This year, from 6th to 12th July, I visited my artist friends Scarlet Rebecca and Jake Spicer in their idyllic home in Arthog, North Wales, just south of Snowdonia, at the mouth of the River Mawddach.
Scarlet and Jake are a printmaker and an artist, book writer, and teacher. Among many other endeavours, they run Draw Brighton, which offers affordable drawing classes open to everybody, with online sessions through the Draw Patreon and in-person classes in Brighton and beyond.
They also run the Mawddach Art Residency, so when I arrived, I was delighted to find a bedroom with an attached art studio next door. They are also restoring, hands-on, a nearby school to transform it into an art centre.
I helped with the renovations, produced some architectural drawings of the elevations, and created an internal view showing a life drawing session taking place.
I also posed for their online portrait club, enjoyed some epic walks through the stunning landscape, and, of course, worked a lot on new projects, mainly in the company of Toby the cat.
https://www.scarlettrebecca.co.uk/#
https://www.jakespicerart.co.uk
https://www.draw-brighton.co.uk
Before setting foot in Wales, I planned my own art proposal for the week, which focused on completing the line work for a number of new prints. I love the idea of being in a quiet, contemplative space, starting early in the morning. I also love the idea that, after the week, I would be able to complete a body of work directly linked to the stay.
I also wrote this statement as a summary of my current project intentions and interests:
The juxtaposition of craftsmanship and art history.
Drawing textures — and — the history of printmaking, from Turner to Barnett Freedman.
Life drawing — and — Victorian verse.
Pop art — and — expressions of death in medieval times.
Expression of body movement — and — landscape landmarks.
These are provisional pairings — ideas thrown together to shed light on what it means to be a considerate, conscious social animal.
