Wednesday 31 August 2016

GRAN FUTURISMO

Looking back at various artworks, to progress to a new phase.

My installation ( including my shoes for Buckefeet ) as part of Antone Douglas's CONCEPT ROOM show, Oct 2015:






Below: GOOGLE EARTH, Acrylic On Canvas, 140cm x 110cm, 2013.




Below: ASTYANAX, Acrylic On Canvas, 101cm x 76cm, 2013.




Below: FIELDS OF HYPERION, Acrylic On Canvas, 101cm x 76cm, 2011.



Tuesday 30 August 2016

BPN ARCHITECTS: FINAL DAY / INTO THE FOLD


The sharp edges made by the sun add further dimensions to the compositions: It becomes an evolving piece of art. It was great to finish off with the contrast of white-on-black, 'folding' around the corners of the space.

Note the reflective triangular 'pools' in the middle picture.





BPN ARCHITECTS: FINAL DAY / DOORS OF PERCEPTION

'There are things known, and things unknown, and in between are the doors.'
- Aldous Huxley




As the end of the project approached, I wanted to do something in the street itself, but we'd spent a disproportionate amount of time adding spontaneous designs in response to the shape of BPN's building.

Having gotten permission from the owner of the building across the street, while Rob finished the designs on BPN's outer wall, I set about sweeping the pavement opposite and then trying to fix black tape to the brick walls. This was a dead-end: The walls were so crumbly and dusty that the tape just fell off as soon as the breeze picked it up.

Instead, I wiped down the green wooden doors, and found that the tape just about stayed put.




Again, I went off-brief, and decided to comment on the state of the building by depicting a series of 'collapsed doorways'.

Rob joined me to complete the final doorway. After two weeks, he was familiar with my core idea - that is, when something looks too uniform, throw in an anomaly, or a 'mistake'. He suggested a single white stripe on each design, which I thought was a great idea.

None of my art conforms strictly to the notion of 'geometric art', because uniformity or symmetry is something I can appreciate, but personally is not satisfying to me. 




Ideally, I'd love the viewer to spend long enough in front of my art to follow where it's going, and then be surprised by something that should not be there. And they would know that the decision was made to put it in deliberately, and I'd want them to ask 'why?'

But I'm also a realist. People will most likely look at the art and not realise that they're supposed to spend a great deal of time on it, and just think 'cool design' and leave it at that. Which is also fine.

The same week also saw the occurrence of a devastating earthquake in Northern Italy, and when seen altogether, these broken portals, along with the general dilapidation of the building, appear to be an echo of that.






Monday 29 August 2016

I, VOYAGER

ASTYANAX ( a 2013 painting I named after a character from The Odyssey, which I was listening to on my iPod at the time ), has flown back from Soho, NYC, and is now residing in London.

I love the mix of cold blues and greys, and cadmium red. I must progress this style further.

Acrylic on Canvas, 101cm x 76cm.



Thursday 25 August 2016

BPN ARCHITECTS: SECOND PHASE DAY 2


Experimenting with anamorphic shapes today...the image below should suddenly resolve into a solid shape when you walk by a certain spot on the pavement.

Pic shows fellow artist Rob Walsh, who's helping me with the install.



Very pleased with the sculptural quality of the image ( below ).





Wednesday 24 August 2016

BPN ARCHITECTS: SECOND PHASE BEGINS

Started work on the new image, a cluster of abstract skyscrapers, plus experimenting with floor effects.




Monday 22 August 2016

WORK IN PROGRESS 'A' [ updated from 27/04/2016 ]

SEPTEMBER: Looking forward to picking up where I left off, back in April.

As-yet-untitled: Acrylic on canvas, 50cm x 75cm

As featured in the Junction Festival, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, July 2016.


Thursday 18 August 2016

BPN ARCHITECTS: DAYS 3 + 4





Above: Indictive of how a site can affect the creative process in a positive way, the pyramid above the entrance could expand to be a major feature on the second wall.









Monday 15 August 2016

BPN ARCHITECTS: SITE INSTALL COMMENCES


The archetypal blank canvas...first day onsite at BPN ARCHITECTS.




Below: View of the street. The sunlight made Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter look like an Edward Hopper painting.




Below: The quality of light today in Birmingham has been amazing.







Below: End of first day...several more to go.




Sunday 14 August 2016

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT - END OF TEST PHASE


Photos courtesy of Rob Walsh.




It's interesting to note that this time, the creative process happens at a different tempo from the postcard doodles that it's based on. So the things that were instinctive first time round, are given much more room for deliberation, allowing me to understand why those kind of creative decisions were made in the first place.




A lot of art is musical, in that you are creating something either harmonious, or dissonant. For example, if you play off-key deliberately, it somehow becomes its own key, albeit somewhat off-kilter and avant-garde, and it's the same with art. 

In this case, by exploiting 'dissonance', the piece becomes more effective. If an angle clashes with the angles around it, that's good, because it creates more definition. If anything, this 'test-piece' illustrates the need for more dissonance. 

Below: Experimenting with transparent and solid forms that 'leak' out of the composition.






To my way of thinking, the vertical lines act as a visual underpinning. If they are spaced correctly, the piece will balance well. However, within that, is the space to allow for the dissonant parts. One reassuringly odd aspect of this, is the need for a 'deliberate mistake'. The piece was looking too balanced so it felt satisfying to sneak one in. 

It acts as a visual pun, and rather like a Rorshach test, it's probably only visible if your mind is aligned in a certain way.



Tuesday 9 August 2016

DEPARTURES IV

Experimenting with a change of style.

LANDSCAPE I

Acrylic on Canvas, 60cm x 60cm






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LANDSCAPE II

Acrylic on Canvas, 60cm x 60cm





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