art studio
RDH: JUNE 2024
02/06/24
Studio - focus on one image…
Well, some days just don’t go the way you want them to. Bit of a damp squid in the studio. Superficial work on ‘mugshot’ (working title). Vented frustration out on cleaning the yard.
05/06/24
Organising archive.
06/06/24
Late Night Art - Belfast. Traditional Route.
09/06/24
‘The Week in Art’ podcast discussing Studio Voltaire and Martha Jungwirth’s take on Goya. “Turning off the facuet of emotion.” (on O’Keefe).
The Sleep of reason.
‘Talk Art’ with Nathanaëlle Herbelin.
“Hindsight” - So bloody close! Frustrating. Too thick in hair and isn’t dynamic as rest of picture. Deep breath. Could be worse and be no where near close to finishing - silver charcoal filled linings.
Still haven’t heard anything from S.P. show.
12/06/24
…found wanting. Rinse head - take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
F.W.A.
13/06/24
Being really fucking ballsy!
14/06/24
Didn’t get solo chance. Ah well. Up to Belfast for opening of ArtsFest III.
Great turnout!
16/06/24
Cleaning works in the lower garage. Some damaged beyond repair.
“Hindsight Study” finished. Some substantial progress to “Four Years On”.
19/06/24
23/06/24
Great day.
25 + 26/24
Family sick days so just a total wipeout.
Visual / Ocular Migraine.
30/06/24
Started the day off bright and early with some sketching from photos taken throughout the week.
“Four Years On” finished.
Larger portrait started. Good way to end the month.
RDH: MARCH 2024
02/03/24
C. S. - death note. (video grab possibly)
03/03/24
‘Séance’ piece might have had its day. Setting it away for now. ‘Final Fancy Dress’ - good progress made. Tight in portrait and looser strokes in the clothing.
06/03/24
Alright - lazy / stupid. No ifs, no buts.
10/03/24
Background progress on ‘badger’ piece. ‘Séance’ has been cleansed. Just went too far. Compositionally flawed from the offset and was fighting a losing battle. Lesson learnt.
12/03/24
Didn’t get in. A bit annoyed but there is always next year.
13/03/24
Bit the bullet and took the initiative. A nice reply - now trying to not get ahead of myself.
17/03/24
Drew up F.W. on large canvas and some good tonal progress on ‘Gallery Visit’ today in the studio. Background more vibrant perhaps?
21/03/24
22/03/24
‘Restraint Study’ and ‘Amy Study’ submitted. 🤞
23/03/24
Trip to Derry for VOID Arts Centre opening ‘Composting for the Future’. Harking back to projects of the past yet paving a new, more collaborative direction.
24/03/24
‘Gallery Visit’ - few tweaks, bit more blurring and hey presto - finito!
27/03/24
28/03/24
Did not make the long-list. Ah well.
30/03/24
Trip to Portaferry and a slight change in plans for Sunday. Back to the studio all being well next week!
RDH: FEBRUARY 2024
01/02/24
Beginnings…
02/02/24
…officially taken a back seat. That’s OK though. Needs - Must. Doesn’t mean the grey matter stops!
I mind a ‘Thunderball’ poster with a table in it - or was it N.S.N.A.?
Knots - Riddled.
03/02/24
20:11 - Malcolm John Kielt born - 7lbs 10oz.
Jan was amazing.
09/02/24
I have been thinking about what was put to [redacted] for the [redacted]. Advice could (and should) be taken on board closer to home.
Certain circumstances, mean that practice has taken a back seat - as it should - but this shouldn’t be an excuse to down tools completely and end any creative activity that could be happening. I don’t know if I could fully switch off anyway.
Just because the practical studio and office / sketchbook time is lowered doesn't mean all artistic outlets dry up! There is room in other spaces. Even now, trying to carve out some creative time will be important. Use any spare time wisely - but also enjoy the early days of baby number 2!
10/02/24
Studio cleaning and some posthumous signing this morning.
Had time cleared for the studio for a few hours - just to get some paint down when no sooner had I started, the skirting man arrived.
The best laid plans etc etc.
15/02/24
16/02/24
BEEP BEEP!
17/02/24
“A Brush with…. Wilhelm Sasnel”.
“I do not control painting; I follow it.”
Wilhelm Sasnel
Some studio work - bit of a no-go. Need to re-energise the on-the-go paintings somehow OR start from scratch OR (3rd option):
Finding - or trying to find a new rhythm. Tough going but we’ll get there. What have I done in the past when I’ve come to a cul-de-sac?
DRAWING BOARD! Practical Next Steps.
18/02/24
Plan set out to be productive this evening - … had other ideas.
Submitted!
X
IX
XIII
20/02/24
22/02/24
Ciarraí MacCormac at Ulster Presents.
Pond(er) at Catalyst Arts.
23/02/24
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”
Voltaire
25/02/24
“A Brush with… Stanley Witney”
(…a painting has to get ugly before it can be beautiful. If you go straight to the beautiful, you’re aiming at the pretty.)
Two canvases started. Badgers’ is quite interesting already.
Fingers crossed.
28/02/24
“A.J.#240” - well I fell asleep during that podcast. Riveting.
29/02/24
Sketchbook studies.
RDH: JANUARY 2024
02/01/24
Uncertainty is where the magic happens.
Organising ‘used’ imagery.
03/01/24
…back to the drawing board.
04/01/24
… strengthened my resolve. Sometimes you are too close to the work to see the threads / connections running through it - so another eye is always greatly valued.
…stagger (they talk).
06/01/24
For now, less writing for the sake, less procrastination and more doing please.
Late night sketchbook work - three cadets on the one page.
07/01/24
Second night in a row where the dreams were really messed up.
14/04/24
First day back in the studio for the year. ‘séance’ darkened down by layer of charcoal.
‘Restraint Study’ finished, and palette is clean as a whistle!
18/01/24
Snow Day.
more drawing = more ideas = more work
Andro Wekua: Louisiana Channel (Hand on the shoulder).
Words to Action.
21/01/24
Saltburn - good but gross.
Sick all weekend, missed Watty’s All-Ireland glory. A real dud of a weekend.
22/01/24
23/01/24
25/01/24
…peaks and troughs. 2020 was unique in that time seemed to last so much longer. Suck it up.
Late night drawing.
28/01/24
A weekend of nesting.
29/01/24
Lost… looked up and down the road, in and out of fields. Came back.
31/01/24
Using vagueness, opens more possibilities for the viewer.
RDH: NOVEMBER 2023
01/11/23
02/11/23
Late Night Art Belfast - another cracker!
Cameron Clarke’s exhibition in DAS, probably one of the best installations I’ve seen in a long time. The perfect week for it - ending the spooky season with a bang.
05/11/23
Studio - setting aside the two large works for now and going to focus on the two portraits in progress.
It was all going so well until… working on ‘Indifferent Study’ and thought I would be productive in between waiting on a thin layer of paint to set. Began chopping some firelighters for later and…... BAD IDEA! Took a decent chunk out of side of a finger. Just when I was getting into a rhythm! It will heal but my favourite pen won’t. It died this evening too. Doesn’t bad things come in threes?
11/11/23
Short Studio Session. ‘Indifferent Study’ = Hair OK, surprisingly. Eyes / mouth needs tweaked. Skin Tone: slight contrast needed between light and shade.
FINISHED!
See, little checklists of what to focus on before lifting a brush work!
14/11/23
16/11/23
BVAF: re-energised and eager to take pro-active steps in art community in city.
19/11/23
S.S.S.
‘Amy Study’: Background - dimmed / dulled - green gold + payne’s grey? Need to get a grip - FOCUS / PRIORITISE / WORK!
…was not expecting to finish this portrait today. Creating little checklists in between layers really does help to critically evaluate the work as it goes - pushes for focus.
Getting to the point where I feel an outlet is needed. What’s holding me back…
Cogs are a turning…
Keening
I have a secret - I listen to Radio 3 to drift off.
21/11/23
23/11/23
The streets are arteries.
Pope L. - advice to the young…
Stuck on a canvas for months. Tutor at the time saw him struggling and said:
“WRITE ON IT!”
Exorcise your thoughts and things will stem from it.
26/11/23
29/11/23
Come rain, hail or shine (but more than likely frost) … solid brainstorming session.
The hmming and writing is all well and good but if you’re actively not doing anything - then it’s just noise.
30/11/23
Weird lights in the sky over Glenshane. Six evenly spaced lights in a diagonal - no sound.
DEBUNKED! Mystery solved, Musk’s star link.
RDH: SEPTEMBER 2023
05/09/23
06/09/23
Crow in flight. Morrigán. Could see the stabbed brush marks of the wings when watching it in flight. Weird. Aren’t we all?
Time needs to be set aside for practice. Shia LaBeouf.
Sounds like an excuse but a certain letter has thrown a real spanner in the works.
NB: Forgot to jot down that ‘Red Lines’ has been accepted into this years’ Royale Arcade Academy show at Arcade Studios.
07/09/23
LATE NIGHT ART - Belfast
Some very late-night sketching.
09/09/23
Setting your stall.
10/09/23
Art Wank Podcast with Array - listening during studio time.
“Painting is a place to hide thoughts, hide feelings, hide emotions.”
- Stephen Millar
The Arts are not singular. Arts as a united force for good. Collaboration.
You can’t eat prestige (or a flag).
‘Ready to Go’ blocked out. Not sure if it’s a damp squib but I think it’s worth another shot.
‘Marina’ - content with background. Loose is good. So bloody close.
13/09/23
H.B.S.
After a bit of mulling - the ‘Ready to Go’ canvas is anything but. I have forgotten the first rule:
IF IT DOESN’T EXCITE YOU THEN THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG
It is not and it is also an image that, if it’s going to work, will need another image merged to elevate it.
It is a solid image, and it has a resonance with me personally but it’s just not doing it for me, for the want of a better phrase.
Handed in ‘Red Lines’ to Arcade. Stopped by the MAC to see ‘No History in a Room filled with People wih Funny Names 5’ by Korakrit Arunanondchai and Alex Gvojic with Tosh Basco. An extremely immersive experience.
Abhartach - the Irish Vampire.
Black / Peaty Soil. Roots become negative space. Possible triptych?
14/09/23
Abhartach - source material…
This will be for down the line. Even the little portrait alongside ‘Ready to Go’ on acetate has more promise and, more importantly, has my head spinning!
Back of the bus, it’s been a long time.
Can see where… might have an advantage. More time. Been reading “The World New Made - Figurative Painting in the 20th Century” by Timothy Hyman.
“I was alone in my studio in front of my oil lamp. Two or three in the morning… Dawn is breaking… I used to sit up like that all night long. My lamp burned, and I with it.”
- Marc Chagall c.1920
Henri Rousseau = recovered a primal truth in painting.
17/09/23
Short Sunday Sessions.
“Marina” finished! But only just. A little over indulgent with the fixative meant some emergency fixing (irony) was needed.
If I had my wits about me I should’ve drawn up a new canvas in the 45 minutes spare. Hindsight.
“Look to Henri Rousseau as examplar for a renewal of figural language reborn in the image of childhood.”
- Timothy Hyman
18/09/23
20 week scan. All well! Surreal.
Also, on the way to Causeway - a lovely note, Warm, fuzzy feeling.
21/09/23
22/09/23
Breaking the Cultural Code - Tenth Anniversary of Derry’s UK City of Culture.
“Culture is everyday lived experience.”
- Sir Phil Redmond
Culture Night Derry
24/09/23
Studio time. There was a temptation to rework ‘Ready to Go’ for a minute. Had to remind myself that structurally it’s interesting but it doesn’t excite me to see where it can go.
“A Brush with… Claudette Johnson”
A really promising start to three canvases today.
25/09/23 & 26/09/23
BP high. Ordered to Antrim A&E. Arrived at 7pm - didn’t get seen until 10am on Tuesday. Tests to be done and rest needed. Poor timing.
28/09/23
…day in court.
29/09/23
VAI Get Together 2023 - Online day.
Imogen Stidworthy - How We Work.
30/09/23
Be better at channeling time and effort into productive means.
We’re all a work in progress.
RDH: JULY 2023
02/07/23
TALK ART: TIM STONER
“When you are a mature artist, you’re not a mature painter”
“Process of Catharsis”.
“The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye… The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.”
from ‘The Ascent of Man’ by Jacob Bronowski
Really good going with “In a Huff” today. Yellow a little acidic maybe and the t-shirt needs refining - but not to the point of going too tight with it.
06/07/23
09/07/23
‘A Brush with… Jeremy Deller’
“In a Huff” - muted the floor; slightly less acidic and lightened the background / walls. T-Shirt texture is troublesome so pared it back to jostle with it another day.
“Put it Away” - background darkened and textured up. Happy little accidents like the dripping on the skin and around the mouth. Have kept them there for now. Perhaps veil them at a later layering stage.
The lighter hair is going to be a challenge and at this point it’s rough as hell
but
I’m looking forward to tackling it again. I feel this may be a case of slowly working in between a few days of drying time. The open hand is a headache because the source image is so bleached out with light that it looks flat. COUNTER THIS.
11/07/23
A few days off.
LATE NIGHT SKETCHING!
13/07/23
Palette cleaned and two new canvases drawn up. Essentially getting ready for Sunday/Monday painting session.
Noticed something when looking through acetate sources. Initials. Lots and lots of initials. Subconsciously adding? Especially ‘A’. If you look at the drawings (and by proxy the paintings too as I try to keep elements of the drawing mark there too) they are there from the get go. Food for thought.
15/07/23
… submitted …
16/07/23
Thought better of putting paint out for a morning studio session. Decided to focus on pushing the drawing and tonal elements of the two new canvas works instead. Full day in the studio tomorrow. Best not throwing that away!
17/07/23
The bones of Orestes.
A really good day in the studio. “In a Huff” finished and more progress on “Put it Away”. Also some layering and groundwork done on the two new pieces. More of this please!
19/07/23
Take own advice.
22/07/23
Oppenheimer = outstanding.
23/07/23
A solid six hours in the studio. Good momentum on large piece - still no title (but worked from an image of Marina Ginestà). An enjoyable birthday weekend.
27/07/23
… preselection…
30/07/23
Not feeling it today. That does not mean that you simply walk away from studio. Grind it out. Do something! Will set ‘Marina’ aside and work on “Put it Away” instead.
See what happens if you stick it out!? Finished this painting even though head was not in it today at all. Yes, the guts of it was done and it just needed refined in certain areas. There’s a level of satisfaction to be had when you accomplish something that is usually the bread and butter stuff when you’re not in the zone. Makes it sweeter somehow.
RDH: MAY 2023
02/05/23
First day…
Make time for practice.
03/05/23
04/05/23
…the drive to help.
Late Night Art Belfast. The first in a long time.
07/05/23
“Boy Soldier” - finished.
Two new little pieces started this afternoon too!
09/05/23
13/05/23
Sent feelers out…
14/05/23
Need to tread carefully with this one.
19/05/23
Supplies!
20/05/23
A good tidy up of the studio.
21/05/23
Studio time.
Going somewhere and then damn near destroyed ‘Mugshot’ piece. Taking some time and stepping back helped save the day.
Looking is still working.
Brought it back. Relying too heavily on the charcoal mark can sometimes lead to images turning into a caricature of itself. Pared back the drawing line - focussed on the tones and limited palette that don’t stray too far from each other. Much more successful as a whole now. Bit more to go but good otherwise.
25/05/23
Luc Tuymans - surgical precision. All working out is done beforehand - composition, colours, size, materials all planned in advance so that intelligence goes from the brain (in the preparation stages) to the hand (in the making). I don’t know if that would work for me. That split second spontaneity - yes it can go wrong and often does - is needed for play with materials. Having a regimented script when painting would not work for me.
Need to catch a grip. Too easily distracted by shiny things.
27/05/23
“Egon Schiele: Dangerous Desires” on Iplayer.
28/05/23
Studio.
“What fascinates you about that bastard?”
Definitely evokes a response. Is it worth it to get response based on the sources for the work rather than the work itself? A pickle. It’s not a glorification of a person’s actions. It is a study, an investigation of a portrait of evil. Aesthetic response to traumatic event.
Ethics vs Aesthetics.
In the end, I’m never speaking or working for anyone but myself.
Wee bit of progress on little prayer canvas. Could the two be companion pieces?
31/05/23
Dublin bound.
RHA show - an art overload but in the best way!
Quick stop in Temple Bar and glad I saw performance for Fanny Gicquel’s show “breathing with heels, walking with eyes”. Also popped into Project Art Centre to catch “Got Damp / Púscadh Anuas” by Avril Corroon.
RDH: APRIL 2023
02/04/23
“…entry point into an emotional landscape.”
“…photograph is just a vehicle to then deal with those subjects that I want…”
Matthew Krishanu on “A Brush with…”
Having a crack at “Check Your Pockets” again. Going to try attacking it from a different angle.
09/04/23
Easter Sunday.
“A Brush with… Mike Nelson”.
“C.Y.P.” - let’s just get something down.
Good progress on figure today. Looks solid but… it’s not sitting right though and when I looked again after cleaning brushes, only then did i realise… the issue is the background. Compositionally it’s fine but the colour choices and tonal values are all out of whack.
11/04/23
Over the Moon!
12/04/23
14/04/23
Still pinching myself. Best foot forward!
16/04/23
Seem to have went and gone the long and awkward way about it but “Check your Pockets” is finished.
Some sketchbook work to finish the day off.
20/04/23
Special letter in the post.
23/04/23
Great to hear the Ulster Museum being interviewed in The Art Newspaper’s “Week in Art” podcast.
“A shared history, not a shared memory.”
Studio time - clothing an background work on “Boy Soldier”
RDH: NOVEMBER 2022
05/11/22
Art and Ecology Podcast.
Studio Time with an assistant!
08/11/22
Painting in RUA has SOLD!
11/11/22
It all adds up.
12/11/22
“You know in the back of your own mind if criticism holds any merit for yourself.”
13/11/22
Studio time - short but sweet stint today. Good progress on three pieces. A little too on the nose in some areas but very productive otherwise.
17/11/22
VAI Get Together day 2. Highlight was listening to Samir Mahmood talk about his practice.
19/11/22
Progress on “Feeling Stretched” and “Red Lines”. Getting there. Colour choices needing a tweak though.
20/11/22
Belfast trip with the family. Ulster Museum - Renaissance to Romanticism. Brueghel the Younger pieces very good and the Goya portrait on display is a special painting.
Great to get up with Jan and Imogen to see the RUA again.
26/11/22
Shocked and saddened to hear of Hugh O’Donnell’s passing. I got to know Hugh in applying for funding in 2018 and again in the run up to my solo show in Atypical in 2020.
Hugh was always so kind with his time - having a studio visit beforehand and his feedback and insight during the install was a dream. Hugh was a real presence and his life blessed all who spent time with him. Rest in Piece Hugh.
30/11/22
Priorities shifted about.
RDH: JULY 2022
02/07/22
Studio - moth wings getting there. .. dusty. Struggling with top colour. Tried green and purple. White is too close to the magpie moth tones.
03/07/22
In my own head yet again. This time it feels vastly different. Other concerns are taking precedent and pushing issues into the background. This is never a final solution I know but it is positive that mindset has altered accordingly.
More progress to ‘Mothman’ this evening.
08/07/22
“The artist has to put before the eyes of the public forms and poses which has existed previously in the darkness and confusion of an irrational mind, or one which is beset by uncontrolled passion.”
Goya
10/07/22
13/07/22
Sad to be missing the opening of the Boyle Arts festival tonight.
Sketchbook work instead.
14/07/22
Asked to give a talk. Delighted.
16/07/22
Nearly fell asleep. Not a good start.
Studio - at a bit of a crossroads. This along with paints needing freshening up is why I’ll focus on drawing up new canvas / boards.
17/07/22
Studio again.
It’s so strange. Things are so good at the moment. Just… negative voices. Popping in and wearing down. Keep active mentally. Support system. Breathe.
18/07/22
When a lead weight is released, you float and rise. Getting there.
‘Mothman’ finished. Trying to stick to the less is more philosophy.
19/07/22
D.T.M.
20/07/22
Sketchbook work.
21/07/22
Short but very sweet stint in the studio. A good start on three pieces.
22/07/22
Ulster Museum trip with my girls!
Stuart Calvin’s show in Atypical is excellent and heartfelt. The Alexandra Lethbridge exhibition in the GoldenThread is worth seeing.
23/07/22
Small progress in the studio. Hair in little portrait piece turned out way better than I thought it would. Best off leaving it alone!
30/07/22
‘Who Threw That?’ finished.
I think sometimes taking a risk can be as simple as not putting a mark down at all.
31/07/22
Compliments can’t be the ‘be all and end all’.
RDH: APRIL 2022
01/04/22
First bath.
02/04/22
…only to have the computer crash.
06/04/22
The best of intentions.
07/04/22
Sketchbook work. Blowing off the cobwebs.
08/04/22
Great to meet a good friend for a coffee and a chat.
10/04/22
14/04/22
Need to find a centre ground in practice. It’s been an amazing 18 days with the beginnings of family life.
Red Head Redemption?
16/04/22
Nari Ward on ‘A Brush With’
“Chance is a material.” - N.W.
Really pleased with how ‘Girl with Red Hair’ turned out. Little bit of ogham incorporated into the sleeve - hangover from the Catalyst residency? No bad thing.
18/04/22
Delegate. Divide (time) and Conquer.
23/04/22
Just seen EMIC on ‘The Art that Made Us’ on BBC.
Incredible! So delighted for EMIC. What a platform and in such amazing company!
24/04/22
Some good movement in the studio today. There does seem to be a struggle with imagery at the minute. Solution: back to the drawing board. Literally. Setting time aside for drawing will help no end.
One Month old!
28/04/22
Sketchbook work tonight. Limited but worthwhile.
30/04/22
Little comparison to W.C. Honoured.
Studio time. “In the Pond” is getting there but need to be careful not to over paint.
…some interest in a selection process?
RDH: FEBRUARY 2022
01/02/22
Daft Punk Live - Alive. Frantic.
Sketch with music on in the background. No Show and Tell, just Tell.
05/02/22
4,000 weeks. Poetics of space.
Great to meet up with J.A. and S.T and to see Catalyst’s new space.
Quick jaunt to the GT and to the MAC in the morning. Edy Fung’s and Ronnie Hughes’ work were great! Hughes’ translucent layers of paint suck you in and grab hold. Shimmering colour clashes.
Head is buzzing with ideas. Exciting!
06/02/22
Mary Beard’s Forbidden Art. - Pan and the She-Goat.
Daphne Todd - painted recently dead mother.
“Violence will always be a part of the human experience.”
Mary Beard
It’s been an odd weekend. Great but odd.
Ideas are starting to be slid into place about how ‘Ogham’ will be approached. Churning away so keep faith.
It’s been a limbo sort of a day. Feeling the need to do SOMETHING - but not being able to find the energy.
Reading, research, drawing, responding.
Readymade… Domestic
So, actually I retract the ‘limbo’ statement. I did do things today. I was productive. It’s just there wasn’t any tangible outcome. Case and point… 7th page.
07/02/22
Sketchbook with Daft Punk on - upping the tempo.
08/02/22
Fabric search.
Carving out ideas. Scrap yard.
09/02/22
H.B.M. Looking forward to getting into the garage this weekend.
Let’s give it a goo!
12/02/22
Aoife Dunn - IMMA: Socially engaging sculpture.
May have slipped a disc. Acetate sketches.
SUN - MOON - HOME
14/02/22
Image sorting today.
16/02/22
Meeting. Repetition and extremities. Develop and evolve.
17/02/22
J.A. Studio Visit!
19/02/22
Studio time! Finally! Using just titanium white and charcoal - both willow and compressed - to work up images. Going back to my process’ roots - year 2 in art college. Two new works started.
22/02/22
‘Ogham’ has begun. Dog study - black dog. Great to see what S.T. is doing in the space and Rachel’s response.
SLOW AND LOW SHOOTING STAR.
24/02/22
Snow! Appointment done.
25/02/22
Belfast bound. Scared guide dog on the 212.
Great to get into the space at Catalyst and set up for the next two days. Began working on two pieces. ‘Don't Look’ in ogham.
The fourth wall is glass. Casting of mouth by S.T. Reminds me of ‘Red Dragon’ from the SotL prequel of the same name.
26/02/22
Day two in the space. Time is not our friend but still have to remind ourselves that there’s no end goal needed. Just to respond and be creatively present.
So good to meet Rachel and see Steph’s process in the flesh.
RDH: NOVEMBER 2021
03/11/21
Some good sketchbook work today.
04/11/21
National Common Sense Day. “Portrait of NI: Neither an elegy nor a manifesto” in the Golden Thread Gallery. Interesting layout, gathering work of a similar ilk throughout the decades together.
Anne Tallentire’s “But this material…” in the MAC; great use of spatial interaction with the work and the gallery space. Some really strong work in “The presence of Absence” exhibition from the MFA 2019 cohort group show in QSS.
Really enjoyed the opening of the “Salonathon Show 2021” in Platform - seeing my work alongside some great artists and meeting up with familiar faces!
05/11/21
Wincing the odd time.
06/11/21
“Portraiture exposes the gap between the interior and exterior selves.”
-unknown-
08/11/21
Didn’t realise the gravity…
11/11/21
What was thought to be a dud - must have turned out alright!
12/11/21
13/11/21
Really good day in the studio. “The Doctor will see you Now” finished! This new philosophy of keeping it loose, not striving for a realistic perfection, which is ultimately unattainable anyway, seems to be working.
I have a tendency of focussing on niggles to the point when the paintings get tight and the imagery too self aware. Learning to let go and step back a stage or two sooner seems to work for me.
16/11/21
Didn’t get accepted but that’s OK. Sketchbook work tonight to get brain working.
17/11/21
Very quick trip up to Derry to see “Tilt [At Windmills]” with work by Jarkko Räsänen, Fionnuala Doran, Paul Moore and Robin Price in CCA and “The Shrinking Universe” by Eva Rothschild in VOID.
20/11/21
Blocking in and working out logistics on three pieces today.
29/11/21
Nervous but that’s pretty much down to the unknown factor.
RDH: OCTOBER 2021
02/10/21
Point of order today: DO NOT OVER PAINT!!!
Think “Rex Aegypti Penultimus” is finished.
05/10/21
VAI GET TOGETHER 2021
Rediscovering private and personal spaces / rituals.
06/10/21
Chanelle Walshe - self organised self-curation.
Duc Van Pham - Breaking down the figures - is this a way of adjusting / adding narrative?
Keynote: Christian Jankowski - “The Hunt” “Casting Jesus”
Beuys - difficult.
07/10/21
Why do we put people in boxes?
Superflex - interspecies living - “Flooded McDonalds”.
10/10/21
Dosed to eyeballs so not going anywhere fast.
12/10/21
13/10/21
Two new canvases begun today. Little and large.
16/10/21
Strong sense of self.
Good progress in the studio today. Didn’t mean for the small one to go Holy.
20/10/21
Accepted into Platform Arts group show!
Getting there with “Lady of the Manor”.
23/10/21
Globalist cheerleading.
24/10/21
Wardrobe fiasco.
“Lady of the Manor” finished.
25/10/21
28/10/21
HALLELUJAH!
29/10/21
Definitely been distracted lately but the blinkers need to come back on.
30/10/21
31/10/21
Early morning tonal work to “The Doctor Will See You Now”. Slow and steady progress but definitely best to stop when I did to give new layers a chance to dry.
Merry Halloween.
RDH: SEPTEMBER 2021
02/09/21
Organised ‘used imagery’ away into respective folders.
04/09/21
05/09/21
King Farouk onto pyramids? … GREEN LIGHT!
Quitting while ahead today but so far so good.
06/09/21
Scanning.
07/09/21
Such a mover! Beyond happy and proud and excited for things to come.
08/09/21
Some good groundwork done on the two smaller pieces.
09/09/21
Sketchbook work.
11/09/21
Tidy and apply sort of a day.
12/09/21
“Painting as an act of assembling different references.” - Ralph Rugoff
Finished “Saint and Sinner”.
13/09/21
Excited for VAI Get Together ‘21.
14/09/21
A long night of scans, and resizing drawing works.
15/09/21
Layers and layers, back and forth. Named due to facial expression.
18/09/21
Long shift in the studio but finished “Unimpressed”. Front hand is rough but if there was more done, it could ruin the whole piece.
22/09/21
… relished in the relationship between the paint mark and the drawn line - their harmonious and, at times, antagonistic tendencies.
Applied and a waiting on.
25/09/21
<— This will be tough!
A nice couple of hours in the studio today. Pushing and pulling on “R.A.P.”.
26/09/21
Really good live chat with Clinton Kirkpatrick on Instagram. Nervous but thought it went alright.
28/09/21
Sketchbook work.
Huge congratulations to Array Collective for opening their Turner Prize exhibition. Everything is crossed!
30/09/21
Wake me up…
RDH: JUNE 2021
03/06/21
Canvas stripping, stretching and some sewing experimentation.
04/06/21
Priming canvas is such a messy business!
05/06/21
Once the work is made, build bridges to your audience.
Artists need to band together!
Anne Imhof - finding refuge in the blur.
06/06/21
Easily worked up - relax.
09/06/21
Finally getting round to cleaning garage and setting paint out. Asked if I’d like to be featured in a takeover. Chuffed!
Bit of a mixed bag in studio today. On wooden piece, that image just sucks you in and spits you out! With the large canvas started (‘Man Digging’ - working title) it’s quite a forgiving composition and palette working well so far.
10/06/21
“An archive of emotions”
Dr. Kate McLean