A large experiment on canvas of London. whilst i did make sketches at the time this one is done from photo just because of size. The canvas was large and i wanted to try and give a static shot some life and energy using a different palette. I think it went pretty well.

I did attempt other methods of capturing energy in still life by means other than just drawing them, these were taken in Lancaster's back streets and on the Lune estate, they were then turned grey scale for maximum impact. they do have a certain energy to them.

Myles Linley became a rapid source of inspiration, his work just packed so much energy using minimal colour, but with harsh lines and destructive use of materials such as charcoal his work really stood out. He is one of the reasons i made use of charcoal for my on the go sketches.

  Examples of linley's work

i did sketches on sight as well which can be found in my sketch book. However not all of them are of the Lune Estate.

The album 'the Last Ship' is all about a ship building neighborhood, a community. Now i have family in Liverpool and so during galleries week i went out to Liverpool with hopes to get some shots of the dry docks there which, according to Google earth were easily accessed and open for you to take lots of photos.

However this was not the case. Upon arrival at the dry docks i found that the docks now belong to BAE systems and all had massive roofs to them. more than that, as it happened during that week, a royal navy destroyer was having a bit of a refit, or something, the guy at the gate didn't say and i didn't ask. I did ask if i was allowed to take pictures or even speed sketch the cranes and dry docks, of course i said i had no interest in the ships. This wasn't good enough i'm afraid and i was not given permission to take photos or draw on sight. So no pictures for my project. Sad times.

But no one likes a quiter and on my way back to Lancaster i took a different route home and came across a bridge and industrial wasteland that was in serious need of being photographed.

Again i drew quick sketches with charcoal and pencil which can be found in my sketch book.

a day out at the Lune Industrial estate for some photos had some fantastic results. i have been influenced by an album called the last ship by Sting. its a fantastic album and it's all about growing up in an industrial landscape. This idea appealed to me, still does. i want to capture the energy of an industrial landscape.

Firstly, i needed some good shots.

Some more light reading...

The arrival of a project called dont follow the wind had me momentarily focused on the idea of radiation. The project going on in Japan certainly seemed interesting and i made a note of it. That said the seminar with the artist wasn't massively interesting. we didn't seem to talk about art, just a lecture about the issues with nuclear power. all problems, no solutions, with some uranium based glass ware which glowed green under the right conditions.

 I did however look into a book that was recommended to me. It had some interesting points i must say.
as for my position in terms of my art however, i felt there wasn't much in the way of achievable work. i find nuclear energy fascinating but it is an alien world that i could only work off by using google for images and interviews, something i want to use sparingly.