Museum Sketchbook #2: Main Hall

Hancock Museum, Main Hall 31.10.97
(Charcoal on two pages of A4 sketchbook)

Looking down from one of the galleries, I could work away without being noticed by the punters downstairs. The only problem was that the lighting was so poor up there that it was difficult to see what I was doing.

Editor's Choice

The Side, with Snow (Oil on canvas, 36 x 36 ins)

I recently heard from The Artist magazine that they'd like to feature this painting as their Editor's Choice in the April edition. Of course I agreed, so more when the time comes.

Museum Sketchbook #1: Fossil Tree

Fossil Tree (2B pencil over two pages of A4 sketchbook)

In these times of slow progress to who knows where, I think I might return to pages from my sketchbooks. When last I thought about doing so, I couldn't quite decide which of the various sketchbooks I should tackle first, but in view of the recent attention I've given to the Great North Museum:Hancock the obvious is the Museum Sketchbook.

These first two pages from 1997 (my first year at Newcastle University) show one of the newly installed display areas built from MDF, the architect's material of choice. As you can see it had a lot of nicely curved coloured surfaces and umpteen lighting tracks illuminating ..... not a great deal. A lonely fossilised tree takes pride of place.