Time and tide wait for no man – and so it comes to pass that once again, The Royal Academy have relieved me of £35 by way of my entry fee for this year’s Summer Exhibition. Those of you who follow my artistic adventures closely will no I am no stranger to not getting selected for this show, and this will be my fifth attempt.
Previously I’ve submitted works on canvas and board, made using acrylic paints, spray paints, and varnish. This year – after a brief conversation with local art shop owner Jackie Khan, who suggested I might choose to see this as an opportunity to experiment…I settled on something different.
This year – I’ve chosen to submit a book of magic, titled Spellbound. I’ll be using some of the zen doodling techniques I’ve learned to create illusory drawing patterns – and I plan to add various other icons as I create the work. Instead of canvas I am using a concertina sketchbook made up of 20 panels each approximately 17cm tall by 9cm wide, plus a similarly sized hard cover at the beginning and end.
Progress is slow, these designs take time to build up, and the deadline of May 24th already feels like it is looming large. At this moment I can’t tell if this is one of the best or daftest ideas I’ve had – maybe it’s a combination of both! Importantly – I’m enjoying seeing the work come into being, and I’m pleased that I’m on a very different, exciting path for this year’s entry – wouldn’t it be great if the judges feel similarly to me this time too?
