Aylish's OCA Printmaking 1 Learning Log: Urban Sketchers Workshop Ischia 2016

Day 1

Morning:

The morning was about 'reportage' with Simo Capecchi (an architect and illustrator and one of the organisers of the workshop) as our guide. We were privileged to be allowed to go out on a glass bottomed boat to observe the underwater archaeologists excavating the roman port at Ischia Ponte. One of the archaeologists gave us a brief explanation of the work they were doing before we got onto the boat. Once on the boat we we made rapid sketches using a 'trattoria pen' which is a water soluble pen with black ink which gives a lovely violet colour when it is mixed with water.
The drawings are very rapidly and roughly executed because the divers and the boat were constantly in motion. I made notes all around the drawings with snippets of information that we were told (translating from Italian into English because my written Italian is rubbish)

Some of the drawings took on the appearance of a comic strip of 'graphic novel' as they are now called because I chose to use the glass bottom of the boat as a frame and draw the divers' body parts or the bubbles the produced as they went past this small window. The main part of their job seemed to be removing sediment with a large hoover - like contraption. It seems like should destroying work because out at sea when the weather is rough for a couple of hours it shifts the sediment around and can undo two days' work in as many hours.

After drawing on the boat we went back to the office where the divers change their clothes and where the archaeologists catalogue all of the finds. There was diving equipment everywhere and wetsuits hanging around. I like the way that the wetsuits seem to have a life of their own - they hold their form and look like people hanging around.

We also documented some of the finds. The archaeologist was very casual and wasn't perturbed by us all crowding around and sketching (although she did nip out a few times for a nicotine break so I included her camera and packet of cigarettes in my drawing)

This was a thoroughly enjoyable start to the workshop - but also absolutely exhausting! UI think it was the combination of the concentration on rapid sketching and keeping up with the commentary combined with the motion of the boat, the sea air and the sun overhead - followed by a large lunch which made me very tired so the afternoon was much less productive....

Afternoon:

We sat on the beach with our small sketchbooks and made sketches of the Castello Aragonese. I only produced a couple of sketches this afternoon. One using the 'tailors chalk' solid ink sample that we were given by Artgraf. I love this stuff - it can be used dry like a hard pastel or can be used with water which converts it into a thick black ink. - There is a lot of potential for experimentation with this.

Day 2

Morning:

On the morning of day 2 I was in the garden/allotment of the Castello with Caroline Peyron. Our first task was to spend a whole hour on a single drawing on A3 paper using a fineliner. I was dismayed at the outset because I normally like to sketch rapidly. I chose a bunch of onions hanging from an old wooden pole as my subject. In the end I found this exercise quite rewarding despite my initial anxiety. The prolonged working period really allowed me to get into the subject and I became completely absorbed in the activity.

For the second part of the session we used ink and bamboo pens and brushes with water. I love the way that the ink flows in the water. My efforts here were not as successful as my previous drawing - they became more about playing with the ink than an actual response to the environment. (As Caroline would say - 'a small masturbation!' - Harsh but fair.

In the afternoon we took a boat a bit further up the coast. While waiting for the boat I made some rapid continuous line drawings of the seagulls on the jetty - I thoroughly enjoyed that and the drawings had a lot of character even if they were not entirely accurate.

This afternoon we were given a sample of the Art Graf water soluble graphite putty to play with - this is great fun and extremely messy. It can be used dry in various ways - for example I found that it made interesting marks when rolled around on the paper. It is also water soluble and gets much darker when mixed with water. I was working on A3 paper but I think this material would work very well on a larger scale. - I would like to get a larger pack of it to experiment with.

Day 3

In the morning, my group had the opportunity to work with Ch'ng Kiah Kiean our guest from Malaysia. 'KK' showed us his method of working. He uses a small pot with gauze soaked in ink to avoid spillages and draws with a sharpened stick. He also achieves some shading by using an old tatty brush with a very small amount of ink which he stumbles vigorously onto the paper. I struggled with this way of working - the ink seemed too thick and didn't flow well. Then I got frustrated and started to tighten up - I wasnt very happy with anything I produced this morning - this will take a lot more practice! Compare my efforts with th lively and flowing lines of the drawing by KK of the same subject.

My effort

KK's drawing of the same subject

In the afternoon it was pouring with rain so outdoor activities which were planned had to be curtailed. some of sat in the church and made sketches of each other in a sort of 'portrait party'. I soon got bored wandered around the castle making sketches of tourists, cats and sketchers.