RDH: OCTOBER 2024

03/10/24

Late Night Art Belfast

David McKinney at Arts For All

Royale Arcade Academy 3 opening

My work "Hindsight Study" in Royale Arcade Academy show.

Jonathan Brennan at PS2

✱-✱ Catalyst Show

Laura Nelson at Vault Studios

Grace McMurray in the Black Box

05/10/24

A dry studio day. No paint - just charcoal work and redrawing sketches and some tonal work. SOMETHING!

09/10/24

Malleable metal wire drawing?

10/10/24

‘Line of Sorrow’ - micro expression.

13/10/24

TAN podcast - The White Pube book “Poor Artists”

“Spare Change Study” - facial work -warmer tones in the shadows?

Mood plays an important role… not the ‘I’m not in the mood’ kind of mood. More so the downward mindset - something foreign playing over in the back of your mind and it is difficult to shake and focus on anything else.

I can and will do better. In the studio context with this guilty / downward feeling playing out today - productivity took a nosedive. Better all round if the socks get pulled up.

17/10/24

RUA Opening. Very pleased.

19/10/24

Saturday Studio. Afraid that what’s here has gone - or rather my enthusiasm towards them - has gone stale. “S.C.” has promise but it’s on the small side - too bitty for what I want to achieve. If that makes sense.

20/10/24

“Look! Daddy’s painting!”

This will warm my heart for a long time.

21/10/24

£1 - Bargain.

22/10/24

Maya Todd (top centre) - Royale Arcade Academy

23/10/24

‘You Will Not Stop Here’ by Claire Morgan at the Golden Thread Gallery.

24/10/24

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get at myself for letting certain aspects stagnate. Prioritising stupid, irrational shit over investing in practice.

F.F.A.S. - what else is there?

27/10/24

Studio clear out. Moving recent works down to shed and out of eyeline. Freeing up wall space. Re-working / Recycling / Repurposing - just generally Re- really.

Enjoyed the “A Brush with Robert Longo” podcast.

…‘les yeux sans visage’ imagery could prove an interesting challenge. Some good first steps.

“A Brush with Marlene Dumas” - think I’ve listened to this four times now.

30/10/24

Dublin bound.

RDH: OCTOBER 2023

01/10/23

Three white rabbits.

Studio: ‘Passive Study’ going well - bouncing between the brush and the drawing mark. It’s always interesting to see which of the two (if any at all) comes to the fore.

“A Brush With… Sarah Lucas”

‘A Séance in London’ - slowly building layers but, more importantly, working through structure and composition. Very early days.

03/10/23

Anxiety overload!

05/10/23

WOW! Can’t remember a late night art quite like this one in a very long time. Belfast was buzzing!

'Cladding' at Catalyst Arts

'Dredge' by Gerard Carson at PS2

Johanna Leech and Stuart Calvin at Threshold space

Belfast Exposed

Royale Arcade Academy opening - Arcade Studios

Vault Studios Opening

09/10/23

Put the bloody phone DOWN!

11/10/23

Quick sketch of artist Amy Higgins. Ideas brewing.

12/10/23

Easy to say, but difficult to implement.

In transit

15/10/23

Studio - A.H. portrait study: A good start. There was one point where the charcoal became a little too much but thankfully it wasn’t difficult to rectify. Just before adding the last layer of charcoal, all the previous drawing marks were pushed back with just the paint taking the stage. Some nice areas of tonal quality but overall the image was flat. You would think that adding a charcoal line would make it even more flat in appearance but the opposite is the case! The crux of it - that interplay between the drawing line and the painting mark.

17/10/23

Second straight day of jury service but on the flip side, a good chance to see Kwok Tsui’s new exhibition in the CCA.

18/10/23

QSS - ‘Messy Business’. Great group painting show.

21/10/23

…worth sticking foot in the door.

22/10/23

Studio time. A long session but very little to show for it. Slow progress on all fronts. Perhaps working on multiple pieces (four canvases) is biting a little more off than I can chew?

Setting a couple of pieces off to the side for a while should make it more manageable. It probably hasn’t helped that the palette is in a poor state and needs cleaned badly. Not a complete loss of a day but it could’ve been a lot more fruitful. Several factors at play but, lesson learned.

Palette given a good scrub before finishing up.

25/10/23

Dublin - too dark to write on the bus down - too dark to write on the bus home. The Autumn evenings are here.

Atoosa Pour Hosseini’s ‘The Magic Circle’ in Temple Bar Gallery + Studios is excellent. Remnants of vintage horror films in the video piece.

RDH: JULY 2023

02/07/23

TALK ART: TIM STONER

“When you are a mature artist, you’re not a mature painter”

Edward Hopper

“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

Matthew Wilson at Threshold, Belfast

Katharine Paisley at Threshold, Belfast

Allison Maria Rodriguez at DAS, Belfast

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: JUNE 2023

03/06/23

Late night transferring… some drawings that have slipped through the net over the years.

04/06/23

Early rise - Early balloon

“A Brush With… Phyllida Barlow”

Two new canvases sketched out.

06/06/23

Charys Wilson at the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

Clinton Kirkpatrick at the Black Box, Belfast

08/06/23

Test prints in the post today!

09/06/23

Watch this space.

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.

Eimhéar Atkinson

Michael Doherty

Rachel McCallin

Éabha Campbell

Mollie Browne

Ciaran Dallat

Hannah Williamson

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.

Very fast and very loose sketchbook study.

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.

"Cailleach boy ii" by Kian Benson Bailes

"Singing Toadfish (emptying the lungs to fill my heart" by Kian Benson Bailes

Culchie boy, I love you / Grá mo chroí thú, mo chábóigín féin – Kian Benson Bailes at the Project Arts Centre.

"Small Earth (Eden)" by Katherine Sankey

"Swallow" by Katherine Sankey

“an atom bomb in each morsel of life” by Katherine Sankey in the LAB Gallery. Beautiful aroma in that first box space.

Sunset over Slieve Gallion

RDH: MAY 2023

02/05/23

First day…

Make time for practice.

03/05/23

Louise Wallace at the MAC, Belfast

04/05/23

…the drive to help.

Late Night Art Belfast. The first in a long time.

Ciaran Magill - University of Atypical

Tomas Monteiro at Catalyst Arts

Deirdre McKenna at PS²

Dorothy Hunter at Golden Thread

Niamh O’Malley at Golden Thread

Ciarraí MacCormac at Trademarket

07/05/23

“Boy Soldier” - finished.

Two new little pieces started this afternoon too!

09/05/23

New EMIC piece in Belfast City Centre

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.

Manar Mervat Al-Shouha

Daniel Coleman

Upper Gallery RHA

Mags Geaney

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.

Performance at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios

Avril Corroon at the Project Arts Centre

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

Beautiful postcard came in the post from Hang Tough Contemporary for Alana Barton’s solo show in Dublin.

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 2021

03/11/21

Some good sketchbook work today.

04/11/21

First room in Golden Thread show

Mark McGreevy (l) and Dougal McKenzie (r)

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 at the MAC

Charys Wilson in QSS

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-

Priming is all today amounted to.

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

Several pieces sketched up today.

13/11/21

Detail of “The Doctor will See you Now”

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.

“The Doctor will See you Now” Oil and Charcoal on Canvas 150cm x 100cm

16/11/21

Didn’t get accepted but that’s OK. Sketchbook work tonight to get brain working.

17/11/21

"Tilt [At Windmills]" in CCA

"Tilt [At Windmills]" in CCA

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.

"The Shrinking Universe" at VOID

"The Shrinking Universe" at 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: 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.

Sketched up new canvases.

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

Didn’t get shortlisted.

11/06/21

12/06/21

Reading group outside this morning.

13/06/21

Some good, solid progress today.

16/06/21

So grateful to be included in Paint-Tube Dublin by Louise Wallace.

Sketchbook Studies

18/06/21

First vaccine received today!

19/06/21

Work on small portrait today - title undecided as yet.

‘The Eternal Bride’ myth.

22/06/21

Memory is forgetting.

A little mid-week push.

23/06/21

“A Brush with … Julian Opie”

So so close to finishing “Moon Boy”.

24/06/21

Some good sketchbook work this afternoon. Looking forward to getting to Belfast tomorrow.

25/06/21

Great to get into the MAC shows today, sadly didn’t have time to get round anywhere else.

Ambera Wellmann

Maya Balcioglu

Jaap Pieters

Will have to wait another little while for rings.

26/06/21

Studio time!

“Moon Boy” finished!

30/06/21

Ballyliffen

RDH: MAY 2021

01/05/21

NB: Take a little more time…

"History Repeating”: Good Start!

02/05/21

Admin all day long!

03/05/21

Sketchbook work with snooker on in the background. Not a bad combination

04/05/21

passing-time.org : great concept for a website showcasing work.

05/05/21

Submission unsuccessful.

Studio time eventually… come the weekend I will probably try and figure out a way to block out the planes so that I can paint the red container background in one motion. Right now its all a little scrappy and stop/start.

07/05/21

Belfast bound. When walking around the town I hear ARRAY have been nominated for the Turner Prize! Amazing news and thoroughly well deserved! This feels like it could be a huge boost to Belfast / NI art community going forward.

08/05/21

Rodin’s “Gates of Hell”

…has to reflect your own practice. We all think and experience the world differently.

Weekend screening of ‘Painting After Postmodernism with Barbara Rose’ courtesy of The Brooklyn Rail.

… permit the accident and then aim to control it afterwards.

Concept of space - innovation of contemporary painting regardless of abstract or figurative work.

09/05/21

Initially didn’t feel in form for studio today but it really does pay off to just do it and go in regardless.

Masked planes and now I’m fairly content with the more solid / rusted container in the background.

10/05/21

Sketchbook work.

12/05/21

The over-thinking / perfectionist side is in overdrive.

Perhaps it’s the large scale that is showing up it’s flaws. Embrace the flaws? Easier said than done - however I do seem to appreciate other artist’s little oddities in their work that could be seen as inaccurate. One person’s poor areas are another person’s highlights I guess.

There’s a lot to be said for confidence in the work and/or the process. Here’s to letting go.

13/05/21

Finally bit the bullet in some respects. “T.H.T.H” sold!

14/05/21

Memory is so imperfect.

15/05/21

A lot of doodles and not much substance.

Joan of Arc will be the elephant in the room today.

Figurative -> Genre

Abstract -> Colour / Editing

Perfectionism is stifling “History Repeating” It’s getting there but extremely slow and frustrating. Straddling between realistic and looser motifs. In two minds when in the thick of it all.

Listening to ‘Jo’s Art History Podcast’ in the studio.

16/05/21

Rearranging storage space.

17/05/21

OFFSITE from Catalyst Arts. Peer Support / crit group was excellent and definitely well worth expanding on.

Patterns of People.

The act of Keening / Post-memory.

18/05/21

Paint the fence.

19/05/21

That ‘I want to be on my own’ kind of feeling.

“H.R.” - truly, these planes are the bane of my life at the minute. Whatever the case, regardless of how they are (in my eyes) I’ll want to push on and be done with this canvas by the weekend….

…are they finished? Dare to hope.

IMMA talk with Chantal Joffe and Katy Hessel - ‘The Artist’s Mother’.

‘Attempting the impossible’ - the best definition of portraiture and painting.

Just submitted “Shock” and “Gathering Thoughts”.

20/05/21

21/05/21

‘The Training of Memory in Art and the education of the Artist’ by Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran.

Cart and standing figures worked on today. Trying to strike a balance between the light tones of the ground, the bodies and the cart.

22/05/21

25/05/21

Work and yard work.

26/05/21

“History Repeating” finished!

28/05/21

Saltz v Scully.

Started putting paint down on one of the smaller pieces and just decided to call it. Whether the smaller works are tripping me up on where to go next or they’re just not exciting me enough to push on. I’m not sure.

30/05/21

When asked if I would be willing to help Ciara McMullan, an architecture student with a project, I was happy to fill out a questionnaire and make some small works on canvas and glass to include in a study model of a studio / exhibition space. I was blown away to see the final results of the project. Some fantastic ideas.

Internal shot of Ciara McMullan’s art studio / exhibition space project.

31/05/21

Late night sketching to finish off the month. The past few weeks has seen an unusually singular focus / pandering to one specific canvas. Typically I jump from one work to another with usually three on the go at once. I always thought this helped keep the head and the eyes fresh. I wonder if this may explain May.

Slight sense of fatigue creeping in. At least there are avenues to explore in terms of going about fixing it.

RDH: DECEMBER 2020

01/12/20

…wrapping

Ars longa, vita brevis.

02/12/20

‘A Brush with… Ragnar Kjartansson’ podcast

“Art is a shelter from a storm” - Ragnar Kjartansson

“Raking It In” Pen on Paper

03/12/20

An opportunistic pitch to pat themselves on the back.

04/12/20

“Soaking Up The Sun” Pen and Marker on Paper

NT - how you might approach and on what grounds.

06/12/20

“Norwegian” notes: warmer flesh tones? Texture in sand (sawdust?)

“Swivel Study” Pen on Paper

07/12/20

Some really good sketchbook work done tonight.

“Just This Once” Pen on Paper

10/12/20

Commended for the Moth Art Prize 2020!

"Norwegian Stance" WIP

Malala Study

Thought I had destroyed “Norwegian Stance” a few times today but it’s a stubborn git. In any case it was good to get paint down.

…some sketching work tonight but not much.

11/12/20

One minute I think the painting is finished and then a wee niggly bit pops up.

“Norwegian Stance” all but finished.

14/12/20

Sketchbook work … but I’m distracted a little.

15/12/20

Belfast. Three months on…

“La Loge” in the Ulster Museum. Absolutely stunning to see in the flesh

Seeing “Hotel ‘78” with the name tag beside it made it all the more real. Great to see around the RUA.

Jaunt to the Golden Thread Gallery. Absolutely stunning show “Put It To The People” by Joy Gerrard. I’ve seen similar small scale works before but the larger canvases are amazing! Real gestural mark making at it’s finest.

Joy Gerrard at the GT

Peter Liversidge at the MAC

"In a Rainbow of Coalitions"

The Peter Liversidge show in the MAC is at such an epic scale. Uplifting messages and cool to see the workstation tucked away at the back. The “In a Rainbow of Coalitions” show in the MAC was colourful, fun and poignant.

18/12/20

What’s been lacking recently is the idea of structure. Lists are missing. I love lists. I think this happens around this time every year.

… large scaled drawings - add a link between the pen drawings and paintings…

20/12/20

“Pacing in Isolation” Pen and Marker on Paper

23/12/20

Conjunction with Jupiter and Saturn

27/12/20

Inspiration is not reliable. Keep curious and critical. You don’t know everything and never will. Perfect conditions don’t exist so stop waiting for the ‘right’ time. Art is not who you are - art is a way of expressing who you are.

29/12/20

Tidying loose ends.

30/12/20

Doing these semi-traditional write ups at this time of year helps to take stock of what’s been happening. Hopefully subliminal pointers of where to possibly go next have been planted for the time ahead.

RDH: SEPTEMBER 2020

01/09/20

Power is out.

02/09/20

The Rashomon Effect: When the same event is described in significantly different and often contradictory ways by people who were involved.

03/09/20

I do feel a little stuck with the Crimean Painting. Some sketchbook work - get back to the drawing board.

06/09/20

Death Masks: bottling the soul, bottling the trauma.

08/09/20

Very strange few days. ‘Taking Orders’ painting - just not sure where to go with it. Leaving it aside for now and having a look at adding a recent sketch and incorporating it into an old abandoned piece. The only good thing I can see in the failed ‘St. Lurach’s’ work is that weeping willow to the left. It should stay in some capacity.

Very lethargic for some reason.

Thoughts = NOT A REALIST PAINTER!!!

Lifelike/ reality isn’t what I’m aiming for in drawing or painting. Yes, sometimes a more realistic application or approach is required depending on what the image dictates. EG: ‘GO’K’ works in that it hints at realism but ultimately leaves the majority of the portrait minimal - barely any detail. This is not just limited to composition, but especially colour I think.

10/09/20

Belfast bound.

Saffron Monks-Smith

Stephanie Tanney

So good to get to the MAC for the degree shows from the Belfast School of Art.

‘Confessional’ reopening was great! It’s a show I’m very proud of.

12/09/20

Some good progress on ‘The Voyage Home’. Less is more - even on this scale I think. Suits the image and composition well.

13/09/20

Finished!

15/09/20

Halfway through September! HOW?!?!

Figuring out ideas for next steps and possibilities. Good to get some sketching done tonight. Forgot how accessible sketching smaller than A4 is.

18/09/20

‘The Week in Art’ podcast.

Guston and de Kooning - both developed making works with a ‘formula’ able to commercialise work / work that could be made in their sleep and sell no problem. Both rejected this formula and started again.

Integrity.

‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Mary Ann’ studies - the looser the better.

20/09/20

Detail of ‘Elizabeth Study’ - work in progress

I think I’m coming close to a mini burn out as far as studio work is concerned. Might be good to take a step back, read and research for a few days and see where we are.

22/09/20

Finished the little portrait studies. Really different approach but that’s no bad thing. Started some new canvases.

“Art is a wound turned into light.”

Georges Braque

‘Elizabeth Study’ and ‘Mary Ann Study’

23/09/20

Research - that’s about it.

24/09/20

Some good progress in the studio today.

25/09/20

Got scared very easily.

Sketchbook work.

26/09/20

Five canvases on the go at the minute. Best to focus on one or two at a time. First up., ‘Waiting Room’. It’s been a while from I attempted this image.

Seats / Symbols?

‘The Waiting Room’ - detail

27/09/20

What was light at the end of the tunnel has turned into a dark abyss. Shrug it off and keep going.

28/09/20

Sketching

29/09/20

So the past few days have seen a real drop in productivity and drive. Reasons or not —> focusing on work will help. Taking a mini break will also help. Easy to fall into old, procrastinating habits.

Meaty questions.

30/09/20

Studio all clean and tidy!

RDH: 01/08/18 - 31/08/18

01/08/18

Blog generally.

03/08/18

Work wrapped and ready.

Confessional - portrait through mesh?

installational idea - structural notes on seat.  Guidelines for penance.

"The Ash Wednesday Supper" by Giordano Bruno - 1584

Michael Simpson - think of your 'style' as developing a language; coherent and your own without being stylised.

04/08/18

'Real Artists Don't Starve' by Jeff Goins

Agendas in the work?  Activism? Does it need to have a message?

CNIP Meeting in CCA Derry went really well.

At the Gates of the Music Palace by Alex Cecchetti.  Curated by Mary Cremin - VOID Derry

05/08/18

RUA works dropped off.

"As a painter you constantly want to overcome your virtuosity, but at the same time you strive for virtuosity" - Per Kirkeby

06/08/18

Bits that work and bits that don't.

08/08/18

Been offered to show work in New York City!!!

09/08/18

Stiffen the Sinews, Summon up the blood. - King Henry in William Shakespeare's 'Henry V'

The above is written on the studio wall of Maggi Hambling (Tateshots).  Some sketching done.

11/08/18

Average Buzzard wingspan = 110 - 140cm.  Overlap red silhouette of bird with rabbit skull.  Any black in the skull should remain the red of the buzzard.  Don't overwhelm foundation of composition.

No where fast with this. Not happy with tones at the minute but it can be pulled back.

Will get a good push in the studio tomorrow.  At the same time if I rush at it, that's when it is more likely to fall apart.  If it happens, it happens..

12/08/18

On the ropes. Really badly on the ropes.

Life-sized buzzard started.

Triggers: words, memories, looks, objects?

13/08/18

"Happiness is like an orgasm - it doesn't really last." - Raqib Shaw

14/08/18

Reading 'Oedipus at Colonus' to get a better grip.  "...further into darkness with every step".

15/08/18

Just realised how I went about the 'Oedipus' painting in the first place ... shading down on charcoal and fix + light transparent wash to unify all the tones.  Once dry, pop in colours and detail accordingly,  How did I forget?!

16/08/18

...waiting on submission is tortuous.

17/08/18

A strange seed.

Trying very hard not to get ahead of myself.

Sketchbook work.

18/08/18

Studio shot. "A Manifold and Truly Glorious Strife" (left) brought back from the brink.

20/08/18

Roasted Crane = culinary symbol of Irish submission.  Breaking of legs before being thrown into the sea.  The Pale - area above Dublin. (beyond the pale saying). Notes from episode 2 of "Story of Ireland". 

OH DEAR.  Painful.  What a difference a day makes.  Twenty four little hours.  Three things looking good and they all come crashing down.

22/08/18

A shitty week but it will be OK.  Shouldn't have let it affect me as much as it did.  Got blindsided and took eye off longer focus and objectives.  Onward.

Trying out new things.

23/08/18

Grayson Perry's "Rites of Passage" episode on death really got to me.  A lot of people would give an arm and a leg to have that last conversation with a loved one - what they meant to you and what you mean to them - before they pass.

24/08/18

Prioritise / Lists - allow for flexibility.

25/08/18

A large (and very unfortunate) spider met it's end some time ago.

Bit of an overhaul on "Procession Study" today.  Clouds were OK but too noisy.  Back and forth with it today.  Looking more like a study now.  A little looser.

Blocked in rough colours for "Afore the Stoop";

26/08/18

Good progress on this today. Am I getting too caught up on those bloody hands and ignoring the rest of the canvas? Probably.

27/08/18

'Nemo Malus nisi probetur' roughly translates to 'No one is evil until it is proven'.

28/08/18

Bank Buildings in Belfast city centre completely gutted by fire.

Above:  Some shots of the Golden Thread Gallery's two simultaneous solo exhibitions:  Travis Somerville's "Homeland Insecurity" and Ian Cumberland's "a common fiction".

"Art Practice as fictioning (or myth-science) by Simon O'Sullivan.

29/08/18

A group show in London?  GT meet up yesterday was great.  Hearing what folks have been up to and where they are going.  Some feedback from sculptural ideas from friends was positive.

"Procession Study" finished. Can a study be finished?

30/08/18

Cat is missing.

31/08/18

An application was successful so there will be two solo shows - one in 2019 and one in 2020!

RDH: 27/05/18 - 30/06/18

27/25/18

Munk Debates

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