The Artist In His Studio

sitting here in my studio.. 

19th may 2012.. 

you can't see me because I am.. 

taking this picture.. 

 shooting this shot..

 

LIKE MONET

 

 sitting in his garden.. 

 in giverney.. while 20 miles away.. 

 the guns are smashing the.. 

trenches to mud.. 

he can't feel a thing.. 

 here in palookaville.. 

 the war in ukrain is further away.. 

and we can still sit here in peace.. 

for now anyway.. 

 

 THE GLASS IS FALLING HOUR BY HOUR 

the glass will fall forever.. 

but if you break the bloody glass.. 

you won't hold up the weather.. 

 

 

 

so here is this blog..

 

being written..

 

the large canvas is from..

 

1994

 

you can live a long time in hollywood..

 

and never see the part they put in movies..

WE ARE ALONE ALL TOGETHER

all together..

we are alone..

DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS

 

 

there is a painting..

 

in nottingham castle..

 

by george moreland..

 

it used to have the title..

 

'the artist in his studio, his man gibbs frying up'.. 

they have shortened it now..

it was always a favourite of mine..

 

 

 

IN COMMON BUT ALONE

 

 

Chingachgook became once more the object of the common attention. 

He had not yet spoken, and something consolatory and instructive was expected from so renowned a chief on an occasion of such interest...

"Why do my brothers mourn?" he said, regarding the dark race of dejected warriors by whom he was environed; "why do my daughters weep? that a young man has gone to the happy hunting-grounds; that a chief has filled his time with honor? 

He was good; he was dutiful; he was brave. 

Who can deny it? 

The Manitou had need of such a warrior, and He has called him away. 

As for me, the son and the father of Uncas, 

I am a blazed pine, in a clearing of the pale faces. 

My race has gone from the shores of the salt lake and the hills of the Delawares. 

But who can say that the serpent of his tribe has forgotten his wisdom? I am alone--"

"No, no," cried Hawkeye, who had been gazing with a yearning look at the rigid features of his friend, with something like his own self-command, but whose philosophy could endure no longer; "no, Sagamore, not alone. 

The gifts of our colors may be different, but God has so placed us as to journey in the same path. I have no kin, and I may also say, like you, no people. He was your son, and a red-skin by nature; and it may be that your blood was nearer--but, if ever I forget the lad who has so often fou't at my side in war, and slept at my side in peace, may He who made us all, whatever may be our color or our gifts, forget me!

 The boy has left us for a time; but, Sagamore, you are not alone."

Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in the warmth of feeling, the scout had stretched across the fresh earth, and in an attitude of friendship these two sturdy and intrepid woodsmen bowed their heads together, while scalding tears fell to their feet, watering the grave of Uncas like drops of falling rain.

In the midst of the awful stillness with which such a burst of feeling, coming as it did, from the two most renowned warriors of that region, was received, Tamenund lifted his voice to disperse the multitude.

"It is enough," he said.

 "Go, children of the Lenape, 

the anger of the Manitou is not done. 

Why should Tamenund stay? 

The pale faces are masters of the earth, 

and the time of the red men has not yet come again. 

My day has been too long. 

In the morning I saw the sons of Unamis happy and strong; 

and yet, 

before the night has come, 

have I lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans."

 

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Native-american-Figure/31203/1246684/view

 

IN VINCENT'S CHAIR

so we beat on..

boats against the current..

borne back ceaselessly..

into the past.. 

figuresinasouk.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STUDIO INTERNATIONAL

yo!.. painting is dead.. innit!

I read in 1969..

in a magazine called..

studio international..

that painting was dead..

it was a set back..

for sure..

I was 17..

and painting was what I was doing..

at the latest John Moores painting prize..

there had been a lot of blank canvases..

it was disappointing..

because I love to see paintings..

I like to look close up..

to see the marks..

the surface of the canvas..

I love the colours..

I really do enjoy looking at paintings..

In our local gallery of contemporary art..

there are very rarely any paintings shown..

the folks there prefer to show 'art'

international contemporary art..

it's a thing..

somewhere along the way..

all these clever folks..

have hijacked art for themselves..

and their friends..

and now they call all the shots..

so to go see paintings..

it's not so easy these days..

it's a good thing that  painting is dead..

because damian hirst said that..

death is the greatest idea in art..

death is the big idea..

and Damien thinks big..

the bigger the better..

me..

I'll just keep on painting..

It's what I do..

A lot of my favourite painters..

are dead also..

I still speak with them..

it's what we do when we paint..

painting is a dialogue..

If you see me talking with mark here..

you are here with us..

 in the souk..

www.figuresinasouk.com

WALKING IN THE SOUK

 yo!.. time a thief.. innit!

figures glimpsed..

passing by..

hanging out..

coming together..

in a dance..

some kind of jive..

 some sort of beat..

can you imagine..

the morning light..

the heat of the night..

figuresinasouk.com

A MAGIC CARPET

 yo!.. Persian Rug.. innit!

I was in art class..

one day in 1970..

and I had this really great black brush stroke..

on this otherwise poor..

painting that I was doing..

the lecturer commented upon how this mark was very strong..

and I was hooked..

over the years..

I developed a style that consisted of a mixture of..

soft focus and bold gesture..

and nowhere is this more evident than in the..

FIGURES IN A SOUK

now it should be realised that not all figures..

are people..

squares and circles etc..

are figures too..

so an abstract figuration can be realised..

These blue stripes above..

are what lead to the more human figures..

and for a while they were, together with the square..

all that was there..

some time later..

I started to develop the figures..

and they became more 'real'

it's interesting to me..

that I am no happier with the new figures than the old..

one is not 'better' than the other..

it just happens when I paint..

I see them emerge..

and try not to cramp their style..

ON MY PERSIAN RUG

is a song

hope you like it..

because this is all one souk..

knowledge is finite..

imagination is infinite..

and all of life is in the souk..

it's a magic carpet ride..

figuresinasouk.com

PAINTING IN THE SOUK

yo!.. knowin when ta stop... innit! 

This is the very first painting in the series.

Virgin canvas.. 

I work with oil paint directly onto the canvas and mixed there upon..

The paint is thinned and spread around without concious thought. 

There was no 'Figures In A souk' series at this point.. 

Just a very happy artist with a few blank canvases and lots of time and oil paint.

 What you see here is genesis..

of a series which is still running 8 years later. 

The work has continued to develop..

some of the orinial canvases have bee worked upon..

sometimes for the better and sometimes not..

This canvas is as it was on the first day..

It is fresh and full of innocence and hope.

 It was a sunny day in the souk.. 

I hope you will see this and feel as happy as I felt painting it.

Influenced by Rothko, Turner and Rembrandt.. 

and Richard Parkes Bonnington.

'Figures in a Souk' is a series of experimental oil paintings.

 

I start out only to paint..

 

The figures emerge from the canvas as the process develops.

 

I usually like to paint over existing works of mine..

as that provides a unique starting point and pre-existing texture..

 

The Souk is always... imagined..

always experimental..

www.figuresinasouk.com

TRAVEL IN HOPE

 yo!.. raining in ma heart... innit!

HOPE 

here in palookaville..

we are sitting in out of the rain..

and it feels good to me..

we had a lot of sunny days..

but now the rain feels fresh..

and a change is..

as good as a rest..

innit..?

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW IS A TREE

 sharing this view with you..

 15. 29. gmt.. today..

listening to carrickfergus..

soon the hibiscus will be in bloom..

 

THE FIRST LAW OF BUBBLES

when you find yourself in one....

STOP BLOWING.. 

 

  

here in palookaville..

all bets are off..

 

WAITING FOR THE MAN 

rumour has it that..

the stock market will crash again..

some day soon..

and one day the rumour may be true..

but fucked if we know when..

THE MAN WHO FIXED THE WORLD SERIES

has fixed the news..

has fixed the market..

has fixed inflation..

has fixed the plunge..

has fixed the rates,

has fixed the junk,

 

ALL THE ASSET LESSONS

 

have been prepared..

but not learned..

a false sense of securities..

is the only sense in town..

 

STRIKING IT RICH

 

here in palookaville..

we are short..

but we are not happy..

we long to be long..

 

we long to belong..

 

but we are short..

man we was lonely..

could have been rich..

at least on paper..

could have used that paper to buy stuff..

 

CAUGHT SHORT

read the disclaimer.. 

this is not advice..

advice is cheap..

but seldom timely..

 

COME THE DAY

 when securities..

are fully insecure..

we may well be long..

and yet still be wrong..

 

PETEY SAYS

jus my own opinions..

an all fo fun.. innit!

y'all be careful out there..

https://realinvestmentadvice.com/technically-speaking-if-everyone-sees-it-is-it-still-a-bubble/ 

 

 

 

 

IT'S THAT GUN MAN AGAIN

 meet mr cut-out gun..

he is not a lot of fun..

but he's only just begun..

and he ain't just out to stun..

do you wonder..

that he will..

shoot to wound..

or make the kill..

either way..

it's not your day..

because he's here to stay..

oh please mr candidate..

please make him go away..

THE JOURNEY TO THE SOUL OF THE SOUK

 imagined Morocco..

imagined light..

imagined people..

imagine what's going on.. 

imagine the rage..

imagine the bargains.. 

imagine the guile..

imagine the plans..

the plots..

the gains and the losses..

the employed..

and the bosses..

the good and the bad..

old and the young..

winners and losers..

religions and stuff..

everything for sale..

and where..

anything goes..

seek and you'll find..

is it all in the mind..

the pleasure..

and the pain..

have you seen the soul babe..

hiding in the shadows..

figuresinasouk.com   

JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF THE SOUK

at first I thought it was washday..

in Marrakesh..

later I would change my mind..

they call this one the red door..

this one they just call..

the heart..

figuresinasouk.com                                                              

 

 

 

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE SOUK

three canvases from 2014..

and the new style is developing..

with the square..

and then the figures..

 

 

 

everything is still fluid..

 

 

things were just coming together..

 

 

soft focus and gestural..

 

figures in a souk..

 

oil on canvas 30x20 inches..

 

figuresinasouk.com

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

 

oil paint and gouache on arches paper..

drawn in the 'survivors' style..

 

if only all armies were all made of only terracotta..

instead of..

scorched earth..

and airplanes built with paper wings..

and drones and missiles..

were only kites..

to decorate the days..

and sleep on the wind..

 peaceful nights..

 

if only men..

and women too..

could make only love..

and never war..

or if they must..

create a proof that they once were.. 

make terracotta armies..

to bury in the ground..

to guard the peace..

without a sound..

 

BRING BACK MY GLEN-BOTT TO ME

    so it's 1980..

             

graduated in 1975..

into a big recession..

but up and running as a graphic designer in 1980..

when guess what..

yep another recession..

we got a16% pay rise one minute..

due to inflation and 15% mortgage rates..

so my lovely job just upped and died..

anyway..

here in palookaville..

when the going gets tough..

the tough start a new canvas..

IT'S THAT SPIDER-MAN AGAIN

the central figure is from spider-man 27..

'bring back my goblin to me'

just love that ditko artwork..

the scene is a recreation of my old school..

margaret glen-bott..

note the uniform and tie..

the radiator and the see-through panel in the door..

my style at the time had all these diagonal gestural marks..

the large diamond shapes were something I just wanted in there..

I guess that is me..

self portrait..

eat your heart out rembrandt..

school is tough right..

coming of age in wollaton park..

(pronounced woolaton)..

even when I had the job..

I was longing to be back in school..

talk about ambitious..

REJECTED FROM THE JOHN MOORES

like so many of my other master works..

this too was refused by the judges..

I took it all the way to Liverpool..

on the train..

60 inches high and 96 inches wide..

I had to sit in the guards van with the other parcels..

John lennon was not there to greet me..

but could only wave goodbye..

I was 16 when I first entered..

the Liverpool exhibition..

I believed I would win first prize..

16 will do that for you..

THE MADONNA DE MILO

 

flipping through an old 1950's magazine..

I came across this advert for a milky bedtime drink..

Milo..

mother and very healthy child..

one of the great images of western art..

great art as pop art..

madonna and child..

on the tv..

selling stuff..

guess all the kids these days think..

that's not madonna..

and anyway..

which kid is that supposed ta be anyway..?

tv's were smaller then..

and funny shaped..

'the madonna de milo'..

 is a limited edition screen print on arches paper..

1986..

edition of 25

VARIATIONS ON A SCREAM

 

 

following on from yesterday..

more variations..

 

 

 

click on any image to enlarge..

for another movie click here

THE SCREAM

this is my take on 'the scream' by edvard munch.. and this limited edition print was created in 1980..

 

it has two sheets of arches hand made paper..

 

top sheet printed on both sides.

 

with the 1950's ad for vim..

 

the second sheet underneath..

 

is from psycho..

 

ICONOCLASM

click on any image to enlarge

 

so this is janet leigh on the shower floor.. 

 

 

 

in 'psycho' by alfred hitchcock.. 

 

 

I had a screen made from the still..

 

 

and worked on the screen prints with inks and..

 

 

 paint stripper..

 

 

 

and then worked on the reverse side..

 

 

cut out flaps and folded them over..

 

 

 

there is more to see of course..

 

and more to tell..

 

 FORTY YEARS ON

 

 see my movie of this..