Colour from the Season - Bamboo Green

This Bamboo (Phyllostachys Nigra) has helped to brighten my Winter! It's simply been the most lively green outside my back door on even the darkest of days. I was adding colour to a drawing of it yesterday and decided it deserved a mention.

When I first tried to draw bamboo, I discovered that it dies quickly when you cut it. I cut a full stem and placed in water to draw, but within a few hours the leaves had rolled in on themselves - hopeless! The only thing to do was to draw it outdoors. So one Spring day, a few years ago, I sat on a low seat in the garden with a drawing board on my lap, a long roll of cartridge paper and starting at the base of the stem, I drew a full stem - not in pencil but directly in ink. I waited for the ink to dry then rolled the paper up, continuing to draw and roll until I reached the top. The following year (!) I decided that this one stem was a bit lonely and so I drew another! The drawings are approximately life size and measure 2.6 metres and 2.4 metres.

I then scanned these images, re-drew them in (Adobe) Illustrator, laser etched the first of them into Cork and exhibited this at 100% Design in London in 2009. For some time I've been thinking of adding colour as I'd like to screen or possibly digitally print them onto fabric. So here as a result, are the fresh colours as I noted them yesterday...

The first ink sketch...

The second...

Laser etched into Cork...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

The Selvedge Spring Fair

On Friday and Saturday I shall be exhibiting at The Selvedge Spring Fair. 

In case you haven't heard of Selvedge magazine, it's an inspirational textile magazine, produced in the U.K. and I'm sure that the Selvedge Spring Fair, to be held in the King's Road, London (22nd and 23rd March) is going to be the perfect venue to exhibit my new products.

...So I've been really busy printing this past week or two and now I'm looking forward to getting out of the studio and spending a weekend in London, surrounded by textiles other than my own for a change! Here's a flavour of the local flora and fauna I'll be taking with me...

Pheasant cushion - who you may recognise from an earlier blog post here..!

Rabbit cushion - a personal favourite...

To co-ordinate with your Stag head? - Fawn cushion, a real sweetie!

On the print table...

following last years successful Budgie Love cushion! - Budgies and Chrysanths...

...and the very seasonal Rosetta Table Runner...

Do come and say hello if you're in London - or if you know someone who might be interested please forward/share, thank you!

here's the info...

Colour from the season - Fern green

Sorry colour fans - just green, in fact two greens and two fairly nondescript greens at that. So if this doesn't interest you then no need to look any further at this post! If however, you might like to marvel at the elegant form of a Royal fern (as common as muck here in Devon), as well as the patience it's taken to draw, not once but many times over, then you might want to take a further peek!

I have ambitious plans for these drawings, so I've scanned all stages of their development, from pencil, to ink, to colour, but don't hold your breath, it may take some time...

au naturel...

...and just perfect for the next pattern post (mirrored block repeat)?

(Drawn listening to the excellent album 'Tramp' by Sharon Van Etten -  reflective video of the track Leonard here).

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Oxalis Purpurea purple

I've been waiting patiently throughout the winter to note the colours and fascinating form of this plant. Just as I was planning to draw it last year, it stopped flowering and then went into total hibernation, at which point I thought I'd killed it (my house plants often only thrive if they're near the sink). But then, suddenly, about a month ago it started to re-emerge.

The leaves open and close like an umbrella, reminding me of an inspiring Issey Miyake pleats creation. The young leaves stay concertinaed for the first few days as they emerge, then as they grow fully they open almost inside out during the day and fold closely back together at night. The delicate flowers also open and close, but twisting inwards with a rotational twist - hard to describe, has really to be seen.

The colours change depending on the light, the time of day, the shadows. Pink and fresh green offset the deep purples and reds, exquisite...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colours from the Season - Leaf Buds

Printing in the studio - it's exhausting and exhilarating! I wake up in the morning feeling as though I've been lifting weights! Yesterday was the most joyous Springlike day, the buds are coming into leaf on the trees and I felt a skip in my step again...

Coming back to the studio, I looked back over some of the best budding leaves in my notebook pages over the past 3 years and decided to update a few of them and group them together so I could find them more easily. I enjoyed re-visiting them, and thought you might too - so in one big WHOOSH! here they are...

Vibernum - exquisite and sculptural when they first open, look out for them in March...



Rosa Rugosa - starts coming into leaf in February - very very spiky...

Alder - I had no idea what this tree was when I drew it (in March) two years ago - I've learned so much from keeping this notebook...



















































Dahlia, I sat and drew this outside on a very cold April day!



Hydrangea - not budding yet or mine aren't - I drew this one in April...

Yesterday printing new runners (Budgie and Chrysanth)...

today Spring green...

...from my seasonal Colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Song Thrush brown

This week two things a bit out of the ordinary.

For weeks a friend (Pete) has been enjoying the song of a Thrush, then on Thursday, he found it dead  in his garden and was very upset about it. (He thought it was probably chased by a bird of prey causing it to fly into a shed and break its neck). He knew that I would like to draw it, and I did. It was incredible to draw and hold a Song Thrush I can tell you.

I sketched it twice - below some of the sketch developments,  I overworked the (first) sketch, because, well, I think I wanted to do my best, for the Song Thrush as well as for Pete's sake..!

First sketch at different stages ending in above...



































Second sketch, much faster, I liked the detailing in the wing, and preferred the looseness of the drawing, but the first sketch won out for composition.

Then I got an email (Friday) offering me a late stand at the Selvedge Spring Show (A Textile fair in London) - in 3 weeks! - which I've taken them up on - better get printing...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

The little things - New Cushions and Shop!

Before I completed my MA in Design (textiles) at Bath Spa University in 2008, I was selected to exhibit my fabric designs at 100%Design (trade fair) in London. For the next five years I showed my work at this prestigious and very exciting trade fair, exhibiting innovative textile fabrics and laser etched cork panels. My work was short-listed for the British Design awards with Rosemary Russet Fabric in 2007 and with Laser etched Cork Squares in 2010.

After five years of out-sourcing all (digital textile and laser) production, I realised, that I seriously missed screen printing and dyeing, the excitement (and messiness) of which had attracted me to a career in textile design in the first place.

So a little over a year ago I started to develop a collection of screen-printed furnishing accessories in my studio. This meant building an exposure unit, screen wash off room, buying screens, squeegees, emulsion, dyes, fabrics, etc. I decided to focus on small scale and bespoke production, use only the finest materials, sourcing, as far as possible from the UK, mainly printing onto un-bleached fabrics as a positive environmental choice.

Printing onto unbleached/natural fabrics has been the hardest in many respects (no white!). However the extensive knowledge I'm acquiring from the seasonal colour research in my blog is starting to pay off, selecting colours from my notebooks which have subtle natural harmony, reminiscent of the Exmoor landscape that surrounds me in North Devon, yet still looking contemporary and fresh. "Think modern rustic"!

Well I've made a few mistakes! and it certainly has been an emotional roller-coaster of a year - but I'm pleased to say I think that I'm now on the right track, at least I hope so! Best of all, my web shop is now fully up and running...

See the whole collection :-  Sam Pickard website/shop

Please feel free to share this post/image/link - thank you!!

Further links
Bath Spa University MA Design Textiles and Fashion
100%design

My favourite things - Still life with petals

A few of my favourite things...

A garden full of Hydrangeas and Roses (notebook May 2011 and Jan 2013), an old briefcase of my dads, and a 70's handbag which belonged to my mum (and who swung it with far more style than I've so far managed!). No real material value, just full of memories.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Hellebore yellow

Hellebores are a bit of a shy flower, heads slightly bowed, hiding extraordinary inner beauty, maybe that's what I like best about them - not too showy.

Some can be cut and will keep in water, this variety seems to wilt within about an hour - so you have to draw fast! Very pure colour in the yellow and green, complemented by a spattering of dark red. Colours in opposition, bringing out the best in each other...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

The little things - love

New cushions - which embrace my love of Exmoor, natural fabrics, screen printing, pattern, seasonal colour, and Rabbits!

Perfect, I'd say, for the back seat of an old Morris Traveller...

Hope you have a very loveful day.

X...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Hair Moss green (revisited)

Hair Moss is abundant on the Exmoor coastline. I first looked at its colours in my very early notebook pages before I was adding illustrations. Then I noted that the (orange) brown I found in it was exactly the colour of an old Saab I had in London, this is what I wrote:

"Hair moss, likes damp conditions - perfect for it then in North Devon. The (top) brown is the exact colour of a lovely old 70's Saab I used to own which sadly I had to part with when the engine started cutting out every time I turned right - not ideal in London."

(After reading this a friend asked me if I took three left turns in order to turn right, which was very perceptive of him, because that was exactly what I did!)

Much darker green than your common or garden Moss, this is Hair Moss green and the retro browns that accompany it...

(it's the bottom brown in this palette).

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

My favourite things - Still life with Ash and old Rose

A few of my favourite things...

Ideas often arrive if I stop thinking about the problem and do something else instead. Going in circles with the background of the set of cushions I've been sample printing, decided to get out for a walk. The sea was rough and the wind incredibly fierce. We could hardly stand on the beach, whether it was the walk or the half of Exmoor ale in the Hunters Inn after, it did seem to blow away the cobwebs!

My favourite things -

is a response to my appreciation of Still Life painting (especially Dutch c.1600 - c.1700), objects I own and love, and some of my favourite notebook drawings put together. 

Still life with Clive Bowen jug (right), ancient Devonshire jug (recycle centre) Old Tea Rose (notebook Feb 2012) and Ash (notebook Jan 2013).

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Ivy purple

Ever since I read Having the right "Gratitude" post on Sarah-Jane down the lane's lovely blog, I think I've had purple backed Ivy lurking in the back of my mind, because when I was passing by a wall completely entangled with Ivy - not purple backed, more mottled purple fronted - it completely caught my attention and I had to stop. If anyone had been watching they might have thought it strange, that I was standing staring at a wall for 10 minutes while I selected a few leaves which were the most beautiful. I have an idea that I might develop this a bit further...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Pheasant blues

It was a bit of a shock to be given a dead Pheasant. I've been wanting to draw one, in fact the timing couldn't have been better, but still a shock!

All along the main roads here on the edge of Exmoor are warnings about the deer and you do see the odd deer - but not a single sign to prepare you for the daily hazard - the scores of Pheasants who strut (nonchalantly) into the path of traffic.

This one was still warm but very dead. A beautiful bird, its neck feathers gradated colour from deep blue through to green and shades of turquoise in between - a white ruff, followed by the richest browns, ochres, creams, far too many in fact to show them all here...

Ink sketch - Unlike other birds I've drawn, I felt uneasy drawing this Pheasant, partly the sheer scale. Decided that I'd have just one attempt at it. In the end this sketch took about 8 hours.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Pansy yellow

This little Pansy has been smiling at me every time I pass it outside my front door for weeks now. In spite of the snow it's managed to keep it's head up and though I'm not the biggest fan, I have to admit I'm coming round to liking these for their clashing colours, their ability to flower even in this chilly weather, and because they remind me of Victorian postcards...

from the French Pensée meaning thought...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Oak leaf brown

Snow! Nearly everything was white in the woodland this morning except last seasons Oak leaves, still frozen to the trees. Every way I walked I noticed Oak leaves - splatters of warm brown on this icy January morning.

By the time Chip and I got back to the studio, it's hardly surprising that I'd decided these curling dead leaves might work brilliantly as a woodland/William Morris inspired repeat, to work as a backdrop for some new designs I've been creating, as well as (potentially!) to demonstrate the next Pattern Design post (Block Repeats). So a simple notebook page while I get on with the design - thank you snow..!

to be continued...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Ash grey

It can be a bit bleak in January here on the edge of Exmoor and though there are primroses and more brightly coloured subjects about, I noticed that Ash trees are in bud and I want to document the colours of the Common Ash (fraxinous excelsior) in all seasons while it's still possible.

Ash trees in the U.K. have developed a deadly fungal disease called Ash dieback (Chalara fraxinea), which is about to wipe out Britain's entire (80 million) Ash tree population. One of our toughest hardwoods, steeped in mythology and medicinal folklore, but perhaps I'm not alone in hardly noticing the Ash until now?

So here are the colours of its budding branches - very beautiful actually when you do notice, make the most of them while you still can...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour of the Season - Hydrangea blue

Hydrangeas are beautiful at nearly every time of year, and even more so in places with a far higher than average rainfall (thinking positively here!!). They've become one of my favourite cut flowers, but they're also exquisite when they break down into skeletal forms - or I've always thought so, and I was determined to draw these (whenever I could find a quiet moment) over Christmas and New Year, despite the fact that I was a bit daunted by their intricacy. 

They remind me of the stone-carved arching foliated designs on the ceilings of Cathedrals, so here they are - like aged architectural relics but actually much less fragile than they look. A subtle palette, in pencil and Bombay inks...

Started with the hardest - so it was downhill all the way after that...

Drawing by lamplight..!

Welcome 2013!

If you like this post - you can subscribe to Planet Sam by email :) here.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colours of the month - December

On the eve of 2013, here are my selection of the month's colours (12/12), a Decemberry tree! and a favourite poem...

In Greece many years ago I was given a book of poetry because it contained this poem.

Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbours you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.


C.P.Cavafy
Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard

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Wishing you an inspirational and happy New Year...xx

If you like this post - you can subscribe to Planet Sam by email :) here.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook. 

Colour from the season - Christmas Box - red

My son Josse said to me a few days ago that Christmas is just an excuse for me to bring even more plant life into the house! I will admit there is rather a lot of Ivy twined around and about fairy lights to brighten these dark evenings, also branches of Cotoneaster and a little Christmas Box, but this year I would say that I've been incredibly restrained - (I reminded him it's the season of good will!)

Gorgeous glossy green leaves, the deepest red to black berries (they quickly turn black when you bring them indoors) and tiny white flowers with a powerful fragrance (a bit like Lily of the Valley), this is Christmas Box (Sarcococca confusa).

Lots of wonderful wreaths at this time of year - here's mine!

Merry Christmas! 

(Cotoneaster Red, Christmas Box Red and (font) Bodoni ornaments)...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.