Its
good to be back painting again and it seems to be time to revise
some old work. I've been keen to get using some strong colour
after all the subtle greys of the Negate series. I'm reworking
two older pastel pieces. .The originals are both quite small abstract
landscapes and I've ben thinking for a while that they would be
good on a far larger scale. This first one is complete.
I
spent a long time adding excessive amounts of paint, trying to
exactly match some colour-scheme elements of the original.
By the end, huge creases of heavily-textured oil paint had accumulated.
Normally, I'd try to minimise this and keep as flat a painted
surface as possible - but not this time. I decided to stick with
this for the next one - still ongoing.
I've
built up some areas of texture deliberately, angling the panel
next to the window to catch in the light the heaviest areas. I've
mixed oil with acrylic to produce granulated areas, added oil
to latex and even introduced a mass of natural fibres and dried
tea.
It
feels good to be deliberately messy for a change.
Finally,
on the subject of reworks, a customer in Tribe has a new
tattoo. I drew up a rose for her foot before going on holiday.
When I got back, I found out that she'd gone with a different
design, one of my other large rose paintings.
Didi's work here is great. No hard outlines and some beautiful
grey shading - it'll be fantastic when its healed.
Now
all she needs is another rose on the other foot.
_______________________________
24th
March 2008
I've
had a very busy time. I've been working on various people's sites
(including this
one for the new Diversions Film Festival), finishing this
year's portfolio, putting the final touches to the end of the
Lepris project, and finishing a load of artwork for the tattoo
shop. That also means I can get back to doing some designing for
my own skin - about time too. I had all this pretty much wrapped
up before going on a much-needed holiday.
I
was in Borovets, Bulgaria. There's not much to say other
than it was a glorious time of skiing, heavy drinking
and weird things happening for charity. A local orphanage
is in sore need of a new heating system. The resort has
many regular visitors who all stay in contact online and
they decided to try raising funds in a number of different
ways. A week of events culminated in some of them skiing
in fancy dress for the residents and Bulgarian television.
They managed to raise about £11k for the orphanage
but I think the cause's exposure was even more valuable
- "exposure" being the operative word.
Here
you can see my friend Rob getting his kilt lifted on Bulgarian
television.
One
way or the other, I'll definitely be going back. Skiing
has only ever been a very occasional novelty for me but
this recent time away has been so rewarding that I know
that I want to keep pushing myself on the slopes more
often. Either my confidence will peak or I'll end up with
a mouthful of pine-cones.
Anyway
- Lepris. The project was nearing completion to coincide with
the portfolio and it proved a real test of trying to figure out
how to present it all. I needed to draw a line under the whole
project. It was becoming a little all-consuming and distracting.
So, I took the remains of his casing and the table, took it all
up onto the roof and set fire to it. I also have a new rose plant
up there in a pot so I transferred the ashes into the recently
spray-painted receptacle. I'm still enjoying the video editing
so that made it onto film too.
So
now that's done with, I feel liberated. I'm not sure what work's
coming next but I'm looking around, taking in whatever I see and
I've started a new sketchbook. I had some time in London and took
the opportunity to see some of the latest exhibitions in the Tate
and National Gallery. I thought I'd see what grabbed me, what
might put me on a new path. Typically, it was something else that
caught my attention. I was crossing the river to the Tate Modern
in bright sunlight to see the grid pattern of the bridge beneath
my feet. I couldn't get it out of my head and the mental image
was only amplified by the crossing branches of the huge trees
in Bulgaria.
There's
something in all this repetition, something mathematical that
is demanding my attention. I've started a series of small drawings
of grids. They're very fine detail - executed with a 0.05 fineliner.
I have no idea where this is heading but I think the precision
is a reaction to all the chaotic aimlessness of Lepris.
Which
isn't to say that the Galleries weren't good. It was great
to see Alison Watt's Phantom in the flesh. The
overt serenity bothered me a little but it was very well
presented - nice to see how heavy some of the brushwork
is.
Better
still was Velazquez's Venus at Her Mirror. There
isn't a painter who can't gape in astonishment at his
portraits, but this painting hammers home the presence
of his overall skill. Considering the era in which he
worked, the loose brushwork is very daring. For me, discovering
this painting was one of those rare moments when the presence
of the original addicts me to the reproductions.
_______________________________
24th
January 2008
Well,
that was that - Lepris is no more.
Actually,
I still have his charred remains and a cracked lump of ice in
pretty bad shape - but he's "spent", as it were - no
longer capable of anything he once was. Once again, not wanting
to pre-guess any outcome, I took a lot of photographs and recorded
some video footage. The definitive "finished" work is
brewing. I can feel it even if I don't see it just yet. In the
meanwhile I've edited together some of the visual material in
the form of a short film. Its a kind of summation of Lepris so
far.
A
little background: we took Lepris out into the country - way out
of harm's way and into an area remote enough to cause minimum
disturbance to anyone or anything. However, there were some cattle
way in the distance. You'll hear them lowing in the background
of some of the audio tracks, sometimes in reverse. When we arrived,
there were some dead cattle lying bloated by the end of the country
track. Their corpses seemed to insist themselves into the project
- a little deathly counterpoint to Lepris' own demise. Anyway,
enjoy.
_______________________________
20th
December 2007
Lepris
is now getting old.
The
ice is melting, the petals are showing through, his body
is ageing and accumulating scars. Well, by that I mean that
I have had so many people scribble on his outer-casing that
he resembles a plaster-cast around a broken limb.
I've
been out and about with him, as ever. Although it has been
a pain to cart it all around and has drawn a few odd looks
from people, I've included the antique table that serves
as his plinth. It is on this table that he will meet his
end.
One
of the most shaping influences of this whole project has
been the input of other people - not just their contributed
scrawling but their reactions and suggestions. It has startled
me that some of the more "creative" people I know
seem utterly oblivious or distant to the concept whereas
others have fastened on to the idea with an enthusiasm that
has made me re-assess my own motives. Like I mentioned in
the previous entry, I have caught myself falling into familiar
patterns of attempting to control the outcome rather than
letting it become, public property.
For
example, I took Lepris to the viewing room of the Lighthouse
Gallery - they were good enough to allow me to arrange photographs.
I happened to meet an elderly gentleman from London who
was enjoying the view as much as Lepris was. When he asked
me about the project, he seemed particularly keen on the
prospect of accidental detonation in a public place. As
a blitz-survivor, his attitude to this implied violence
was very thought-out and compassionate. Consequently, he
wrote his own little philosophical contribution on Lepris'
shell.
Its
uncomfortable to think about, but I'm exploring the potential
of casual violence - or the happening of the unexpected
in a public place. Whether its a bomb, a violent act, a
loud noise, or simply inappropriate behavior, we all entertain
thoughts of the possible and outlandish. Lepris' final act
of destruction is for the object alone - it will not harm
anyone. In a way, it will be a self-absorbed act, sanitized
in its isolation, much like the death of most human beings
in the western world. And yet, Lepris' existence serves
as a reminder that he could have manifested the beautiful
and the horrific at any time - if only the ice had melted
or the fuse had been lit.
Still,
from a more practical point of view, I'm figuring out ways
of recording the project. What actually is the physical
"art" of this or is it all just exploration? Well,
aside from photographs I will (or someone else will) be
filming the final moments. I can't really see it becoming
solely a video-piece. Such works always feel a little banal
and cursory to me, relying as they so often do on the concept
alone. The sketchbook and drawings are ever present but
I'd like to mix the photographic and paper-based material
a little more.
One
thing that produced pleasing results so far are two "scans".
I used a similar technique to Paul Caponigro's Allies
series, rolling the cylinder of Lepris' casing across the
scanner bar as it moves. This produces a flat and slightly
distorted image of the exterior of the 3D object. I used
this technique once before for the peripheral material that
contributed to The Blister Exists. It has produced
a "birth scan" - Lepris at the point of completion
- as well as a final scan which shows the quotes, drawings,
etc. that people have contributed. I'll catalogue and display
these with a key that attempts to identify them all.
_______________________________
30th
November 2007
I've
been preoccupied with one thing: Lepris.
This
is the name I have given to an object - a human analogue that
is basically an explosive cylinder, approximately 40cm high with
a rose encased in ice at the top. The small sketchbook I've been
keeping - the deliberately haphazard one - has produced a series
of ideas and motifs that have firmly gelled into "Lepris".
Simply,
Lepris is an example of analogous qualities in a single
contained unit. Initially, Lepris was decorated only with
a single half-lidded eye. This is an image that has insisted
itself in the sketchbooks and intuitively feels part of
his / its identity.
I
like to think that some human dignity and /or intelligence
is represented in the frozen rose - yet the ice is so
vulnerable. It is susceptible to ageing and I suspect
that before he meets his end, Lepris' uppermost extremity
will be represented by the defrosted flower, wilted.
Countering
this vulnerability, the analogue conceals a violent quality
- a potency or volatility in his internal workings. Lepris'
interior houses a not inconsiderable quantity of gunpowder
and a system of fuses and detonators. In effect - Lepris
is a bomb.
Now,
I have a plan for Lepris and I feel it is important to
point out that he is NOT designed to harm anyone. He contains
no sharp fragments and is pretty much a giant banger.
When he reaches the end of his life-cycle, I plan to detonate
him somewhere extremely remote. I have a tricky time following
my own train of thought but I'm instinctively drawn to
the idea of him interacting with the city. He goes to
the places I go, meets the same people, "sees"
the same things, etc. I have invited the public to deface
his body; drawing and writing on his surface. Whether
it is platitudes, philosophies or graffiti, I don't really
care.
Part
of the promise of creating this substitute human is that
I have to prevent myself from getting too precious. I
should not be the master of his destiny and a certain
degree of random exposure and chance damage seems appropriate.
Of
course, Lepris ages. At every step on the way of his existence,
he gains marks and scars. The ice slowly melts and I know
that he will soon look a shadow of his former self. At
that point, he becomes a master of his own destiny and
ends his being from within.
Mechanically,
I don't know if he will go out with a bang or a whimper.
I am no seasoned builder of explosive devices and I wouldn't
be surprised if the promise of volatility is actually
an inert mass. Still, there's a human analogue in that
too. Lepris is nothing but honest.
Wherever
this project goes, the results will be intuitive. I'm
following this with my nose and heart; not trying to plan
too much out. Allowing public input into something that
smacks of "alter-ego" is exciting. Lepris reminds
me of Ernst's "Loplop Presents" - something
clearly vital to the artist's identity but somehow hidden
from the viewer.
I'm
pleased to be working with something that resonates so
personally in an uncomplicated manner. Lepris harbours
contradiction. He exhibits complexity and animal violence.
He has a public exterior and a vulnerability common to
all people yet contains an ever present potential - a
promise of violent outburst. One way or the other, he
is not the finished work. This project is producing rich
sources - plentiful lines of inquiry.
He
is a representation of being. His end is as assured as
his beginning. He'll gather the marks of his passage through
time and he'll leave only fragments of his experience
among his remains.
_______________________________
15th
November 2007
It
is so rare that one artblog entry arrives on top of another but
I'm firing on all 48 cylinders right now and there's a lot on
the go.
I've
barely had time to sit in the studio for more than 2 hours at
a stretch and my work has been confined to sketchbooks and custom
drawings for tattoo. Considering that so much recent work has
been very carefully considered and enacted from a primary source,
I have been keeping a very small tertiary sketchbook that has
been strictly given over to scrappy drawing - material that is
mundane, aggravating, highly abbreviated and not at all as observed
and controlled as the rose material has been.
It
was an experiment, a deliberately unlovely exploration of primitive
influences and interpretation. Common themes of faces, mouths,
torsos, weapons, antagonism, violence and an unnerving detached
calm have leaked onto these small pages. I am now at a stage where
the common themes and congruent intentions of other projects are
coalescing into something entirely new in my experience but, I
am told, is eerily reminiscent of some of my very earliest efforts.
Instinctively I feel this can only be a good thing. I suppose
I wouldn't mention its existence otherwise.
The
components within this image have been stamping their presence
in the little sketchbook for some time now. I took no great time
or effort in arranging the composition - the grinding of the ballpoint
pen seemed to find its own purpose.
I
have utterly rejoiced in the unexpected savagery of this final
image - partly because its manifestation has been so unexpected,
partly due to the repeated deadpan utility of the line-drawing
but mostly because I have seen further evidence of a subconscious
manifestation. I am fairly baffled as to the intent of this "drawing"
- a friend described it as an "observation" - he said
it was a "dispassionate glimpse of the world; full and brutal"
Sounds good to me.
_______________________________
13th
November 2007
There's
a whole load of little things going on at the moment. In amongst
all the websites, sketches, gigs and events, I'm putting in a
lot of time at the shop while I'm being trained up to do the body-piercing
thing. My dear friend Patsy has been floating the idea in front
of me for over a year now. What with changes to her schedule and
my availability, its making sense. In any case, I've assisted
in so many procedures already that I'm picking up the rest pretty
quickly on the way. I'm enjoying it.
The
rose work is reaching its eventual conclusion and some ideas are
gelling in that familiar (and relieving) manner that so often
accompanies months of seemingly aimless artistic meandering. Oddly,
much of the source-work of this "flower portraiture"
is combining with some very anarchic, primitivism sketchbook work
to produce something that is, for me, really quite bizarre and
unexpected. I have a series of expanded drawings underway - also
photographic and video work that is more conceptual than anything
else - something I'm not totally comfortable with quite yet.
One
of the final paintings is much looser and freer in its
application of paint, despite the original source's hard
lines. This is the same rose that has been frozen in ice.
Although
I haven't worked out the finer details, that little frozen
ice-casket is going to make up a central portion of the
final "project" - a grand finale involving desolate
landscapes, the all-seeing eye and a small and completely
safe explosive device. I'm rubbing my hands with glee
at the thought of what is yet to come.
And
at long last, I'm working towards a new version of this
site. I've had so many people pointing out that the "Artblog"
is not really a blog in the true sense. Yes, I know.
Well, the new version of the site will feature
the real deal - you'll all be able to submit comments and
images, etc. For a long time I've been thinking that it
would be nice to open it up to more people.
It should be up and running within the next
two weeks - new look, new images, new blog. Yay.
_______________________________
8th
October 2007
A
curiosity has developed into literal preservation. I took the
petals and froze them in ice. In stages - I poured water and petals
into a mold, froze it, added another layer and repeated the process.
Allowing light to fall through the icy structure has brought out
the abstractions of the structure - all this is enhanced by the
random obfuscation of the bubbles within the ice, distorting each
layer in turn.
And
so, finally, I took the next logical step - to freeze an
entire rose in ice.
The
photographs have produced some good results. They provide
what can only be described as a useful start to abstraction.
Knowing that the rose series is beginning to lose its appeal
for me - knowing that I'm being drawn in new directions
- I feel no rush to develop these abstractions. After all,
everything has been neatly preserved.
_______________________________
28th
September 2007
Colour
is trying to creep back in.
After
all this experimentation with Payne's Grey, tonal variations
and so on, I was taken by the Geraniums growing downstairs
in the stairwell. A single flower, combined with the water
vessel and sunlight made a strong but very conventional
composition. More interestingly for me, it led to usage
of a very potent red - it has an extremely high content
of pigment which, I find, makes it virtually unusable because
it is so overpowering. A tiny amount mixed with other oils
still produces a devastating red hue. I'm overly sensitive
to its use especially after all this deadpan treatment of
rose images.
By
contrast, the license to use this powerful red hue infiltrated
the final composition of the most recent rose painting.
Payne's Grey led the way to a more cerulean tinge and I
eventually allowed some abstract hints to develop into startling
red abstractions behind the current portrait of the rose.
The
rose in question is complete - more precise than the rest.
I
have started on another rose - another grey composition - but
I've polluted the original recipe somehow. Downstairs, the geraniums
are shedding petals as the autumn creeps in and I am saving them.
the petals keep their colour and I feel a need to preserve them.
_______________________________
3rd
September 2007
Its
a nice feeling to be in Autumn again - the wet summer has produced
all these flowers and I'm making the most of them before they
decay. I seem to have little interest in the natural colours and
shades within the structure so I tried a little experiment. I
took one flower and sprayed it with black, white, and blue paint
to try to emphasize shadows and hilights. As with all my little
ventures with spray paint, I got unpredictable results.
Still,
the single images are a great starting point to extract material
for abstract compositions. More and more, I'm using the macro
settings on the camera to look deep into a structure.
Besides
all this, I'm continuing to work on the latest large panel.
The flower in this one is a little more restrained. It doesn't
fill the entire surface area so its placement is a little
more considered. This time, I'm going to avoid introducing
a "strip" of co lour across the petals but will
introduce coloured hints elsewhere - possibly some of the
ridiculously over-saturated red that I can't seem to mix
with anything else without it overpowering all the other
pigments.
And
in one other little aside, I've attempted my first naturalistic
colour paining in a long time. Its just a little oil-sketch
of a friend's baby. As a birthday present, I think she'll
like it - although unfortunately I can't transport it until
the thickly-applied paint has dried.
_______________________________
20th
August 2007
The
band
are hard at work. The single "Release The Lions" has
just come out so there's been a lot of activity to promote it
- lining up gigs, producing the accompanying video, all of which
I'm happy to be involved in as little as possible. Not that all
this isn't fun and exciting - but I'll turn up and play shows
and let the other guys handle the "scene" stuff. They've
been around the block more times than I and I'm content to let
them get on with it.
So
here's the video. It uses a mish-mash of Munchkin "artwork",
video projection, green-screen, and who knows what else. The single
is available at selected stores and itunes.
_______________________________
19th
August 2007
I'm
still persisting with the roses. I've been out and about, trying
to capture as many images and impressions of roses as I can before
the change of season does away with them. Without thinking about
it too much, I've been taking pictures and drawing quick studies,
not trying to arrange a composition but rather allow the random
shapes to surprise me. Then there's some kind of odd selection
process that is going on - some "compositions" of petals
and shadows appeal enough to be chopped and changed digitally.
Eventually, I produce something in print that might make it onto
the panel.
The
paintings have the intent of portraiture, particularly in the
way I'm handling the paint, altering the context, etc. However,
some of the drawings have become peculiar abstractions, reminiscent
of a "Glasgow" style - part Deco and part Viennese secession
that I'm not sure I like. We'll see where it leads.
I'm
reluctant to have a go at working any of this kind of
thing into a final piece until I have a clearer idea of
what its all about. Also, it feels like a huge departure
from all this painting to suddenly fly off on a tangent
into such abstraction. It is as if these are two independent
projects that just happen to be drawing from the same
subject matter.
_______________________________
7th
August 2007
The
first big rose painting was successful - I'm really getting used
to painting at these large sizes and I'm rarely entertaining the
notion of any other format than the square. There's a tyranny
of portrait and landscape that's hard to get away from and the
square canvas lends a neutrality to the composition.
I've
even been cropping my photographs to squares. Bearing in mind
that I've been scurrying around the neighbourhood, identifying
the people that really take care of their gardens and finding
some spectacular roses. Anyone looking out their window and seeing
me, camera in hand, could be forgiven for feeling a little paranoid.
I'm thinking of printing out some nice reproductions of recent
work and posting it through their doors with a little explanatory
note.
This
lot of work has been about finding a simple iconic image
that dominates the canvas but still lets the composition
employ the negative perspective markers of the Negate
series. Rather than opting for actual negative images,
I've let the digital tools come through on the painted
surface - crop lines and moments of over-saturation within
the petals of the flower - and occasionally amplifying
the implied perspective with overlapping images.
By
using such natural images as a basis, I've removed the
potential for loaded-meaning that comes with using my
own body as a subject. Rather than using a human presence
and approximate size on these large panels, I'm relying
on a macro-view to bring out the detail of the plain subject
matter - hopefully turning it into something monumental.
And
so it goes on - the studio has another large panel devoted
to the same experiments.
_______________________________
23rd
July 2007
There's
some kind of slow distinct blending of the experimental to the
finished work right now. I'm not going out of my way to produce
a "finished" painting but am allowing all manner of
preparatory work to distill themselves onto larger, more ambitious
pieces. The quick and easy starting point is myself - using single
images and sometimes composite ones to pack more poses and gestures
into one effort.
I've
had a notion for sometime - myself, leaning into or standing against
a wall. I allow the image to lead the eye in and out again into
the depths that the perspective allows. This is all fine and well
but the overall composition in my mind's eye doesn't quite reach
the conclusion I want it to. From a painterly point of view, I
know I'll enjoy bringing out the play of light and shadow across
flesh, particularly because I want to make the image monochromatic
by way of mixing very subtle colours with no use of black or gray
paint. I experimented more with source photographs, using the
negative image to imply a different source of lighting - and then
I saw that I could use negative perspective as well to mislead
the eye and ultimately confront the subject's apparent attention
with that of the viewer's.
Many
of Bacon's paintings made use of a "perspective box"
to tie in the jumble of brushstrokes into an apparently three-dimensional
setting. By use of this "negative perspective", I've
introduced a conflict of settings. I don't know if the viewer
will see a disorientated figure, or if they themselves will be
disorientated by the spatial contradiction of the composition.
I could spend hours thinking of ways to describe what's going
on here. These "negate" paintings are among the more
psychologically penetrative works that I've done but I'm loathe
to deconstruct them with words too much. As long as they retain
that slightly seductive and disquieting quality then I'll pursue
the theme. Maybe I should try a different subject - something
non-human.