Work in progress again ... drawing completed

Finally finished the base layer of my painting "Everything in the Garden was Beautiful". First time I've tried actually painting directly over the drawing itself ...

"Everything in the Garden was Beautiful" (work in progress) : Ink, pencil, acrylic, egg-tempera on gessoed canvas : 24" x 24" : Copyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert

Since the last stage I deepened the shadows using sepia pencil and ink and lifted the highlights, using white acrylic in this case rather than gouache as I'm going to cover it with a water-soluble medium.  I also deepened the background colour then painted in some 'millefiori' texture in the white. Next stage is to let it dry completely overnight then seal the surface with a couple of coats of matt acrylic medium before I start actually painting (finally!).

Work in progress ...

Work in progress - first stage of drawing complete, 3 whole terracotta pencils later.  Now have a month to make this into a finished framed painting ....! Eek.  Next step - bring out more contrast with some sepia pencil.

Work in progress. Working title "Everything in the Garden was Beautiful". Terracotta pencil on gessoed & sanded canvas with egg-tempera imprimatura. 24" x 24".

Last chance to see ...

At the opening on May 18th. Photo by Arvid Parry-Jones for the Cambrian News

Don't forget, "Synthesis: Works on Paper by Martin Herbert" finishes at MOMA Wales in Machynlleth this Saturday 8th June! Don't miss the last chance to see the exhibition.

In the meantime, I haven't had time to prospect for other galleries to show this work, so to save it all being propped up in the corner of the studio doing nothing, anyone have a suitable space which is crying out for a ready-made exhibition of large-scale figurative drawings all framed and ready to go?

More private view news

Just so you know - the exhibition private view on Saturday 18th May at 12 noon also marks the opening of  2 other exhibitions at MOMA Wales.

The upstairs galleries will feature the annual exhibition of the Watercolor Society of Wales, while in the cafe there will be an exhibition of photographic work by Margaret Smith, so there'll be a lot to see!

We look forward to seeing you there! For full details click here.

Martin

It's Summer!! No, really! Let's celebrate!

I decided to celebrate the onset of summer by having a sale in my etsy.com store, and doing a bit of a feature here about the stuff there, as there's quite a selection of different styles (over 140 items on sale at the moment!).

The most important bit: You can enter the discount coupon code MAYDAY2013 at checkout to get 20% off your entire order - anything in the shop... and you can get to the store by clicking Right Here.

Moving on ...  prices in the store range from just over £2 ($3 US) for greetings cards, through £16 ($25) for mounted mini-prints, typically £25 ($40) for a medium sized print, and £100+ ($150) for a large one.

There are some original drawings available with prices ranging from $60+ ($90) to over £1,100 ($1,800).

A lot of the items are already priced low as they are surplus stock from my former real-world gallery here in Mid-Wales where we live.  Some are in styles I don't really work in any more so are unlikely to be repeated, but some are more contemporary.  Take a look at some examples (click on the headings to go to that section of the shop):

Greetings cards:

For a start, there's a whole series of 12 birthday cards featuring birthstones for every star sign, as well as many cards featuring my older artwork.  I'm not printing any more at the moment - it's not really economical to print small quantities, so these are the last!  I recommend a set of all 12 crystal cards - that way you'll always have a spare on hand at the last minute for those colleagues whose birthday you've only just remembered!








Mini prints:

There's a selection of older artwork available in a small print size with a 10" x 12" mount included, suitable for a standard sized photo-frame, like this painting "The Rebirth of Venus".

















Full-sized limited edition prints:

Last stock of signed and numbered limited edition giclee prints, e.g. "I'm for the Hare that Runs by Night".  (24" x 36" approx on fine-art paper).


















Posters:

A few posters on lightweight paper - really cheap!  On the right the standing stone with sun-goddess picture ... "Unto us a Sun is Born".

















Original drawings:

... and some more recent work - a few original drawings available, like "That Tracey Emin Says my Art Looks Like a Plane Crash" (see left).











Organic abstract prints:

.. and lastly some small versions of the organic abstract prints from the 'unlikely realms' collection, which are featured in the video installation at my current exhibition "Synthesis" at MOMA Wales in Machynlleth.  I'll be adding some of the full-sized limited edition versions to the shop later in the month - watch this space!















So - I hope to look in a bit more detail at some of the older work over the rest of the month.  In the meantime, remember, the 20% off sale lasts until May 20th!  Enter the discount code MAYDAY2013 at the checkout!

Here's lookin' at you, kid ....

Poster for the show at MOMA Wales ...

Self referential

I was inspired to take this screenshot of our various blog feeds displayed in the Pulse news aggregator. It would seem we are basically complex and richly textured old parchment colours.

Check it out! I have seen the new show and It Is Good -

General view of the show at MoMA Wales

We went by MOMA at the Tabernacle Arts Centre in Machynlleth the other day to deliver a new DVD (now up and running - hooray!) and a piece I had to re-glaze after a mishap on the way last week (now taking up residence in the gallery window), and found that gallery technician Peter has done a great job of hanging. Amazingly he managed to get all 15 pieces into the space available and it's all looking very splendid.

 

The exhibition continues until June 6th, and there will be a private view on Saturday 18th May at midday.

Photos by Vivi-Mari Carpelan.

Not my pic behind the desk - that's a Kyffin Williams from the permanent collection.  What illustrious company I keep!

Exhibition open at MOMA!

"For the Girl Had No Clothes On!" : Ink, red chalk, gouache & pigment on Khadi handmade paper : 70 x 50 cm
Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

We delivered the work for my new show at MOMA Wales on Friday and apparently it's already up on the walls, a week ahead of schedule! The exhibition is the result of my Arts Council funded project "Synthesis" which ran for 6 months last year (well, the money ran out after 6 months - the project continues!), and is of large-scale drawings in traditional media (ink, red chalk, white gouache) on handmade Khadi paper (made in India from 100% recycled cotton rag). I haven't even managed to get over there to see the results of the hanging yet, so not sure exactly how many works they managed to fit in the space, but I'm told its looking good! They will also be a video installation just as soon as I get the DVD working!

There will be a Private View at midday on Saturday 18th May 2013, to which you are all most welcome. Two other exhibitions will be opening at the same time in the upstairs galleries so there'll be a lot to see.

Many thanks go to Ruth Lambert and all at MOMA, who are not only hosting the exhibition, but whose help in securing funding for the project in the first place was absolutely invaluable!

Here's a more comprehensive description of the work (scroll down for the Welsh version), and I'll be putting up images in an online gallery page on this blog as soon as I can find the time!

Hope to see you all on the 18th!

Project ”Synthesis” - Introduction:
Prosiect  “Synthesis” – Cyflwyniad:

This project has two distinct strands with one theme in common - they both concern the reconciliation between digital 'new media' and traditional drawing and painting techniques.  My goal is to explore ways in which computers and the internet can be used to source material which inspires illustrations and innovative new work to be carried out using traditional materials and techniques.

The first strand concerns the production of new organisms, machines and organic constructs using 3D computer modelling technology, which I then use as inspiration for new drawings done using the earthiest and most organic of materials - sepia ink, clay pencils, earth pigments etc.

The second strand involves sourcing written material from the internet - I am using these texts as the basis for new illustrated editions of neglected or beloved books which have now passed into the public domain through expiry of copyright and are now available to anyone who cares to download them from web archives.  The illustrated editions will then be uploaded back to the internet as e-books, completing the cycle.  The first book to receive this treatment is Irish author James Stephen's 'fairy tale for grown-ups', The Crock of Gold. The illustrations are a work in progress, leading up to publication of a new illustrated edition in 2013.


Mae dwy elfen bendant i’r prosiect hwn gydag un peth yn gyffredin - mae’r ddau’n ymwneud â chysoni’r ‘cyfryngau newydd’ digidol a thechnegau arlunio a phaentio traddodiadol. Fy nod yw edrych ar ffyrdd y gellir defnyddio cyfrifiaduron a’r rhyngrwyd i gael hyd i ddeunyddiau sy’n ysbrydoli darluniau a gwaith arloesol newydd sy’n defnyddio deunyddiau a thechnegau traddodiadol.

Mae’r elfen gyntaf yn ymwneud â chynhyrchu organeddau, peiriannau a lluniadau organig newydd gan ddefnyddio technoleg modelu cyfrifiadurol 3D y byddaf wedyn yn eu defnyddio fel ysbrydoliaeth am arluniau newydd a wneir gan ddefnyddio’r deunyddiau mwyaf priddlyd ac organig – inc sepia, penseli clai, priddliwiau ac yn y blaen.

Mae’r ail elfen yn ymwneud â chael hyd i ddeunydd ysgrifenedig o’r rhyngrwyd – dw i’n defnyddio’r testunau hyn fel sail i argraffiadau darluniedig newydd o lyfrau hoff neu anghofiedig, sydd bellach wedi mynd yn eiddo i’r cyhoedd wrth i’r hawlfraint ddod i ben ac sydd ar gael i unrhyw un sydd am eu lawrlwytho o archifau’r we.  Bydd yr argraffiadau darluniedig yna’n cael eu lanlwytho i’r rhyngrwyd, gan gyfannu’r cylch.  Mae’r llyfr cyntaf i dderbyn y driniaeth hon yw’r ‘stori tylwyth teg i oedolion’ gan yr awdur o Iwerddon James Stephens, The Crock of Gold. Gwaith ar y gweill yw’r darluniau, sy’n arwain at gyhoeddi argraffiad darluniedig newydd yn 2013.


Project Synthesis has been made possible with the support of:

Mae Prosiect Synthesis wedi’i wneud yn bosibl â chymorth:

New art! - "A Hat that Stirred Her to the Top of Rapture"

"A Hat that Stirred Her to the Top of Rapture" : Red chalk, ink, sepia ink & dry pigment on handmade Khadi paper : 70cm x 50 cm : Copyright © 2013 by Martin Herbert

Just finished the last piece for my solo exhibition "Synthesis" at MoMA Wales, Y Tabernacl, Machynlleth, which opens on 29th April.  This is one of the ongoing series of illustrations for James Stephens 1912 book of Irish mythology-based fantasy "The Crock of Gold". There will be a private view of the exhibition at noon on Saturday May 18th - please be there, and bring friends!  Mail me for further information.

In the meantime, to receive prints of art by myself and my wife Vivi-Mari Carpelan, (here seen wearng The Hat) in our brand new radical 'change-the-art-market' publishing venture - please check out our crowd-funding project at indiegogo.com/wowlookwhatigot !  Don't forget, the funding campaign closes on Monday 15th April, so please go check it out soon and if you can, contribute a modicum towards our small yet significant total!

More exhibition news soon ...!

Bye for now !

Martin

Our new project is up and running!

Well, better late than never ... I've been so busy getting the new project up and running AND creating the new blog at wowlookwhatigot that I haven't actually has time to announce the whole thing here! So... without further ado, I give you .....

Click here to go to indiegogo.com/wowlookwhatigot

The wowlookwhatigot.com crowd-funding campaign at indiegogo.com/wowlookwhatigot is now up and running, from 1st March to 15th April 2013.  That's the important bit - PLEASE go there and find out all about it!  Most of all, please share this post with your friends, colleagues and professional networks - we need as many people as possible to pass on the news.  For those who would like some more background though, here goes ...

I'll start with a heartfelt plea - we HAVE to raise our first funds within a few days to even appear on the indiegogo website campaign browser so people can actually find us, so to all our friends & family, please visit the funding page right now and make a contribution - the minimum is just $1, about 70p, so it's not going to break the bank!  Also the more visits we get, and the more comments, the higher the campaign's rating is, and the more it is likely to be featured on the site.  Read on for details of the competition for the first 50 contributors - Thanks!!

From initial concept through talking over the idea, to outline sketches, to planning the details. From deciding on the crazy colour of the logo to putting together the website, then this blog, shooting and editing the video, setting up the crowd-funding site, drafting newsletters, press releases, social media updates, and finally ... pressing the (virtual) big red Go!button ... it's taken 4 months to get this far.

To recap, the basic idea was simple - for artists, there is a basic flaw in the art market - not enough customers! Why? Because art is expensive - original art often has to be expensive - it can take weeks or months to create something, and it has to be sold for enough money to feed, house and clothe the artist for the weeks or months it takes to make the next thing.  How many people are willing and able to pay that kind of money? Hardly any, and they are spending their money on artists who are well-established. Collectors, understandably, have an eye on the resale value.

So who makes all the money in this world? Generally the people who can sell a lot of something cheap (look at the pound shops!).  Why not apply the same principle to art, so that those people who love art but aren't rolling in money actually have something real, attractive and engaging to buy?

Hence wowlookwhatigot.com - a simple deal - you pay us £5 a month, we send you a fine-art print every month. Our problem - no money to start up the business. Solution - should we go borrow £10k from a bank at a punitive interest rate that guarantees we're going to fail before we even start? Er, nope. Should we ask our friends, acquaintances  former co-workers, previous customers and collectors and complete strangers who we can inspire, each to invest just a few pounds each in our future? Sounds like a plan!

Invest in wowlookwhatigot.com for a chance to win a dragon!

Oh, and to make it even more interesting, the first 50 contributors to the campaign will be entered in a draw to win an original dragon drawing by Martin, so get in there quick! (By the way, you are not committing yourself to subscribing by contributing to the campaign - we'll ask you about that later, when you've actually received some samples!).

Go for it!

Love

Martin & Vivi-Mari

What's happening in artist land?

Long gap, no writing. Been busy putting together the blog for wowlookwhatigot.com, which has taken over my morning tea-drinking time. This seems like the first morning for a long time when I haven't felt I need to get up and start work right away. The promo video being almost done, we're dangerously close to being ready to launch the business... At the same time I'm applying for an  actual job (you know, the weird sort of thing where you do stuff and other people pay you money for it - strange concept). The sum effect being that life may be about to change drastically, or things may be about to stay absolutely the same, with the exception of my having wasted the last few months fruitlessly trying to develop a new business concept which no one is interested in and applying for a job I have no chance of getting. One hopes it is the former, of course.

The photo in question ... Are the branches on the left 3D ? Or is it just me ?
"Pond" by Helen Sear ... exhibition at Oriel Davies, Newtown, Powys

The other significant thing that seems to be happening - my vision seems to be changing  somehow. Which is to say, not my actual sight, thank goodness, but the way I'm seeing things. It's as if I've always known in an 'academic' sort of way that lighter areas aver shadowed areas (for instance I noticed this yesterday in a much enlarged photo of some leaves on a tree) are supposed to 'pop out' creating the illusion of depth. I use it all the time in my own paintings and indeed I've been told on several occasions that my paintings "really pop", and nodded appreciatively while not being able to see it myself. In fact I've assumed that I can't really see it myself because when it's my painting I've already spent hours behind it and am 'jaded'. On a few occasions over the last few weeks, though I've actually looked at some photos and paintings and noticed a real '3D' effect- as if I was actually looking at a stereogram, or watching a movie with 3D glasses (not that I've ever actually done that).

Now this raises a number of questions: is that actually the way everyone else sees, and I've been missing out all these years? Is it something which is peculiar to me, and I'm the odd one out? Am I in some way weird for being able to see this effect, or in some way weird for not having seen it for the last 50 years? Discuss!

Things are happening ....

The new project is proceeding apace, and wowlookwhatigot.com is on course to launch in the new year. "And what is that?", I hear you ask .... well ... if you're not already receiving the wowlookwhatigot.com newsletter, just nip along to wowlookwhatigot.com, fill in your email address in the space indicated, and press the large, friendly 'Subscribe' button.  We will then keep you informed with all major developments as they happen.  It promises to be an exciting New Year, and you wouldn't want to miss out, would you ?

By the way, we promise not to 1) Bombard you with too much stuff, or 2) Pass on your email address to  anyone else for any reason whatever, etc. etc. etc......

In the meantime, have a happy Christmas and a very prosperous New Year, and keep watching wowlookwhatigot.com !!

Best wishes
Martin & Vivi-Mari

Ye Great Thanksgiving Sale!

Pack of 12 assorted Yule cards (3 designs) - Normally $25 - now $20 ( about £13 ) after discount.  Until Nov. 26th only!

Until Monday 26th Nov. only - time to order your Yule/alternative holiday cards etc....
I'm having a Thanksgiving weekend sale at etsy.com.  Enter the promotion code:

TURKEY2012

.. during checkout for 20% off everything in my Etsy shop (originals, prints, greetings cards - everything!) for this weekend only.  Please note - everything ships form the UK, so please order NOW!

Happy shopping !

It's coming soon ....

Watch this space ....!

Still finding art ....

I'm still finding odd bits of art around the studio to sell off ...

The latest is a small pile of little giclée prints from the 'unlikely realms' series of digital abstract paintings.

"Oh, That Old Thing? I've Had it for Years!" : Digital painting
Copyright © 2005 by Martin Herbert

These are normally only done as large (60cm) prints through the unlikely realms website, but some time in the dim and distant past, I made some small versions to use in catalogues for galleries ... there's still one floating around in Dubai somewhere as far as I recall - not that it generated any sales!

"Juxtaposition (2)" : Digital painting
Copyright © 2005 by Martin Herbert

So - there are a couple of copies of some of the prints, all signed and dated, up for sale in the etsy.com shop.  These are shipping directly from me in the UK so no problem getting gifts in time for Christmas :-)  Please go take a browse ....

"Introspect" : Digital painting
Copyright © 2005 by Martin Herbert

Studio clearout continues ... large fine/art print by Steve Fox up for grabs

Hi all.... continuing the studio clearout theme .... I have a large limited edition print by fellow artist Steve Petrucci Fox up for grabs on ebay:

"At the Mercy of Destiny", Signed limited edn. giclée reproduction of an original oil painting by Steve Petrucci Fox : 118 x 58 cm : Copyright © 2001 by Steve Petrucci Fox

I printed this for Steve some time ago - there were 2 copies, and he paid for one by signing the other for me so it's a pretty exclusive item, especially as he's no longer working in this style.  Full details on ebay here, and more about Steve here.

"At the Mercy of Destiny"  (Detail) : Signed limited edn. giclée reproduction of an original oil painting by Steve Petrucci Fox : 118 x 58 cm : Copyright © 2001 by Steve Petrucci Fox

Happy bidding!

Last minute preparations ... phew !!

The last drawing for the exhibition in Llandrindod Wells rolled off the drawing board this morning and into a frame ready for hanging ...

"Crocodiles, Hens, Beetles, Armadillos & Fish (do not evince any remarkable partiality for man)" : 90cm x 70 cm :
Ink, pencil, gouache & transfer print on Khadi handmade paper : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

Last few prints just wrapped and ready for delivery.  The curator at the Radnorshire Museum, Will Adams, has been busy hanging things for the last 2 days, and (fingers crossed), everything is ready for tomorrow night's opening ... after which I will be taking a very well deserved week off before starting up the new business! (Of which more later, etc. etc. etc..... :-)

So remember - private view of the Project Synthesis exhibition at the Radnorshire Museum, Temple Street, Llandrindod Wells, Wales, LD1 5DL at 6:30PM tomorrow, Thursday 1st November!  Fourteen new large-scale works on paper, plus some of the older work which formed the original starting point for the project, and a video installation ....  All work is for sale.

If you can't make the opening, the exhibition continues until Sat. 12th Jan.  For a map and opening hours, especially over the holiday period, please check out the Radnorshire Museum website.

More information about the project, and link to a preview of the video, here:
http://artedstates.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/project-synthesis-exhibition-starts.html

"The Heart is the Fountain of Wisdom" : 90 cm x 70 cm : Ink, pencil, gouache & transfer print on handmade Khadi paper.
Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

With the assistance of the Arts Council for Wales, and all these lovely people:

Project Synthesis: Exhibition starts November 2nd

Private View:

Thursday 1^st November 6:30 – 8:00 - all welcome.

The project I've been working on all summer is entitled “Synthesis”. I received a grant earlier in the year from the Arts Council of Wales to support the development of a new body of work, which is now going on show in a one-man exhibition at the Radnorshire Museum in Llandrindod Wells.

Exhibition details:

“Synthesis: New works on paper by Martin Herbert”

at the Radnorshire Museum, Temple Street, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, LD1 5DL

Friday 2^nd November 2012 – Saturday 12^th January 2013

Open Tues-Fri 10:00 – 4:00, Sat 10:00 – 1:00

For more information, mail me, or call the museum on 01597 824 513

Private View:

Thurs. 1st Nov. 2012 - 6:30 - 8:00 - all welcome

About the Project:

The “Synthesis” project has two distinct strands with one theme in common – they both concern the relationship between digital 'new media' and traditional drawing and painting techniques. My goal is to explore ways in which computers and the internet can be used to source material which inspires illustrations and innovative new work to be carried out using traditional materials and techniques.

The first strand concerns the production of new organisms, machines and organic constructs using 3D computer modelling technology, which I then use as inspiration for new drawings done using the earthiest and most organic of materials – sepia ink, clay pencils, earth pigments etc.

“Design for a Flying Machine to Escape the Bank Manager” (Detail)  : Ink, pencil, gouache & transfer print on Khadi handmade paper : Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

The second strand involves sourcing written material from the internet - I am using these texts as the basis for new illustrated editions of neglected or beloved books which have now passed into the public domain through expiry of copyright and are now available to anyone who cares to download them from web archives. The illustrated editions will then be uploaded back to the internet as e-books, completing the cycle. The first book to receive this treatment is Irish author James Stephen's 'fairy tale for grownups', The Crock of Gold (Reviews here). The illustrations are a work in progress, leading up to publication of a new illustrated edition in 2013.

“Pan in Ireland” : Ink, pencil, gouache & pigment on Khadi handmade paper
Copyright © 2012 by Martin Herbert

Video installation:

A selection of work from the “unlikely realms” series of digital organic abstract prints, which were part of the original inspiration for the Synthesis project “organic construct” strand.

Project Synthesis has been made possible with the support of:

New video … and new exhibition!

I've just finished this new video entitled “Synthesis”. It presents a lot of organic digital abstract work made a while ago which helped to inspire my current project (also called Synthesis ).

View directly on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/2jIFhP6g1mY. In full HD (1080i) if your broadband is fast enough - it seems to work best at 720p over our link.

The video installation will be part of the Synthesis Project exhibition …. starting on Fri 2^nd Nov 2012 at the Radnorshire Museum, Temple Street, Llandrindod Wells, Powys LD1 5DL. The exhibition of new works on paper, mainly large scale drawings, will run until 12^th January 2013.

There will be a private view on Thurs 1^st Nov. At 6PM … all are welcome to attend (which I guess technically speaking just makes it a 'view'!).

More details about the project and the exhibition coming very shortly …. watch this space!