I went to Lincoln Christmas Market (not recommended) and visited one of Lincoln's galleries. Tucked away in a corner was piles and piles of lino cuts, etchings, screenprints and woodcuts by Alison Read. The image that captivated me was the one above called The Waif. All her work is based around animal humour and is definitely an area i have flirted with and enjoyed but need to go deeper into. She manages to get such personality and character into her animals without then looking cartoony and cheap, a balancing act i havent yet worked out. The character is made by distorting and exaggerating the body rather than relying on Disney style googly eyes and eyebrows to portray emotions.
I'm still very wary of texture and unsure how to use it, but Read's whole image is made up of sharp textures. My favourite part is the face, with loving eyes and long ears with a thick outline but thin hairs around like an aura. The lack of colour is encouraging too, people can get too reliant on colour and feel it should be the crutch of the image. Read proves that the image itself can stand alone without colour and be just as successful as those with colour. I am a big believer in spot colour but it is still an almighty struggle to stop my hand from just filling in the outlines.
I am comfortable with the way i work now but although i won't be replecating Read's working process i will certainly be taking a lot from this artist. It is works like this that make me realise what i want to do and how i like to draw. Briefs have a habit of drifting you further and further away from yourself, and its artists like this that make me remember my natural way of working.
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