2am, 3am, ...

the garden is nearly full.

sun setting..

favourite obsession

i stood looking at this painting at the
summer exhibition at the tate in london and
i had to be physically dragged away from it,
i could have stood looking at it all day



this picture doesn't do it much service, i would
love a large high quality print of this, or the
original would look nice in my hall..

i think it's time for a glass of wine now..

timber.

building blocks one day so you can knock them all
down again the next day on the downward spiral.

it's evident which artists inspire me, and you learn
from others, but how do you manage to not become just
a piss-poor washout of everyone you adore?

and my email seems to have given up once again..
either that or the 'viagra' company are the
only people who love me..

spam email..

..oh the irony..

building blocks;

i'm building blocks & foundations in many ways;



i went along to a talk by david stanley that coincided
with his exhibition; a very insightful & inspired talk;
i find you can learn alot from other artists, how they
got started, how they came about their technique, the ups
as well as the downs, most artists are unwilling to give
any information about their work, or at best are vague,
fortunatley, this is not the case with david, and this
only adds more dimensions & layers to his work.
i feel that some artists protect there methods like closely
guarded secrets, as if anybody finding out would mean the
games up.. if this is the case, then there work can only
be treading a thin line of acceptance, like some kind of
cheap trick...
there is, as all genuine artists must agree, a little more
to it than what you paint with or how you paint.
pollock dripped paint onto canvas layed on the floor.
having that knowledge, can you re-create 'lavender mist'?
of course you can't, and if you think you can, your missing
the entire point.

progress, sort of..

factory skylines;

~ click to view ~

new gold dawn/evening;
industrial skylines..

progress.. 'sort of..'

not entirely sure..

Exhibition;

Friday night (7th Sept) I went to the private view
of the new David Stanley & Lawrence Isherwood Exhibition.
The opportunity to see new work (or any work again) by David
is never to be missed, as he has stated himself you can't
just look at work on the internet or in books you have got
to get to the galleries, and this with David's work is never
more true.

Up close, and you really need to get up close and see all
those beautiful flashes of colour, blended, scratched, sanded
back, swooping across, the texture & the colour is the shore
line or the horizon to another world, I really can't describe
in words how his paintings make you feel.

Whilst talking to David & literally in the first 1/2hr of the
opening, half of his paintings had sold which goes to show the
interest in his work, the exhibition space (Chapel Gallery) also
lends to the atmosphere, a really lovely space to view the works.

I was so engrossed in looking at the paintings I lost track of time,
so much so that I had to make a speedy exit & even more speedy
journey all the way from Ormskirk (nr Southport) back to Manchester
as I was due to start nights.. from an art exhibition to a call
centre..

The exhibition is on..
8 - 29 September
Chapel Gallery,
St.Helens Rd. Ormskirk,
Lancashire.

http://www.chapelgallery.org.uk/

David Stanley
http://www.ds-art.co.uk/

I'll show you light now

"I figured one day I'd just wake up and and
find out what the hell yesterday was all about.
I'm not too keen on thinkin' about tommorow.
And today's slipping by." (Lynch; INLAND EMPIRE)

Got to make the effort to claw back the
remainder today, a delayed start and waning
enthusiasm.
In future the first point of reference should
start in the studio, preferably early, before
the really real world dampens any ideas.

"On this Midsummer night; Everyone is sleeping"

but i'm still working through; i've also
managed to get the day off "work" to do some
real work; so i've been able to spend all
sunday finishing the varnished culprit &
now that it is fully dry, add the threads
that should bring it all together.
i always have in mind what i want the
finished paintings to be, i don't mind going
off on tangents, as long as it comes together
in the end..
are there any true accidents in painting?

"Pollock denied "the accident"; he usually had
an idea of how he wanted a particular piece to appear."

i think there are many accidents in the application
of paint, or more surprises, whether you 'go' with
it as a natural progression of an original idea,
let it evolve as an organic structure, or be more
decisive and stick to your original vision..

and these are the things that stop me sleeping at night?


these are poor quality photographs;

(detail one)


(detail two)
~ click on pic to view larger image ~


very hard to photograph, due to the reflective
properties of the copper..

when i have finished threading the painting
i will attempt some better photographs.

varnished

have laid down a base of copper on
the bottom third of a painting i am
currently working on, applied a mix
of various solutions of patina & acid
with a cloth.. let it bite/tarnish and
age a little while..

as i have sealed this with varnish i
decided to admit defeat on the previous
painting, take it off the wall and lay it
to rest, finish it, varnish it..

always makes me sad to varnish a painting,
it's the final step, no going back now..
it is what it is and will never be worked
into anymore.. should i have worked more into
it?? could i have pushed it further..??

i don't know, it's done now.

i wonder if any painters enjoy varnishing,
i wonder if they step back and think, yes!
that's it!!

maybe one day i will, instead of just thinking
i'll get it better next time...