Work in Progress
Some other bits and bobs on the spin.
A few of pieces of ‘work in progress’ to show you that are presently on easels in my studio space.
Whilst the larger work I’m currently undertaking (Carte Vista) is presented within the Artwork section, it’s more than likely to move to this blog at some point in the future. Makes a lot more sense to put my WIP here.
In ‘Psychobabble’ above, I’m now upping the scale of my smaller ‘Psycho’ pieces I did a couple of years ago into 2 metres (plus) canvases. They’ll explore filmic narratives mixed in with cultural iconography and ideas around framing and suspended animation and the notion of life as one, big conveyor belt (see some of my earlier Cambodia work in the Archive).
Above is a small oil study of my Goddaughter, Arwen. It’s had one ‘pass’ so it needs a lot of work. I’m attempting to play around with a different, less restricted colour palette in anticipation of upcoming commissions. So it acts as a good test piece.
This charcoal drawing, Dog Day Afternoon, has been hanging around for ages. I haven’t even ‘fixed’ it yet! But it’s now up on an easel (again) and I’m determined to finish it!
(Not-so) Hot off the press
A Letter-press session in Brighton.
What seems like a lifetime ago, 2018, I did a short 5-hour letterpress course with Mister Magpie in his wonderful shop in the North Laine in Brighton.
The aim was to retrospectively illustrate a wedding poem I’d written for a couple of friends in 2013 (see below), ‘The Wondrous Tale of the Cat and the Fox’. And if you’ve ever done letterpress before, you’ll know that it involves a lot of prep, is highly technical and one mistake is a big mistake!
And, of course, I made not one, but two mistakes - misspelling Wondrous. Twice! And whilst one can get away with the more archaic spelling - Wonderous with an E - you most certainly can’t get away with Wonderdous! A lesson to learn - make sure you know exactly what you’re laying out before you ink things up! Because there’s no turning back!
One thing the session did was reinforce my admiration for the printer's skills in the ‘hot metal’ days when entire newspapers were set (backwards) in lightning-quick time. Insane when you think about it.
It also made me smile when Mr Magpie helped me set the ‘leading’ and ‘padding’ with bits of metal and Allen keys. I’m old (and fortunate) enough to remember Pica scales and letter pressing from my early college days but it’s a reminder of the provenance of the words and techniques we take for granted on our computers today and the skill and graft it required back then. My hat is well and truly doffed.
The Master’s Voice
The sublime paintings of Frans Hals.
Frans Hals / Until January 21st 2024
National Gallery, London
One of the finest artists of any generation, the exquisite brushwork, unique style of portraiture and sublime craft make this exhibition a must-see.
The first major retrospective of Hals in more than thirty years gives the opportunity to marvel at the quality of his techniques. The confidence is breathtaking, with precise strokes and masterful modelling coupled with almost carefree handling of the paint way ahead of its time.
Indeed, Hals’ deft brushwork was unparalleled, building his reputation on a new style of portraiture that amalgamated these techniques with an exceptional characterisation of the people he painted - smiling, laughing, having fun!
one of the greatest painters in Western art
I stood in the centre of one of the rooms in the National Gallery, paused and considered how incredible it all was. I shook my head in disbelief. In fact, I’d been muttering to myself, rolling my eyes, and shaking my head, in awe, throughout. How lucky I was to be standing in a room surrounded by Hals’ work - one of the greatest painters in Western art.
Lucky indeed. I travelled over to Amsterdam in June to see the once-in-a-lifetime Johannes Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. To see two of my favourite painters, two of the greatest painters in two blockbuster exhibitions in the same year, I could die happy.
Sound and Vision
The immersive world of London-based UVA.
UVA - Synchronicity / Until December 17th 2023
180 Strand, London
United Visual Artists (UVA), a London-based collective formed in 2003, unveil their largest-ever exhibition, presented by 180 Studios.
Set within 180’s labyrinthine and industrial underground space in the Strand, the exhibition takes you on a journey through eight, primarily large-scale, immersive works, each challenging our perceptions of time through light, sound and movement.
The exhibition features a new audiovisual installation, Polyphony, exploring our relationship with the natural world. Evocative field recordings of the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic, created by influential sound artist Bernie Krause (The Great Animal Orchestra) and set to a hypnotic lightshow framed within a circular auditorium, serve as a memento mori to industrialisation and species loss.
challenging our perceptions of time through light, sound and movement
Musica Universalis
Musica Universalis, explores light, harmony and movement, reinterpreting the proportionality of heavenly bodies and the philosophical notion of ‘sound’ between them. Changes of light and colour and the interplay of shadow create an otherwordly atmosphere, UVA’s ‘kinetic instruments’ helping to envelop the viewer in a quasi-religious experience.
In Present Shock II, UVA teamed up once again with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja. A vast wall of statistics displaying algorithmically-generated news headlines is fun and frightening, impressive and captivating.
UVA - Synchronicity, like Universal Everything’s highly impressive show, Lifeforms, last year, is ideal for 180’s dark, cavernous spaces, highlighting the richness of multiple sensory experiences and the profound nature of time and human existence.
Not to be missed.