More practice needed!

I always feel a bit of a fraud when I describe myself as an artist because I'm never happy with my drawings or paintings - they never turn out quite how I imagine them in my head.  However one thing that my time at Bradford College taught me was the importance of visual research as a means of "getting into" a subject.

So many times I have started a project with one idea but by the time I have done my obligatory sketching and photos I'm off at a tangent.  Perhaps its the time that you allow yourself to truly think about your subject whilst drawing or painting that deepens your understanding and opens up new avenues.  Whatever thought processes are going on, I now embrace my rudimentary drawings and delight in seeing where they take me.

Just for the record, this is a pen and ink sketch of a bowl of peacan nuts and clementine leaves left over from Christmas.  They were sat in a hand carved wooden bowl brought back from a friend's holiday in Goa.  I liked the idea of gifts from afar which seems fitting for the season of Epiphany.

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