Mary Erle's Commonplace Book

Seeing this news article got me excited to see that the Royal Academy is still doing well and is thriving. I love to hear about new artists and the stories that inspire their artwork. As an artist as well I make sure to root all of my work into what is currently going on in my life or about my past and how it has made me the person that I am. This specific news article is talking about paintings that are of historical female figures. The figures in this painting are being critiqued even when they call themselves a “princess”. As an artist I see the importance of telling stories through my…

This lovely painting reminds me of young Jimmie and I. The young boy is oblivious to his sister's feelings and is looking carelessly at the ground while the older sister is trying to direct the two of them with fear in her eyes. I did not want his innocence to be taken away from him so I would not allow him to see the pain that I went through for him. Through my toughest times even though so much was changing all around me there was one thing that was constant-- family. Jimmie was my only family. He was always there for me and he was my biggest supporter. The artist of this painting paid…

I created this sketch earlier of the “Ford Shelley Memorial” sculpture that I saw earlier today by Gordon onslow. Its beauty struck me so much that I scrambled to find my sketchbook. The sculpture looks beautiful but also reminds me of a painful time in my life. At that time, I thought that I had everything planned out, but soon everything came crashing down. I chose this piece because of how awfully exhausted the two characters in the sculpture look. Like them I was exhausted of work, exhausted of the same routine, and exhausted of people. When I was not working tirelessly on the…