Whilst I got a great deal out of yesterday's life drawing it was nice to pull in a quick sketch - this time Francis Bacon 
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Sunday, 31 July 2011
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Nude woman
I am really note sure what this says about me but I spent most of the day in the company of a nude woman and didn't notice once. It wasn't as I'd I wasn't looking at her, far from it k spent the best part of six hours examining her in very great detail. It was that I just didn't notice she had no cloths on. 
I even had a pleasant conversation with her and still k didn't notice. I suspect you may have guessed by now I have been on my first life drawing class and it is just fascinating how you can forget about social niceties given the right circumstances. No this women wasn't a sexual being but rather a collection of curves and lighting plains and shapes that needed to be understood and recorded - it has been a really strange day.
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Friday, 29 July 2011
Nude man
Tomorrow I am attending a life drawing workshop and so I thought I should do some prep so I have spent part of the day sketching nude men and women - quite an interesting experience - let's hope tomorrows workshop is. 
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Messing about
Hardly ground break analysis but all super hero women are well - super. That is they have the shape of some strange female form that frankly is hardly ever seen outside the confines of the cosmetic surgeons table. Anyway, I was looking at a DC magazine this morning and I thought it would be a bit of fun to make my own super hero or should that be heroine. I spent no amount of time trying to make this anatomically correct and this is the result - half ghost women. I think it will be a winner. Actually it was just an excuse to try and create something using brushes - I still don't get the buzz out of this that I used to but it is a bit of fun. 
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Thursday, 28 July 2011
Back to pencils
I thought I would sit down for few minutes a sketch out a drawing - in this case Brad Pitt. It's a bit too simplistic a likeness but I'm pleased with it. This morning whilst getting stung walking across fields and woodlands I tried to work what types of drawings I like to make and I came to the conclusion is life like portraits. I now this is stating the bleeding obvious but I think it is important to state that. There is something about the human face that I find endlessly fascinating and fortunately I am starting to succeed to make reasonable likenesses. 
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Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Doing battle
I am trying more ambitious drawings and I am not I have quite got the hang of things...still you never learn unless you try. 
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Monday, 25 July 2011
Nice to see the UN cares ((tag: "email scam" Nigeria)
Are it so nice to see the creative juices flowing within the criminal community. No wait it could be true - the UN does have $1.5m dollars waiting for me....I think not.
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Begin forwarded message:
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES.
Internal Audit , Monitoring, Consulting and Investigations
Division 5H087 Washington,
DC 20233,
United States of America
ATTN: Beneficiary.
This is to inform you that I came to Nigeria yesterday from United States of America, after series of complains from the FBI and other Security agencies from Asia, Europe, Oceania, Antarctica, South America and the United States of America respectively, against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the British Government for the rate of scam activities going on in these two nations.
Right now, as directed by our secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. We are working in collaborations with the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We have decided to waive away all your clearance fees/Charges and authorize the Government of Nigeria to effect the payment of your compensation of an amount of US$1,500,000.00 approved by both the British government and the UN into your account without any delay. We already have your name in our Claimant List as stipulated in article 41 of the Provisional Rules for claims.The Governing Council therefore devised a mechanism for the allocation of available funds to successful claimants that gave priority to the three urgent categories of claims and which, within each category, would give equal treatment to similarly situated claims. Only when each successful claimant in categories "A", "B" and "C" had been paid an initial amount up toUS$1,500,000.00, thereafter other payments commence for claims in oth
In conformity with the Provisions of article 40, paragraph 5 of the Rules, Information concerning the identities of individual claimant will not be made publicly.
See our press release below:
http://www.uncc.ch/status.htm
Now your new payment approved numbers are follows
United Nation Approval No; Un5685p,
White House Approved No: Wh44cv,
Reference No.-35460021,
Allocation No: 674632
Pin Code No: 55674
Certificate of Merit Payment No: 103,
World Bank Released Code No: 0763;
We are conducting a standard Process investigation on behalf federal credit Union Bank, United State Of America, The private banking arm of the international banking conglomerate. This investigation involves, a man Who Came To our Office Claiming To be your true representative. Here is his information for you to confirm to this office if this man is truly from you or not as the government will not be held responsible for wrong transfer.
For Paying Into The Wrong Account.
Name: Mr. Edward Marsh
Bank Name: Wells Fargo Bank
Bank Address: California, USA.
Account Number: 6503809428.
Please reconfirm to this office, As a matter of urgency if this man Is From you. As a matter Of Fact, we have actually been authorized by the newly appointed UN Secretary General, and the Governing body Of The United Nations Monetary Unit to investigate the unnecessary delay of your fund payment. However, we shall proceed to issue all payments details to the said Mr. Edward Marsh, If we do not hear from you within The next Seven working days from today.
I have a very limited time to stay in Nigeria here so I would like you to urgently respond to this message so that I can advise you on how best to confirm your fund in your account within the next 72 hours.
Regards,
Mr. Mark Duke
Investigation Department (UN)
TEL: +234-812-714-9506.
Camelot part deux ((tags: "Joseph Fiennes", Camelot, portrait, conte"
Well I suppose the secret is out I watch the laughable Camelot TV series. Actually it is only watchable when Joseph Fiennes is on screen. Some how he manages to pull all the other actors around him up to a much more interesting level. This is being somewhat unfair to Actors like Claire Forlani who appears to have a range I was not aware of before. The young actors are there for the eye candy. 
Anyway, one of the great things about the series is that it is shot in a very moody fashion which allows me to select chiaroscuro image to make. Such fun.
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The news coverage of the Norway mass-killings was fact-free conjecture
As usual Charlie Brooker has got the analysis right - why do these news channels get these experts to speculate? I suspect because they have hours to fill out and nothing really to fill it. I am also switch to these news channels when something happens so I guess I amass bad as everyone else.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/24/charlie-brooker-norway-ma...
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Sunday, 24 July 2011
Battling with Conte
Really trying to get to grips with using the Conti crayons. It is taking sometime to start to understand the techniques available to me. I guess this is what comes with experience - the more you use something the more you understand it and so on. A real feedback loop - still not too bad a first attempt at serious application of the media. 
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Saturday, 23 July 2011
What a sad waste - RIP Amy Winehouse
It is very sad to hear of the death of Amy Winehouse - such a waste of a wonderfully talented performer. However, she now joins some of the greats of modern music who died around 27 years of age, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. She will be missed.
Simon Marchini
The history website begins
Well I have put this off for too long so today I have started to develop my history web site. Over the months and probably years!??! I will be updating the site with the latest results of my research.
The new website can be found at:
Simon Marchini
Time to switch off the phone
Friday, 22 July 2011
A night of John Williams music
Just about to go in to the Symphony Hall at Birmingham - a night with John Williams - what could be better? 
I'm on line at:
www.flickr.com/photos/guthlac
http://simonmarchini.posterous.com
I hope you enjoy
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Squirrel
Messing about with my favourite pencil at the moment - sanguine by Conti. 
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Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Goofing around
This afternoon for a bit of light relief I started messing around with a 'How to draw...'. Book lying around the house. It was really interesting. Firstly it gave me an idea as to power and simplicity of the Disney art work. The slightest change of mood can be captured with smallest changes. The second is the inventiveness behind the drawings. They have/had to be reproduced by dozens of animators by hand so they had to be simple to draw over and over again. Yet they also had to be able to allow the viewer emote with the character - especially if the character didn't talk - so the drawings had to work really hard. Now I wonder if I am allowed to show these attempts to the wider world? I'll know shortly when the Disney lawyers come calling. 
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Meg at 40
Sometimes things can get away from you but in a good way. This drawing was a bit too slapdash and wasn't turning out the way I wanted it to when I realised this is what Meg Griffin would look like when she is 40 or is that 20. Anyway, it amused me. 
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Monday, 18 July 2011
Hacking, blagging and politics
Oh what fun we have all had over the past two weeks. We have been able to be really shocked at the antics of News International whilst at the same time refusing to admit it has been our own shameless need for worthless title tattle that has got us here in the first place. We have seen has been politicians trying to rewrite history with, possibly, one of the most shameless speeches by an ex prime minister which just about sums up his inadequacies for the job. No I don't think that his son's medical condition should have been published but, come on, he was the prime minister, not some helpless member of the public, who had the power of the state machine behind him. If he had wanted to he could have made things very difficult for News International but didn't. I was going to say gutless but then along comes his speech and it turns out it was everybody else's fault so, perhaps, he was clueless. I really don't know and thankfully I will never have the pleasure of high office, I would crack at the first problem, so I am really in no position to criticise. I have deliberately not mentioned John Prescott in all this as I might get really angry.
Beyond the immediate fall out a new interesting relationship appears to be forming in the coalition. Back in May Cameron happily dumped on Nick Clegg and the Tories were talking about dumping the Lib Dems. They had just swatted their attempts at electoral reform and were feeling really smug. Now we have the prime minister in the shit over his relationship with News International and it is the turn of the Lib Dems to look on with smugness. We have not seen end of the Cameron/Coulson affair which got worse with the resignation of the Met Commissioner for hiring an ex News of the World hack who, at the time, had not been implicated in the phone hacking affair. Coulson, on the other hand, had resigned over the affair before being hired by Cameron. So it would seem ok for one senior official to resign over the affair but not the Prime Minister.
Now I don't think that Cameron will resign but suddenly Nick Clegg has a lot more power. He is no longer the fag to Cameron's Eton toff but rather he could be his saviour of sorts. After all, of all the political leaders, he is the one with no real News International baggage or dirty washing. Whilst this is all fun and dandy the reality is that in the wider world it doesn't add up to a hill of beans. It is a story about how power talks unto power, an establishment spat, which will probably fizzle out over the next few months until the cost of the public enquiry becomes known and suddenly we are looking at the business end of £100million - just look at the costs of the Bloody Sunday enquiry and double it. And still millions of people are dying the horns of Africa and by the start of the next month America may have gone bust and suddenly this whole thing will be seen for what it is, illegal, shameful and distasteful but something that may well be a foot note of history....or is this me missing the point?
Oh the joys of blogging ... You can be grumpy in the knowledge it has no real effect - no power and no responsibility - actually that sounds like my life so far!
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Saturday, 16 July 2011
Friday, 15 July 2011
Drawing young people
I find it very difficult to draw young people. Their faces tend to be very smooth and unformed, this is exacerbated by the way that they are reproduced in the mafia ( actually this should read media but the predictive text on the iPad substituted this for mafia - seems somewhat apt!). So back to the point me and the young face. I love the older face because, well, it has more of the world about it. A drawing or painting is always going to be a two way exploration and there is more to explore with the older face. 
Here is a case in point - Emma Watson. This is based on a rather appalling photo on the front of the Radio Times. This photo is really washed out, partly photoshop but mainly the way it has been captured - close in with a ring flash - just flushes all the life out. So I have had a stab at the drawing and it works in part but in not in others and this is down to the young face having none of the trials of life scratched across it. Of course this is also my inner Victor being let loose and I am having, what my wife calls, a grump. Well why not I'm reaching the age when I am entitled to be a grumpy old man.
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Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Conte
One of the joys of being reasonably new at this art malarkey is the joy of discovering new materials. A few weeks ago I bought a set of Conte pencils and hadn't used them until yesterday evening. What a revelation - of course it helps when you have such a fascinating face to draw but this made all the more interesting because of the control I was able to exercise using the conte pencils. 
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Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Scottish Portraits
I have just watched the programme on Scottish portrait painters presented by Peter Capaldi and it sent me back to my day in Edinburgh just two weeks ago. I had hoped to go and see the Scottish Portrait Gallery whilst we were there but unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment and this some what clouded my visit. In truth it really spoiled the day as the same exhibition that was included in the Scottish National Gallery did't really make up for this. 
So since I have been back I have been busying myself with my historical research and the truth is I can very easily get totally engrossed with history and I think that has what has happened over the past week. Hours can fly by looking at old maps and trying to work out what went where when. So I have decided to try and rain back on this and get back to making some drawings. Whilst I was away I realised that the only type of drawing that I really enjoy making is portraiture, there really is something fascinating about the human face. I suspect that this might also have something to do with my photographic career as a result of which I am able to create interesting landscape photographs. But there is something about the drawn or painted face that is something special, it may well be the interaction of two people, the craft in making the object I really don't know. This is not to say that photographic portraits aren't fascinating it is just that they don't have the same resonance that a drawing or painting has.
So back to grind of working on the technique and craft of drawing - this is something I enjoy and hate at the same time. Like other crafts the more you do it the easier it gets and the easier it gets the harder it seems as you try and improve.
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Friday, 8 July 2011
A Sense of Place
What on earth does this mean - A sense of place? I have no idea at the moment but I need to start to think about this as I have to make three images for an exhibition in September.
A sense of place...a sense of place...what does this mean?
I had some grandiose idea a week or so ago but I don't think that will work - mainly because I would have to go out and make some new images which I don't feel like doing. Then it struck me as I was standing in a field yesterday - why not use the images I am making for my historical research? This really would be my sense of place as it is all about where I was brought up. So here is the first one...I think I will call this prehistoric salt road. This sounds like another grandiose idea again but at least I am making images that I can use. Oh it is so complex??!!
Simon Marchini
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