The British Museum and a bunch of artists
Published by on December 5th, 2009 Leave a comment »
Last weekend I actually got out of the flat and travelled to big, bad London. That’s a rare event for me now, but this was a chance to meet with some new people.
I was delighted in October to have my work accepted by the SGFA (Society of Graphic Fine Art), and Saturday was my first experience of one of their “Drawing days”. A group of members agree to meet at a location to chat and draw. The British Museum is a common target for these meets, offering such variety of subjects.
This trip was specifically focused on the print room and an exhibition titled Revolution on paper: Mexican prints 1910–1960, but a meetup was also a big focus and my chance to learn more about other members of the society. Watch a video about the exhibition produced by the British Museum.
I learned a great deal wandering around the print exhibition with some people who understood much more about some of the print processes than I – plus a little help from Wikipedia here and there. Seeing the visual strength of some of the lithographs and lincuts, and the subtle tones of drypoint, I’m sure a printing press is in my future! (It is times like this I feel the gaping holes in my knowledge and experience having not attended art college.)
With so much to see and new people to chat to – many of whom wanted to natter with “the new boy”, I only managed one, brief sketch before having to head home.
Who are these people?
The members were a selection of artists and illustrators very much as I expected, and much like those I have worked with in various art and design studios in the past. I did not get to converse with everyone, but they were all a pleasant bunch to spend some time with and I did appreciate the chance to discuss “art stuff” in place of technology for a change.
The next drawing day, in 2010, will be a visit to the Imperial War Museum, which relates to the theme of next year’s SGFA exhibition in the Spring. It also relates to the second TableRappers novel now in planning (but no more on that just yet!). I haven’t been there since I was a teenager. I suspect I’ll have more than one drawing after that visit.
