As mentioned last week, here are two larger sketchbook drawings.

Working larger still feels uncomfortable, and quite unconsciously, I worked on smaller drawings last night - the format being so much more familiar and the card near at hand. That said, I think there’s value in persevering at the larger scale to see what emerges.

While I find it all too easy to allow myself to be distracted by Instagram, at least it gives me plenty of eye candy to share with you.

And today, it’s a bumper edition!

And if you’re wondering about my practice, I have been making the odd sketch or two. Bigger than before, the results are looser, uncomfortable, and unfamiliar as I adjust to the change in the relationship of biro mark to enlarged frame. I’m still getting used to them, so maybe I’ll show you some next week. Until then, take care and enjoy your day!

Readymade monochrome.
Metal sheet hanging in the old Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision building on the corner of Ghuznee and Taranaki Street, Wellington.

Image of test page for website, 2015.
Found on old server.

Work #51
acrylic on canvas
200 × 250mm
2013

The penultimate work from my year long 52 weeks, 52 works, 52 colours project.

Once around the Bla
acrylic on canvas
405 x 380mm
2020

Scared
Colin McCahon
acrylic on paper
1095 × 730mm
1976

Biro studies made while thinking about Once Around the Bla, the last work I made for New Old Forms, with a hint of McCahon’s Scared.

Once Around the Bla provides the foundation for these drawings, it may be the bridge to my next body of work. While I could turn the small studies into paintings, I’m treating them as a way to explore how I divide a canvas. In making them, I am building a repertoire of moves, practising and rehearsing. Of course, using a brush is quite different to a biro, but one step at a time.

Proposals: Love them or hate them; they’re part of being an artist. Without them, you don’t get exhibitions, residencies, funding, and more.

Right now, I’m writing a proposal to exhibit my small paintings. I’ve been referring to a helpful document – Tips & Hints for Writing Proposals (122kb PDF) created by the Wellington City Council Arts team.

I’ve used it before with excellent results. It gives me a structure to work with and intelligent questions to answer.

One other thing I’ve discovered - of all the proposals I’ve written, the successful ones have an uncomplicated idea, succinctly explained.

If you’re struggling to write your proposals or are intrigued about what goes into writing a good proposal, this tips & hints document is a damn good place to start.