Jonathan Farr Drawings

sketchbook pages

2011-10-23T12:57:00.001-07:00

some more sketchbook oages of demonstrations against the Tory/Lib dem cuts, Thames river and leigh woods trees

pages from Sketchbooks from 2010 and 2011

2011-10-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

These are some pages fom sketchbooks from the past year since I have been drawing at the Prince's drawing school in London. The year has been good in that I have been with people who are interested in drawing and been forced to draw every day even if I don't feel at all like it. I think my drawing might have got better. Or maybe I have become more aware of how I could get better and what is missing in my drawing, or how badly I draw a lot of the time.

"HEADS" Exhibition at the Emporium, Stokes Croft August 2010

2010-08-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from an exhibition I made in the Emporium, Stokes Croft Bristol last week. I exhibited the drawings of 56 heads which I'd been drawing on and off for three months, some charcoal drawings from last year, a cardboard sculpture based on the 56 head drawings made in the Emporium, a painted head on the wall and a poem written by my friend Mike Powell in response to the head drawings.
I wish I'd had more time to make the sculpture more extensive but I felt very excited by making this head sculpture as I let go of any worries about making something that looked in any way beautiful or "well made" and decided to make the way the sculpture was made very much part of its appearance, so the masking tape, dripping pva glue, cardboard and support angles were all exposed and I painted quite randomly with a big brush so a lot of cardboard was left unpainted.
The Emporium is such a good space to be able to try out large scale work and it then gives you ideas for future work.
Here are some photos of the opening night too. Baba Yaga's Consort, Liam Dalrymple and my band Dogface Sockets were all going to play but we ended up just having a jam and that was much more relaxing and fun than all getting up and doing performances.

"HEADS" Exhibition at the Emporium, Stokes Croft August 2010

2010-08-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

2010-08-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

"HEADS" Exhibition at the Emporium, Stokes Croft August 2010

2010-08-20T04:24:00.000-07:00

moo cows

2010-06-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

A drawing of cows in the Pyreness above Rita and Danilos house. Its one of my favourite places in the world. Maybe it is my favourite place in the world.

more sketchbook pages

2010-06-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

These are some more pages from a sketchbook. Drawing of Hector and Gustavo in January 2010 and drawings of London from 2007 to 2010

Gower peninsula March 2010

2010-06-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

I went with Hal from my studio to the Gower peninsula in March 2010. we were a bit unlucky with the weather as it rained a lot and my paper fell apart nearly. This wreck of a boat was interesting sunk in the sand.

pages from sketchbook drawings of chacahua new year 09-10

2010-06-12T10:49:00.001-07:00

These are drawings in my sketchbook done over New year 2010 when I went to chacahua in Mexico on the Oaxacan coast with Gustavo, Monica, Adan the viking and Tomas.

Heads, work in progress

2010-06-10T02:23:00.000-07:00

I've been drawing heads for the past two months. I got partly inspired by seeing Henry Moores drawings of heads in the Tate Britain in April. I chose a head as a thing that is very recognisable and sometimes alive and sometimes dead, so it can be a character or it can be an object and it can be an animal or human and can embody energy, thoughts and emotions and associations. I think very knottily sometimes and so I think a lot of these heads are in a way self portraits of how I feel the "inside" of my head can be. I think some of these heads have the same feeling some of my songs have which I play with Mini in Dogface Sockets. A sense of animal/human ness. And I think a lot of the heads are ideas for sculptures. I've applied to the Emporium gallery, a really good space on Stokes Croft which is a squat gallery which people can apply to to use in any kind of creative way they want. I'm going to do more head drawings, frame them and make some head paintings and head sculptures and hopefully exhibit them all there.

Drawing workshops june, july, august

2010-06-10T01:54:00.001-07:00

I really have been very very very bad indeed at maintaining this blog.
It's supposed to be a regular update of my drawings and stuff.
I've been doing drawing workshops with my friend Mike Powell for various groups of people in and around Stokes Croft and St. Pauls in Bristol. This started from drawing in the street in Stokes Croft last year and applying to the Bristol Arts council for funding to run workshops for people who might not have so much chance to draw or might think they can't draw. The basic idea of the workshops is that anyone can draw, its a decision you make. If you decided to do something enough you then practise it and start to get involved in it and develop your skills and interest. there aren't any rules for drawing. So we started about three weeks ago and are doing the workshops until the end of August. We want to play drawing games, get people drawing outside, using different drawing materials and coming up with innovative ways to use them, drawing and developing themes, and ultimately enjoying drawing. We intend to have a group exhibition of work chosen by the students at the end of the project so everyone can hang out in one space meet each other and enjoy each others work.We are running workshops in the Big issue office for vendors of the magazine, kids n St Pauls in the Full Circle room and Somalian adults and teachers in Amana St.Pauls. we are also running a drop in drawing session for the general public in the Emporium every Saturday at 12pm til 2pm.

stokes croft mural in progress

2009-05-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

2009-05-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

this is a mural I painted last week. I was going to do rooftops and cats and then Richard who lives in the Sheltered housing down the road came along and joined in. His way of painting buildings gave the whole thing a different feel and it really took off. We still have to put some colour in the buildings here and there and I want to paint in birds above. I was a bit sad to have to apint over the mural there before ours. It was very well painted but quite hardcore and local residents complained so Chris Chalkley asked me to paint something a bit more "friendly".

stokes croft bristol

2009-03-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

this is the street where I have a studio space at the moment. Lots of people came and talked to me during the few days I drew there. I love the way drawing breaks down social barriers. In a way I feel protected by the activity of drawing in the street. I lose my fear of people, it gives me a reason to be there and is a thing to generate interest. All sorts stopped and talked. I really enjoyed doing it just because of that. I would never be able to talk to so many different people. They were all very interested in the drawing.

2009-01-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

This is my shoe. I like the way you get some trainers and they look like horrible new car fittings with plastic seats and car linings and then after months of wearing them they become much more like part of you, like tough skin and old furniture.

2008-12-21T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is my dad in a field near Cholsey in August 2006. Its drawn with black and red biro

2008-12-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

This is a drawing of my accountant Fernando in Mexico city. he's such a gentle friendly man and his appearance is very striking. He wears big chunky rings on his fingers, medallions, a leather waistcoat and his office is packed all over the walls with angels, dragons, Jesus'...even his bathroom is full of baroque statues. I drew him a few times last year. i'd like to paint a big portrait of him.

2008-12-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

I think I drew this on a bus or in the town Cuetzalan in the state of Puebla, Mexico last end of December 2007. It's of sarah reading which is what she does a lot of the time.

scarba and jura

2008-12-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

I drew this with ink on the side of a hill overlooking Scarba and Jura on the west coast of Scotland in July 2006. Matt a friend of my little sister Rebecca commisioned me to do it for some lady he knew. Matt had big incredibly waterproof walking boots from Oban on and Rebecca had just been accepted to do an MA at Reading Uni. I hadn't been to scotland in 11 years and it was so good to be back there. Scotland is one of the most beautiful places in the world I think

From Beto's roof, centro historico (wash)

2006-09-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Drawing made with brush and chinese ink wash from my friend Beto's roof in the centre of Mexico city last December. 2 metres x 90 cm approx.

desde casa de paulina (Mexico City)

2006-08-14T02:33:00.000-07:00

Views of Mexico City. (2006)
Pen and ink wash on paper.
Drawn from the roof of Paulina's apartment, La Condesa
2 meters wide

Centro Historico from Beto's.
150cm x 90cm

Salto del Agua . 2metres x 90cm

Santa Maria, Barcelona

2006-08-14T02:26:00.000-07:00

A drawing inside the church of Santa Maria, Barcelona. Charcoal on paper. A4 size