Sketch Books

SOLO EXHIBITION JILL EHLERT

ART OPENING - "SEAFORMS: THE NATURE OF CREATION"

SeaForms: The Nature of Creation - Mixed Media Collage work by Jill Ehlert at The Chapel Gallery opening Friday September 21, 2018 5:00-7:00 with an artist talk at 5:30. Show continues to October 31, 2018.

THE CHAPEL @ ST. MATTHIAS

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Click here to view more photos from the opening night and to watch a video of Jill describing her sources of inspiration and some of her art processes.

ARTIST TALK

TRAVEL

June trip to Ucluelet and Tofino, BC

Drawing inspiration from dried seaweed root balls

Holbein water brush and Van Gogh waterclours, Stillman and Birn Delta series sketchbook.

Holbein water brush and Van Gogh waterclours, Stillman and Birn Delta series sketchbook.

Collecting dried out seaweed root balls for drawing. They feel and look like wood and have a charred look as if they have been burnt, but they are not. These root balls have the most wonderful textures.  with lots of complex networking - a good challenge to draw. Compare the root balls in the top row to the bottom three images, which are seaweeds recently washed up on the beach. The photo's taken in  December 2016 and '15 show some of the many seaweed clusters containing a variety of seaweeds, which are decaying and deteriorating. Going back to that same exact spot is where I collected these dried root balls. The piles are still there but have really shrunk in size to the once huge mass and tangle. I had to really look hard to find my collection, part of which is in the last photo..

DRAWING (FEELING) WATER MOVEMENT

Overlooking Brown's Beach, Ucluelet, BC.

The quick blind contour drawings below were inspired by the water motion at Brown's Beach, Uculelet, BC as shown in the video above. Sitting up high on a rock totally mesmerized by the movement of the water below and drawing what I was feeling.

At Pettinger Point looking towards Frank Island and the tombolo at Chesterman's Beach - near Tofino, BC.

Whale Bones

I am sure these photos of whale bone will enter into my drawings. These were taken from a whale skeleton in one of the shops in Tofino.

Inspiration from the beach for further drawings and mark making

WORKSHOPS

Sketchbook Development Workshop July 17, 2016

I will be teaching this popular one-day workshop at the Vancouver Island School of Art

This daylong workshop consists of a series of fast-paced exercises to get you comfortable with working in your sketchbook. A wide range of ideas, materials and techniques will be explored. Backgrounds, mark-making explorations, sketching, drawing and writing will also be covered. You will leave this workshop inspired to make your sketchbook a part of your daily practice. No experience necessary. All materials are provided, including a sketchbook and pens for you to take home with you. No experience necessary. 

Jul 17 Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Tuition: $150.00 (6 hrs) (materials included) 

Vancouver Island School of Art
2549 Quadra St, Victoria, BC
250-380-3500 or info@vancouverislandschoolart.com

Click here to see additional images

WORKSHOPS

I am teaching 4 workshops in July and August 2016

VANCOUVER ISLAND SCHOOL OF ART

The Vancouver Island School of Art is a learning community dedicated to the advancement of art education through comprehensive programs and presentations for adults of all ages. The focus of the courses and workshops offered by the school is on technique, personal expression and contemporary context.

All workshops can be taken for credit towards one of  VISA'S PROGRAMS  (Certificate or Diploma). 

Unless noted, all workshops have materials included and are suitable for beginners.

Mixed Media: Surface Textures (MMED w136)

This workshop will introduce you to ways of creating texture in drawings and paintings using acrylic pastes and grounds. Light molding paste, fibre paste, absorbent ground, gesso, fine pumice and acrylic ground for pastels will be explored. You will learn a variety of techniques including resists, rubbing, lifting, scraping, incising, veiling and burnishing. You will work on watercolour paper, cradled panel and stretched canvas. The workshop includes demonstrations and hands-on practice and will provide you with endless ideas and approaches for drawing and painting projects. The workshop is suitable for all levels of experience. Material fee covers specialty materials and surfaces. 
Jul 1 - 3 Friday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $295.00 (18 hrs) Material Fee: $25 (materials included)

Sketchbook Development (DRWG w132-6)

This daylong workshop consists of a series of fast-paced exercises to get you comfortable with working in your sketchbook. A wide range of ideas, materials and techniques will be explored. Backgrounds, mark-making explorations, sketching, drawing and writing will also be covered. You will leave this workshop inspired to make your sketchbook a part of your daily practice. No experience necessary. All materials are provided, including a sketchbook and pens for you to take home with you. No experience necessary. 
Jul 17 Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $150.00 (6 hrs) (materials included) 
Image Page

Drawing: Pen & Ink and Found Tools (DRWG w167)

In this workshop, you will create a personal visual language of marks and textures, beginning with making marks with a traditional dip pen with a variety of nibs using India and walnut ink. You will learn ways to hold the pen as well as how to control movement, speed, pressure and spacing. You will build on your vocabulary by making your own unconventional tools, beginning with a "Cola" pen, a handmade dip pen/nib, and then you will transform found objects into drawing tools that you will use with ink. "Found" tools will include sticks, twigs, cotton swabs, fingers, toothpicks, dried plant material, bamboo skewers, string, seedpods, feathers and wire. Surfaces to work on will include: Mylar, Stonehenge, tracing and rice paper. The workshop includes demonstrations and hands-on practice. 
Jul 29 - 31 Friday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $295.00 (18 hrs) (materials included)

 

Mixed Media: Creating Backgrounds (MMED w152)

The focus of this workshop is on making a variety of surfaces that can be used for drawings or paintings, or as works of art on their own. You will learn how to create backgrounds using a variety of mixed-media techniques with resists, washes, gesso veils, ink runs, rust printing, stamping, folding, crumpling, rubbing, burning and waxing. You will use new and found surfaces to work on, such as Mylar, Yupo, watercolour, printmaking, rice, and tracing papers. The workshop includes demonstrations and hands-on practice. This workshop will give you a compilation of ideas and approaches to use in drawing, painting or collage work. All materials are included but you are encouraged to bring an assortment of surfaces to work on, such as cardboard, book pages, commercial papers, plastic and newspaper. 
Aug 12 - 14 Friday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $295.00 (18 hrs) (materials included)

WORKSHOPS

Sketch book development workshops I will be teaching at VISA.

I will  be teaching this one-day workshop at the Vancouver Island School of Art [VISA] located in Victoria, BC Canada.

Sketchbook Development gives a series of fast-paced exercises to get you comfortable and working in your sketchbook. A wide range of ideas, materials and techniques will be explored in your sketchbook. Backgrounds, mark making explorations, sketching, drawing and writing will also be covered. You will leave this workshop inspired to make sketchbook work part of a daily practice. No experience necessary. Book through VISA.
Sunday March  20, 2016  10am - 5pm

Click on first thumbnail below to view larger images in a slideshow.

WORKSHOPS

Teaching 3 workshops.

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching the following three workshops at the Vancouver Island School of Art [VISA]

All of the links below will take you directly to the website for the  Vancouver Island School of Art.

VANCOUVER ISLAND SCHOOL OF ART

The Vancouver Island School of Art is a learning community dedicated to the advancement of art education through comprehensive programs and presentations for adults of all ages. The focus of the courses and workshops offered by the school is on technique, personal expression and contemporary context.

 

Drawing: Creating Marks Through Actions (DRWG w103)

This two-day workshop focuses on unconventional ways of creating marks. The first day involves creating a collection of marks on paper using traditional tools including pen, ink and graphite, as well as more unconventional ones such as an awl, smoke, needle, thread, hammer and nail. A range of movements and actions will be explored: puncturing, smoking, burning, rubbing, cutting and sewing, etc. You will make a book and a collage from mark-making explorations on the second day. Design and composition will be covered along with a demonstration on different methods of adhering collage materials. This workshop is ideal for those looking to expand their mark-making vocabulary and create unique surfaces with inventive marks. No experience necessary. 
Oct 3 & 4 Sat & Sun, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $235.00 (12 hrs) (materials included)

ACTIONS: Fumage [Smoking] , Drawing, Erasing, Punching, Puncturing,Piercing, Staining, Burning, Scorching, Folding, Cutting, Ripping, Stitching, Crumpling, Layering, Frottage [Rubbing]  TOOLS: Candle smoke, Pen, Brush and Ink, Pencil, Eraser, Hammer and Nail, Push Pins, Punch, Tea and Coffee Stain, Incense, Blades, Needle and Thread...

All artwork below is by Jill Ehlert


 

Sketchbook Development (DRWG w132-6)

The focus of this class is to give a series of fast paced exercises to get you comfortable and working in your sketchbook. A wide range of ideas, materials and techniques will be explored in your sketchbook to get you started; they are designed to keep you going back to your sketchbook. Backgrounds, techniques, mark making explorations, sketching, drawing, writing, etc. will be explored. You will leave this workshop inspired to make sketchbook work part of a daily practice. No experience necessary. 
Nov 8 Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $135.00 (6 hrs) (materials included)

All artwork below is by Jill Ehlert


 

Drawing: Collecting, Observing, Exploring (DRWG w137-12)

This workshop concentrates on ways of looking and working. You will take a walk in the VISA garden and collect objects with lines, texture, pattern and shapes. Back in the classroom, you will study these sources of inspiration to extract information and interpret what you see through mark making. The focus of this workshop is to explore new ways to respond to your “collections” and to discover their essences rather than a direct representation. There will be an exploration into materials, techniques and mark making through sketching, drawing, painting, ink washes, stitching, mono printing, and stamping. A variety of surfaces will be provided: BFK, Stonehenge, Kraft, tracing paper, newspapers, tissue paper, etc. This workshop will provide a great way to get new ideas for drawing, painting and other forms of design. No experience necessary. 
Nov 21 & 22 Sat & Sun, 10am - 5pm
Jill Ehlert 
Tuition: $235.00 (12 hrs) (materials included

All artwork below is by Jill Ehlert


 


NEW SERIES

Exploring and experimentation.

My source of inspiration for my next series - tidal pools and those fabulous sea weed clusters that are all tangled and knotted up. I took the photographs at Tofino's Tonquin Beach Park.

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I am just in the beginning stages for this new body of work; exploring and experimenting in the studio with different approaches. Below are different stages of the work.

Sketchbook drawings

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Small studies

The two images below are Stages I and II. They are backgrounds I am preparing for the tangled clusters work. I plan to subdue these pieces a bit more, adding in more areas of white. I will draw intricate pattern with pen and ink, similar to the two pieces above.