The power of drawing

This lovely drawing is by Jehan (John) Daly, whose biography and some other intriguing artist's studio drawings I found on the Liss Llewellyn Fine Art website.  Daly was a close friend of John Stanton Ward, but for me he also links two artists I admire:  Gilbert Spencer, who taught  (or rather allowed him to follow his own path) at the Royal College of Art, and John Sergeant, another Welsh artist and masterly draughtsman.

Bathroom at Erdigg  John Sergeant  1987

National Trust Collection

[Footnote:  James Russell has recently highlighted Fay Ballard's quiet drawings in his blog,  which you may also enjoy.]

Ravilious in Dulwich

I finally got down to Dulwich Gallery to see James Russell's Ravilious exhibition.  What a magical, sparkling feast!  Like two more of my favourite artists, Sickert and Freud,  Ravilious subtly manipulates the viewer, with more than a touch of Magritte;   inanimate objects meticulously observed are poised to take on a life of their own, in other paintings you feel someone has just slipped out of sight.

Here are just three where odd details drew me in, but nothing can compare with seeing the masterly brushwork and design of the watercolours themselves.

Convoy passing an island  1941    The British Council

Prospect from an Attic c. 1932
Scarborough Museums and Gallery

Wet Afternoon  1938      
Dulwich Art Gallery 

 And in the last room, the dark seas of his 1940s Arctic Circle paintings unexpectedly brought to mind Georges de La Tour.

HMS Glorious in the Arctic 1940
© Imperial War Museum