Pays Basque

Sometimes, a girls' holiday is just what you need. As we set off in the van, driving down the west, Atlantic coastline, both of us felt our cares dissolving in the salty sunshine. Two weeks later we are back, sun-kissed, surfed out, and very relaxed.

 A big thank you to Natty for lending us his beloved van. Next stop - Outer Hebrides. It will be a world away from sunny France but I'm looking forward to some real wilderness.

Whitstable

We had a day out, just the boy and me by the sea. We swam, ate fish and chips and then tucked up for a night in the campsite. After the recent, enforced time indoors, it felt like magic.

The sea never fails to make us both smile.

Oil Painting

I did a week of oil painting with the artist Michael Major at the beginning of June. Two large paintings later, I only wish I had more time to keep playing.

Worm's Head

Winchelsea

Michael Major himself

Oil paints are intensely satisfying to use; distinctive of smell and thick with oleaginous promise. It was a great week.

Lately

I've been inside a lot lately looking after the boy. He's much better now and it's been great to spend time outside again. This morning I rose with the lark (or not, here in Hackney) for a canalside
wander.

 I'm starting to think more about my next body of work around the waterways of London.

Smile

I've got many things I could blog about right now (amazing photography course and also a week of oil painting with Michael Major) but it's sunny so I'm just going to post a photo from last weekend that makes me smile every time I look at it.

The llama's name was Bruce by the way. I'll be back here soon with some more photos from both workshops.

What's in a Name?

You may have noticed that I've just changed the name of this blog. If the new one needs an explanation: spit bite is the most free way of applying acid to a plate in etching (my favourite way of creating images) and sand, well, sand is my favourite thing to have between the toes. I'm in the middle of building a website - this doesn't naturally come easily to me - and you will be able to find it at http://lucydevenish.com/. Seeing as I'm putting the best of my art work on there and will continue to do so, it means that I am freer to use this space as a place just for me. So here's to recording the best parts of this summer, with plenty of sunshine and sand, I hope.

Final Show

Here I am at the private view of my work
The Journey Series last week. I felt it went well and it was great to have support from so many loved faces. More pictures of this latest body of work soon. Right now, I'm off to enjoy the sunshine!

Time flies by

Golly it's been a long time since the last post. I've done two more large scale etchings but I'm waiting till my final show is over (30 May) before putting the images up here. Apart from work, things have been very exciting with the boy buying a VW campervan (all the better to make journeys with). We've already taken her to Devon and Norfolk and she is rad. I've learned to book bind - more of this in a later post - and, at college, we are busy preparing the studios for the coming exhibition. I'll leave you with a photo of Molly the van and a promise to put more art up here in June.

Departure from my norm

Since being back at college, I've been working almost non-stop on three large scale etchings from my recent trips. These are neither blog nor edition ready however, so I thought I'd share some smaller images which see a departure from my normal subject matter. I did a morning of dissection before Easter; drawing, rather than actually dissecting but in a medical context with trainee doctors. The cadavers were like nothing I'd ever imagined and I found the whole experience both intensely shocking and incredibly interesting. Here's what I have done with the images I captured.

I'm off to Bristol in a moment, then to Devon, for a very good friend's 30th birthday celebrations. Next week I should have finished a couple more etchings so will post again once I'm happy with the prints.

Scribbles

Sometimes you've just got to get out there with a graphite stick and a sketchbook. I'm learning that there's absolutely no substitute, no shortcut, for just going into the landscape and scribbling. A camera often flattens and edits without you realising and you notice so much more when drawing from life. It's hard to draw waves and seagulls though. Anyway, here in Biarritz for my wonderful cousin Sam's big birthday, this is what I've managed to scribble down in between trips to the mountains and the sea.

Cote de Basque (to the South)

Cote de Basque (looking North) 

Sea sky line

San Sebastian

Last night we went to Bar Nestor in San Seb - the best place for food I could imagine and well worth visiting if you are ever there.

It's been a while

I've definitely been neglecting this space for a while, but I think that the reasons for doing so are justification enough. In no particular order, here is why: 1) I went to Kenya for a beautiful wedding and the best holiday imaginable (wow); 2) I've had interviews for Masters courses; 3) I've been busy busy making work after Africa and 4) I've learnt to frame. Couple all that with a fab wedding in Suffolk, birthdays and generally keeping up with day-to-day stuff and I feel busy. Hoping that as summer starts a-coming (fingers crossed) I can settle back into more of a rhythm. Anyway, here's some pictures of what I've been working on. 

Grassland Path

Lewa Sunset

Paw print casting

Sunrise

Stormy Scarborough

As I mentioned in my last post, we went to Scarborough (Scarbrrrr) last weekend. The surf was freezing cold, even in a winter wetsuit, gloves, boots and hood. We warmed up afterwards with a curry and the boys even went in the next day too (once was enough for me).

Cold waves at Sandsend

This last etching of South Bay, Scarborough, is printed using a combination of two zinc plates, both etched separately. This week we had a lecture on Conceptual art, which got me interested in the idea of Land Art. If I can tear myself away from the print room then that's the direction I might move towards. 

Shifting Sands

Moving towards a different sense of print and image, I'm also thinking hard on the uses of text in art. In the meantime, I met Norman Ackroyd (!) and produced these images this week.

Water's edge

Morning Tide

Banyan Roots

We are off to Scaborough this weekend - cold, cold surf and cliffs await.

Norfolk in Colour

Today, all day, I put some colour onto my Norfolk images. I haven't coloured them with ink, or paint, but with blocks of coloured paper. I kept the tones very subtle. There's a few things I'd change next time, but this is a new technique I'm learning so, by and large, I'm pleased.

Very much looking forward to the weekend - and my lovely friend Sarah's birthday!

Norfolk etchings

I'm juggling cooking with updating this blog so I'll be brief and just post three etchings from the images I collected in Norfolk.

Burnham Overy Staithe Creek

On Holkam Beach

Brancaster Marshes

Norfolk New Year

We spent New Year in a lovely, chilly cottage on the creek in North Norfolk. The wind blew, the geese honked (over 200,000 in Norfolk at this time of year, apparently) and we stuffed ourselves full of food. One of our group, the hilarious Italian Andrea, was adamant that we had to eat lentils and sausage for breakfast on the morning of the 1st - stave off poverty, he said. We duly did. I felt rich in spirit surrounded by the flat landscape and here are a few of my scribbles.

Brancaster creek view

Deserted Holkam beach

Moreston quay

Beached at Brancaster

 As well as hanging out in the cottage, I got to see my lovely friends Sarah, Hannah and Tom - all in all, it was a good start to 2013 and I'm back to college on Monday.