9.30 session Rules of Drawing with Alex – my body hurts so much. I choose my route through the college to minimise the steps that are required and the number of stairs climbed. I lead the others along the outside of the building from the studio to the other building. There is a level of discomfort at my brazen opening of the fire door and ignoring of the signs. When did young people become so compliant with rules? I used to be the person suggesting caution and being anxious about the negative consequences of rule breaking. My own children are so well behaved. It must be a reflection of the society in which we live. It is not a consequence of my parenting – unless they are rebelling.

I show the group my badger drawing and talk about black on black drawing. There is a correlation with Pascal’s work. He had been drawing his face in the dark relying on his touch. I was trying to capture the wonder and awe of meeting a badger at night. Its power and mystery. I feel that the drawing needs to be big. The beast feels big and powerful although it is actually not much bigger than my dog. I am surprised at the enthusiasm shown for my sketch and the encouragement to go further.

Richard Sera drawings, Sean Scully, Anish Kapoor look at Chris Ofilli’s process

Imprint;- Trace – Print – Layer – Trace – Aftermath – Trail…

Communication and imprint ;- A shared communication with the viewer

Look at Lee Krasna

Blue Spot, 1954

oil and collage on masonite

Painting

40 x 48 in. (101.6 x 121.9 cm.)

‘How do you view/gather observations, touch, smell, sight, taste, view, sense?’ look at Sargy Mann blind painter

I used beetroot juice and turmeric to make my experiments in the workshop, knowing that the colours are transient. If I am using natural colour to make drawings because it is sustainable even photographing them and most certainly printing photographs of them would undermine that. So there’s a puzzle.

Lunchtime CAP talk Delia Baillie;-

DB introduced her work by talking about the immediacy of children’s art – their lack of self-consciousness.

She talked about the gradual construction of thoughts during speech and how she doesn’t make notes before talking about her work. That talking is part of the process of forming ideas in relation to her work

Advice ‘Have faith that something will come from how you spend your time’ – ‘The brain is too slow for what your hands are doing. The work and your brain must meet at the same point.’

DB also has conversations with herself throughout time by working on top of old work. Work that wasn’t resolved years ago but now a progression can be seen. I will drag out my portfolio. I realise that I am working on very similar themes to those that I was working on years ago. Now perhaps I can use the skills that I have learnt in the intervening years to take some of it forward in a more sensitive way.

In the afternoon – DURA reviewer workshop I have undertaken to review a book of travellers poetry and the exhibition at the McManus Galleries. I am looking forward to both