy of the story and the scientific accuracy of the subject. The text is written by a zoologist at the American Museum of Natural History, and is about necessary violence: the killing of a zebra is essential in the cycle of life of many other creatures.

Her most recent email nearly brought me to tears.

"I see th...

Joey salutes the Queen

Adrian Kohler's "Joey" salutes the Queen at Windsor, flanked by King's Troop soldiers. For those who don't know, Joey is a life size puppet and the star of War Horse, a play based on the book by Michael Mapurgo.

Adrian must be about the most accomplished and recognised of all of us who graduated from the Michaelis Art School in Cape Town.

Most art is porn

I found and adapted this entry by Angela Treat Lyon on Robert Genn's website, Painter's Keys.

He felt that 'true art' was beyond possession, that art that created what he called 'aesthetic arrest': that heart-stopping, beyond-weeping, deep-to-the-soul...

Maligning primitive man

Lascaux cave painting, Lascaux, France, 15,000 BCE

The other night, we had dinner with the paleontologist Duncan Caldwell. He is in the area at the moment visiting local caves, and he enthralled us with stories about early man and how his belief structure was tightly integrated with nature and survival.

I often describe a neighbour in Rignac as a bit of a Neanderthal. Last week for example, he sprayed his land, bordering on my freshly cultivated vegetable patch, with weed killer. I realised...

Inspiration from three great faiths

Another discovery I stumbled upon while attending a play at the National Theatre was a watercolour exhibition by Doug Patterson.

The National Theatre writes of the exhibition:
"Following the journeys of three great 18th and 19th-century artist travellers (Vasileio Gregorovic Barsky, Samuel Davis and Hercules Brabazon Brabazon), Doug Patterson has created a body of paintings and drawings which record three of the world's great faiths. From the architecture and landscapes of the Christian Ort...

Inspiration from the three great faiths

Another discovery I stumbled upon while attending a play at the National Theatre was a watercolour exhibition by Doug Patterson.

The National Theatre writes of the exhibition:
"Following the journeys of three great 18th and 19th-century artist travellers (Vasileio Gregorovic Barsky, Samuel Davis and Hercules Brabazon Brabazon), Doug Patterson has created a body of paintings and drawings which record three of the world's great faiths. From the architecture and landscapes of the Christian Ort...

San Giorgio

While I was in London, I got an email invitation from Lucy Willis to her exhibition at the Curwen Gallery. I have been a fan of hers for years, but had never seen an original. The paintings were much larger and looser than I expected. Watercolour, being a pure pigment, reproduces very well, which I why I tend to use the medium most often for illustration projects. The printed watercolours in her books are tight and crisp and very fresh.

I couldn't quite stretch myself to buy an original, bu...

Barter

I painted this portrait of my plumber, Christian, about five years ago. I was using oils again after many years because I had been offered a portrait commission, so I needed to bring myself up to speed and asked friends to pose for me.

Besides being a most reliable plumber, Christian is also an excellent potter and a musician. He has agreed to play at our opening on June 4th in exchange for the portrait.

Vero

Vero, last night's model asked for a copy of this drawing/wash I did of her. She loved the way her gypsy roots came out in the picture, she said.

I have discovered a new way of working- mixing white acrylic with my watercolours. Sometimes the paint is so thick one can draw/scratch in it with the end of my paintbrush to interesting effect. I have been using the same technique in my illustrations for After the Kill.

Monday night life drawing group exhibition

I have just cobbled together a poster for the Monday night life drawing group's show, opening June 4th in my gallery. It was very difficult incorporating everyone's work, but after almost two years now, we have a pretty tight and loyal group, and everyone deserved to be represented on the poster and invitation. I would have liked to have had more life drawing, which is the main focus of our group, but the styles were too varied to combine, so I just used portrait studies.

Please join us on Jun...