I am surrounded by a flood: of paper! animals, birds and sea-creatures gather around me and I am drawing, drawing, drawing as I plan what Noah’s animals should look like and how they will be created for the Cheltenham Festival production of Britten’s opera of Noye’s Fludde.
It is likely that I will need to spend some time in Cheltenham to oversee the painting of the animals, which I hope will speed things up and also make them more consistent.
Here you can see work in progress. For some time I was considering birds and animals created with collage like effects. But it was too time-consuming and I felt the results were a bit rigid.
So now I am using paint, ink, pastels and graphite sticks… anything for speed.
The oak leaf motif is intended for the sides of the ark. The sea monster is taken from a medieval image. Both resonate with imagery in Tewkesbury Abbey where Britten’s opera will be performed. Likewise, the birds and beasts will be heraldic to create a pageant of God’s creations seeking refuge.
Enough! I must draw more!
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