Drawing on Dylan at Dylathon. Part of The Big Draw

I have been drawing at The Dylathon all day yesterday and am about to go for the second day today. Here are some of the drawings from backstage so far.

DRAWING ON DYLAN, PART OF DYLATHON AND BIG DRAW EVENTS. JOIN IN!

From Oct 26-27th Zoe James-Williams will create a visual diary of the Dylathon in Swansea Grand Theatre by taking people on a drawing journal though the event with her drawings, words and photos that she will put on social media in real time.
People are invited to join and follow Zoe through social media at the event celebrating Dylan as she Instagrams her visual commentary. All are welcome to join in a celebration of Dylan Thomas in his centenary by adding their own Dylan inspires words and drawings to Zoe's journal. 'Our world' the theme of The Big Draw is an unique opportunity for Zoe to share a glimse behind the scenes through her drawing and inspire others to share the inspiring words of Dylan Thomas. Performed by a cast of hundreds of participants drawn from the worlds of theatre and film including Sir Ian Mckellan, Jonathon Pryce, Sian Phillips and Katherine Jenkins, it is a drawing event not to be missed!
Zoe will be putting her drawings on into her
Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zoe-James-Williams/162461306404
Instagram http://instagram.com/zoejameswilliams
Twitter https://twitter.com/ZoeArtist
Tumblr https://www.tumblr.com/blog/zoejameswilliams
Please join in my Drawing on Dylan Event.
This is part of TheBigDraw. Be Inspired!
www.zoejameswilliams.com
www.bigdraw.org

Carmen-Yuanyuan Tan

Fabulous performance of Carmen, not so sure about the singer!!

Rembrandt, His Late Works at The National Gallery, London until January

One of my favourite all time works of art is surprisingly a simple brown ink drawing of a sleeping woman by Rembrandt. Imagine my delight that it is one of the pieces to be shown in the latest must see exhibition in The National Gallery. Rembrandt, The Late Works spotlight a delightful mix of his paintings, drawings and prints. 
Only a master of his craft can make something look this effortlessly beautiful. The drawing flows like a symphony and satisfies like a lullaby. If you go please don't miss this simple of sketches. Sometimes its the simplest things that can give the most satisfaction.



Rembrandt’s later years were turbulent and marked with controversy, but they also produced some of his most soulful, deeply moving and strikingly modern works.Having already suffered the early loss of his wife and three of their children, Rembrandt’s later years were burdened with bankruptcy, acrimonious legal proceedings with a former lover, and the loss of his common-law wife and only remaining son. However, far from diminishing as he aged, Rembrandt’s creativity gathered new energy.

From the 1650s until his death in 1669, Rembrandt pursued an artistic style that was expressive and radical. His bold manipulation of printing and painting techniques and progressive interpretations of traditional subjects inspired generations of artists, earning him a reputation as the greatest master of the Dutch Golden Age.

Through famous masterpieces and rare drawings and prints, ‘The Late Works’ examines the themes that preoccupied Rembrandt as he grew older: self-scrutiny, experimentation, light, observation of everyday life and even other artists’ works; as well as expressions of intimacy, contemplation, conflict and reconciliation. 

“Even three-and-a-half centuries after his death, Rembrandt continues to astonish and amaze. His technical inventions, and his profound insight into human emotions, are as fresh and relevant today as they were in the 17th century.”

‘Rembrandt: The Late Works’, organised by the National Gallery, London and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, offers you an opportunity to experience the passion, emotion and innovation of the great master.

If you want to see an interesting documentary go to iplayer for a passionate interpretation of his late works. Schama On Rembrandt

Tonal Lesson on brown paperwith Winslow Homer

For this weeks lesson the students painted a tonal exercise on brown paper using one of Winslow Homer's tonal sketches. Normal brown paper was used which was taped onto a board. Of course it wrinkles so they had to be careful not to use too much water but as an excercise worked very well.

Great contrasts and simplification of form. Also lots of artistic license with the original which looked great!! If you look at some of the classes work below and then look at an actual boat scene it doesn't seem so complicated to paint does it?

One of the students paintings with the original print of the Winslow Homer above. Some as you can see were using artistic license adding a moon, clouds and dashes of colour to great effect.

Iana Salenko, Prima Ballerina, Rehearsing for Le Corsaire

Rehearsing for Le Corsaire with Iana Salenko.

 Iana is a guest Prima Ballerina for Royal Ballet and Principal Ballerina with The Berlin State Ballet. She also starred in The Baileys ballet advert and is married to Principal ballet dancer Marion Walter.

Their  official website is Iana Salenko and Marion Walter or follow Iana on twitter on@ianasalenko

World Ballet Day: The Bolshoi, Royal Ballet, Australian, San Francisco and Canada

 October 1st was the first official World Ballet Day. 24 hours of ballet behind the scenes from five of the leading ballet companies, Australian, Bolshoi, Royal Ballet, Canada and San Francisco. Below is a link to the full four hours of the Bolshoi segment. Absolutely fascinating and a real privilege to have this sort of access. A huge success and wonderful to make ballet so much more accessible to everyone. Bravo!

Full class from Royal Ballet. A pity they didn't allow the full four hours to be repeated but still fascinating.

San Francisco , the full 4 hours. This was fascinating I especially enjoyed the rehearsal of Raku, which I have never seen before and thought was beautiful.

Highlights from Australia Ballet

Australian Ballet Link to World Ballet Day

Sorry I couldn't find Canada but will add if they upload highlights. Enjoy!!

Xander Parish, Starlit Lovers Series 1

 Xander Parish performing in Romeo and Juliet in The Royal Opera House
This is first of a series and I wanted to capture Xander and Viktoria's beautiful chemisty as they first fall in love as Romeo and Juliet. I used a limited palette to create the twilight effect with a blush for the skin tones.

#Starcrossedlovers series no.1 #romeoandjuliet #ballet #xanderparish #ViktoriaTereshkina #Mariinsky #Watercolor #pastels #charcoal #drawing #thebigdraw
Copyright Zoe James-Williams
Check out Xander Parish Website for up to date information on his dancing schedule. Also you can read a great interview in The Telegraph  Xander gave about becoming the the first British Dancer to be invited to enjoy The Mariinsky Ballet Company in St Petersburg.  
You can also follow him on twitter @xanderparish