june
Still haven’t heard anything from S.P. show.
RDH: JUNE 2023
03/06/23
Late night transferring… some drawings that have slipped through the net over the years.
04/06/23
06/06/23
08/06/23
09/06/23
10/06/23
Studio cleaned, layered on two new smaller pieces, and cleaned palette.
11/06/23
…no more diddly-dallyin’, let’s get right on into this Sunday studio session. (IYKYK)
Substantial progress on “Put it Away”. Little prayer piece, not so much.
12/06/23
So “Put it Away” moving along nicely and a little surprisingly. The new paints are making a difference, I think.
13/06/23
Visit to the Belfast School of Art Degree Show.
14/06/23
Didn’t get to sketch tonight as intended but there will be time set aside.
Mythology / Semiotics
…venturing onwards…
It’s just dawned on me that Saturdays will alter. Well, they’ll change a good few times in the coming years. But - as always, adapt, re-organise, create, repeat.
15/06/23
After all that graft … to be left at home.
Lovely comment today. Left painting over to Catalyst for showcase and auction coming up.
18/06/23
Studio time now. Let’s see where these go.
Quick notes for Prey/Pray:
charcoal first
contrast facial tones
less marks in hair - blurred or subdued
Quick notes for “In a Corner/ Huff”
Scrape paint on walls - flatter
T-Shirt work
NB: Didn’t get as much done as I would like to.
19/06/23
PRINTS HAVE DROPPED!!!
20/06/23
FB Memories - use to dust cobwebs off? Also just having the small sketchbook close by - for out and about.
Is it too fuzzy? Probably do no harm to have the mini sketchbook around with me - as was the original idea for it.
One thing I have noticed, and it’s a good thing. With the two journeys on the bus three times a week and the time at lunch, I’ve noticed some considerably more writing / thinking time / ideas coming into RD.
I’ve even started bringing a book with me on the bus. Although The Iliad was probably a poor first choice. I am eager to delve into mythology / symbolism again.
The legend of “Bisclavret” has been crawling through my head the past few days.
IIW = IMAGES IN WAITING
21/06/23
Quick stop to see the work in Catalyst’s Showcase.
22/06/23
23/06/23
Our beautiful Bonnie, my studio assistant and my dad’s blonde shadow passed away in her sleep last night. Everyone is hurting. 12 and a half wonderful years. The best girl.
24/06/23
…called in to say hello… folds around eye went in such a way that it looked like he didn’t have a socket let alone an eye. Hard to explain.
Quick Question = Very Quick Yes
25/06/23
“A Brush With… Jacqueline Humphries”.
Finished “Let Us Pray”. Areas successful, others not.
28/06/23
Dublin Bound.
Culchie boy, I love you / Grá mo chroí thú, mo chábóigín féin – Kian Benson Bailes at the Project Arts Centre.
“an atom bomb in each morsel of life” by Katherine Sankey in the LAB Gallery. Beautiful aroma in that first box space.
RDH: JUNE 2022
04/06/22
Studio. ‘Mothman’ finally being looked at after several years of hibernation.
Also, a surprise grasp on a 2020 sketch, ‘Peek-A-Boo’. Tall thin canvas has gone muddy.
05/06/22
Small magpie moth - colours?
One for sorrow. Fitting for a self-reflective piece about anxiety relief measures.
07/06/22
Postcard. visual feedback or [illegible].
08/06/22
The Odd inclination vs the Even inclination.
‘From the Creek Billy thought gleefully of the Ten-Foot Lady and the time her only decent leg fell and ended up on the wrong side of Belfast.’
PAULA REGO: 1935-2022
An absolute powerhouse, unashamedly honest artist whose work will resonate for generations to come.
11/06/22
Can you distill the feeling of an image with another or via another form of communication?
C.C.
12/06/22
Fast studio session. Some tonal values layered.
14/06/22
Went to sketch. Didn’t happen.
18/06/22
Darker red/brown in shadow? Little finger slightly bulbous under the nail and looks too long but it checks out in the source material and subsequent sketch from it.
Is it finished? The age-old question. The risk of overpainting is high. Should rest on it for a while.
21/06/22
Sketchbook work on the longest day of the year.
25/06/22
Whistle stop visit to Belfast today. Dropping ‘Saint and Sinner’ into RUA for delivery to the Boyle Arts Festival 2022. Also took a quick peek into the MAC to see Claire Barclay: Thrum. Interesting scaling of otherwise ordinary day objects/materials - allowing the viewer to reassess their relationship to them and their place(s of origin).
26/06/22
Less really is more. ‘Peek-A-Boo’ finished. The hand finally belongs to the face and the origin of the disc’s hue stems from a background colour within the hair. Tying up loose ends.
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