Louisa Crispin

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  • Home
  • About
  • Flora
    • Botanical
    • From The Collection
  • Fauna
    • FlightPath
    • Bee Studies
    • Butterflies Moths Dragonflies
  • Buy
    • Full Catalogue
    • Shop Bees
    • Shop FP Sculptures
    • Shop FP minis
    • Shop Glimpse exhibition catalog
    • Kevis House Gallery
    • West End House Gallery
    • John Davies Gallery
    • NewArt Gallery
    • Muse Gallery
    • Rye Art Gallery
  • News
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Interviews and process videos
    • CountryLiving article
    • Studio Blog
    • FP Community Project
    • Nature Blog
  • Links

Studio blog

Are all Butterfly Equal?

30/3/2022

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Pieris rapae (Small White) butterfly specimen from an inherited collection box
I confess I was a little disappointed when I received my book "The Complete British Butterflies in Colour" 

I'm not sure I can fully explain why I didn't want to draw butterflies for this project. Too big, too showy or maybe just too pretty? 
I have plenty of butterfly specimen in my studio and they are lovely to draw. So maybe it was simply the reference to "colour"? Their lack of spiky or stingy bits or just that they are not controversial and I didn't feel there was a message to share?

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Lets back track ...

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An Artist Residency - Brisons Veor

29/3/2022

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Cape Cornwall view out to sea at sunset
Originally scheduled for March 2020, through multiple Covid postponements, Felicity Flutter and I finally reached Brisons Veor on the 19th March 2022 in beautiful sunshine but strong gusty winds.

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The draw of Daddy Long Legs

23/1/2022

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I'm ever so slightly obsessed with Daddy Long Legs this month!

For 2022 I am expanding my explorations into "Pests". All too often "pest eradication" sites pop up when you try to find out more about many of the insects in our gardens and I am concerned that it is all too easy to be drawn into the chemical solutions presented before we can even be sure there is a problem to solve. My research into Wasps began with the realisation that Wasps were despised where Bees were accepted and yet they are such important creatures in the ecosystem. Now my sights are firmly settled on Cranefly: 

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Fifty Bees 5 - Bee 225 Halictus maculatus

5/1/2022

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The numbers don't tell the whole story.

I've been searching the internet to find out more about this solitary bee but the information seems limited. First recorded around the 1850s, apparently it has not been documented in Britain since 1930 so it is now presumed extinct here. 

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#flightpathcommunityproject

26/10/2021

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Information about the initial #flightpathcommunityproject exhibition taking place at Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks from 22-27 November 2021.

For further background information and how to take part, click the link at the foot of this post.
Join the mailing list

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GLIMPSE - solo show and residency

30/5/2021

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“My work focuses on drawing nature and exploring the properties of graphite, with an interest in gently educating people to look closer” ... Louisa Crispin

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Community Project - FlightPath

18/5/2021

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For several years now my work has focused on Nature Corridors.

​If you would like to "bee" involved in a Great Big Wildlife Corridor - read on for more information and a PROJECT UPDATE (280821)

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Open Press Project Print Exchange

27/4/2021

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I am delighted to have been selected for the Open Press Project print exchange pilot project. It involves printing an edition of 10 prints using the mini press I purchased through their Kickstarter website. 9 of the 7x7 prints will be exchanged with other participating artists and one will remain in the Open Press Project collection.

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More more than - the making of intrusion

17/4/2021

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Following the success of the SVAF More Than project, we decided to do it again: "More more than". The focus this time was: 'what it means to be finished' and I was sent 2 unfinished original prints by Chérie Lubbock in return for some uneditioned print experiments from my collection.

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Restriction

1/3/2021

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23 March - 6 April
Curated by Amanda Lynch in association with Correspondence Collective and Clayhill Arts
Initially drawn with explosive mark-making techniques on large sheets of paper, the cutting and folding process creates unexpected compositions, glimpses of textured surfaces that draw you in. As the piece grows it becomes a sculptural entity with endless possibilities for display.
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More Than - the making of comfort

5/2/2021

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The work in this on-line SVAF exhibition was completed between October 2020 and January 2021. It’s unusual premise was to make a new work from an unfinished piece donated by another artist. The idea was proposed by Franny Swann who made this work from a print of circles passed to her by Christina France.
​SVAF has always challenged my perception of art and I fully expected to be out of my comfort zone with this project but 2020 has left me keen to try new things. Signing up for a "blind date", I was intrigued to receive Canvas and Colour from Maria Turner - I suspect some mischief in the selection. Both are definitely new but I had been considering fabric as a substrate so this was the perfect chance to practice.
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Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project

23/1/2021

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"To see inside The Sketchbook Project, to really see it, is to see a one of a kind, unique archive. A glimpse into what people are thinking. What creative people have to say. A place like no other. A global institution".... Steven Peterman, Founder and Managing Director
The Sketchbook Project has been on my radar for many years and I was lucky to see a selection of books at the Other Art Fair in London. If you have been following me for a while you will realise that I am keen to continue to develop my drawing. Sometimes this takes me on a little sideloop but it always adds to my knowledge and experience.

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One of Many Postcard

13/1/2021

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​Not quite a postcard!

In 2019 I joined a Kickstarter Campaign to support the creation of a mini 3D press through the Open Press Project. Long story short, it finally arrived in October and I had a wonderful day in the studio printing a pile of mini bees from etching plates made years ago. Perfect timing to join in with the November edition of #oneofmanypostcard - an initiative organised by John Pedder on Instagram.

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Glimpse

30/9/2020

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In lieu of two postponed residencies this summer I gave myself permission to play with the graphite and created some artist books. This is a short video of the first.
Graphite is such a tactile material which needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. There are subtle nuances of colour and texture. The surface can be burnished to an almost mirror shine or applied gently as silk, a soft smoky sheen. Hidden marks create layers, a history, and trick the eye with connections to real objects, ancient landscapes or city skylines. Replicating the ripples of a tossed stone, the jagged edge of broken glass, trees whispering in the forest - listen : follow with your eyes and you will hear sounds and feel my world.

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Three Contrasts

17/7/2020

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For further information and a printed catalog (£15) link here to John Davies Gallery
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At the Edge - Brisons Veor

5/8/2018

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Imagine, six days at the edge of the land with permission to immerse yourself completely in art. No phone, no internet, just the vast Atlantic ocean outside your window.
This is the promise that comes with a residency at Brisons Veor, a studio set up to enable professional artists to spend a focused period of time developing their work. Its purpose is to provide accommodation and work-space to selected practitioners in need of assistance and who are making a significant contribution in the creative arts sector. Located on the westernmost edge of Cornwall (Cape Cornwall), Brisons Veor provides a dedicated live-work space for self-funded residencies of between one to four weeks.
In mid-April I travelled to Brisons Veor for a week with ​Leila Godden.

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Fifty Bees - bee63 Andrena varians

1/5/2018

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Amongst the Thorns
Graphite and pastel on bristol board
Andrena varians, aka The Blackthorn Mining Bee
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For the second round of FiftyBees I was allocated Andrena varians, aka the Blackthorn Mining Bee. There are substantial areas of blackthorn on the South Downs and a lovely walk between Lewes and Ringmer where they are often found by bee specialists. But this is January and I really need to find inspiration more locally.
Research taught me how to tell the difference between Blackthorn and Hawthorn. In spring the Blackthorn flowers earliest and before the leaves emerge, Hawthorn is later at the same time as the leaves. So a long walk around muddy footpaths and I found a Blackthorn bush (only to return home and find we had planted one amongst our Hawthorn hedge!)


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The #Wasps

5/3/2017

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It's hard to know when an idea first germinates, what makes it grow and why it suddenly needs to flourish.
The Wasps came to a head last summer when we had a huge nest in our loft and we began to find dead ones laying around the house (and a huge number of live ones too!)
They found a way down next to the chimney and, once the pheromone path was set, it became part of their daily flight path. We ducked as they shot across the room to the window, waiting patiently until we released them. Evenings were spent listening to incessant buzzing, a fatal attraction to the lights. And so the collection grew.

During the drawing there is a need to learn more. Did you know that wasps eat spiders? they clear the detritus from our gardens? they pollinated the raspberries last year? The fluffy bee has a wonderful reputation, it's time someone championed the wasp.
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The #DailyBee

1/11/2016

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In 2014 a Bufftail Bumble Bee Queen made a nest in our loft space and I spent a fascinating summer watching the family foraging my garden. After a few months we noticed extra activity as the young males waited for the new queens to emerge and the next generation was on it's way. Bumble Bees do not live a long life and I often found specimens dotted about the garden.
Drawing them was so obvious but I didn't expect it to turn out quite the way it has. There are many days when I am unable to spend much time in the studio, but for an artist it is important to draw regularly. Although detailed and multilayered, I found drawing a bee to be just the right amount of time and so it began. Posting phonesnaps of the finished bees on Social Media gave me additional encouragement, as did the number of people asking to buy one! 
I do not draw a bee every day, I'm not that disciplined, but they are there for me when needed. It has been fascinating to see how they have changed, how drawing them every day for a period of time has made me look for interesting angles and deeper at the way they are constructed.
Here is a small selection.  If you want to see them all, have a look at my facebook,  twitter or instagram photos - try searching for "#DailyBee"
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#Concerto - a collaboration of starlings

30/6/2015

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Nightfall Magic
Ash blackened form   Piercing eyes
Sinister elegance   Scouring the earth
The light turns     Rays hit the wraith
Shimmering splendour     Changeling filled sky
Diving, weaving, blending     A million wraiths as one
Fearsome, awe inspiring     A natural wonder
Dusk falls     The wraith descends
Merging with the woods     Disappearing as one
Again, all is ash black
A Twitter collaboration of Photography, Art and Poetry
Chaz E. Arnold   @PaigntonPoet
Reuben Howes   @RDHPhotos
Louisa Crispin   @Louisa_Crispin
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The Hut at the Top of the Garden

30/6/2014

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​The old shed was being held up by the ivy and needed replacing, it was here and falling apart when Robin first moved in. All the plants have been moved and seem to have survived. The ideal spot for my flatpack studio.

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Louisa Crispin

Oak Cottage, Talbot Road, 
​
Hawkhurst Kent TN18 4LU
01580 752139 / ​07708 148413
louisacrispin@gmail.com

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