George Bellows
Men of the Docks, 1912 George Bellows (1882-1925) Oil on canvas, 114.3 x 161.3cm
A few weeks back I visited The National Gallery, solely on the hunt for paintings that depicted snow as research for the book I’m working on. However the painting that I couldn’t move away from was this one, which was only bought by the gallery in 2014. It’s huge, and beautiful, I love those pearly swirls of smoke and deep shadows, the colour palette, the working horses with the skyscrapers in the distance, and I can really feel the cold on my cheeks. I looked at some Bellows drawings when I got home for the 'Cliff Dwellers’, and found them pretty interesting see below. If you want to know more about Bellows here’s a link.
St Jude’s Prints
I am really loving some of the prints on this site, especially Johnny Hannah and this alphabet by James Brown (limited edition + signed by the artist).
Help I can’t focus...
Image from here
We’ve all been here haven’t we, you know what you need to do, and you want to get it done, but you just can’t get in the zone. That fantastical bubble that cuts out all the distractions, and you focus in and bam, things start rolling. I have a few emergency tactics for these days, when I can’t draw/write/think so I thought I’d share...
1. Do five minutes of something. That’s all, just two sentences or a half sketch. Then go and make a drink. When you come back you won’t have a blank page.
2. Music. Hmm this is tricky. I’m very fickle, some days radio, others an audiobook, youtube playlists, but usually it works better if I’ve heard it before... Sometimes I have it on to drown out any other noises that distract me. The key thing is that it’s long... Audiobooks are the best for this because they don’t stop, and then neither do you.
3. Still no good huh, ok put your laptop in the other room, and your phone. Ban yourself for a few hours, and see what happens.
4. Favourite food. Eat, write, eat, draw, eat, write. Treats got me through my mammoth dissertation a million years ago. This helps if you need to work late as it keeps you going.
5. Out of hours. I do my best work and problem solving when I’m not at my desk, or if it’s a weekend and I shouldn’t be there. It’s annoying but I know you have to go with it. I wish I could build myself a train office as something about the motion focuses me.
I’m curious as to anything else that helps get you settled (aside of course from good old-fashioned DEADLINE PANIC).
Original Artwork at a snip...
Look here for some originals I’m selling, all professionally mounted and cello-wrapped. EDIT - More artwork coming soon
Back to it
After some long months of rest and recuperation after being rather poorly, I’m back to work. Very happy to be up and about, and getting on with my books again. I’m moving soon, so will be clearing out a lot of artwork. If you are interested in buying an original or a signed print, do get in touch for more info.
Also, I’m back to doing school events again, so if you’d like to book in a school visit please email katiecleminson@me.com.
K x
Make an Otto Mask
This is a short video showing how to assemble my bear mask design.
To make this mask you need: -Template from my website -A4 white card -Scissors -Glue (Sorry this video is a little fuzzy, I shot it quickly on my iPhone) Music- Comptine d'un autre été - L'après-midi by Yann Tiersen. Copyright Katie Cleminson
