Chuck Berry

For my next project I will be sticking with the music legends theme, focusing on one of the pioneers of rock n' roll music Chuck Berry.
For this piece I am going to attempt a charcoal portrait at the larger size of 16 x 20. Having never worked with charcoal before I don't really know what to expect from the outcome but I do know it will be a lot quicker to produce than my pencil drawings so hopefully this should work to my advantage in that, depending on the quality, I will be able to produce more work. I also think the larger format will be more appealing to an audience.
Below is the image I will be attempting. However, I first need to buy some charcoal pencils and a blending tool!

Abstract Art

I previously talked about a portrait drawing of lady gaga and possibly creating something from her hair in the piece. I have been experimenting the last couple days and developed something completely different to what I first intended.
The abstract piece combines fluidity with simple geometric shapes. It's my first attempt at this style of art but I have found it enjoyable and the outcome quite attractive. I'm considering doing a series of three, having them printed at 16 x 20 and taking them to one of the art fairs to see what reception they get. Here's my initial idea, which may change. You can clearly see the influence the hair from the gaga photo has had.

Photos from The Gallery

Here are a few pictures of Elvis, Hendrix and Marley chilling on the pillar of The Gallery in Clayton Square, Liverpool. I took these pictures last night after the Culture Vibe event that Madelaina holds there every Thursday from 4.45 to 6.45. It's always a good laugh and has live entertainment so it's definitely worth checking out. For more information check out the Gallery's facebook page here.

Post Art Fair Thoughts

So the art fair went well. It was a good experience and I met a few new people, who were very helpful and encouraging. Sales wise, I managed to sell 3 prints (Elvis, Ray Charles and Bob Marley), which I guess was kind of what I expected. I also traded a couple prints with a fellow pencil artist Tom Donohue, who is very talented and fast becoming a popular name in the art community.
I forgot to take a photo of my stall, but here's a picture of the prints I made to go on sale. They were selling at £10 each, but I think I'm going to raise the price at the next fair to £15. Something I learnt at the fair was that my A3 mounts were too big. There are A3 frames available but the standard size for my drawings is 11x14 which is slightly smaller and, I must admit, does look better. I've trimmed a few of the A3 mounts down to fit this size and I'm taking them back to the Gallery as Madelaina has been kind enough to put them on sale. I also left my original Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley drawings with Madelaina, which are hanging nicely on one of the pillars in The Gallery. I will try get a photo of this next time I am there.
Today I enquired about the Calidad art fair in Childwall School at the beginning of July and there are still spaces available so I am currently filling in the form to get involved in that one. That's my next target so I have a good 7 weeks to produce some new artwork :)

Hendrix / Sinatra

Here are my two newest drawings, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Sinatra. Two more legends to add to the collection!

How Crafty are you? Art Fair at the Gallery, Clayton Square

All prepared for the art fair tomorrow. Really looking forward to it! Interested to see what kind of reception my work will get. Hopefully I will sell a few prints. It will be the first time selling my work to the general public. If all goes well I will definitely get involved in more art fairs. There is one the first Saturday of every month in Childwall School so I am aiming for the July event. I have a few exciting ideas that I would like to try out in the next fair but I won't share them just yet. Should be able to make some good contacts tomorrow too, exciting times!

Update

Just a quick update to let you know what I am doing. I decided to postpone the Lady Gaga drawing for the time being and completed a portrait of Frank Sinatra. I am now two thirds of the way through a Jimi Hendrix piece.
With the art fair coming up next Saturday I have also been busy scanning all my work and creating prints to sell. The price to get an A3 print made is so expensive! It worked out that it would cost me around £200 to get all the prints done I wanted so I decided to purchase a good quality A3 printer and do them myself. I'm pleased with the outcome! Especially when they are mounted and sealed in their cello wallets, they really look the part. In the long run I figured being able to make prints myself would be more cost effective.
Not sure I will be selling my originals now either. I've been thinking it might be best to build up a collection and then try and exhibit them somewhere. I think that would be a good step towards making a name for myself. So that's the idea for the time being.