Drawing dancers from the net

Below are some drawings from 2018. I wanted to draw the movement of a dancer, but not having a chance to draw a real dancer in a studio I resorted to drawing from videos on the internet.

I tried to capture the flow and energy of the movement whilst also capturing the form of the body through quick gestural marks.

Sergei Polunin dancing ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier

Sergei Polunin dancing ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier

Sergei Polunin dancing ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier

Audrey Case dancing ‘Incomplete’ by James Bay

Autumn Miller dancing

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Recent street drawings

Below are some selected drawings from the end of 2018. My aim was to capture the movement of people on the street and in a train station combined with gestural strokes of the figures.

Inky improvisations

Inky vibes.

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Everything is information, but I have no idea what it means.

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Defracted male on a flat surface.

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Close examination of a nervous seated figure.

‘Dear Suomi’ exhibition artwork

‘Fresh Off the Boat’

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Blue’

‘Swans of Vuosaari’

‘Churchill’s Birds’

‘Blue Mondays’

Gallery view

These are the five works that I made for the Helsinki International Artists’ Association (HIAA) exhibition ‘Dear Suomi’. The images need to be looked at larger online to see the details under all the layers. I made a statement below about the work, hopefully it gives a little insight into my thoughts behind these works.

‘I am British and living in Finland. I was brought up in Staffordshire in England which is known for it’s production of blue and white porcelain.

The images used to decorate porcelain in Staffordshire were often influenced by cultures from around the world; images that have been taken out of context and have adopted new meaning. I have incorporated images from Staffordshire porcelain into these drawings. I have also incorporated influences from Finnish porcelain and some of my own memories and motifs into the drawings.

As an immigrant from a country with a colonialist history I want to explore my relationship with Finland and how I have been influenced by Finnish culture.

The expressive painterly marks are used in juxtaposition to the illustrative drawing to convey a sense of energy, struggle and life.

Blue and white also has obvious connections with Finland and the Finnish flag.’

Thanks to the curator Hanna Kress, all the artists at HIAA (special thanks to Kemê Pellicer for getting the initial process started), Helsingin Taiteilijaseura and Galleria Rantakasarmi.

Dear Suomi

Welcome to Suomenlinna to see art! You have to brave the snow, cold wind and frozen sea, but it’s worth it!

I have some work that I am showing there. I’ll post more detailed pictures soon since the picture below doesn’t capture much of the details in the work.

More frequent updates in my work can be found at:

chrisfraseronline.wordpress.com

Autumn colours

Abstract experiments with colour and strokes. Freeing the line and using vibrant colour.

Street drawing

I’ve been making movement drawings in my sketchbook whenever I can for some time. Often I like the results on their own, but I rarely post just these sketches; they often inform other drawings, but I like the raw quality of the sketches.