Winter's well and truly on it's way!

Today I met up with Stephanie and we went to the cute 'Postcard Teas' in New Bond Street. I had an amazing cup of cinnamon tea and had a very interesting conversation with the owner about teas and spices. He gave me a stick of Sri Lankan Cinnamon that made my day. I definitely recommend a visit if you're in the area. Before this I popped into 'Liberty' to see the 'Trash Luxe' exhibition on the fourth floor. I believe it has got quite a lot of press, but I wasn't impressed at all.

We walked by the Francesca Lowe and Alastair Gray Exhibition at the Riflemaker in Beak Street.

Later on, I must have spent hours going in and out of the second hand and antique book shops on the Charing Cross Road. I was on a mission to find another gem of a book, as a gift for someone. Alas, I was unsucessful on this occasion!

Winter is definitely on it's way....what miserable weather. It was only a 6 weeks ago I was baking in Italy.

sketches....of rooms......again!

.....I'm still trying to find the perfect home page image!
Man, I'm updating this blog way too much!-)

more interiors....

website planning

I spent this morning in Cafe Nero doing a bit of planning for the website. I am about to start work on the home page image and so dug out the interiors I did for 'Bluebeard.' I'm going to base it on the same idea as my website and the image that already exists.
This is image 1/24, the memories of drawing day and night to meet the deadline are coming back! This is one of my favourite of the 24 images. I hope I can capture the same sense of atmosphere and impending doom in my new drawings.

My first 'masterpiece'

(at approximately 2 years old)

'Way To Go' - now released

Just helping my fabulous 'modern day renaissance man' Uncle M promote the album that he co-wrote with Nyjon Eccles and Gareth Young:

"Against the current backdrop of the music scene, Way To Go shines with maturity, meaning and topicality. Its inventive blend of pop, funk and R&B carries a powerful and enduring message, spanning themes from responsibility and honesty in love to ecology and social reality.

There are soaring love anthems, dance numbers of irresistible energy and a rhythmic drive rarely found in British R&B. Add to that an uncanny knack for catchy and unforgettable melodies, and Way To Go delivers a unique combination that's hard to match."

You can download tracks or purchase the CD from:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/nyjon

For further information, biography, video clips, track excerpts and downloads, see:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/drnyjon
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DrNyjonEccles

Another day, another gallery.....

Today I was in town 'on business'....I got into Covent Garden early and so went to 'Monmouth Coffee.' I've been meaning to try it for ages and have to say it was no disappointment. I'm feeling slightly guilty about the croissant that I had with that coffee though.

Later in the day I met up with Stephanie in Covent Garden where we went to Neals Yard for lunch. I had this amazing cornmeal bread and apple and carrot juice. I was so impressed that I've decided to try and make cornmeal bread at the weekend....we then went to the 'Serpentine Gallery.' I have to confess that I had never been before! There was the work of Matthew Barney currently being exhibited...I have to say that it was all very bizarre and slightly disturbing. That is all I will say on the matter!

I am very proud to say that I have seen a total of 5 exhibitions this week.

Another page from the sketchbook....

A day at the 'Royal Academy of Arts'

I spent a big part of today at the 'Royal Academy of Arts.' As I am a member I decided to go and see the three exhibitions that they have on at the moment. The 'Making History: Antiquaries in Britain 1707-2007' was amazing. One of the best exhibitions I have seen in a long time. I was very eclectic and had illustrations by George Cruickshank to a 'Diptych of Old St. Pauls' by John Gipkyn to a lock of hair removed from the tomb of Edward IV to a female skeleton found at St Brides lower Churchyard, Farrington Street.

I also saw the 'Georg Baselitz' exhibition. It wasn't really my cup of tea but there were a couple of etchings that were interesting in the 3rd room.

I then saw the 'Impressionists bt the Sea' exhibition that is in it's final weeks. Unfortunately, it was the busiest of the three exhibitions and so impossible to get a good view of any of the paintings. There were some beautiful paintings by Monet and Renoir. I did however notice that everyone in this exhibition was significantly older than me and I felt like I was being looking at as if I were a young flousie....This is neither paranoia nor age-ism!

After this I went to Covent Garden for wonder around. I went into the 'Neals Yard Dairy' shop where they sell the most amazing cheeses ever. Whenever you go in, you get accosted to try out all the different cheese. Today I must have tried at least 6 varieties...I have to say I was briefly falling for the American cheese expert, whom I bizarrely remember from the Covent Garden Food Market last month. A good knowledge of cheese is always a bonus!-)

Finished...

"My Biography" by Cristina Petrucci

I'm starting to get slightly bogged down with constantly writing and filling in forms at the moment. So, I decided to take a break from it and write a short biography... I will probably edit it later and use it when I redo my website!-). I found it quite therapeutic and fun to write.....

I drew my first masterpiece at the age of 2.

7 years on, I loved being naughty and blaming it on my little brother or cousins. Every Sunday at my grandparents’ house, someone would always end up crying....but it was never me!

For ages I escaped blame but then one day, my nan said to my dad: 'Cristina, she's no angel'...oops, I was only 9!

My convent school girl days, I'd rather not talk about.....

But at the age of 15, I dreamed of running away to be in the American Army. I wrote to them which started an influx of 'top secret' confidential letters from their office in Virginia. This awoke a great concern in my mother.

This dream was short lived and was swiftly followed by an ambition to be an actress.

... At 17 I realised I couldn't live without art and stormed into an A level Art lesson to declare this love.

At 22 and after A Distinction from Central Saint Martins and a First Class degree in Costume from the London College of Fashion, I fell out of love with art.

We were not on speaking on terms for a year, but after much relationship counselling we rediscovered each other and our love was stronger than ever. This was also the age I got my first pair of cowboy boots.

At 23 I was is artistic despair, but like an angel in the dark, I had the bright idea to do an MA in Illustration.

By 24 I had finished my MA and had fallen in love with the American boy who drew pictures just like me!
I loved him like I loved drawing....

At 24 and a half I was a Libertarian and making art about being broken hearted.

By 24 and three quarters I thought I had fallen in love for a third time. But it was just a case of mistaken identity!

At 25 I lost my Liberty

Here I am at 25 and one third, facing a quarter life crisis....

To be continued.....

'The Library'

This is an initial sketch of my favourite building in Roma... I literally stumbled across it and thought it had tremendous illustrative potential!

My day as a 'tourist'

I spent the day with some family that are visiting from Italy. We went to see 'The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army' Exhibition at The British Museum . I definitely recommend it...but suggest leaving it a while until the crowds die down, as it was really busy today.

I managed to find a book to buy in the gift shop, that incidentally had nothing to do with the exhibition. It's called 'Royalty's Strangest Characters' by Geoff Tibballs.....I love books and it's the one thing (apart from coffee and art materials) that I don't feel guilty spending money on.

Another bookbinding in progress...

More Townscapes.....

...this time, from Sant'Elia Fiumerapido!

A page from my sketchbook

My sketchbook is my best friend...

At the moment I'm really enjoying the artistic freedom of my sketchbook. The work that I do in my sketchbook is so messy in comparison to the precision and detail of my finished pieces...it is very liberating. I love the fearless feeling of working in my sketchbook and playing with ideas. I think that this only happens when you get comfortable with the sketchbook (like when they get old and have character).

Here is a page from my fabulous sketchbook...a different view from a cafe nero window. Here are some pictures of the interesting building of the day....'The Kings Head' in the Market, Enfield.

"Febbraietto, corto e maledetto"

Last night I was researching some proverbs and quotes...not entirely sure why, but sometimes it's best not to question these things! When I found an italian proverb: "Febbraietto, corto e maledetto" meaning "Little February short and cursed.' I couldn't help but think that this would make a great illustration idea. I then went off on an tangent and starting researching the month of February. Here are some links, if you're interested:

Wikipedia: February
Facts about February
February 14th

Picture Problem Solving.....

.....this morning I woke up with that desperation to be artistic. After a light breakfast, I read through one of my art books and decided to pop into Enfield Town for a coffee (surprise, surprise!). I took my illustrations with me on what was there first outting (anyone who is a fellow artist will understand this strange phenomenon that is treating your art as though they are you children). In fact, maybe that's just me!

Anyway I set up camp in 'Starbucks' (and what a sight for sore eyes I was, amoungst all the mother's, prams and their children!).

At the moment I've got 4 illustrations on the go and perhaps another 4 or 5 in the pipe line. However with the 4 that are progress there are a few problems that I have come across. This is a common symptom of my particular way of working...which is to plan in my skechbook, disregard the plan and just start drawing...and before I know it I've spent 8 hours on a drawing and I've come across a perspective problem (not that I adhere to the laws of perspective anyway). So, this morning's task was to address each drawing in my sketchbook and technically solve the problems.



Did it work? Well I'm not sure!

Some very, very old work.....

...now and then I like to look through my old portfolio. Usually, it makes me cringe...and I end up thinking 'great idea, shame about the drawing.' I thought I'd post up some of my costume designs from my degree, just for old times sake (bare in mind some of these drawings are 4-5 years old)....It's always interesting to view an artists progression. There are a few images from this portfolio that I'm planning to re-work!

...detail of 'a failed experiment'

I am not too proud to admit defeat... I was working on this piece a couple of weeks ago. I decided to watercolour the paper first and then draw. However, the colour was way too heavy for the delicateness of the drawing. Also the watercolour had made the paper very hard to work on (I think I went a bit crazy with the washes). It felt like I was engraving onto the paper. Anyway, it's all a learning experience and on a good note, I've found the best watercolour paper ever.

Please note, that I'm deliberately not posting up my lastest work (the final illustrations, that is)...it's me being way too superstitious!

Theatre Rocks!

I've been thinking a lot about theatre recently, for a couple of reasons. The first, that I'm working on an illustration inspired, quite visibly by theatre. The second reason, that I'm working on an application, where one of the requirements is to have an 'interest' in theatre. I found myself in Starbucks getting really aggitated by the fact I was trying to prove my love for theatre. Anyone who knows me, will know that theatre is my first and enduring love. Anyway, I remembered the dissertation I wrote for my MA. Here's me introducing my argument: 'Is Theatre Art the ultimate and most supreme art form.'

"Theatre is an art that has the potential to extend beyond the conventions and restrictions of the artist who works on canvas or the sculptor who builds his art. It offers so much room for creative expression to its practitioners and escapism to its devotees, that no other art can match. Theatre can create a vortex of enchanting power that through time artists such as Picasso, Dali and David Hockney have all been seduced by. The art world has regularly succumbed to the theatre’s creative potential, suggesting to me that the theatre offers something to the artist that no other art does. Perhaps it is the appeal of the theatre as a blank canvas for their ambitious and exploratory creations that entices these artists. The theatre, however, is no ordinary canvas, it is one that seduces its master with the thought of seeing its characters and worlds brought to life, in flesh and blood.
I propose to examine The Ballets Russes, arguably theatrical performances that most embodied all the qualities of an ultimate art form. I will introduce Richard Wagner’s theory of Gesamtkunstwerk....."

Petrucci, C (2006)

Fearing for my Sanity.....

.....Today my dad had the Cherry tree in our garden cut down. It's been there for as long as I remember, and I have many fond memories of gorging on the cherries that it produced. I feel really sad about it, bizarrely. I don't know if it's because I'm turning into the environmentalist or if it's because I'm getting increasingly sensitive in my old age. (I have to admit to going goo-eyed when I see mothers with their babies in Starbucks and cute animals, like squirrels, in the park)...Anyone who knows me, will find this hard to believe.

Anyway, here are some more sketches. Very rough ideas. To be honest I think that the concepts and drawings are only ledgible to me. I guess this defeats the purpose of posting up the scan. But this is all in my bid to make this blog slightly less photographic. I have to admit to being slightly worryingly attached to by camera.

Well, I'm going to face the empty void where the enormous cherry tree once stood and then carry on with some work!

The end of another week....

....sometimes it feels like time is flying by and this week has been testimony to that! Today I went to 'Royal Teas' with Stephanie, Charlene and Ola...I was going to post up some photo's but decided against it as this blog is starting to look way too photographic and giving the impression that I'm a bit of a party animal....which couldn't be further from the truth! I've had a hectic and productive week, which is exactly as I like it... as the saying goes: 'the devil makes work for idle hands!'

Anyway, here is a page from my sketchbook, an idea I had while I was waiting for the girls to finish work!