Lego Minifigure Red Spaceman Painting

Lego Minifigure Red Spaceman

12" x 12"

Lego Spacemen Paintings

Some new pieces I've been working on recently are these Lego Men.

This is the first set - Spacemen!

Like the paintings of bottle caps, the Lego figures are a simple way to explore colour, form and design. The familiarity of the imagery allows me to almost explode the image while still retaining it, something that I find is only possible with easily recognisable objects.

Also like my other recent work it focuses on an interest in the hobby of collecting in which the displaying of any collected objects (worthless or priceless) becomes more than its individual pieces.

This set of four Spacemen sold immediately in Gallerina last week, on their first day of appearance!

The feedback to the Lego paintings has been great!

But who doesn't love Lego?

***

Update ......
Lego Spaceman Prints Now Available!!!!!!
Find them
HERE

Recent Portrait Commissions

Some of the recent portrait commisions that I have completed over

the last few months.

Visit the Portrait collection on my website to see more work.

HERE

One Two Three! Prints Available!!

A set of very limited editon prints of 

One Two Three!

is now available to buy.

This small edition of prints is strictly limited to 15 sets.

Each set consists of the three prints & are signed & numbered.

The print set costs £225 & are available to buy from the website.

Click here for more information & to buy.

Save the Arts!!

The Save the Arts campaign is organised by the London branch of the Turning Point Network, a national consortium of over 2,000 arts organisations and artists dedicated to working together and finding new ways to support the arts in the UK.

The aim of the Save the Arts campaign is to encourage people to sign a petition which will be sent to the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. It points out that it has taken 50 years to create a vibrant arts culture in Britain that is the envy of the world and appeals to the government not to slash arts funding and risk destroying this long-term achievement and the social and economic benefits it brings to all.

Over a hundred leading artists including David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Anthony Caro, Howard Hodgkin, Anish Kapoor, Richard Hamilton, Bridget Riley, Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin have joined the campaign to make the case against the proposed 25% cuts in government funding of the arts. The campaign acknowledges that reasonable cuts and efficiencies are necessary but that the 25% cuts being proposed will destroy much of what has been achieved and will have a particularly damaging impact on smaller scale arts organisations, as well as on national and regional museums and their collections.

The first stage of the campaign presents a new video animation by artist David Shrigley highlighting the effect of the funding cuts and a new work by Jeremy Deller with Scott King and William Morris. Each week, the work of a different artist will be released. Mark Wallinger will present the next project.

The costs of David Shrigley’s animation have been covered with a grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. All artists engaged in this project have generously donated their time, talent and art.

Click here to sign the petition!

Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind*

N 6231 Patons Piccadilly 50" x 40"

N 9832 Patons 4 ply 48" x 36"

These are my two latest paintings using the simple repetition of a single image to create a new experience. By releasing myself from the constraints of the original design I can explore a more painterly rhythm within.  As an Artist I often find myself creating rules in which I must work, one of them being, working within the original design of the source material. The reason behind the was not concrete but an idea that in reproducing lowbrow imagery as 'fine art' there was a need to be truthful of the source material. This, over time became unmovable and it is always liberating to throw away the constraints I have applied to myself.

12” x 21 ½”        2 x 4” x 9½” No. 11 Kings Of Speed Captain G.E.T. Eyston

Also in the same repetitious vein a new kings of speed painting with actual cigarette cards and packets

*Quote by Douglas MacArthur

New Works - A mixed Bag!!

Test Card F 20" x 16"

You may recognise the TV as it seems to have become my archetype for vintage televisions.

14” x 25 ½”        3 x 7” x 3½”  No. 30 Kings Of Speed “Bluey” Wilkinson

This is a large scale work on paper based on Churchman's Cigarette cards from 1939. The piece includes 6 original cards all of which are Bluey Wilkinson. The back of the card has been hand painted and over scaled. Mounted on top are another three hand painted versions of Bluey slightly smaller but still oversized.

19” x 13 ½”        2 x 6” x 8½” Spook Talk No 46

Another large scale work on paper is based on American Leaf Brand gum cards from 1961. Like Bluey Wilkinson The piece includes 6 original cards all of which are Frankenstein and his bride and 4 original reverses with terrible jokes!. Again the back of the card has been hand painted and over scaled. Mounted on top are another two hand painted versions of Frankenstein slightly smaller but still oversized.

14 x 10 ½”  No.56 Cheese Fondu

Finally a new work on paper that is based on adverts found in 'Woman' magazines from the 60s. Unlike the earlier works on paper - see here- which were all full page ads this is one large ad and two that are smaller. They were all taken from separate magazines and chosen to create a tension that is found when disparate images are combined. This also gave me a great title in the misspelled No 56 cheese fondu

No.56 Cheese Fondu (detail)

When DO you call a painting complete?

Benjamin West, The Treaty of Paris (1783 Unfinished)

I'm often asked how do I know when a painting is complete and in my case the answer is difficult to explain. Personally the act of painting can be best described as a game of balance between the abstract nature of paint and the image that is reconstructed. A painting can be described as 'complete' when I run out of spaces to move. It is therefore an individual choice of what I believe the painting needs in order to convey my intent and still hold a painterly balance. When I am satisfied then it will be left.

Rollover Text To View Images

Willem De Kooning referring to the same question spoke that "I refrain from 'finishing it. I paint myself out of the picture, and when I have done that, I either throw it away or keep it' It is this idea of not actually 'finishing' in a traditional sense that is very important to me. The viewer must be the person to 'finish' the painting (not by painting in my gaps!!) but by adding all of the disparate imagery and making their own connections. This open ending allows you to constantly revaluate the painting. Because of this I have no qualms of re-working a painting sometimes years after it has been exhibited if I still feel connected to it. This is not because the painting needs to be improved in any way but over time as I have changed a new aim and vision for the painting can develop. This does not always happen as paintings have a strange way of disowning you. This I must add is not negative. As De Kooning said you can paint yourself out. Sometimes you never see a way back in as a painter but can then fully enjoy it as a spectator.

Rollover Text To View Images

 

Ex Post Facto Available Now!!

My new book 'Ex Post Factor' is now available to buy.

The book costs £25 & is available to buy from either Gallerina or from my website.

Ex Post Facto is a book which is based upon a loosely tied together series of works created over the last three years.

It examines my influences & the main aims of the collection which is split into four sections, Objects, Advertisements, Knitting Patterns and Magazine and Book Covers.

Each book is signed by myself.

You can have a look inside here

Nice to see you, to see you nice ...

Thanks to everyone who dropped by Gallerina on Saturday it was great to talk to everyone. It was also good to see Mark Johnston there too chatting about his work.

Also an update on the book situation is that it should be here in about a week so will be available very soon. It will be available to buy online & in the gallery for those nearby.

If you want to be contacted by e-mail when the book is available click here for more info.

New Works On Paper

2 x 13 x 9.5” Men DO MAKE Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses

14 x 11” Keep that Schoolgirl Complexion

14 x 11” How right she is (Drink at least one pint of milk every day)

These are a selection of new paintings on paper I have just finished & I will be dropping them off at Gallerina on Saturday.

It seems I'm painting adverts again which I haven't for around a year. The inspiration is a pile of Womans Own magazines from the 50s I purchased from a car boot. I think they had been stored somewhere a little damp but I really loved the aging on them. This has been the main influence to paint them onto paper, ripping the edges and aging them artificially. I like that they blur the gap between the original and my reproduction.

If you are in the Darlington area on Saturday drop into Gallerina as I will be there for a few hours to chat about my work. If you need help getting there click here.

I will be there from Noon until about 3pm if you want to come along.

Portrait of Regan

Hope you watched Imagine the other night.

If you missed it you can watch on BBC iplayer Click Here

Also here's the timelapse film of the painting too.

In The Telegraph

The Telegraph ran an article on Saturday about the upcoming art show Imagine which features myself & Gallerina.

You can read the article full article online here.

New Painting - Silky Lashes!

'Silky Lashes' 20" x 16"

This is a new painting I have just finished & dropped off at Gallerina today. The painting is taken from an advert found in a 1950's Woman's Own magazine.

BBC Art Show Imagine

Next weeks BBC1 art show Imagine will feature myself as they followed me through a portrait commission earlier in the year.

They filmed myself & Gallerina for the show which focuses on the Arts Council scheme Own Art.

The photo above shows the completed portrait with Alan Yentob & Regan who commissioned it through the Own Art scheme.

Catch the show on BBC1 Tuesday 1 December at 10.35pm.