Study visits - Touch. Maggi Hambling at the British Museum

I've had a few days off this week so I've taken myself on some study visits. Today I went to the British Museum to see Maggi Hambling's drawings in the exhibition Touch. There are a few images here to give you a flavour of the exhibition. I confess that I knew already that I love Hambling's work so I'm predisposed to be positive.

I think that her drawings of people are more successful than her sea drawings but I guess the sea drawings are preparatory works for her paintings which are brilliant but for me the drawings don't work as pieces in their own right.

She makes many lines and marks to form a drawing as she feels her way around the shape of her subject but somehow she also manages to have an economical use of line to actually define the image. It appears that she works very fast which makes her drawings lively and energetic. Her drawings from memory are impressive and included a bull fight and her former tutor. She must have a fantastic visual memory.

I copied a few drawings in my sketch book to get the feel of them. I was particularly interested in Tory looking down which has many light lines across her face. In my hands this would make her look aged and tired but Hambling has drawn a soft feminine portrait. I can't find an online reference and my copy really doesn't do the drawing justice, go see for yourself if you are in London.