ART Sadly, no gallery visits or exhibitions; the world has been put on ice. So I turn to books, catalogues, the Internet and local skies for inspiration.Cy Twombly: Fifty Days at Iliam — I have treasured this book since I bought it on a London trip in October 2018. It still astonishes and ravishes with its beauty and intellect!Cy Twombly: Lepa...
"But if you could just see the beauty, These things I could never describe…" — Isolation, Joy DivisionAs I am staying at home like the rest of the world in forced isolation I decided to interview myself for my website blog! I found a list of questions for artists online and started to answer them. I hope this is inetersting for anyone who may be pa...
One month ago today, Oskar my Maine Coon cat unexpectedly died. I was inconsolable, he was beautiful, and a big character and I miss him.Do grief and creativity mix? Well, I have tried to lose myself in the process and the small sketch above was one idea that came forth. I may produce a larger painting based on it one day.I collected Oskar's Catalo...
ART William Blake — Tate BritainCy Twombly Sculptures — Gagosian, LondonAntony Gormley — Royal Academy of Arts, LondonLucian Freud: The Self-portraits — Royal Academy of Arts, LondonKeith Haring Tate — LiverpoolRose Wylie, 2014: PV Windows and Floorboards — Walker Art Gallery, LiverpoolLaurence Stephen Lowry, 1959: The Liver Building, Liverpoo...
I recently designed another A3 poster for the Out Of Sight Out Of Mind exhibition to be shown in Summerhall, Edinburgh in October.Out of Sight Out of Mind is part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival year-round programme and features digital artwork, installations, films, projections, animations, sculptures, photography, paintings and drawin...
"But I had a vision of unearthly beauty, and that is why I was able to live at all. Liverpool is the "pool of life." — Carl Jung Memories, Dreams and ReflectionsI made a trip to Liverpool last week primarily to see the Keith Haring exhibition at Tate Liverpool. However, I found the city to be astonishing and to be honest it kind of eclipsed th...
I think all creative disciplines; art, design, architecture, fashion, theatre, film, food and music, can sometimes fuse together and cross-pollinate to nourish and create new ideas or forms.I have done design work in the arts for many years and enjoy the challenge of having to think in a different, yet still creative way. It makes me flexible, curi...
On that first day, the endless possibilities, the journey just begun. Now, each day is a new day, streaked with pink and blue and filled with promise — I access and bow to the child within. Bliss Baby is a visual reminder to treat each day as a gift — golden, golden indeed!bliss |blɪs|noun [ mass noun ]perfect happiness; great joy: she ga...
Getting a professional-level framed canvas with stretcher bars typically takes a lot of measuring and a bit of guesswork. It is a very delicate process and you have to have an eye for perfection but I found it to be quite straightforward and completed my first one!It is now sitting smugly on my studio wall with 5 coats of Liquitex heavy body, light...
I love this quote: A mind of the caliber of mine cannot derive its nutriment from cows. — George Bernard ShawMore nourishment for my mind…ARTGiuseppe Penone: A Tree in the Wood — Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, WakefieldThe Hepworth WakefieldThe EY Exhibition Van Gogh and Britain — Tate Britain, London (despite it being overcrowded. Why do t...
Portable Utopias, left to right:Bliss BombshellAcrylic, Crayon, Chinagraph Pencil, & Pencil on Plywood50 x 50 cm | 24 January 2019Portable UtopiaAcrylic, Oilstick, Chinagraph Pencil, & Pencil on Plywood100 x 50 cm | 25 January 2019Electric Everything/Another Realm/Spangled NowAcrylic on Plywood50 x 50 cm | 31 August 201822 March – 4 April 2...
I delivered my 3 paintings to the Upper Church, Summerhall, Edinburgh today. They will be hung tomorrow for the Syn Festival opening on the 22nd March at 6.30pm.From the Syn Festival website:Join us for the opening of Utopias exhibition at the Upper Church at Summerhall on Friday 22 March 2018 at 6.30pm. Eighteen contemporary artists who live and w...
I did my first self-portrait last week. Well, a slight twist on the traditional idea of what a self-portrait should/may be like. I threw out the bathwater and left this baby image.When I did my self-portrait, I left all the pimples out because you always should. Pimples are a temporary condition and they don't have anything to do with what you real...
I make really basic, crude line drawings and sketches that are often incorporated into paintings or find their way into works on paper.The mark making is done quickly and often just begins with a line that has no particular place to go. As Paul Klee said: "A drawing is simply a line going for a walk." And sometimes, there's a basic idea and the ima...
I think it's really important to devour culture, to soak, immerse, pickle and rinse your self in the stuff! Here are a few things that have I have approached with fascination and interest. It all goes into the artistic mix; it feeds, nourishes and without it I shall wither!ARTJean-Michel Basquiat — Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris Ornamental Despair ...
Two weeks ago I visited the Musée d'Orsay, Paris to see Orsay through the Eyes of Julian Schnabel (as well as the Van Gogh's), as I quite like a lot of Schnabel's work.The gallery had asked Schnabel to give an interpretation of their collection, by presenting, in two of the museum's historic rooms, a new scenography and a selection of works that ha...
I set off from Rue Victor Massé and walked west on Place de Clichy heading for the leafless trees of the Bois de Boulogne. After 2 hours of continuous walking I arrived at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in a state of feverish excitement!I adore Basquiat's work and have seen many exhibitions down the years including: Musée MaillolParis (2003)Brooklyn ...
I returned home last night to a good news e-mail: Hi Michael — hope you are well. Just to let you know that 'Crown Silence' has sold. Well done again and payment will be made on or before 7th January 2019. Hope you enjoy the festive break. Thank you Velvet Easel and thank you to whoever bought my work yesterday, may it bring you much cont...
Dear ArtistPre-selection is now complete. Sadly, on this occasion your work has not been selected for the Open Submission section of… 2019.Dear MichaelThank you for submitting your proposal to exhibit at P… Gallery for the 2018 Exhibition Programme, we appreciate the time and effort put into making your application. There were a large number of amb...
I was lucky enough to visit Tallinn, Estonia last week. Amongst many fascinating things that I experienced, a visit to the extraordinary Kumu, was one of the most thrilling. Kumu is the headquarters of the Art Museum of Estonia and houses both classical and contemporary art.The complex itself is a work of art — a modern architectural masterpiece. C...
