My Urban

My Art group often develop my ideas. I like that. I like to share my ideas because you get them back threefold. Sometimes that's unsettling....if someone has a better idea than you...but get over it !

So because I have been in the mills in my Art , I thought we should look at , ' urban art.' Mmmmm.. Can of worms.... It means so many different things to different artists / people ! So , I had to define, ' My urban.'

So, putting it in sentences. My urban is a little passed it's sell by date, a little scary but not downright terrifying. It 's the backstreets of cities mainly but towns also, particularly those with an industrial element. It's houses, buildings, wasteland, places in decline. There, I have pulled it all together ( she says ) Of course, I realise that's not everybody's , ' urban.' In it's rawest form , it could be graffiti or street art ( that's not my urban. ) there's a whole International movement of , ' urban sketchers,' but when I google , ' urban sketchers,' I get, in the main, pretty pen and watercolour images of nice

 streets, again, not my urban. Interesting, and also interesting to compare the different genres of urban, Northern, industrial, cityscapes, towns capes... What's in a name. These word diagrams are how I tease out my ideas in words. Simple, but it works for me.

Could see from this word diagram that there was loads of scope here. Feels exciting....but that's me, adrenalin junkie, love the start of a new project but then generally the enthusiasm wanes the longer the project lasts. I have many more, ' beginnings, ' than, ' middles,' and , ' ends !'

I looked at different artists, love the research, have defo got a research gene. So, the artists that I think match my urban are.....Anna King ( omg love most of hers) George Shaw ( omg love his estate paintings ) Kerri Pratt, John Virtue ( huge ink drawings of London skylines, ) Adrienne Wong ( simple charcoal drawings of urban spaces. )

This was the first one. 52 cm sq. I wanted.....restricted palette..... Drawn lines......sumi ink.....abstract element ( didn't want a specific place, as with my landscapes wanted something more universal )... Simple

' this is my urban, ' 52 cm sq. Acrylic on board.

So, thinking about Greyson Perry ( again ) and his quote about ideas that he describes as furry creatures....' You have to be nice to the first one that comes out of the Forrest, otherwise the others might not follow ! ' true , true, true....

These are the words that came....

The colours of my childhood

There was green

Carry on the search in the paint

How do I get these houses looking like houses without putting any definition in

There is a need to get the chimney's straight

But this is what I saw

Mill, wasteland,warmth , space, homes

Crofts not wasteland

Spaces with treasure ( spindles were treasure )

Loved it

Where has that gone

Community

I remember it sunny

This is my urban

I like the fact that it could be a tree or a building

So, being kind to the picture, I liked.....the feel of it....it could be a couple of places where I played as a kid.....I liked the charcoal lines....I liked the colours........I am trying to drown out the voice that tells me what I don't like ........just keep going this weekend , painting different sizes, anything to do with ,

 ' my urban.'

' why was the space behind the railings more interesting than the space in front.' A3 paper

These weren't wastelands....these were treasure lands. A3 paper

Flats . 15 cm sq.

Flats 2. 15 cm sq.

It comes back to the mills. 15 cm sq.

Desolate 15 cm sq.

Brick spaces. 15 cm sq.

Yesterday had a go at creating a , ' Spring, ' painting. Not good. Continued with that today. Still not good. Only liked a few of the 15 cm sq. Ones from Saturday....he ho....try some more....

Above...this was 52 cm sq. Fitted in an old frame. Mmmm. Unsure yet.

 Below.... This was my husband Dave , playing in the backs when he was little, around 1957. The terraced houses were back to back, so Dave remembers that the Mums kept the backyard gates open so the children could play in the backs whilst the Mums did their housework.

Below was my first attempt at drawing Dave. 15 cm sq. Mmm try again.

Below.... Did a pencil drawing , covered it with water based varnish then when that was dry, put down a couple of glazes of colour. I liked the effect...it reminded me of when they used to put colour on a black and white photograph. Try some more. 

Much prefer the 15 cm pieces. No interest in creating the larger ones and don't like the ones that I have done !

Well, these haven't set me on fire....but we will see tomorrow.....to be continued....