Lauren Jayne Hall

This was my second residency at The Mawddach Residency, and it’s quite interesting reflecting on my experience having done it before - particularly as each residency was very different. 

I had no specific plan going in this time, apart from that I knew I wanted to focus on Toby, and make cat-centred work. Last time I found my joy in drawing outside - but this time I spent the majority of my time in the studio, and when I wasn’t, I desperately wanted to get back in there!

Last time I think maybe I was TOO loose with my intent - I had a broad project I wanted to work on but no specific initial steps. This time, though, I knew I wanted to draw Toby from the get go - so when I wasn’t following him around the house like a lovesick teenager, I was drawing from photos. It was a wonderful combination of more detailed studies in the studio, alongside really quick and loose lines, normally sprawled across the floor somewhere, getting in everyone's way.

So my first week was a bit all over the place, but in the most wonderful way - I would follow a tangent for as long as it felt right, and if it didn’t go anywhere, it was fine. I was onto the next thing. I had approximately 6 Big Ideas during this time - none of which were all that big, or ground breaking for anyone besides me - but it was so EXCITING. Sometimes I would feel a tinge of guilt that I wasn’t doing the ‘right’ thing - I felt a pressure to do more drawing outside, or draw more Toby. It led to this whole discussion with Elena and Scarlett about expectations, both internal and (perceived) external, and how much energy we should give them. In the end, I got in the habit of “feeding the voice crumbs” (I realise this makes me sound like a maniac haha) - but if I felt the pressure to do something, I’d spend a tiny bit of time on it, then go straight back to whatever was exciting me. I’m still not sure this is the right strategy, but it’s working for the moment!

By the second week I had zeroed in on a big project, and some one-off pieces I wanted to make, and it was really satisfying to work on multiple things at the same time - to have a purpose, but not be completely obsessed with one thing. I don’t normally work like that (as you’ve probably guessed I often get obsessed with one thing), so it was a big lesson for me.

I finished the residency not only with a couple of really exciting new projects to work on, but also a craving to create, all the time. I’ve drawn my own cats more than I ever have in my life (they’re tolerating it, barely) and I’m playing in my sketchbook in the evenings, which is a time of the day I’ve always felt I never made good use of before. And I’m addicted to drawing animals from life - I’m feeling very grateful that I live in an area full of ducks, sheep and cows!

Some things that I found worked better the second time around:

• I wrote a lot more this time - morning pages in particular were really helpful, but I also journalled random thoughts or ideas that would occur to me during the day
  
• I spent a lot of the first week thinking - especially in that window seat! - which I think was really helpful. Not feeling the pressure to draw constantly, seeing thinking time as being just as important. And then, because I had filled my head with ideas, I spent the second week desperate to draw constantly.
• I loved doing the residency with someone else this time, it was just nice to have a nice person around all the time - but also so good to chat through ideas and concepts and just life in general.  Sometimes things are connected without you even realising til after, which is a magical feeling (Elena described it as a “sparkle” you feel in your head, which I think describes it perfectly!)

Things I learnt:

• One or two lines can be just as important as capturing a likeness - in giving ideas, inspiration, or just being beautiful in of themselves.
• I see paint as being for “finished” work, and my other media for fun and play - I want to work on changing this, and incorporating more paint into my loose mixed media work.
• Rather than thumbnailing ideas, big messy paintings as roughs work better for me.
• I enjoy pushing things - perspective, proportion, colours - and I should play with this more.

Thank you a million times over Scarlett and Jake (and Toby, my sweet muse) for having me again, I’m not sure this writing quite puts into words how wonderful the experience truly was!


Lauren Jayne Hall
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