Time-travelling Mughal Architecture
The Emperor Shah Jahan, who reigned over the vast Mughal empire in India from 1628 – 1658, was responsible for some of the most exquisite architecture ever seen. The favorite grandson of Emperor… Continue reading
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Heat-Induced Colours on Metals
One of the most magical things about metals in general is their ability to transmit a wide range of colours under different conditions. The most brilliant and enduring pigments of the pre-industrial painters’… Continue reading
Metalwork Sculpture by David Stewart
Known by many students and alumni from Central Saint Martin’s college of Art & Design, David Stewart is an inspirational senior technician, artist and teacher of large-scale metalwork. His current exhibition Melancholia at… Continue reading
Forge-Welding Damascus Steel
For a long time I have been intrigued by the exquisite marbled patterning on the blades of antique swords and daggers, and wondered how this was achieved. Surfing online to see what I… Continue reading
Etching the plates for the Harmonograph tabletop
Paul Dewis is a master printmaker, and technician at the Byam Shaw Print Centre, part of Central Saint Martin’s college of Art & Design. He has taught me how to etch, and how… Continue reading
Fabricating the harmonograph: detailing in brass
The beauty of a large structure is enhanced by attention to detail, and in the case of this harmonograph, the details are rendered in solid brass. Brass details invoke the wonderful scientific and… Continue reading
Working with steel in the metal workshop
The first stage of making the steel harmonograph was to cut out and prepare all the structural components. In a sense, the process is a bit like tailoring – you measure and cut… Continue reading
Designing the Harmonograph sculpture
The prototype harmonograph worked well, but I wanted to create something more elegant and original that would paradoxically evoke the sensibilities of the industrial nineteenth century at the same time as expressing the… Continue reading
Developing the Harmonograph project for my M.A.
The image above has been developed using scans of drawings created by the first prototype harmonograph that I created and displayed over a year ago at the Byam Shaw campus of Central Saint… Continue reading
Central Saint Martin’s Degree shows 2013: M.A. Art & Science
Central Saint Martin’s college of art, part of the University of the Arts, London, is opening its doors to the public for the degree shows. This year the shows are divided into two… Continue reading
Elephants in the British Library
A group of second year students on the M.A. Art & Science course at Central Saint Martins, including myself, plus course director Nathan Cohen and our tutor Eleanor Crook, have mounted a group… Continue reading
Meditations on the Mandelbrot Set
I am posting this drawing, which I did a while ago, in response to John Baez’s recent post “Rolling Circles” on his Azimuth blog: http://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/rolling-circles-and-balls-part-1/ I really enjoyed reading the discussion, the diagrams,… Continue reading
Iconic Metalwork in Paris
I spent the brief August heat wave in Paris, rediscovering the beauty and elegance of the city. I love the iconic Art Nouveau entrances of the Paris Metropolitain, designed at the turn of… Continue reading
Making simple grounds for silverpoint drawing
Silverpoint drawing requires a specially prepared ground because the silverpoint will not make a mark on ordinary paper. Preparing the ground can be a complicated business, and I shall be adding some posts… Continue reading
Getting started with Silverpoint Drawing
This silverpoint drawing is by Leonardo da Vinci, in the British Museum collection. It is called ‘Bust of a warrior in profile’ , dated 1475-80, © The Trustees of the British Museum. It… Continue reading
Still Life Drawing
We have now developed a vibrant community of interesting and talented individuals around the weekly drawing classes at the studio, composed mainly of professionals from creative industries or academia. Regular attendance is never… Continue reading
Shopping for a Basic Tool Kit for Drawing
With my Master Classes in Fine Drawing underway at the studio, I thought it would be useful post a list of basic materials that we use, and the best suppliers local to Bloomsbury.… Continue reading
The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones
Some time ago I happened upon a venerable 1865 edition of Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament in an antiquarian bookshop, and after a month or so of obsessing about it, I decided to… Continue reading
Painted Rooms and Victorian Gothic at St. Pancras Station
St Pancras Station with its integrated grand hotel is a marvel of high Victorian engineering and design, recently restored and redeveloped as part of a major regeneration project in the King’s Cross area.… Continue reading
The Colour Red
My Name is Red is a novel by the celebrated Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. It is a memorable read – a beautifully constructed ‘whodunnit’ set in the visionary world of the miniature painters… Continue reading
A Mughal Masterpiece at The British Museum
This painting is called “The assembled animals complain to the raven of their mistreatment at the hands of man” British Museum catalogue number 1920.0917.05 , an illustration to one of the animal fables… Continue reading
Indigo dyed paper
As an experiment, I included dyeing paper with indigo as one of the activities in the Persian and Indian manuscript painting workshop this month. With only two (highly sophisticated) people, it seemed a… Continue reading
Workshop – Pigments for Manuscript painting
Barbara Brend’s seminar on painting and illumination in Persian and Indian books on 1 November 2011 was followed by workshops about pigments and techniques at my studio. The picture above shows some of… Continue reading
A feast of Persian and Mughal painting
November began with a real treat – we ran our seminar “Painting and Illumination in Persian and Indian books of the 16th and 17th centuries“, followed by a three-day practical workshop. Our speaker… Continue reading
Fantasy Architecture in Portugal
As part of the 2011 Bridges Math Art Conference at Coimbra in Portugal, we went on a day’s excursion to see the Bussaco Palace hotel. High on a hill on the edge of… Continue reading
The Alchemy of Pure Gold Pigment
I spent the weekend in my Woburn Walk studio making another batch of 24 carat gold pigment. It was used historically by painter and illuminators both in the Western world and in the… Continue reading
Pigment hunting on Hampstead Heath
How about spending the first day of May on Hampstead Heath hunting for pigment? There is something rather primeaval about that – the sort of activity some neolithic cave painter might have engaged… Continue reading