New drawing - "Mediator" - entry for the Jerwood Prize

"Mediator" : Ink, chalk and gouache on tempera-washed handmade khadi paper : 64 x 52 cm
Copyright © 2'012 by Martin Herbert

My entry for this year's Jerwood Drawing Prize.  Delivered last weekend to the Cardiff School of Art and Design, and now en-route to London.  The Jerwood prize is held every 2 years, and is one of the things I´d most like to win as it actually carries a certain amount of ´street cred´ in the art world!  Well - winning is highly unlikely, judging by the usual number and quality of entries, but it would certainly do no harm to be shortlisted.  The shortlisted entries are all exhibited in a touring exhibition, and it's a good chance to get something into some decent galleries .... Announcement of selections next Friday 6th of July - watch this space - if it doesn't get selected it's going up for sale on Saatchi in the near future ...

This is one of the 'organic abstract' (note to self - must think of a better name) pictures which I'm producing as part of the Synthesis project - a six month Arts Council of Wales funded development project in which I'm exploring the fusion of digital 'new media' (in this case the digital construction of 3D fractal objects), with classic drawing techniques to create 'portraits' of entities and machines which exist only in potentiality.

Music featured in FSC video - Sally Hope, with me!!

My fiddle playing on the instrumental remix of  'Squanasie' from Sally Hope's album 'Medicine', featured in the new video made by the Forestry Stewardship Council ....

Cool!  Catch up on Sally and  Jezz's musical doings here.  Coincidentally, I just got permission from Sally to use a clip from 'Squanasie' for my pitch video for indiegogo.com to raise funds for my current project 'Synthesis', so you'll be hearing it again soon ... as soon as I can find time between drawings to actually put together the video, that is ...!

New fossils discovered

"Fossil Xenopelagica 2" : Digital painting, 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

Made some new digital work over the last couple of days, for the first time in ages.  My entry for the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers "RE-Open" exhibition at the Bankside Gallery in London.  Got to wait until July to find out whether anything has been accepted now.

To produce the new prints, I reworked some of the unlikely realms images by using them to make 3D 'relief sculptures' which I then lit to look like they were engraved on various surfaces.  The original idea was to have them on a stone surface to make them look more fossil-like, but I found the lack of colour wasn't quite working so I ended up, after some trial and error, with something that I think looks more like a hammered copper sheet... Whatever, they're still called 'fossils'!

"Fossil Xenopelagica 6" : Digital painting, 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright 2012 by Martin Herbert

The premise behind unlikely realms is that there is a whole collection of 'virtual' fauna and flora, both macroscopic and microscopic, to be documented.  They exist only within the computer, but can be drawn and photographed just the same as real natural organisms.  More coming soon as part of my ongoing project Synthesis.

"Fossil Xenopelagica 7" : Digital painting, 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

One last one with a different surface - I decided at the last minute to do something a bit more colourful.  During experimentation I also found a process which makes the 'fossils' look as a if they are engraved on slate - will try to do some if I have time.

For the techies, no - they are not just made using the 'emboss' filter in Photoshop / these are actual 3D models lit using XenoDream from Stirling-Thornton.

"Fossil Lacestar II" : Digital painting 30 x 30 cm at 300dpi : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

"Luvverly Jubilee" : New really not official portrait of the queen

"Luvverly Jubilee" : Sepia in, red chalk, white gouache on tempera-washed heavy watercolour paper, with transfer-printed lettering : 13" x 10.5" : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

A little drawing I was just inspired to do for the Royal Jubberly - now up for sale on ebay - bidding starts at a mere tenner.  A bargain, I´d say ... where else are you going to get a unique Royal souvenir for that price, eh?  I reckon this should be in that there exhibition of queenly portraits wot's on at the National Portrait Gallery.  Dunno why I always get overlooked when they´re putting this sort of thing together ... sigh.

Ideal purchase for the rabid royalist on your life.  Go on, 'ave a punt, guv.

"Luvverly Jubilee" (detail) :  Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert