Crystal Palace Subway - Open House Weekend 2013

I returned to the Crystal Palace Subway last Sunday, as it was open to the public as part of London's Open House weekend. The Friends of Crystal Palace Subway, who ran and organised the visits across the weekend, were giving out postcards of my 'Subway Sphinxes' image to visitors: an arty freebie for the lucky people who managed to get tickets and a little bit of self promotion for me. Thanks to Jules Hussey for being the keeper of the cards. Some of the team were also wearing the t-shirt I designed too, which was great. I'm very pleased to have been involved in a small way with this project, and it's definitely something I'll be continuing to support.

Crystal Palace Subway

Borough Market Illustrations - 2

I've been working on these for a while, now. I posted the first incarnation - 'Borough Veg 1' a while ago, but have kept the others hidden until completion. I think my favourites are 'Fish' and 'Veg 2' partly because of that creamy, almost edible green in the background. I like the fact that all five form a little set, and also because they really do remind of the market. I can smell the fresh vegetables, the grilling sausages, the sweet cakes, the strong cheeses. Ok, I'm hungry now. I need a train to SE1 soon!

Drawing for Life - 6

I've been back above the Sparrowhawk pub again, in Crystal Palace, doing another evening of life drawing at Betty Frankenstien's Drawing Room. This week, I used watercolour paper (300gsm, so pretty thick) and some water soluble pencils. I've not used the pencils with water before, so my first forays have been a bit tentative. However, even without adding water with a paint brush, the pencils are gloriously soft and black. I think next time, I might take some larger sheets of good paper and try and be less inhibited. Anyway, here are some more, done on the same evening.

Life Drawing 9th Sept 2013

Life Drawing 9th Sept 2013

Life Drawing 9th Sept 2013

Joint Exhibition at Crystal Palace Station

Photographer James Balston and I installed our mini exhibition of prints, this week, at Brown and Green Café, Crystal Palace Station. All the work is related to the Crystal Palace area. My stuff has been inspired by the dinosaur and sphinx sculptures in Crystal Palace Park and the disused subway as mentioned many a time on this blog. James' photos are of the subway itself, and really capture the lovely (if unloved) Victorian brickwork down there. Lucky ballot winners for the Open House Weekend (21st September) will be able to visit the structure later next month. James and I were really lucky to be granted access when we did.

All the works are for sale. My prints can be bought here: bannisterimages.bigcartel.com, and James can be contacted via his websites here: jamesbalston.squarespace.com or thetrianglese19.blogspot.co.uk.

Brown and Green Café

That's not me buying a coffee but if you look, you can see James in the distance behind the cakes.

Linocut Printmaking in London, SE1

I'd always fancied trying my hand at linocut printmaking, so having dabbled with screenprinting earlier in the year, I thought I'd give it a go. The bold marks you can get seem to fit well with my current style of work (all those tasty black outlines!). I enrolled on a 3-day course across a weekend (so pretty intense having the time all in one go). The course took place at The Art Academy, off Borough High Street, London SE1, and the small group of us was tutored by Nick Morley (inspiring and with a nice dry sense of humour).

Southwark 1 (linocut)

The Search for the Missing Dragon (linocut)