After spending all day yesterday sorting papers - art cards, bills, travel stuff that i had collected on my trips over last 6 months, i woke this morning, looked at the piles that now needed boxing and thought - hmm where can i go, so i went to the house Morris built but only lived in for 5 yrs. Nat trust only took it over in 2003 so there is lots or original features to be bought back to life. Interesting to see it at this point. Eg: you can see pinprick holes all over ceilings that he used to paint designs on ceilings, some of which have been painted over white but could be redone using the holes. There are lots of squares cut out of ceilings and walls where the conservators are looking for oriignal paper etc. There is also amazingly - non original white white woodwork (dovecoting) which the manager recently bravely cut into to discover wall paintings done by one of the pre-raphaelites beautifully preserved by the wooodwork protecting it from light. They've hinged the cut out wood so it can be opened for tour groups. Though not a spectatular house, it has a lovely largish English Garden and since it's only 25mins from me, a good place to go and draw.
The house
There was an exhibition with 2 of his design books so i went thru them for inspiration.
Drawing
1. Went to cafe and copied postcard of his wife Jane Morris and overhead them mention getting rid of used mini jam jars which i always forget to ask for (friend uses them as presents with homemade jam etc and i for mixed watercolour etc.
I haven't been able to capture her beautiful strong chizeled jaw line and just couldn't stop her left hand looking like a sausage. I should have worked more on the shading but had enough.
2. then got out my camera obscura i had bought with me to try outdoors. It's impossible. I need to reread the instructions. Need to sit back further and work out how to stop the secondary reflections. I ran out of patience and did a couple of scribbles. The pics are feint and blurred but not worth spending time on. First one is of 2 pople sitting on round tree seat and second is of the top of the house - couldnt get lense lower enough for bottom half. Even so i can see it being very useful once i work it out.
Yet another thing I miss, going to visit wonderful old houses. Lucky you. I have never been to Morris' house, it sounds really interesting. I am not a huge fan of the Arts and Crafts movement, but I still find their work interesting. I couldn't live with William Morris wallpaper for example, but I do admire the artistry.
ReplyDeleteyes arts and crafts are a bit dark and i have never liked wallpaper but i saw one of his pale green ones with fine lines that would be nice as book cover etc. that i might use for craft somehow. but his garden was nice - nice to get away to.
ReplyDelete