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.