WAR IS PEACE

 

I read this book..

The Unfinished War: 

Vietnam and the American Conscience

Walter H.. Capps

Beacon Press, 1982

Veterans of the war..

it said..

were damaged further by the lack of a proper welcome home..

and appreciation for their service..

and that the folks at home did not want to talk about the war..

and sought to sweep it under the carpet..

at the time of writing no memorial..

had been agreed upon..

and as such..

I was attempting to respond to this using..

oil paint on canvas..

however..

there is now and has been for many long years..

a truly great monument in place..

The black granite wall of names is one of the most familiar media images associated with the war, and after three decades the memorial remains one of the nation's most visited monuments. While the memorial has enjoyed broad acceptance by the American public, its origins were both humble and contentious. A grassroots effort launched by veterans with no funds, the project was completed in three and a half years. But an emotional debate about aesthetics and the interpretation of heroism, patriotism and history nearly doomed the project.

anyway..

I steamed ahead in the studio..

with my idea for a series of paintings like the one above..

There were to be 10 in all..

and each one was meant to represent a mood or state..

of american love or hate or grace..

remember pearl harbour..

and the american resolve and response..

these paintings are not political but emotional..

emotional states of a nation..

anyway..

STATES OF GRACE

AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

obviously..

none of this got anywhere..

per usual..

still I played around with the idea..

for some time..

and also..

this url

hope you got this far..

and liked the story..

it occurs to me that all the technology on display..

in the photo above..

was not available in 1982..

and will soon be superseded by newer stuff..

technology becomes obsolete so fast..

in 40 more years..

these devices may not exist or be so changed as to make these items..

laughable..

the painting though..

will have aged hardly at all..

and the idea will still resonate..

and lastly this url

IN THE SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT

 

I used to have a big idea..

for a painting..

or for a series of paintings..

THE MAN IN THE CRIME MASTER'S MASK

was a series of three large canvases..

back in 1975..

I was still influenced by steve ditko..

and stan lee..

it was about shadows..

ventian blind shadows..

at first..

then the 3rd in the series..

was 

THE MOUNTAINS OF MOURNE

this was the shadow..

of the gun..

a child's painting on a bedroom wall..

of the mountains of mourne..

with the moonlight coming in through the window..

causing the shadow of the window frames..

to make a cross..

which falls over the child's art..

like it was the cross hairs..

in a sniper scope..

the series' were always of three paintings..

PARADISE LOST

this was about..

the loss of youth and dreams..

lost illusions..

it started with..

PUTTING ON DE STIJL

a cliff richard image..

with a drawing of an american car..

from a 'how to draw' book..

and a huge pencil drawing the car..

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

was a tarpaulin..

ripped in half..

held together by criss-crossed rope..

the universe visible through the tear..

a figure sits on a park bench to one side..

the dawn is coming up over Belfast lough..

this was a dawn after an acid trip..

a coming of age sort of thing..

anyway..

POINT PANIC

was the third in that series..

and had the silver surfer..

with his board..

and my old school tie..

a tv screen..

with the face of an aircraft carrier guy..

peering out at you..

a little boy in a camel coat..

is partly visible through another tarpaulin..

with cut outs..

I USED TO THINK BIG

but now not so much..

now I work smaller..

but on many more canvases at once..

I never know what they will become when I start them..

but they always do..

become, that is..

FIGURES IN A SOUK

did not start out as an idea..

there was no plan..

I did no research..

for images to juxtapose..

I just started splashing paint on canvas..

the large blue brush strokes just happen..

out of the blue..

nobody saw the tiger coming..

until it was already there..

BOTCH OF THE DAY

 yo!.. game over.. innit!

here in palookaville today..

 the government has scored..

a gigantic and very memorable..

OWN GOAL

everyone here knew that the top faces inna party..

wanted ta..

survive the coming electoral disaster..

by copying hancock an getting on telly..

wi a show o they own..

THE PARTY PARTY

has descended into..

celebrity envy..

it could look like they are trying  to take over match of the day..

and trying to get the bbc..

ta kick off the footballers..

an take the top spots fo they selves..

I'M A CELEBRITY GET ME OUT OF POLITICS

 could it all started when tony..

went on tv..

as a reward for his stella service..

as the hero of the pandemic..

NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE EXCESS

so now they think they own the sport..

and by kicking out the top presenters..

and taking they jobs..

they can make even more money..

by making us all laugh out load..

OWN GOAL OF THE CENTURY

but now the fat is in the fire..

an the voters are having to chose..

between the spectacularly popular salt and vinegar..

and the spectacularly inept party people..

IT'S A DIFFICULT CHOICE BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO MAKE IT

boat loads of people are trying to land here..

an nobody is sure how they will vote..

the royal navy are keeping out of the way..

and the boat owners are getting even richer..

things are not going according to plan..

some might say that they is no plan..

but trying to take over football from the top..

has brought relegation even more certain..

OUT OF THEIR DEPTH

IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN MAKING

this could run and run..

they thought it would all be over..

it is now..

THE OPPOSITE OF HOLLYWOOD

 yo!.. camera shy.. innit!

here in palookaville..

they ain't much ta photograph..

we don't have access..

ta the great celeb icons..

it's not hollywood..

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW THE SNOW BEATS DOWN

I'm bored and it's too dark ta paint..

so I thought..

I would look for something to share..

with the global hoard that is my fan base..

this is you babe..

dude, doll, whatever..

A CAMERA OBSCURA ALMOST

well one Sunday.. 

around lunchtime..

after a cappuccino..

at carluccios..

I was standing in a dark..

anteroom in the..

 palookville contemporary..

I had my camera with me..

a Sony rx 100..

and made a load of shots..

as the door opened..

and joes walked in..

and the light did cool stuff..

I uploaded the best ones to my..

saatchiart page..

and then..

I played around with them in photoshop..

adding stills from..

the misfits..

"you can spend a long time in hollywood..

and never see the part they put in movies"..

but the misfits is one of those parts..

anyway..

to put yous all out of your misery..

and save us all a lot of time..

here is a link to that stuff..

https://www.saatchiart.com/art-collection/photography/Darkroom/31203/654915/view

AN ELEPHANT IN THE SOUK

 yo! .. elephant forgot.. innit!

I looked at my google stats today..

you know..

for this blog..

the ones that tell you..

you have no followers..

or visitors today..

or ever..

WELL

it would seem that..

someone has been reading my posts..

that is unless the good folks at google..

have taken pity on palookaville..

and added some figures..

of fun..

HERE'S ONE I DID EARLER

I forgot to post this elephant..

in fact..

I had not even noticed the..

elephant in the room..

it was ginny what seen it..

and showed it to me..

and the I put the red hat on the figure and..

was happy..

ANYWAY

thanks for visiting..

whome so ever you may be..

I write this stuff..

and it amuses me..

but still..

better to share..

innit..

figuresinasouk.com