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 ...
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 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 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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
"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 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...
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...
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...
"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...
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...
I have just returned from Liverpool, my third visit in just over a year. The love affair continues. I find the city so inspiring…Albert Dock (the Buddha on the long boat and the beautiful Pumphouse chimney)Clouds dancing over the Mersey (to the beat! And the beat goes on…)The Beatles statue, Pier Head (I could not see L8!)The acorns in John's hand ...
Christmas is almost here and the year, thankfully is almost over! Not that I'm wishing my life away but like countless others I'll be glad to see the back of 2020. We have high hopes for you 2021 — be radiant and golden, deliver beautiful things! Ok, I decided to make some Christmas cards this year — nothing clever or over designed, just something ...
I recently designed another A3 poster for the Out Of Sight Out Of Mind exhibition now showing in Summerhall, Edinburgh.Out of Sight Out of Mind(ends 30 October 2021)Scottish Mental Health Arts FestivalSummerhallEdinburghOut of Sight Out of Mind is part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival year-round programme and features digital artwork, in...
granton:hub is pleased to announce that our community is now included in the 'Coastal Knowledge' project funded by the RSE Young Academy Scotland and led by Dr Niki Vermeulen (University of Edinburgh) celebrating Scotland's (prolonged) year of coast and waters.As a coastal community, Granton plays a part in developing diverse forms of knowledge abo...
Here are a few things that have caught my eyes, ears and sensitivities recently. It all goes into the artistic mix. Be omnivorous!WORDSOn the Black Hill — Bruce ChatwinBasquiat — Leonhard Emmerling (Taschen)Think Like An Artist — Will GompertzThe Leither MagazineSOUNDSHeroes — David BowieLuxa — Harold BuddNocturnes & Impromtus — Chopin (again!)...
