Jerwood

It was June. June is about the Jerwood Drawing Prize submission. In some ways, all my drawing endeavour centres itself around this point. Every year, every June now is about the Jerwood. The first time I submitted something was in 2004, the year I graduated. I put in a life drawing, and was rejected. I didn't submit again until 2007, when my little drawing called Trio made it to the finals. Every year since, but no more finals.

It had been a crazy eight months, November to May this time, so I'm pleasantly surprised I had anything to submit to the Jerwood this year. Neither made it to the finals. They're still two of the drawings I've been most happy with recently. Hey ho.

The drawing at the top is an extension of some of my recent collage work, with collage worked on top of collage. I went out especially to buy the shade of yellow ink for the hat. It seemed to me there were many different narratives that could be placed upon that hat in this image.

I had been stuck in a corner near the end of an All the Young Nudes night, so some of the other drawers got into the second drawing. Again I was toying with exclusion in this one. And the blanket was magenta pink, not red like it is here.