Arted States: heart

Saturday, 10 December 2011

A wander through the heart of the artist... Entry for the Oriel Davies open 2012

"Functional Pumping Heart Model" : 71 x 52 cm : Ink, pencil, gouache, egg-tempera & transfer print on handmade paper :
Copyright © 2011 by Martin Herbert

New drawing I've entered for the Oriel Davies open exhibition for 2012 - a good show to enter work for in that the first prize is not only £1500, but also a one-man show in 2013. Now that would be useful! Vivi-Mari has entered as well ... fingers crossed.

Title - "Functional Pumping Heart Model". Original drawing in sepia ink and clay pencil on handmade khadi paper, with transfer printed elements including a photo by Vivi-Mari (which is why it's only 'sort of' a self-portrait - I did lots of things to it, but the original photo is hers - I guess that really makes it our first collaboration - another one coming soon!). A symbolic journey through the many byways of the heart. I thought of the old idea of phrenology, assigning mental functions to different areas of the head, and transferred the idea to the assigning emotional functions (and dysfunctions) to areas of the heart. Not for sale online yet, until I hear whether it's been selected for the show (mid Feb), but I'm always willing to entertain offers. Now.. on with the next piece, in between decorating the house ready for Christmas, etc. etc.....

I'm really into the Indian khadi handmade paper at the moment - it's 100% recycled cotton rag (made of offcuts from the t-shirt industry), completely non-acidic (i.e. archive quality), and has a superb heavy textured surface for the drawing techniques I'm using. This is the first piece where I've used transfer printing, which I think looks great for including what are essentially collaged elements - Vivi-Mari's photo portrait, and the text captions I made up to add to the heart. The heart drawing itself is based on an anatomical engraving from the original edition of 'Gray's Anatomy'.

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Today's "Stream of Consciousness" Drawing

This week's new drawing - now up for sale on etsy.com.

"Finally Say Cherish the Present Life"

A unique original drawing in sepia ink and clay pencil with white gouache highlights, on handmade Khadi paper.

The latest in a series of symbolic 'stream of consciousness' drawings. I'm never sure what they mean until they're finished and titled. Sometimes, as in this case, the title comes before the meaning. The message here is "Use your heart now - we are all connected with the tree of life, and our physical bodies will return to the earth and nourish new growth, but learn to embrace the physical reality we are in now and use this life to its greatest potential".

Khadi paper is handmade sheet by sheet in India from 100% recycled cotton rag (they use offcuts from the T-shirt industry). It is acid-free (pH-neutral) and therefore of archive quality. I think it has a superb rough texture for this kind of Renaissance-inspired drawing. I painted a sheet with a wash of English Red egg-tempera, which I prepare myself by making the egg-based medium and grinding it with dry powdered pigment. The drawing is done with sepia ink, Derwent clay-based drawing pencils, and white gouache. I used a vintage anatomical engraving as reference for the heart - the rest is made up as I go along.... It's about as handmade as I can make it, short of making the paper myself (guess that will be coming sooner or later!)

For more photos and full details, click here.