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4GoFigure
GFX21 - Dave Miller
The figure sketch in “Hokusai Sparrow” was done at a Go Figure session in January 2020. The pose was inspired by a Macke painting. I then cut a bird out of a Hokusai print (well, a photo of his “Hibiscus and Sparrow” print) to create the image. I have given the picture to one of my daughters’ friends who lives in London. She said it helps her escape from the Covid-19 world.
“Hokusai Sparrow”
carbon pencil, pastel, collage on acrylic ground
In the early days of the first lockdown I painted indoor potted plants as there were quite a few around the house. This one is sitting on a copy of a painting I did late in 2019. The mirror is for looking over my shoulder.The brass vase has something in it.
“Still-life with handglass”oil, 40x44cm
This painting was inspired by Zoom meetings with one of our daughters and her two children. It was included in the book “Through the Locking Glass” in May.
“Doctor in the house" oil on paper, approx 38x44cm
Towards the end of 2019 I did a couple of 15x15cm oils inspired by Alexej Jawlensky. These became a bit addictive and so far I think I’ve done 22. Some of them are on display in Chinty’s Cafe – when it is open!. Each one starts off as a pencil drawing. To keep some sort of record I’ve now added an index of the paintings in my sketchbook.
“#5”, oil, 15x15cm
I sketched Glenda in the garden a few times in the summer. I used these sketches for a series of oil paintings. The one below is from the Summer Solstice sketch (it was unseasonably cold that day).
“Midsummer winter coat”38x55cm, oil
I did a few thank you pictures for health workers. This is one of them.
Untitled, oil
This painting is inspired by a childhood memory a year or so after being vaccinated against Polio – the Covid-19 of the1950s. I didn’t include the faded Poliomyelitis warning notices along the banks of the beck.
"Pit Valley beck" oil on paper, 42x41cm
Some Go Figure regulars started meeting weekly via Zoom in April shortly after we shut down our weekly life drawing sessions. This has turned out to be very supportive for us all, both artistically and psychologically. By keeping in touch in this way we were able to set up seven outdoor life drawing sessions with our regular models in the late summer. None of us were under any illusion that things would be “back to normal by Xmas” so this was a welcome respite from what had gone before and what was likely to lie ahead. “A field in Braithwaite” celebrates those late summer days. It was made in November.
“A field in Braithwaite” oil & collage, 57x75cm
This drawing is about herding cats and is inspired by Rubens’ cherubs and by Beano comics. It was the last thing I did in 2020.
"Zoom children"
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