As you may know my specialism is drawing and printmaking. Not only can the processes be extremely relaxing but, I find solace in the routine of  process at times when other projects are becoming challenging. I have found that this frees my mind to work through other projects and  I am beginning to find themes or links in the subject matter of these 'Solace' works but they do not necessarily fit in with my more conceptual works, and there are times, I think due to my Artist training, that I view the results as a kind of guilty pleasure.

The resulting works have proved to be a bit of a conundrum for me  but I can't seem to stop making them, rather like revisiting the biscuit tin! It seems that there are things in the world that I find fascinating due to their sheer beauty, this perceived beauty increases when I commit the images to paper.  The slight problem is that I just haven't worked out where they fit in my portfolio. however, I  find myself beginning to return to some of the theories I researched during my degree on the role of drawing in contemporary practice and have decided to continue mining this creative vein to see where it leads me.

 I thought I would let the world (or Somerset) give me a bit of feed back so  I decided to enter  in to the Royal Bath and West Art Exhibition and have just been told 2 have been selected!  I have included one below which I call 'Patience' and was inspired by the cormorants on Cheddar Reservoir.

©Andrea Oke 'Patience' Pastel