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Making his Mark
When it came to questions, I asked what kind of pen
and paper he used, hoping that if I used the same materials I might
stand a chance of producing similar drawings. To my surprise he
said that he used layout paper for his pen and ink artwork; I assumed
the professionals must always use something permanent and expensive,
like Bristol Board, which I couldn't afford as a student, and which
I didn't much like when I did get a chance to use it.
I enthusiastically tried his method of using inky
fingerprints to animate a drawing, but it looks mannered in my work,
rather than spontaneous as it is in his.
I've just done some digging of my own in the attic
and found a student sketchbook from that time and it's striking
how much influence Ambrus had on my work. But trying to copy the
way an artist makes his marks doesn't give you his drawing skills!
Time Team has just run a competition in which
the prize was to dig a trench with Phil Harding
(top, second from the left, wearing the hat) . If it had
been a competition to draw along with Victor and pick up some tips
on his watercolour technique, I'd have been there!
Hope they give him his own series.
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