This drawing is 8th in the series of Fruit of Drawing. It includes three empty Autumn acorn cups and one still to be released, in search of warm winter leaves and grounds to germinate in the Spring.

This drawing was the opportunity to try and test a new addition to my toolset: Paperlike.  This is a sheet of textured film that adheres to the glossy iPad screen surface.

I have  spent many hours perfecting my drawing technique on the iPad.  First with various styli and finally with the perfectly matched Apple Pencil, which in tandem with the procreate app, with its multitude of variable brushes, is  perfected for the tablet surface. However drawing with these tools has always ‘felt’ materiality different to drawing on paper with graphite pencils. After all they are ‘digital’. I have developed drawing techniques and styles for the smooth surface which over time has made it possible to make rewarding digital drawings. The fruits of drawing series are all made using this approach.

Getting the balance between traditional drawing materials and contemporary digital possibilities is always of interest and like many other human activities technology moves on and the launch of ‘paperlike’ offered a new addition.

It was developed by Jan Sapper and funded through a £40K Kickstarter raise in 2017:  ‘ We optimized the PaperLike for maximum precision and control. The friction is perfect for long drawing sessions or taking notes in endless meetings. And yes, it also feels nice.’ with testimonies like: ‘There’s actually a lot more resistance between the tip of the pencill and the surface – it really changes the way the ipad feels” and “The nice texture and grip, makes it easier to get whats in my head on to the screen”.

 There were a few not so positive reviews, mainly about the application of the film to the iPad screen and avoiding dust. I ordered it and it arrived in a relatively massive box.  Once I got through the paper packaging to the A4 envelope I watched the video and decided to take the dust avoidance advice and fix the screen in the allegedly dust free bathroom.

I nearly succeed, but a couple of pesky bits of dust evaded my cleaning and polishing.  Before drawing I  scrolled around applications with my fingers and the screen certainly felt much more like paper with its paper like, rather than digital glass friction.

Using the Apple Pencil I tested out a variety of pencil/brushes to get a feel for what was possible.  My ‘favourite’ pencil brushes seemed to visually deliver a softer line, with more texture. Drawing was more tactile which I had hoped for. The screen has a rough rag paper coarseness which encourages a  ‘natural’ drawing technique with the drawn mark response more akin to an analogue pencil on paper relationship.

Before Paperlike arrived I had begun to draw the Acorn bunch and rather than start a new drawing I added new layers and began to draw with the new surface.

The two images are at different stages of completion, but there is a material difference between them. The first is less textured, the second, after getting used to the textured surface and a range of pencils, is less ‘smooth’ than the first.  As I experimented with procreate pencils I used HB, 6B, Blunt, Narinder and techical pencils. I had never used the narinder and technical pencils in previous drawings as they felt too fine and sharp for the gestural drawing I wanted to make for the fruits. I used the blunt pencil much less than in the previous drawings as it was too textured and difficult to control the spread softly.

All in all I enjoy the grain of the paperlike surface and the opportunity it has offered to draw on a less slippy surface more materially akin to a paper sketchbook, but with the digital opportunities of layering, reviewing and multiple choices of pencils. A step forward bringing digital and analogue drawing closer.

And it sounds different! The pencil sounds like it is drawing on a textured surface.

More Fruit, Portrait and Location drawings will confirm the value as I hope not to have to remove the film from the iPad screen.

More Paperlike details.

Acorn Life Cycle’s First Stage

The IMPACT10 Salle 2 exhibition in Santander was a unique space amongst the Bienalle venues as it was soft carpeted and flooded with natural light. It also housed a wide range of print based exhibits. Many were large scale presentations and innovative in their use of walls, floors, screens and 3 dimensional spaces.
Two of these were works hung from the ceiling.  They were work by Kiochi Yamamoto and Ana Vivoda from Japan/USA and Croatia respectively.  Kiochi Explained that his original submission was a kite, but had been lost in transit.  He had made the hanging print artwork overnight from etchings he had with him and conceived of them being hung from the celiing. Two join them together he had boiled rice and used the mixture to glue the paper prints together.  5 Days later he replaced the impromtu piece with the kite. https://yamamotoprintmakin.com

To the right in the streaming sunlight from one of the traditional windows was a series of hanging prints composed of discreet photographic images and light coloured, but dense marks. This work was intriguingly beautiful and tiled Interactions. It attracted many viewers who enjoyed interacting with the 15 prints. Some were even drawn to touch the delicate works. The QR code carried the information about the Croatian artist : Ana Vivoda. I poped her name into Google and she came up in facebook. I messaged her to ask if she was still in Santander? “I am next door in the symposium” came the immeadiate reply. We met and Ana explained the motivation behind the self portrait was to give a number of impressions of herself, rather than a single image. She also explained her technique – very fine, hardly perecptible photographic traces of herself digitally printed that were added to with light ink through lino cuts. The balance of the inks, images, marks and rag paper hung with small clips and transparent lines came together to make a work demanding return visits and interactions.

https://www.facebook.com/people/Ana-Vivoda/100009032032667

Click here for Pictures of the pieces :

and two clips from Kiochi’s work are below

IMPACT 10 Santander

IMPACT10 title was Encuentro, ‘meeting’and there were many new and inspiring meetings of art and people throughout the week of exhibitions and symposia.  There were many print exhibitions from Goya to Yamamoto, Diggle, Single, Mitra Kupfermincand Ana Vivoda that it was hard to select what to view.  On Tuesday I selected Edinburgh Printmakers and their portfolio of artist prints with a stand out gestural litho by Ren Narbutt.

I turned round to see a tent! A long vertical canvas square reaching from floor to ceiling.  People were coming in and out, some entering and closing the two curtain ‘doors’ behind them. I wanted to see what artworks were enticing them in. Three drawn and printed portraits invited the viewer to go up close to the images, face to face with them. One Portrait was deep red giving the tent space a red glow. The drawings were evocative, simple and powerful, reflecting diverse characters.

I exited the portrait tent and watched how people looked at the portraits to their left, right and in front and how they entered inquisitively and exited with more intention than when passing by the many wall hung prints. The portrait tent seemed to afford a material viewing experience allowing the portraits more attention from the viewer as they had made a conscious decision to step inside. They had made a choice to view these drawn portraits and been rewarded for their commitment.

As I observed these goings on I noticed a woman was watching too. I asked her if the portrait tent was her work and she smiled : “Yeah.” In that unmistakable Australasian way of saying yes, in a ‘Yes of course’ sort of way.
We briefly talked about the tent and her three portraits within, which I said very much enjoyed and asked how do you go about the making the portraits?  “I meet them in the street, bars or venues and ask them if they would like me to make a portrait of them.” I was immediately impressed and interested and we talked some more before she had to talk with her other admirers. Unlike me, I asked her to stand in the entry to the tent for a photograph.

“Lets talk more” we exchanged contacts and when I saw her name was Barbie I could not help but ask: “Is your original name Barbara? Mine is Jonathan not Jonnie? Two ‘ie’s’ – A connection was made.

Barbie Jkar 

After a couple appointment hiccups, we met after we had viewed each other’s websites.  Barbie is a much more experienced exhibiting artist that I and I was full of anticipation of hearing her views on portraiture.  She had just mounted a show of 10 portraits in Melbourne. Surprisingly she was interested in how I had curated my recent High Sheriff portrait show. We talked for half an hour sharing each other’s drawing, print and portrait interests, art and personal experiences. We talked together freely and with ease, getting to know if our initial connection was to be fulfilled. Portraiture is something we are both focused on. We shared other artists of interest and tools of the drawing trade. Barbie is Tasmanian, and her Antipodean direct talking is mixed with an ability to stay quiet, pause from time to time to allow conversation to develop. We could have enjoyed more coffee and sharing, but then came the moment we had been building up to: sharing our approaches to the portrait subject:

“Some days I NEED to draw someone.  I know I want to meet someone whose face interests me. I go to places with ‘my looking eyes on’. I will be aware of people in a café, bar, or a music venue and my looking eyes will touch upon a face that I want to draw. There is a moment when it’s as if there is a Light around them. Like a spotlight illuminating their face. I am drawn to draw them.

‘Circumstance of asking’

“I approach them and get into conversation. I Tell them about me as an artist: ‘I draw people’s portraits and I’d like to draw you’. I show them work on my website. I share my previous portrait credentials and evidence of portraits made with people unknown to me at the beginning. I explain I hope to exhibit the pictures in the future, which may be a good opportunity to show friends and family. When I make this first approach I’ve not got to be intense. I am intense, but I’ve not go to exhibit that. I don’t want to scare them.  Through this ‘Circumstance of asking’I am hoping to establish a trusting relationship with a subject to make it possible for them to accept me as their portraitist.”

I can imagine Barbie approaching and engaging with a stranger as her ‘looking eyes’ would be replaced by ‘engaging eyes’ that look directly into the person she has selected, while she is balancing between responding and initiating discussion.  I can imagine her warm, genuinely interested character beginning the first stage of engagement.  However, she has an end goal in mind that is not far from her consciousness in this moment of asking. “Eventually I ask them if they would like to be drawn by me. There are very few occasions that the sitter or I, the artist stop the process and go our separate ways.”

“When it’s a go situation we agree a time to meet at the studio. When they arrive I make some tea, coffee and chat for 15 minutes or so. It is a chat, a further getting to know you and establishing a relaxed relationship before we begin, but I am also looking and assessing what would be the best, most representative, interesting position to place the sitter in. I suppose I am directing them.”

“Then we begin. We are face to face and I have ‘my drawing eyes’ on.  It is intense. While I draw we tend to speak about many things. Many times the conversations become quite deep. The sharing of the intimate space together and my concentration provides a situation of trust, where it feels ok to share thoughts, emotions and concerns.  After the portrait is completed, in one or two sittings, I have become close with the subjects. The intimacy of the portrait drawing session, when I can get quite physically close, along with the sharing of personal information makes it akin to a counseling session.”

It seems to me that when the process begins the fact that there is an end point/product, not an ongoing relationship, gives Barbie and the sitter a space to fill and feel safe together.

In a speedy ‘screen’ world where celebrity images abound and selfies are everyone’s opportunity to portray themselves, the focused artist and sitter relationship is very special. “

“My show of their portraits was wonderful. Everyone came and celebrated their images and the fact that they were real, on paper with the charcoal, graphite and conte in the gallery for all to see. The portraits are in the world to be shared and the subject to be ‘recognised.’”

I wish I had asked Barbie if we could record our conversation in order I could have quoted her verbatim and got the detail accurately correct, but I think this was the thrust of it.

We went on to talk about my approach, which is not as straight forwardly up front as Barbies’. However I do look to share my portraits of those people that my ‘looking eyes’ are attuned to and my spotlight has illuminated their faces and drawn me to first, smart phone photograph them and then to draw them.

The initial feeling we perceived when we met in front of Barbie’s portrait tent that we are on the same wavelength had been confirmed through our conversation. Barbie suggested we share a beer as the coffee ran out long ago and the sun was shining.

While Barbie got the beers in I reflected on my modus operandi. Our conversation has raised questions for me about whether my premise of discreet capturing of the subject through the smartphone could be developed. I am drawn to the possibilities of creating a ‘circumstance of asking’ that works for me, but I am not there, yet.

We kept talking and Barbie noticed similarities in our drawing selections: the focus on the head, hair, hands, and inclusion of elements of relevant clothing. Barbie tends to draw the torso never the whole body.

We talked about Australia, Melbourne and Sydney and the immense Chuck Close show at the Sydney MOMA in 2015. Barbie had seen it too and we discussed his approach(es) to portraiture, drawing photography and print. That show was a seminal moment for me as I saw again what printmaking could be.  It resurrected a calling to make prints.

Thinking back to my time in Melbourne I remembered I begun portraits in Melbourne that I had not shared with the subjects because I had drawn and printed them in retrospect, in the UK. Barbie wanted to see them and took the phone and its small screen under the shade of the table to see the portraits. She was interested/intrigued to see my choice of subjects on the Melbourne public transport system.  It felt good that someone of Barbie’s insight and shared artistic values enjoyed seeing portraits from her part of the world.

This 2 hour meeting of minds in the Spanish sunshine had established we had shared approaches to drawn portraiture.   Even though, and perhaps because we live at other ends of the world, I hope we can share more as we make images of people we are drawn to.

Jonnie Turpie September 2018

Annually Birmingham School of Art hosts an exhibition of school students art from 17 Schools across South of the City. It always a sunny HOT launch evening attended by many students, teachers and parents to see the high quality work being made by diverse secondary school talent.  The 2018 show excelled and the breadth of work captured the many faces of the city’s young people. Some slides from the launch:

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South Network @Schol of Art

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Every school included a portrait, painting, drawing, photograph or sculpture of  classmates, family members or respected people of many and varied cultures. From Swanshurst school’s  4 meter long series of portraits in charcoal to Bishop Challoner’s 2 meter high painted portrait’s on board images of young people proudly stared out. Traditional art skills abound alongside contemporary applications of colour and concepts to make the studio exhibition space burst with the enthusiasm, emotions and the vibrancy of the makers and their subjects.

Video of Swanshurst ‘WALL’

Go see for the next few days in the sun.  All these talented artists will have the opportunity to extend themselves with the new Foundation course at The School of Art beginning in September.