Ekka Artist in Residence - Day 6

Today was People's Day at the Ekka. It is always the most crowded day due to it being a public holiday and today was no exception.  I tried to concentrate on more figure drawing to fit in with this fact.

I chose a spot were there were a lot of children coming and going. This was the "Crazy Clowns" in the family fun area. The kids were the same size as the statue of Bob the Builder. People have asked me how I make my figures look real. The short answer is that they are real. The longer answer is that I never draw anything I don't see, and I work very quickly.

If a figure moves or walks away I wait for another one to come along so that the resulting drawings are really composite people from a couple of sources, but no less real because of this. I never resort to using a formula such as ovals for heads or triangles for torsos, as I dislike that kind of formulaic stylised image. My philosophy is "Don't make it up, just look."

This second one was done in the CWA (Country Women's Association) Tea Room. This is one of my favourite spots for a break. People are coming and going all the time and if possible I get a seat in the corner.

I did have one lady comment to me that she thought very few people paint just ordinary life.

It was great to have a chance to draw these crocheted toys. I overheard lots of conversations about the exhibits as I sat there, covering the whole spectrum from "Wow, look at that amazing crocheting" to "I could do that".

There is a lot of detail in these ones I did today and they seemed to take more time. I worked all day and only managed three!

Royal Queensland Show - Ekka Residency Day 2

Today it was all systems go from the minute I walked through the gate and into the Showgrounds.
The very loud refrain of  "a land down under" by Men at Work was thundering from the Space Roller ride. Loud music is good if it is something you know and like.

Again today the plan was to explore and sketch a variety of subjects. This first one was from the little kid's area beyond the Show-bag pavilion. I was quite pleased that I managed to capture the two selfie-taking girls on the right. They only held the pose for as long as a photo click but I am really trying to train my visual memory. I take a photo in my mind to remember the pose and replicate it.

I had a problem getting the watercolour to dry so I decided to take the painting into the toilets and use the warm air hand drier but it was one of those ones where you lower your hands into a slot from the top and the wet paint darted off in little lines as you can see. Well I am always going on about the value of the accidental mark, so here are a few of those!

This next subject would have to be one of the weirdest at the Ekka. "A Triceratops Tiara Tea Party" with the dinosaurs all dressed up outside the Old Museum Building which is now part of the Ekka for the first time in years. 

Part of my duties as Artist in Residence is to give some demonstrations in the Fine Arts area. I had thought I would take in some items from a show-bag to use as still life subjects but in the end I decided to just wing it and sketch whatever was in front of the demonstration table. So this is some of my audience.

It is very special to be able to see large animals close up so I went looking for the horse pavilion. It was impossible to get a good position looking into their pens so I found an area where a couple of people were washing them.  There was so much movement and people walking in front of me that this was the best I could get. Results are uneven when you work this way.

These days I can't even imagine taking a photo and working from it in the studio. Everything has to be done on location or it isn't real. Working from a photo means nothing to me. Why even do it if you already have a photographic image?

The last one is just some random turkey and duck heads from the poultry area. They kept moving also but I captured a general impression. This is my favourite spot. I will be going back.

I realise I have to make a list of the "must capture" subjects and there are so many of them.

Back tomorrow.