THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 28 : Harlequin

the student artist in 1972..

lots of Bauhaus influence from the Art history dept..

our boy has come up with a new idea..

a harlequin dice..

shake but don't stir..

it's a lotta work..

painting 12 of these dudes in gouache..

cutting out the plan of the cube..

ANOTHER UNFINISHED SYMPHONY

he will soon tire of the drudgery..

but not before hitting pay dirt..

Long fascinated by Harlequin, Pablo Picasso returned to the character with renewed intensity in late 1915. 

A chameleon-like trickster.. 

Harlequin must have seemed a fitting subject as the artist began to explore more realistic modes of representation alongside his Cubist experiments..

 

The present work combines the geometric abstraction of Cubism with a classical linearity..

he has made enough dice for a photo shoot..

he is using black and white Ilford 35 mm stock..

he realises too late that colour would have been much better..

but then much more expensive..

monochrome is the student way to go..

Symbolism: 

The Harlequin represented a mix of trickster.. 

and tragic clown.. 

reflecting Picasso's own personal struggles and complex emotions..

it's 1975 and our boy genius..

is about to graduate..

in graphic design..

you may well ask..

anyway.. 

he has distinguished himself..

he paints in oil on canvas in the graphics studio..

he does enjoy working with type though..

he's a typo ace..

but no-one would hire the Artist as a typographer..

he's too much of a seat of the pants creator..

a jester not a swot..

a prince at the dance..

and a dancing fool..

Harlequin.. 

one of the principal stock characters of the Italian commedia dell’arte; often a facile and witty gentleman’s valet and a capricious swain of the serving maid.

In the early years of the commedia (mid-16th century), the Harlequin was a zanni (a wily and covetous comic servant), and he was cowardly, superstitious, and plagued by a continual lack of money and food.. 

By the early 17th century..

 Harlequin had become a faithful valet.. 

patient, credulous, and amorous. 

This last quality often led him into difficulties from which he managed to extricate himself by cleverness and irrepressible high spirits.. 

He was amoral without being vicious.. 

and, unlike his fellow commedia servants..

he did not hold a grudge..

or seek revenge against those..

 who tricked or cheated him.

OUR BOY BEST OF ALL

our boy has created a rolling dice..

a chance of something..

will he make it in the real world..

will they pay the money?

shoot craps..

or throw a seven?

find out more about..

THE HARLEQUIN IN RESIDENCE

Pete the Charlie..

the boy with many names..

the boy friend..

he's a Dice Man..

an artist with too many styles..

there's more sides to this dude..

than you can.. 

shake a stick at..

but is he feeling lucky??

 

THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 27 : The Opposite of Hammershoi

 Vermeer, Hammershoi, Morandi

they are popular with all ages..

the artist likes their stuff..

cool and minimal..

but the..

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

he has run away with the circus..

and the fun fair..

flashy American automobiles..

and brightly coloured boats..

oh yeah..  

and Cap..

it's all theatre really..

make up. make believe..,

out of the ordinary everyday life..

these are surreal things..

images from dreams..

fantasy and desire..

it's a holiday world..

a colour feast world..

still..

he's young yet..

who knows?

THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 26 : Fun

 all the fun of the fair

the artist is having fun..

he is painting them nine at once..

it's all speed. gesture. movement..

and colour of course..

lots of it,,

he's throwing it everywhere..

RIDERS ON A STORM

it's a storm alright..

impressionism meets futurism..

at the speed of light..

Terry Frost had said to Alan..

'paint whilst not looking'..

in other words..

don't think about it..

just do it..

and do it fast..

it's all too easy for him..

he fails to realise..

this is him..

this is who he is..

unplanned, thoughtless, hasty..

wild, abandoned, happy..

because the night..

once you edit out the noise..

it's a dance..

a ballet..

a nocturne..

a symphony of colour..

Whistler would have approved..

https://www.saatchiart.com/en-gb/all?query=Charles%20Stuart%20fairground

SEE THE VIDEO ART ON UTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNa_ElSeOg4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw2tEeMnKqs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCiB9Huk3xg

THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 25 : Happy Days

 These days are our..

just married artists..

visit big al on Jersey..

it's 1976 and the..

long hot summer weather has broken..

our boy has just got his first proper job since graduating..

working at the University Hospital Medical school..

the post is funded as a 'Chartist' post..

he must type charts of stats..

for the Doc's to show in their lectures..

the head of his department..

'Medical Art'

is a good man and wants to teach our boy how to be a medical artist..

he has an official trainee already..

but he hopes to expand his domain..

THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

has other plans though..

he finds the compressed air generator..

and the air brush..

and it's a whole washday..

shot to hell..

yes..

that great day has come..

he has taught himself how to use the air brush..

he is lost in mid century America..

which is all he really wanted to be..

skate boarding on Jersey 1976

https://charles-stuart.pixels.com/collections/american+auto

https://youtu.be/1zIVTP2sMrU?si=I1KJv_-o8b0KX1mK

THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 24 : Dream Marine

 THE FIGHTING TEMERAIRE

he has crazes..

one of them was boats..

he had toy boats in the bath..

plastic ones with rusted up engines..

in 1995 he goes on holiday to Portugal..

they have lots of brightly coloured..

wooden boats..

everyone knows that..

he goes mad..

charging around the Algarve..

looking for more..

too many are in the water..

or he has to photograph them from the bows..

what he needs is the stern..

the power's in the ass end Mick..

always was..

the best ones are beached..

and bleaching out..

high and dry..

left to rot..

on a trip to Tavira, a sleepy, salty,  town..

on a very hot afternoon..

whist on a river cruise he spies..

a pair of old wooden fishing boats..

sunk into the mud..

in the river estuary..

these two above..

 are a small oil on canvas..

he usually paints the boats in gouache..

TURNER

 painted many boats and marine images..

but no-one calls Turner..

a marine artist..

the artist in residence is just having fun.with one of his many Muses..

he does not see the sadness..

of the passing on of the beautiful wooden boats..

he only loves them..

https://charles-stuart.pixels.com/collections/boats+and+beach

THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 23 : Icarus

SPLASH !!!

Gone from this place

Silence only

Earthly delight

Soundless in oblivion

Silent night

Mr Icarus Rising..

Glowering, stammering

Headache hammering

Tears fall shimmering

Hope comes a glimmering

Rising from ground zero

Remade Remodelled 

Undeconstructed

Our hero..

Returns

Found peeled

Appalled

Apart for apart's sake

Lost

Lonely

Destroyed

Icarus rising..

 

reach for the light

Icarus risen

 

All wrong but alright 

Born again bruised, broken and beaten

He stands and delivers..

Howls of frustration

Lust for life lost 

Fallen from favour

Lie about failure

Promise the future..

Perfection in flight

Flight of fancy

From salt water solution..

To new resolution

https://charles-stuart.pixels.com/featured/icarus-in-red-charles-stuart.html 

 

Waxing and waning..

Spend time in training..

Sleep while the sun shines..

Fly while it's raining