Two exhibtions - Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern & Mondrian/Nicholson at Cautauld inspired more digital drawing

Productive day - 2 inspiring exhibitions and some resultant drawings.  I nearly didn't go as I wasn't sure I would be interested - you never know where you'll find inspiration.

1. Kusama at Tate Modern - 83 yrs old 'best known living Japanese artist' - lives in mental institution with studio opposite - very interesting story, worth looking up - parents wouldn't let her do art when she was a child, she went to new york, became well known, burnt out and has lived in institution for years.    Lot of 'dots' work - you may know it, not exactly my thing but I did like some of her clothing sculpture.   But, one room wowed me - a small room, simple, completely dark with a walkway, walls and ceiling totally covered with mirror and with water on floor either side of shiny walkway - ie everything is reflected forever in everything, so that when hundred of dotty/little round  coloured lights hanging from ceiling at different heights come on, you feel like you are in space amongst the stars.  I am going back again and taking John to see just this room.

While in Tate, I did my usual of going to members rooms and drawing the view but this time I wanted to try out scibbly trace on a landsape so i took pic on phone and did quick trace drawing.  I also experimented more with brush and eraser on different opacities to start doing some clouds.

Photo of view of St Pauls from Tate Members Room

Clouds done with brush picking up colour from photo and eraser - both brush and eraser set on almost transparent.

2. Mondrian and Ben Nicholson at Cautauld - shows how inspired each other, both leading the development of geometric abstract.  Just about 10 works each and some letters etc but very interesting and clarifying for me.  They explored colour and shapes to get a simple balance, depth/flatness, simpleness - I am going to write a simple colour theory for John because this is the kind of work he would like to do and I think he would be a natural for it - I have  asked him for one he did, to hang in my lounge - it may have been beginners luck, we'll see.  He drew did 3 simple shapes on large grey painting.  I had done the background in the colours/paint we used to decorate his flat a few years ago and he did the rest.  It just works.   I will blog a pic of it at some point.

Leaflet from todays show at the Cautauld - Mondrian top and Ben Nicholson bottom

I wanted to do something on the phone inspired by these works and to try using the apps bucket colour fill to do it.

Mondrian inspired phone doodle

Nicholson inspired phone doodle

While I was in the cafe, I wanted to try drawing a crowd scene using the phone.  I don't know if my hand will learn to draw from the scibbly tracings.  I hope so, they are such an instant fix.  One day I hope to draw as quickly without the picture.  It's amazing how it helps get perspective - different size people - and how it helps get expressions quickly - the woman on the right eating.   Given more time and better photo, I could do even more.

Phone photo of Cautauld Cafe

A 5 minute scribbly trace on phone

John has just reset the phone so I have been able to buy and download a full version of Sketchbook so I am now off  to play.