So many things going on, I seem to have let my blog lapse a bit this Summer. Here are some of the sketches I've done at various poetry events. Below them is a slideshow with captions so you can see who's who if you wish.





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While I have been told I am an expressive reader, and that I am 'really a performance poet,' I think I entered the realm of Performance Poetry more completely than ever before last Thursday night.

A couple of stills from my feature at the fabulous and wicked The Beautiful and The Damned, a monthly poetry event in Toronto, currently at Q Space and hosted this month by Lizzie Violet. A great evening. Many talented, brilliant poets, and singers featured and on open mic. And really, I was totally scared to do this piece, masqued and all, but it went ok, and I didn't even flub the lines! Whew. Shhhh... don't tell anyone, but I had my eyes closed mostly throughout 'A Floral Opera' and so was able to recite my poem without the performance anxiety that usually makes me forget my hard-memorized lines.

Like I had 'ravishing light' memorized, but ran into the audience's eyes, and had to resort to the written version, and also with 'Palmistry, a Psalm,' same thing. At home on my own, I can recite from beginning to end without a hitch. So I guess I have performance anxiety. A friend suggested I wear a half mask for readings so I can keep my eyes closed without the audience knowing! Haha! No, I won't. Rather, I think I need to keep pushing my own envelope, keep trying, and eventually I'll break through to a comfort level where I can recite what I have worked so hard to memorize.



I worked on this one a bit in Photoshop for a potential profile photo (which I used on Facebook).
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Yeah, well, you know what show. I found too much realism creeping in, so left him raw and obscured her. There will be a turquoise sky and light grey under her and a poem or words written into this one.

Sketch (unfinished), 12" x 16", charcoal and pastels on Canson 98lb pastel paper, drawn while pausing the TV show, True Blood, for 10-15 min.


Orange is the New Black, Drawing #4, 2013, Brenda Clews, 12" x 16", charcoal and pastels on Canson 98lb pastel paper. I'm going to put this one out on the street.

Drawing from the TV continues, although it drives me a bit crazy so likely I'll try to resist it. Fiddling, not trying too hard. I like to do little not-too-look-alike sketches every week and now that I've pulled back on the simple sketches at poetry readings, I guess I'm looking for something else as easy. This drawing didn't take long, just a bit messy with the graphite, charcoal, pastels and ink (which is one thing you can do at home that you can't do at a cafe unless you want to carry a suitcase of art supplies). Lol! (I have re-sized it to a smaller size since I think that looks better - ie the line of shadow on her forehead is entirely made-up and doesn't even follow the curve of the head -more like something you'd do with a pair of scissors, shadow cut down the middle).

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A short story, 'micro fiction,' that, unfortunately, I can't share due to being ripped-off too many times in the past, an image here, half a line there, even the whole concept of a piece of my writing has been stylistically and/or thematically copied without credit. Nowadays I am one less stop for those people who rove the Internet for 'far more than' inspiration. The encryption is to keep the literary trolls out.

Yeah, well, you know what show. I found too much realism creeping in, so left him raw and obscured her. There will be a turquoise sky and light grey under her and a poem or words written into this one.

Sketch (unfinished), 12" x 16", charcoal and pastels on Canson 98lb pastel paper.
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Amazing the true-to-life colour when a drawing or painting is photographed in direct sunlight. I think it's because the whole spectrum is present. Below is an earlier version taken on a cloudy day. In the final version I darkened the flesh tones with some graphite. The drawing took about 3.5 hours to do, crazy huh. Most of it while watching 3 episodes of 'Orange is the New Black,' Drawing #3 (final), 2013, Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", graphite and pastel on 130lb archival paper. No idea if it has any reference to the actual show itself, but it certainly has personal resonances.



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'Orange is the New Black' certainly is a good show for drawing, I find. :~) No idea why.

Orange is the New Black, Drawing #2 (final), 2013, Brenda Clews, 15" x 11", graphite and pastel on 130lb archival paper.
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Some pics taken at Q Space last night during my feature at The Art Bar. The first, with thanks to Jennifer Hosein for taking it, and the second a frame from a video.



"The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It is a hub for the poetry community, and an entry point for new voices."

direct link: Art Bar Feature July 23, 2013

A video taken by tripod of my poetry performance at the Art Bar on July 23, 2013. The video was taken from the side of the stage, and it was for my own reference, but I was asked to share it, and so have made it unlisted. It is raw video, an untouched performance.

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A little drawing while I was watching Netflix's new series, Orange is the New Black. There is a unintentional resemblance to Piper Chapman, the main actor in the series, as she appears in the first 3 episodes (freaked out is the word for her). Seriously, I began a landscape, drawing in some lines for bark that became her hair. Le sigh. In a little Moleskine notebook, 7.5" x 10", nice for writing and drawing and fits in my purse.___

Photo taken by Stephen Humphrey, the photographer at the Art Bar, and a writer and poet, and who does awesome CBC podcasts (his podcast, Dancing in the Dark, on bees was one of the very best I've ever listened to).

Tonight I'm featured at the Art Bar, along with the inestimable Pat Conners, and Stella Body. 8 - 10:30pm, Q Space, 382 College St Toronto.

The Art Bar is recognized as Canada's longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It is a hub for the poetry community, and an entry point for new voices.

Full Calendar: http://www.artbar.org/