Colne Blues 2018 Day Three.

All good things must come to an end and last night King King brought the awesome British Rhythm and Blues Festival 2018 to a fitting climax. As Artist-in-Residence for the second successive year it has been a privilege to be part of this festival again.

Sketching musicians is what I do but it never gets any easier…the challenging lighting conditions and an ever mobile subject matter force the sketches to be produced extremely quickly as fleeting visual information disappears into a new position. The sketches may mean very little to the casual observer but they often provide me with crucial nuances of information for my paintings. The activity of drawing from life, particularly a constantly moving subject matter forces me to really look hard and even if some of the observations do not make it onto the page, they are often embedded in my memory. The drawings, the many photographs that I take along with memories that include specific visual data and emotions felt during the concert all help me to develop the final painting. Last night I was talking backstage to musician whom I painted from last year’s festival and I told him that my music inspired works are in many ways borne out from a deep admiration (and if I’m honest, a little bit of envy) for the musicians that I paint. Music is the purest art form. Music is transcendental….and I’m trying to paint the transcendental!….wish me luck!

Below are my rapid fire drawings from Day Three of Colne Blues.