Morphing. Pepper. Jerwood Space

One of our topics last week was to morph some of the objects we'd drawn, so in a free session I wanted to try again. This is the result, it went from a wonderful brick-&-timber gable through a hanging basket-lamp to a mistletoe tree, morphing both the shapes and the colour. I was reasonably pleased with it.

I now have a nearly ripe pepper, just turning purplish red, a few days and it'll be sweet and ready to eat. I think I'll draw it to celebrate.

Talking of drawing, I went to the Jerwood Space yesterday to look at the entries for the annual drawing prize.
 http://www.jerwoodvisualarts.org/ 

http://www.jerwoodvisualarts.org/page/3423/Jerwood+Drawing+Prize+2011?calShowYear=2017&calShowMonth=9

Some of them were stunningly good, some I really couldn't get my brain around. I can't take in abstract ideas that aren't at least a bit technically skilled or difficult. In my ignorance, I also prefer things that are pleasing to look at; I clearly still have to learn!
I think my favourite was Polly Yates, a beautiful screen print & paper sculpture of intricately woven circles cut out and coloured in bright shades of pink. It had immediate impact, and the full delicacy revealed on closer inspection. The colour and shapes reminded me of expensive origami paper.
My favourite drawings were the second prize winner, Jesse Brennan's 5 meter long drawing based on the Lea River navigation canal. It is a wonderfully drawn composite of canal scenes, piles of wood or rubbish, boats, small people related scenes,all looking at first glimpse like a narrow boat.
My other choice is much simpler, Ash Summers' Tree (Catocala) There's no outline for the tree-in-water, but shading, largely in a zigzag pattern shows it, with the water ripples and undergrowth in an original way. It is also something I feel I could tackle, unlike he other one.
Another I really liked was Dave Farnham's black&white negative video of explosive fuse-wire sputtering behind a rather traditional still life set-up. The unexpected effect of black sparks and flashes of "not-light" was intriguing, I'll do some sketches in charcoal. I hate drawing when people might be watching, I suppose that will improve. I'm sure I pass unnoticed, but a young man sweeping the South Bank, possibly a student, told me I looked like a real designer!
Lottie Jackson-Eeles' concertina sketch book of drawings of fragments of buildings, decorated with brilliant colours was an idealised and cheerful reminder of her walks through London, as it might be.