This video from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland puts the spotlight on some of the galleries reopening to the public after lockdown. Included in this video is a little sneak peek of ‘Confessional’ which has reopened at the University of Atypical and runs until the 23rd October.
belfast exposed
RDH: SEPTEMBER 2019
01/09/19
More work done to “The Ferryman”. I think it’s lost any painterly charm.
02/09/19
‘Arena: Kusama Infinity’ - such a great artist!
“While the dead show dead art, living artists die.” - Yayoi Kusama
Hope springs eternal.
05/09/19
Great talk and workshop with Action Mental Health. Really positive and interesting feedback from the crowd.
Patrick Horan’s fantastic paintings in the Ards Art Centre’s Sunburst Gallery.
Called into the Ards Art Centre for a quick chat and a little look at two shows opening; Gavin McCrea’s installation and Patrick Horan’s paintings.
Yusuke Asai’s amazing installation in the Golden Thread Gallery
At Late Night Art Mark McGreevy’s ‘Flop Sweat’ in the MAC is marvellous! Brilliant use of colour. ‘Knick Knacks and Whatnots’ by Cameron Morgan in University of Atypical is excellent. Blown away by the work on display in the Golden Thread’s “Noise of Silence: Japanese Art Now’ especially Yusuke Asai’s huge mud installations.
06/09/19
“Ferryman” is unusable.
07/09/19
Finally finished the middle panel from the originally conceived “Pioneer” triptych. Think it stands on it’s own merit.
More progress to the the ‘Cooley’ piece.
11/09/19
Sketchbook work tonight.
12/09/19
Really enjoyed “Memory: The Origin of Alien” documentary.
“At the Mountains of Madness” by HP Lovecraft.
“What will humanity find when they look in the dark places?”
15/09/19
Studio work - some additions of spray paint to ‘Cooley’ piece. Walked away before digging too far.
Little panel piece, “The Horror! The Horror” Speed is it’s friend. Wooden supports are responsive to gestural work - less so with the charcoal marks - more layers needed to achieve tonal quality I’m after.
16/09/19
Wonderful article about my time up at Action Mental Health.
17/09/19
Increase in productivity lately. Could it be a confidence thing? I’m working no more or no less than the slump periods. Is it a case of a fine tuning of better judgement when more at peace with practice? Plenty to look forward to in the coming months.
19/09/19
21/09/19
Notes: immediate drawing line combined with more deliberate painterly marks. Cross pollination.
“LW” = by removing the instrument of trauma can it be viewed in a miraculous or redemptive light?
Not spelling out the narrative - Great to sit down and chat about work and ideas with GM.
Visit to PS Squared and “How the Image Echos” show.
Sea Holly Gallery is absolutely stunning and wonderful work on from the 545 pop up group show. So good to see elements of the much loved Orpheus building back in an artistic sense.
Craig Donald’s work alongside restored windows from the Orpheus building in the Sea Holly Gallery
22/09/19
Finished little panel piece.
24/09/19
Quarantined.
28/09/19
Studio work and “Dress Rehearsal Study” is getting there. It’s weird how every time I paint children they end up completely terrifying.
Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ is utterly amazing. Beautifully filmed and will stay with me for a long time.
30/09/19
Collection of work for “Bardo” show tomorrow morning.
RDH: FEBRUARY 2019
01/02/19
Slight change of tact…
02/02/19
03/02/19
Some tonal work on “Bereft Clown”
05/02/19
Lagging behind.
06/02/19
Applications submitted.
09/02/19
DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to … etc etc.
How do you combat this?
“Discipline is key" - JG
Break the cycle by physically setting time aside for practice. Depending on the day of the week and other commitments, the type of productive work will differ.
10/02/19
Cleaning the palette
12/02/19
One good sketch is better than not drawing at all.
16/02/19
“What’s for you won’t go past you.”
Reworked pattern and colours on clown today.
17/02/19
Great to get painting today albeit a little later than I would have liked.
Counting works - didn’t realise there were so many!
23/02/19
Belfast. Great to see the last day of ‘The Question of Feeling at Home’ in PS² - curated by Moran Been-Noon. Bonus to get a run down from Moran about the show and to see Cecilia Bullo’s work in the flesh! Been excited to see it since her talk in the DLR LexIcon last year. Next was a visit to Belfast Exposed for the ACNI collection show with a solo show by Linda Conroy in the upstairs space. Conroy’s work is disturbing and utterly absorbing at the same time. Removing notions of the individual from religious ritual resonated with me personally. Then it was on to ‘Porous Plane’ by Lennon in the Golden Thread Gallery. The sheer scale and vibrancy of the work was immense. In the information leaflet it says that “no knowledge is required to enjoy the beauty of these paintings” and that Lennon “invites each of us to find ourselves and arrive at our own inclusions”. Leaving room for the viewer is something I’m particularly keen on.
Lastly onto the wonderful ‘Alternate Perspective’ in Platform featuring work by Aimee MeLaugh and Karl Hagan. Both reflect on ‘memory, people, places and trauma’. The grandeur of history painting coupled with highly personal and intimate narratives. Wonderful painting exhibition.
25/02/19
Project profile submitted.
27/02/19
It’s the journey not the destination.
28/02/19
Nearly into third month and nothing really to show for it. Plenty of works in progress but not enough progress being made.
RDH: 01/11/18 - 30/11/18
02/11/18
… all but done…
03/11/18
Do I need a foreign colour? “Afore the Stoop” went in a slightly different direction than first thought. I think I had that quote by Helen Johnson still ringing in my ears about imagery possessing different surface qualities and being on different registers on the same picture plane.
The buzzard is still; hovering overhead while the still-life is in flux. Melting in on itself. To not just merge separate imagery on the one canvas but to treat them differently via technique. I’ve done this regularly in the past but never to this extent before and definitely not on this scale. There’s loads going on: blocked areas, melting, washes and burning/corroding of the surface for texture.
“Confessional” is a different beast altogether. It’s going to be a slower process - building up washes of colour, drawing elements back in followed by more washes until it comes to an end or a crossroads. So far so good. It’s not really a colliding of images. It’s the notion of what a negative of a pattern could do to another image.
Refreshing to see organisations opening doors. The model is being altered.
04/11/18
Kept hearing the shrieking of a buzzard every time I went to work on “Afore the Stoop”. When I looked it was perched on top of the tallest tree at the end of the lane and then glided off.
06/11/18
Some sketchbook work. Not a lot of time but that’s my fault.
09/11/18
HELP!
10/11/18
For studio work: cautious steps or daring leaps? Annoyingly close to finishing “ATS”.
Submission writing hurts my head.
11/11/18
Films to watch:
Finished “ATS”. Still bits that annoy but for the sake of not destroying it entirely, I don’t mind the imperfections.
Help has been indispensable.
12/11/18
Still waiting on magazine.
13/11/18
Egon Shiele Documentary - transcending the idea of the body as beauty.
15/11/18
Nothing.
16/11/18
Belfast bound for curator talks but looking forward to visiting some galleries first.
Jane McCormick’s “Not Half Right” at the University of Atypical was absolutely amazing. Insanely strong drawing and sculptural elements.
Ali Cherri in the MAC International 2018. His work was the stand out work for me.
Curator talks as part of Belfast Open Studios from Visual Artists Ireland offices. Speaking at the event: Nora Hickey from CCI in Paris, Ika Sienkiewicz-Nowacka from CCA Warsaw, Dean Brierley from Caustic Coastel in Manchester and Anna Ciabach - formally of Monopol Gallery in Warsaw.
17/11/18
Work is being used as an example to show other artists about finding your own voice. Chuffed.
…someone has been keeping an eye on my progress and that is something!
Another trip to Belfast for more galleries and then a Speed Curating event.
Gerard Carson’s “Submersible Extractions” in Platform.
Patrick Colhoun at the Golden Thread Gallery.
Still of Barbara Hammer’s work at the Golden Thread Gallery exhibition.
Layout of the ‘Speed Curating’ event by VAI held in Belfast Exposed.
18/11/18
It has been a hectic but brilliant few days. Yesterday I called into Platform to see Gerard Carson’s “Submersible Extractions” and a solo show by Dryden Wilson. I followed this up by a quick look at the Barbara Hammer exhibition and Patrick Colhoun’s project space work in the Golden Thread Gallery. Then it was time for the speed curating event at Belfast Exposed.
… do research. What artists i admire….
…Strange. Nothing negative. Just nothing.
A lot of information. A real painter?
19/11/18
“In Defence of Representation” essay by Tristan Garcia.
In western philosophy the representational object is either a copy, a sign or a duplex.
“… according to the semiotic model, there is no representation without signification, that is to say without interpretation.” - Tristan Garcia
20/11/18
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” - Screen (1973)
“The Victim” - Saul Bellow
21/11/18
Tried sketchbook work - failed miserably.
23/11/18
Projection onto fog screen.
24/11/18
Thunderchild?
Line of connection between viewer and work - GO’H
Ask the question: what do you see?
25/11/18
Yesterday I eventually got painting around lunchtime - back and forth with ‘Confessional’ but progress made. Great talk with GO’H about ‘the gaze’.
Leaf blowing.
27/11/18
Need to select paintings for Framewerk Christmas show.
28/11/18
“The Trouble with Painting” - ICA (YouTube)
“What you’re interested in in the world will feed back into what you are interested in as an artist.” - Alison Pilkington
…speaking about dreams, a quote from Alison Pilkington’s drawing seminar from the RHA really stuck out. I’m paraphrasing here but the guts of it is this: talking to people about why you make the work you do (or about your inspirations for that matter) is like talking to people about your dreams. People aren’t overly interested when someone else describes a dream. It’s subjective and personal and it’s all but impossible to get the experience across properly.
Sketchbook work.
29/11/18
A difficult few weeks to come.
RDH: 27/05/18 - 30/06/18
27/25/18
NB:- "Imprint": washes over selected charcoal marks makes for a more painterly and softer outcome whilst still retaining the drawing element - it's just not as overwhelming. Marrying the two worlds. Artistically I'm in a good place. It's utilising time more effectively.
28/05/18
On Hodler's "Night": covered figure personifies death as an intensification of sleep. On the back of the canvas Hodler wrote: "There is many a people who lies down to rest in the evening but who does not wake up in the morning."
"Night" by Ferdinand Hodler - 1899/90 - Museum of Fine Arts Bern
"Riot" and "Chidren of the Stage" started.
"Children of the Stage" - early progress.
Haven't painted on board in two years. Keep forgetting how forgiving the surface is.
"Riot" piece started.
29/05/18
Hot air balloon in trouble over Draperstown medical centre.
Started small canvas of "Cult" drawing I did five years ago. Been a long time but its always good to keep everything - just in case.
"Cult" painting in progress.
30/05/18
Let's see what happens.
02/06/18
Playing about with "The Mountain of the Heights" - particularly the sky. Intangible so the marks should be also.
Early layers of sky
03/06/18
"Rosetta II" by Jenny Saville - oil on watercolour paper mounted on board - 2005/06
"I want to be a painter of modern life, and modern bodies." - Jenny Saville.
A.F. born today.
More progress in the sky of "The Mountain of the Heights".
04/06/18
"The Mountain of the Heights" and "Imprint" on the studio wall.
05/06/18
Notes from a previous workshop:
Turn off distractions
Centred space
Give yourself permission to move your practice forward.
Elevator pitch - needs work.
Find focus and priorities.
Studio days - regimented routine.
Be persistent and consistent.
Find unproductive habits + break them.
Defend creative time.
Slow down and hear your own ideas.
"Creativity is not a talent - it's a way of operating." - John Cleese
When you value serendipity, you start noticing it at work right away.
07/06/18
Awarded iDA from Atypical Gallery and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland!
09/06/18
Degree show work entitled "My Darlene" by photographer Ryan Hamilton.
Installation shot from Stephanie Tanney's degree show. Not unlike Holder's shrouded figure.
A close up of one of Karl Hagan's stunning paintings at the Belfast School of Art degree show.
One of Aimee Melaugh's atmospheric paintings at her degree show.
Saw a lot of art. A LOT OF ART.
Belfast School of Art degree show was fantastic but there were four stand out artists:
Ryan Hamilton in photography.
Stephanie Tanney in sculpture.
Karl Hagan in painting
Aimee Melaugh in painting.
The Golden Thread Gallery group exhibition "After an Act" was great.
"Submerge Form (Red)" by Deb Covell - 2017
David Moore's show in Belfast Exposed was really interesting.
The back wall of David Moore's exhibition entitled "Lisa and John" in Belfast Exposed.
10/06/18
Whiterocks beach just outside Portrush.
11/06/18
Zero energy. There are not enough hours in the day. Structure. Guilty of putting off work because of convenience.
Some sketchbook work done today but not enough.
13/06/18
Is yellow is the colour of hope?
"Selvportrett I Helvvette" by Edvard Munch - 1903 - The Munch Museum, Oslo
16/06/18
"Painting 1946" by Francis Bacon. Part of the MoMA collection.
Bacon was fascinated by butcher shops as a child. The figure in the painting said to be pre-war Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain - known for carrying an umbrella. This work is raw power, beauty and horror rolled in one.
My painter's table of 8 years.
18/06/18
Detail of "Cult" painting in progress.
Paint/draw with purpose. Reasons - just because I can't pin them down doesn't mean they aren't there.
20/06/18
Lubaina Himid - take a "given history" from found objects and then "paint a history on them that isn;t as much talked about." Daytime can't be squandered - every hour counts.
23/06/18
Bonnie keeping me company in the studio today.
Painted pretty much up to 10pm tonight,. Stuck in the zone.
24/06/18
Jan enjoying the sunset at Rosses Point, Sligo.
Trip to Rosses Point. So hot too and great to bump into Rob and Sally. Small world.
25/06/18
View of "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" in the Hamilton Gallery, Sligo.
Great to see familiar names (Lisa Ballard, Alison Pilkington and Clement McAleer) in the Hamilton Gallery's group exhibition 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'.
One of my favourite pieces in the Hamilton Gallery had to be "Spirit of the Aviator" by Brian McDonagh.
26/06/18
Trip to The Model in Sligo town before home. A wonderful space.
Outside The Model, Sligo.
Massive painting by Antje Majewski in the "Future Perfect" exhibition, The Model, Sligo
28/06/18
Close up of "Cult" - Oil and Charcoal on Canvas
Slowly getting back into the rhythm of working again. Finished "Cult". The small child is considerably creepier than expected. More work to "Mountain of the Heights" - been looking at Cezanne's multiple treatments of Mont Sainte-Victoire for some sort of guidance.
Getting there with "The Mountain of the Heights".
Extremely hot in the studio - close to 30°C.
30/06/18
I have Sickert's "Ennui" on my mind.
"Ennui" by Walter Richard Sickert - 1914 - part of Tate Collection