backs or fronts A perfect day. 1. I really really like the “backs” of these paintings which is good because if I hate the fronts when I finally rip off the protective plastic tomorrow, there’s at least something to put up. 2. I have no idea what time I arrived in the studio or how much time I spent in there. 3. I was so in the zone I felt no pain from the six blisters I developed in 12 miles of walking in stupid shoes yesterday. Result. #failureandsuccess #Painting #paintingp

work in progress (detail) Celestial Suburbia (Chapeltown) Can’t decide if progress is slow, fast, on schedule or behind. All that can be said is that the work is where it is, and hanging is scheduled for Thursday. It’s definitely at the dicey scary point of Potential Overworking. Normally when creating an image, you start big, with general masses, and work in and finally detail touches at the end. With reverse painting not only is everything visually back-to-front, but the w

surrendering to process I was talking with a fellow studio holder yesterday about controlling process, and surrendering to process. It’s a narrow tightrope and one of interest to all artists of any kind. I’m as equally interested in craft and technique as I am in the concepts underlying the making of art. But fundamentally, technique and skill is but the means to the end and it’s counterproductive for me to try and control the outcome of materials. Over the past few weeks of

schematic layouts Procrastination takes many forms. The outside world mutters about it as though it’s a bad thing: but procrastination activity is enormously productive. Beds get made, kitchens get cleaned, mail gets sorted. And drawings get drawn. And then paintings get painted and in the burst of continuing energy, studio activity happens to avoid the prospect of housework. The circle of life. #makingart #artprocess #studioprocess #Painting #drawing

experiments with media I thought I had one of those eureka moments yesterday. I thought I’d found the perfect medium to work directly onto Perspex to secure the underlying compositional drawing. It allowed me to do everything I wanted and I loved the colour (exactly the right black, and I must have rejected five other blacks over the last fortnight for various colour cast issues) and the texture (held gestural brush marks perfectly) and it didn’t dissolve when I began throwi

, first layers If I begin to think about the amount of surface to be painted between now and close of play Wednesday, it seems impossible. “How can I have done so little this morning?” Then I think of it five minutes later and it seems perfectly feasible. “Look how quickly I painted that!” So there’s little point in thinking at all about the total surface area of 7m2 (give or take) facing me. The fact is that I do work really quickly, but these bursts of frenetic non-thinki

more experiments with material Day six is an achievement not least because for most of it I was at a charity fund-raising art fair and still managed to get in a fair few hours working in the twilight zone. Which was interesting because working in semi-darkness whilst painting with materials which guarantee uncontrollable aesthetic outcomes in normal conditions just adds a certain something to the whole experience. Picture this. Reverse painting on acrylic means not being able

Wah. But still, so much exciting stuff is happening in the midst of the angst that I would far sooner be facing the tough bits than not. It has also lead to an epiphany moment. This is, after all, primarily a short residency, with a very very short exhibition of work tagged on at the end. This is not about working to a final ultimate goal of showing perfectly resolved and finished work. This is about the process of researching, experiencing, reflecting and experimenting in a

drawing compositions Day four began with bleary eyes, a list of objectives for the day, and yet another interminable list of things to be foraged from home. The list of objectives seemed manageable. Which was important, since the last (non) goal on the list was no sleep until the rest on the list had been done. This was my was of focussing on the day ahead and not the terrifying prospect of a week ahead. Baby steps, baby steps. Enough experience of life and art at least to be

Light patterns of evening Second day, and the temporary studio is in place. A series of foraging sorties to the conveniently located builders’ merchants across the road, and bag loads of stuff from my normal studio are scattered across a large piece of polythene spread over a cold and unforgiving stone floor. My knees will complain, but needs must. I’ve begun experimenting with materials and after the previous night of nerve-wracking sleeplessness laden with doubt, fear and

Tourist View (Canadian Rockies) oil on paper 100 x 150cm On holiday last year, it took me a week or so to realise I was more interested in photographing tourists blocking the scenery than I was in capturing the iconic views. #CanadianRockies #Painting #Portraiture

oil study (sacrifice of the feminine) (soldier) (oil on paper 110 x 80cm) Stuff’s a bit busy what with convergence of my taxi driver role with school exams. So, starting as Women’s Hour began, 50 minutes available to fill a large surface, massive brush in hand, invocation of the Muse… Job done. #blankcanvas #creativity #Painting

Here’s an all time first. I’ve been staying the last fortnight with friends in their Indian Ocean paradise. As usual, I packed enough sketching gear to meet the needs of an entire art class, but more unusually, I packed my old oil paint travelling plein air case because I was in highly productive mode before I came away, putting in 12 hour studio days, and I couldn’t afford to lose momentum with a show coming up in October. Part of me thought I probably wouldn’t do much, but

My ongoing fascination with the ordinary everyday is now particularly focussing on abnormal normality and issues of collaboration and “collaboration” and boundaries and perspectives and contexts and identity (another ongoing parallel theme in a lot of work over the last five years). And with all this thinking and trying to make sense of ideas floating on the periphery of consciousness, I keep doing a mad dash for materials to hand (in this case an old portable box of oils for

#Painting #Portraiture #selfportraiture

On the point of scuttling out back to car and decided I had time for a quick oil painting. Placed materials and gilt wax on floor, grabbed two brushes, four colours and some turps. Did an agonizingly unflattering but rewarding portrait of self. Is this a return to #adailyselfreflection? #Painting #Portraiture

I have an exhibition starting this weekend. It’s in a relatively small room adjacent to a larger dining area and bar at The Reliance in Leeds. It’s a complete contrast to the white wall environment of my other current exhibition at Redbrick Mill in Batley, where glossy immaculate digitally reconstructed urban landscapes adorn the space. The Reliance show is not exhibiting final resolved pieces. It’s a small intimate room with dark green walls lending itself to a variety of sm

The tendency after any sort of show for me is to sink into a state of overwhelming lassitude. Psychologically, I’m on a roll, but with no energy to take advantage of the creative run. Except when there’s no time to sit and recover. So this week, my attention has been fully and 100% focussed on The Other Art Fair happening towards the end of this month. There’s far too much to do even without finishing off work, but it’s just too good an opportunity to miss having a new major

Westbourne Grove (a portrait of everyday) (detail of collage element) It’s been a while… but things get busy… the drawings are coming thick and fast now. Every one develops in its own manner. it’s strange how the hand is the same but the technique makes so much difference to the outcome. Even working instinctively and intuitively, sometimes from one hour to the next, it’s amazing how differently the work emerges. If you’ve missed the details of the November event in London, l

After a busy couple of weeks spent staring at computer screens producing work for various festivals here, there and just about everywhere, I arrived in the studio this morning ready to play with real paint. Diverted however by the distracting mess which greeted me (a pile of sawdust, a chop saw on my painting table, and a huge pile of dried mounted paper drawings on mdf) I have spent most of the time tidying up and actually vacuuming. I was so inspired to get things straight