THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 33 : Paradise Loss

the fruit machine stops..

it's 1984..

the artist is in his studio..

he has been using illustrations from children's books..

as the figures in his paintings..

the quatrefoil window..

has come into his work in a big way..

he has, he thinks..

created a logo for God..

well..

it is a pictogram anyway..

he has combined the quatrefoil with a landscape..

like a view out the window..

it's a simplified view of a promised land..

or are they blue remembers hills?.

anyway..

he sees it as a vision of paradise..

a promised landscape..

and what is religion if not a promise?

life after life..

the canvas is stained..

much thinned oil paint has seeped through..

from the other side..

yes this is a second chance work..

the failed reverse is hidden away..

and a new version has been produced..

the colours have bled through the canvas..

and survived..

to tell of a fresh start..

rather then a virgin birth..

LIFE IS A GAMBLE

this canvas is only the first panel of a triptych..

the idea is of the wheels of a gambling machine..

a 'one armed bandit'..

where gamblers try to pull hard enough on the 'arm'..

to win..

 or at least get their money back..

the idea of the three canvases..

is that each one has a version of the pictogram..

and that as they have settled down as a complete line..

all three in a row..

there should be a pay out..

a reward..

or a debt to pay..

https://www.saatchiart.com/en-gb/art/Painting-The-Fruit-Machine-Stops/31203/14105797/view

the staining of the canvas..

reminds us of Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis..

anyway lots of fun with paint..

almost no-one in the world has ever seen this painting..

it has never been exhibited..

maybe it's because it's no good..

or maybe it's just..

 bad luck..

maybe it's the wrong colours..

or maybe it's because..

there are too many notes..

but maybe it's just because..

nobody likes the odds..

the house rules..

consequences..

loss..

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

THE BEAR DRONES ON

yo!.. seize the dough.. innit!

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

russia to build own Iran drones..

yield curve inverts..

sticky inflation..

crapto collapse..

buffett rule - stocks still 166%

fed hawkish..

qt..

recession warnings..

stagflation threat..

eps falling..

8 billion souls..

climate change..

zero covid policy..

challenging world order..

santa rally surely..

gamblers still buying..

IF NOT NOW WHEN?

some think that..

this time it's different..

that the fed will stick to it's guns..

others think..

what are the chances?

ME

I think I will wait and see..

I was too early in 2000..

on time in 2009..

but never got fully invested..

I made a good call..

in 2020..

but again failed to fully profit..

I don't have the time left to mess around..

with this casino..

where the house has got it rigged..

we are all awaiting..

some great puke..

you can feel it coming..

but nothing happens..

FALSE BOTTOMS

and..

political meddling..

interest rate suppression..

and ever expanding debt..

bail outs for all..

NEXT YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT

at any rate it is possible..

if earnings per share..

fall..

and interest rates stick..

and currencies correct..

and politics keeps out..

and yields rise further..

and demand dissolves..

buyers disappear..

the great pundit says..

wait for it..

the bottom ain't yet in..

then maybe a real buying opportunity..

will come along..

again..

but..

THIS IS PALOOKAVILLE

and any day now..

slowly then suddenly..

sooner than we think..

we may wish..

we had been more careful..

about what we wished for..