THINK OUTSIDE THE CLICHE

 yo!.. come all ye robots.. innit!

here in palookaville..

we are busy creating artificial dumbness..

machines that can think for ourselves..

not yet as dumb as us..

but approaching it fast..

the geeks in charge..

pretend that it is all for the greater good..

but really..

it's all for the greater profits..

the amounts of money they think they will make..

is so awesome that they can easily ignore any negative possibilities..

SURELY IT WILL ALL END IN TEARS

well that's a view beginning to leak out of the lab..

and there's the fact that..

we will have no jobs..

so maybe slow down a little on this?

no chance..

GENIE'S OUT OF THE LAMP

like cell phones..

and automobiles..

we must adopt and survive..

or get left behind..

or even worse..

left out..

DUMBING UP

all the early stuff will be dumb anyway..

taught cliches by dumb humans..

to do our dumb human jobs..

it's when the new dumb slaves..

create the newer cliche-free..

next generation..

then what?

AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

 yo!.. one that got away.. innit!

in the winter 1994 edition of..

modern painters..

I placed this ad..

waste of time and money..

shit happens..

get over it..

30 YEARS ON

well 29 years nearly anyway..

I am writing this..

because it is coronation day..

and I am bored rigid..

on another three day weekend..

banks don't need holidays..

people do..

so why not just give the days to the folks.. 

and let us all have ordinary days..

where we can work..

ANYWAY

the point about this painting..

is that it is gone..

got lost in life somewhere..

chucked in a skip perhaps..

maybe painted over..

who knows..

sometimes you think you have created..

something good, worthwhile, profound..

maybe you have..

maybe not..

people need to see it..

get feedback..

encouragement maybe..

SOME OF THESE DAYS YOU'LL MISS ME HONEY

I think it was rejected from..

the royal academy summer show..

maybe I should have framed it..

maybe I'm just lost in space..

like in the movie..

DARK STAR

this usage decal has always..

been on my mind..

it's my american gothic..

you start out full of promise..

and belief..

looking for a bigger bang..

sometimes I thing we got there..

maybe for a minute..

or maybe just a..

flash in the pan..

is there gold in them there hills?..

it's an american landscape..

a 20th century fox..

they have a military bearing..

scared and battered survivors..

testament to hope..

let there be light..

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE MOVIE

The bomb, 

having learned Cartesian doubt, trusts only itself. 

It is convinced that only it exists, 

and that its sole purpose in life is to explode, 

and it does so. 

Dark Star is destroyed,

MY AMERICAN DREAM

 yo!.. Whitney museum come get me.. innit!

long ago and so very far away..

in a studio that had previously been a hospital ward..

some guy shows up..

an starts ta paint his socks off..

ENOLA GAY

I had stopped painting with images from children's books..

and had come up with a pictogram..

which I thought of as a logo for god..

it was a landscape..

an idealised landscape but simplified..

like a children's idea of hills..

this was all inside a quatrefoil..

a window onto a promised land..

a land of peace and plenty..

well..

so I told in my post..

war is peace

I started marrying up the heaven image with the ultra-famous..

USAAF DECAL

I wonder how andy missed this..

anyway..

as you can see here..

I was painting these large canvases two at a time..

and the one that survives (top)..

is the one on the left..

so it is in a hot studio..

with lots of oil paint and thinner..

floating in the air..

that I entered my own little (war) zone..

white paint exploded everywhere..

as my brushes flew crazy wild..

and then I drew the quatrefoil in red..

and added the green hills..

all the paint was wet..

and if you click on the image you can see it lifting off the wet white..

I threw the dot from some way away..

it landed where it landed..

not aimed but a lucky shot..

can you see the dove?.

    DOVE OF PEACE

in a world of war..

I grew up in england..

in the burbs..

of palookaville..

and became american..

by watching tv..

WAR OR WESTERNS

that's what we watched in the 50's..

I had a cowboy outfit and a bow and arrow..

I had a davy crocket hat and a burp gun..

but the image that stuck in mt head and heart..

was the one on the wings of enola gay..

and during vietnam..

while I grew through my teens..

this decal was on all the news shows..

and in all the papers and magazines..

AN AMERICAN PAINTING

war and peace..

power and glory..

yin and yang..

with a bang..

AMERICAN ART 1985 - 2014

MY MASTERPIECE

 

                                                      yo!.. blue remembered hills.. innit!

long ago..

and so very far away..

I painted this picture..

at the time..

I was artist-in residence..

at the general hospital..

in palookaville..

I had this great big studio..

a whole nightingale ward..

to myself..

I had all the oil paints, turps, brushes and canvases..

I could ever wish for..

I had a small grant..

and a free lunch..

THE RICHEST MAN ALIVE

for who could ask for more..

anyway..

before I started painting the USAAF decals..

I painted the first image at the top of this post..

WATCH WITH MOTHER

it was 1984..

and 9/11..

was way in the future..

I was using figures from children's illustrated story books..

it was a thing for me then..

I had this sketch..

in my book..

that had rupert the bear..

crucified upside down..

to his little airplane from one of the rupert stories..

that would be the airplane not the crucifixion..

micky mouse was looking in through the window from outside the house..

that this was happening in..

so..

 given that I had the means, motive and opportunity..

I figured that I may as well..

go large..

so many litres of white spirit later..

after some great struggle..

this canvas was born..

a star..

so here we have the the resulting masterpiece..

but..

sometime during eternity..

rupert the bear..

has gone blackface..

he still has his red jumper and plaid yellow trousers..

so we can identify him clearly..

so why has his face gone black?

well sometime during the painting process..

I was in the zone..

having to spin the 8 ft x 5 ft..

canvas around over my head..

to get the soaking wet canvas with all of it's white spirit..

(turpentine)

to drain off in the desired direction..

I was in a painting frenzy..

it was great fun..

if a little tiring..

sometime during this creative fog of war..

rupert's face went black..

not premeditated m' lord..

but never the less..

OUT OF THE TOY BOX

the figures on the left of the painting..

are a jolly bunch of middle class pals..

called tiger tim and friends..

they are in shock and awe..

at the sight of the innocent rupert..

in such a fix..

IS THIS A LYNCHING ?

well after watching the george floyd killing on the news..

it may seem that way..

IS THIS 9/11

that would make the painting..

prescient..

spooky no?..

MEDIUM COOL

well..

I guess the answers lie in the news..

all of the filmed and videoed..

violence and tragedy..

endlessly watched by us all..

our faces reflecting horror..

and dismay..

but watch we still do..

in sharing this with you today..

it occurs to me that some may be offended..

by the black face of rupert..

and say it is somehow..

a racist work..

that, I believe, would be a mistake..

this is a powerful work of art..

but it cannot be seen by anyone at this time..

and so cannot be debated..

as it is held in the store room..

of a UK city..

who bought the painting long ago..

but will not adopt it into their public collection..

for whatever reason..

 I do not know..

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY"S

yo!.. just another day.. innit!

 

the thing about this great sourdough wholemeal toast..

is trying to get the butter and honey..

on the bits without the holes..

and anyway..

it runs off through the holes..

and down yer painter's smock..

WORKING WITH BRUSHES

I sit here every morning..

amongst all my painty stuff..

an eat my toast..

an drink my coffee..

an look at all my lovely paintings..

 HOPE SPRINGS

I get ideas..

see stuff..

reach for the camera..

there is so much to record..

I love this place..

maybe I will add a finishing touch..

paint over some lacklustre canvas..

go inside the house..

an write stuff like this..

THE REST OF THE ROBOTS

I wonder what the new slaves..

will do for breakfast..

and how will they think up stuff to create..

surely some i.t. dude will have to tell em what to do..

the idea that silicon beings..

are being created..

to out art us artists..

intelligence and skills..

far superior to ours..

VOTING EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS

all us turkeys..

gonna be put down..

or become pets..

just saying..

 

after breakfast..

the brushes..

come out to play..

where are we going today dad?

brushes get old..

and wear out..

just like we do..

 slaves to our art..

but human beings..

all the same..

PLANET ON A PLATE

 

yo! world inna grain a sand.. innit!

 

 

I use dinner plates as mixing palettes..

 

when I paint in oils..

 

this top one was used for 'my Indian Green'..

 

cool innit!

 

This really hot plate..

is volcanic..

it's a totally tectonic plate..

it's a real toasty world..

 

GLOBAL BOLLOCKS

 

yes the climate is changing..

it always has changed and always will..

cold ages and warmer ones..

you know ice ages happen..

 is it our fault..

probably some of it is..

but really it's all up to the sun and it's solar activity

 

we are not allowed to challenge..

the current orthodoxy..

but we don't have to believe everything that they say.. 

we just have to go along..

you know..

go along to get along..

 

NOAH SAYS DO THIS

 

maybe we should prepare..

save the animals and stuff..

but maybe not panic..

because it's already baked in..

and we are but little dudes..

compared to the sun.. 

CHANGE SUCKS

I useually don't like change..

not even the changing of the seasons..

 

I'M ALL RIGHT LUMBERJACK

 

 log rollers know one thing above all else..

keep on rolling..

if you try to stand still..

the logs will roll you over into the river..

and then..

and then they roll over you..

 

 

 

 

 

 

WILL WE ALWAYS HAVE PARIS ?

 yo!.. first response.. innit!

above in the middle of this picture is the centre panel of..

DEATH IN PARIS

as a painter..

living in a safe suburb..

somewhere not paris..

I had these larger canvases..

sitting around with nothing to do..

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

the tough get painting..

so I painted this triptych..

as part of the..

'figures in a souk' series..

'will we always have paris?'..

I asked myself..

and you too I suppose..

because sometimes..

it feels that civilisation is breaking down..

you know..

civility, tolerance, community, art..

ANYWAY

this was the effect that news had on my art..

one painting, three panels..

the souk can be a dangerous place..

as well as a place to shop..

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Will-We-Always-Have-Paris/31203/2705863/view

                       November 2015 Paris attacks

MY INDIAN GREEN

so..

I had this canvas..

painted orange..

 

and as you can see here..

orange looks good in the garden..

so green was coming to this dude..

and so it was that..

I got out the green..

and set to painting over all that orange..

hoping to know when to stop..

I mean..

you never know..

if something good will appear..

or not..

GLOBAL WARNING

I looked up..

and saw this Indian palace..

in the heat of the day..

after rain..

maybe..

I saw these people walking..

and the images of pollution..

shown on the telly..

somewhere in delhi..

some slum dog millionaires..

choking on poisoned airs

ANYWAY

I sat in my garden chair..

you know..

the one in the studio..

and looked at this painting..

and I could see dogs and cats..

and elephants..

and heat and dust and light..

at first I thought of..

the spring rains in africa..

the karoo..

and serengeti..

but no..

INDIAN GREEN

is what it is..

for now..

at least..

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