STUDIO<>VISIT (or what I did on my holidays)

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the PITT gallery for the Garden party that was the culmination of my summer micro residency, the unveilling of work for the Nu Contemporary English Landscape Painting (NuCON). And a massive thanks to Nat for being a consummate curator and gallerista!

Beer was drunk, stuff looked at before we retired over the road to the Chestnut pub where we enjoyed the fruits of the Worcester Music Festival.

Also my first foray into reviewing should be in this months SLAP magazine, a write up of the Worcester Open. Hope it reads ok.

Today is also the sort of moving day into exile in Bath – the boss has gone on ahead to open the shutters and shake the grits out of the bedding, just as long as I get the drums down all will be fine. Nephew should be in situ to take over the reins at some point this week.

And tomorrow is my birthday – with a spot of life drawing pencilled in first thing. Start as I mean to go on.

The red dot = 'sold' 

What a nice chatty post this has been! 

STUDIO<>VISIT (day 6)

Things moving apace – now at the end of week 2, this is day 6. Work slightly hampered by helping sort out and set up the Worcester Open, of which the opening is tomorrow and I hope you will all attend.

Anyway, I have almost finished a painting. It is called Playboy: Bounty Bunny Hunter and features a near naked figure stalking two giant Playboy style bunnies grazing just the other side of a hillside.

It draws inspiration and comfort from the man made signs and symbols that are dotted around our landscape. The bunny logo brings together the old with the modern. The male figure* is based upon limestone outlined figures on chalk downs, often of horses and often found in Wiltshire, although this one might be more closely related to Dorset’s Giant at Cerne Abbas. 

In truth it's not very good although I have had fun with the drippy paint technique that Peter Doig and his followers seem to be much enamoured with. Apart from that it's a bit shit. 

*shorts models own (not pictured). 

STUDIO<>VISIT

Today I started micro-dency @ PITT project space in Worcester – the residency which will stretch out over July is called Studio<>Visit and you are all welcome to visit. I have a kettle but no running water so please bring your own and I will make us both a refreshing drink. If you are going to visit please do so on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 10 a.m and 2 p.m. 

This must be the place....

I am investigating landscape painting and over the coming weeks intend developing my own Nu Tradition of landscape art.

So far I have unpacked and explored my new surroundings. There is a toilet and as a contrast, French windows that open out onto a small, pleasant walled garden. I have a radio and paint and I took a flask of coffee so I was happy. After listening to the radio, drinking the coffee and admiring the lawn for a short while I made some cursory notes in my cursory notebook, locked up and travelled the short distance to a nearby settlement where I bought a sandwich, two postcards and a Fleetwood Mac cd although not all from the same shop. 

Farmer on a skateboard

I set up a small installation that references homelessness and rough sleeping although the piece is called ‘Glossing’, a term that references Glamour and dosing, hence ‘glossing’.

Glossing

Tomorrow I will take some water to put in the toilet and begin unpacking the paints in earnest…. 

12th March 2012

My head is now quite royally fucked, sleep is what other people do when they go to bed and today my left cheekbone hurts whenever I yawn, which is frequently due to the lack of sleep. It's lunchtime and I’m currently over staying my welcome at Darling #1’s, I should be gone but I’m hoping she’s coming back from work and I might get fed.

Still not got anything for the billboard at PPspace, but this morning I have been purposeful and alert. I have sent off a proposal for this year’s Supernormal festival and drawn up another one for Eastside Projects' travelling bursary for ESP's.

The latter will involve a field trip to Dusseldorf to find something that does not want to be found, namely Kling Klang studios, home of the legendary German synth band Kraftwerk, writers of such fun, fun, fun on the medium wave dial as The Model, Radio Activity and my own favourite, Ohm Sweet Ohm.  I only want £350, which as it happens is what they are offering, not to me but to whoever wins. Have roped Nathaniel in for this, would be fun if we got it.

Went to small cocktail gallery in Bristol on Friday, met the legendary Alex from fb and enjoyed looking at her work. Went back on Saturday with D#1 in tow for a pavement pizza + beer with Alex before cheerfully sending her off in what was apparently the wrong direction for the motorway.

Tonight I’m going to football back at the Wu in the Shire, but don’t talk to me about football, or swans. No matter.

I know I only appear to post once a month and there isn’t much here to fill a weekend let alone a month but rest assured I do do other shit, just can’t be arsed to write it down.

It’s 1.15, what time do they have lunch in schools? I think that she is not coming back and I might have to forage for myself.

Bye 

Info etc

It seems so long since we last spoke. Properly. In that time much has happened. Frieze was dealt with in the previous post but I have since taken pictures of Phonetic Phlaag planted on top of Fort Royal Hill in Worcester, cradle of the Civil Wars from the disputed first skirmish at Powick Bridge on the outskirts to the final battle within the city walls. I’d like to take it round the country and document it in a variety of uninspiring locations before exhibiting the pictures in equally uninspiring white cubes.

Worcester from Fort Royal Hill

This has coincided with a new approach to work. Potential year zero with my first work being that of the flag. I intend to use icons (the flag, hoodies etc) to make a new questioning political art. It will be austere yet glamorous and all at the same time, with no allegiances to anything other than art, common sense and bad taste. Strange bedfellows of course but since when has that been a bad thing?

Working Men’s Klub have been asked to supply Movement Gallery with a copy of the film that we made of Peter Carey’s house called Apple Without Cheese and we’ve been happy to oblige.

Talking of Nathaniel he has two shows coming up; one at the Pitt Project Space and featuring photography and one at his new gallery in Malvern, Division of Labour. Nat has been telling anyone who will listen that he’s got a real decommissioned pistol for the private view. This has been met with (understandable/universal) scepticism. At the time of writing the Chief Constable hasn’t bothered to respond to Nat’s email outlining his intentions.  Probably get busted on opening night . . .

First Monopoly board has gone in to be framed. This one is full size but there are miniature versions (Killer) to follow.

Ciao for now x