January in to February: A Trip to London, Continuing Work and Preparations for China

Our long weekend in London 27th - 31st Jan. was great, we stayed with our daughter and saw the following exhibitions:
Whitechapel - Zarina Bhimj; exceptional, Rothko archive; really interesting
British Museum - Grayson Perry; absolutely brilliant, plus a trawl of the Asian galleries to tune in, in readiness for our imminent trip to China.

Royal Academy - Hockney; some really interesting work and some not so, his observation of colour in the field is exceptionally well observed and it was a priviledge to see his sketch books.
National Gallery - shame on you for not opening late every night of the week to enable more people to see the Leonardo show for which Pete got to the queue at 8 am and still couldn't get tickets.  Since when was art so popular in this country?
We also popped in to the always welcoming Curwen Gallery for a quick look at their current print show.

I continue to make drawings exploring current ideas of loss, the seasons etc; see previous entries for a fuller explanation. I think the first two paintings are completed because there is nothing more I can do to them but they are not completely satisfactory; they have been useful catalysts for the next versions and will probably serve as experimental starters rather than paintings to show, but I reserve the right to change my mind about this.

A poor image of the first pastel drawing completed, with various stages of development shown above

I will discuss the properties of the various media I have used to express my ideas and the problems they pose in a later post.

Thoughts on January's Work

The drawings are an ongoing exploration of an idea that links into the circle of life and the theme of the four seasons that I began to explore last year.

Sketch book drawing

Detail of above drawing

Detail of sketch book drawing below.

Sketch book drawing

As I am doing them, other themes have come to mind; that of hand crafting; the creating of cloth from a single thread of yarn by knitting or weaving, the way a piece of knitting looks when being pinned out to reinforce its shape. The marks also have a strong reference to the hedgrows I have been drawing and the shadows created by sunlight through hedges and trees.  All these ideas relate to the tangled marks in the drawing and the edges of the drawings themselves. 

A constant theme in my work is the duality between control and instinct.  Some of the marks are reminiscent of script, and knots.  The tally marks are a simple device that references the passing of time, the counting of days, hours, minutes, seconds, years, stitches.  All the marks are individual rather than produced mechanically, they are the result of my body and brain working together or the tension between the two as one tries to assert itself over the other.  Always there is this dichotomy between the abstract and the primitive, logic and instinct.

Detail of first painting, before completion

The repetition of the mark making creates the whole, just as a ball of wool becomes a piece of textile, the drawings and paintings emerge from the process of mark making and thoughts of the past, loss and optimism for the future.

First two paintings, early stages

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January Drawings

Various stages of the series The Departed in progress showing some details.  I'll post more up as they are made.

Farewells and Some New Year's Optimism

I only learned yesterday of the death of Helen Frankenthaler on December 27th last year, aged 83.  Yet another of the great Modernists has left the world; and we have the rich legacy of her work to be thankful for. 

Following on from Jackson's dripping and pouring technique, Helen's soft stainings are often attributed to the development of the Colour Field school, as my good friend Matt Lyon says, she led and the guys took over.  What I admired about her paintings is that, as Michael McNay expressed in his obituary in the Guardian of Wednesday 28th December 2011 www.guardian.co.uk  "Painting became once again, as in many of its best periods, an insitinctive coalition of hand and eye and controlling intelligence."  Something I totally subscribe to in my own work and as with Helen, I am not that interested in theory for its own sake either, especially new theory! 

In my opinion, theory is in danger of strangling the life from art making.  So often recently I have been to shows where the writing that supports the work is more interesting than the art itself and this is terribly wrong.  I have no quarrel with art theory really, but I hold strongly the opinion that the physical quality of the art itself should arrest the viewer, make them stop in front of it and consider it for more than a few seconds.  If, however, the writing that supports the art holds the viewer's attention for longer than the art itself, then the artist has failed.  Does anyone reading the above have a response to this?

Rant over, RIP Helen and thanks for some wondrous paintings and prints.

While I am in reflective mood, here's thanks also to other artists of greatness who died recently:Dennis Oppenheim, John Hoyland, Stephen De Staebler, Leonora Carrington Cy Twombly, Lucian Freud, Richard Hamilton, John Chamberlain.

Sketch book work: The Departed, Dec2011/Jan 2012, graphite

As above

Large drawing, The Departed,  4.1.12.  Graphite on Arche paper

Detail, large drawing, The Departed, graphite on Arche paper

Detail, large drawing, The Departed, graphite on Arche paper

 

I am now looking forward to the work in hand for this year; preparing for my solo show, researching a bit and writing some essays and reviews.  I am optimistic about my own work despite that fact that I may have some problems with studio space due to building work that starts in March at our house.  I some how know that things are going to be ok in the end!  This year is about making new work, not worrying about showing and generally settling, finally, after a long hard 6 years' hiatus, into a proper work ethic and routine. 

Happy new year to all who read this!

Ryedale ArtWorks Launch

www.ryedaleartworks.com

A big thank you to all who attended the successful launch of RAW last night. It was lovely that those of our members who could not attend the launch but who are committed to the group sent messages of support too.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera so have no photo's to post.  A good time was had by all and I am really looking forward to being part of raising the profile of professional artists, makers and galleries in Ryedale.  Work will start on the new artist's directory in the new year and I think that we shall have more members queueing to be included because it has been an incrediby useful marketing tool. 

Thanks to Andy Dalton, printmaker and manager of The Gallery at Ryedale Folk Museum who is our Treasurer and IT wizzard for unfailing good humour and for constructing our initial web site, Janey Hayton for stirling work as acting Chair until next February, Jennifer Tetlow for her insight at the beginnings, sorry you have had to step down but glad it's because of work committments.  Thank you Robert Birmingham of The Pantry in Lockton for all the work you put in on the constitution; sorry that you are leaving us and best wishes for the future. Extra special thanks to Yvette Turnbull, Creative Economy Officer at Ryedale District Council for all the belief, encouragement and practical support you have given and continue to give.

Sounds like an Oscar speech!  Hurrah for us!

This year's directory has been a fantastic publication and marketing tool for all the artists involved and is the result of the hard work of the sub committee of members of RAW : graphic designer and artist Ian Mitchell, artist Sue Slack, Andy Dalton print maker and manager of The Gallery, Ryedale Folk Museum, potter Janet Hayton, artists Liz Bailey and Chris Ware and as ever, the support of Yvette Turnbull Creative Economy Officer, Ryedale District Council. 

This directory is the second one produced so far and has been eyed with envy by artists from other areas in Yorkshire.  We hope to make the next one even better.

Ryedale ArtWorks

www.ryedaleartworks.com

We launch Ryedale ArtWorks or RAW for short, tomorrow evening.  It has been a lot of hard work but we are now ready to formally constitute and become an artist's group working to raise our profile within Ryedale and beyond. 

I am looking forward to the cake. . . . .

Time and Process Part Two continued

Below are the rest of the images that complete the series of paintings I talked about in the previous blog.  These follow on from the month of August to December and show the whole cycle together.  The images are not particularly good, for which I apologise; I took them myself with my small Lumix and while they give a good idea of the paintings, they are not nearly as good as the ones that Pete will take for my archive.

September

October

November

December

The completed 12 months of the year top row left to right, Jan - Jun,

bottom row right to left July - December

All images are acrylic on Arche paper and measure 305x400 mm.

 

all images copyright of the artist