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!

Galleries safely reopen

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.

Atypical Show Reopening and Virtual Studio Visit

‘CONFESSIONAL’ REOPENING

Very happy to say that my solo show “Confessional” at the University of Atypical is reopening from the 10th September until the 23rd October.

The following is from the Facebook event page which can be found here:

University of Atypical is pleased to announce the re-opening of Brian Kielt's Exhibition, Confessional, which sadly only had a public audience for a week when we closed due to Covid-19. Here's your chance to see it if you didn't catch it first time around!

There are also new protocols and safety measures that UoA will introduce including:

- Sanitiser units at the entrance and around the venue.

- Anyone who can, should wear a face covering when visiting the venue.

- We request that people practice social distancing inside of the space.

- We will be regularly sanitising all surfaces within the venue.

- We will no longer permit the audience/visitors to gather inside of the office space to protect staff.

- We will provide single use biodegradable paper cups for refreshments for events.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

STUDIO VISIT

Also, midway through the exhibition’s run you are cordially invited to take part in a virtual studio visit taking place at 2pm on Saturday 3rd October.

Have a look at the University of Atypical’s event page here to find out more.

Join us for an informal tour of the artist’s studio, in the rolling foothills of
Glenshane. This is a great opportunity to meet the artist, find out more about his
creative process and the ideas that inform his practice, and get a sneak peek of
works in progress. Questions for the artist from attendees are welcomed.
Please visit the UofA Facebook Events page to register your interest and receive
the Zoom link.

RDH: AUGUST 2020

01/08/20

So saddened to hear of the passing of Chris Ledger. She was a true friend of the arts in NI and helped me in both a professional and personal capacity. Her tenacity and drive will be sorely missed.

02/08/20

Cleaning and priming.

03/08/20

‘Seashore Jester’ … over-painted to the point of no return - burnt and slashed. Good progress on “Enfield Study” though.

Close up of “Enfield Study”.

It’s finally happened! I’ve had a little painting accepted into this year’s RUA exhibition!

04/08/20

Wee day off.

05/08/20

“Enfield Study” finished.

Watched ‘Apocalypse Now’ properly for the first time. The real animal sacrifice at the end was disturbing.

06/08/20

Sketched out some new canvases including a narrow set for a triptych.

Object connected to the figure rather than the figure itself so may need to rethink the centre canvas.

…a few people have told me how “Enfield Study” disturbs them and makes them feel uncomfortable. So a job well done.

07/08/20

Lots of blocking in compositions today.

10/08/20

Greenberg vs Read (HANDBAGS!)

Some studio time today. Almost too warm.

12/08/20

Left up “Hotel ‘78” to the RUA today.

Sketchbook work.

14/08/20

Jenny Saville in the “A Brush With” podcast is great!

When asked what is art for, Saville replies:

“Art is for life. Art is for survival. You know it’s a shock of recognition that you feel a sense of belonging you recognise yourself in the world. I really believe it’s for survival. It’s intrinsic to being human. We either have to make marks or it’s like singing or making music. It’s fundamental to being a human being. I can’t imagine doing anything else. When I’m in the process of painting I feel very in touch with myself in a sense that nothing else I’ve ever done in my life does.”

Satellite paths

16/08/20

Nothing the past few days due to another trip to the hospital.

18/08/20

One year to go.

19/08/20

Finished “Exhibits A to C”. Good to get painting again after a little setback. Chuffed to be names Catalyst Art’s Member of the Month for August!

20/08/20

Some good studio time in today.

21/08/20

“A painting which is from a specific photograph - you have to go beyond the photograph so you have to make the paint do something and once it gets a nature of itself then it belongs to the world and it takes a long time to get be in that field.”

Jenny Saville (link for interview here)

23/08/20

“Avarice is the enemy of virtue.”

Leon Battista Alberti

Sketching and mostly failing.

25/08/20

Studio time but nothing too strenuous.

Great to have a virtual catch up with UoA folk!

29/08/20

Trauma is inarticulate.

Some good progress on “But I Don’t Get It”. Still flat in areas but it’s nearly there.

31/08/20

Finished “B.I.D.G.I.”

RDH: JULY 2020

01/07/20

Some more Matisse-inspired bamboo work for shapes in the foreground and that’s the large painting finished! Title to be confirmed later.

02/07/20

Abrupt awakening.

So “The Hill of the Red Witch” it is. Very close.

Eventually got some good ground work down on two new pieces. Some human hair included.

Painter Julie Curtiss (Instagram: @julietuyetcurtiss) joins us for New Social Environment #77, hosted by Rail Editor at Large Jason Rosenfeld (Instagram: @jm...

Great Julie Curtiss talk with Brooklyn Rail.

03/07/20

LOFT

2013 - 2015: 14 works (over 3 years)

LISNAMUCK

2016 - 2018: 36 works (over 3 years)

2019 - June 2020: 16 works (in 18 months)

That’s crazy!

04/07/20

Really pleased with “Left Out” thus far but the mouth on “RPM” is really annoying me!

05/07/20

QUESTIONS

07/07/20

Working out left hand on “L.O.” is tough. It’s not the shape of it but the lay of the fingers that’s the bother. Pre-mixing … is needed to unify the hands and face. It’s the difference in definition between the upper and lower hands that are jarring a bit.

Days that just don’t go your way. THUMB NEEDS TO BE A FRACTION LONGER!

08/07/20

Working method today is attacking the canvas in micro stages.

NON FINITO = nice idea.

Does something have to look finished before being deemed complete?

Detail of “Left Out”

…I limped home tonight. Painted for nearly 11 hours. Not sure if “Left Out” is done, but it’s bloody close.

09/07/20

… Yes it’s there!

Good drawing time this evening.

10/07/20

Priming, studio cleaning and two little pieces drawn up. Interior one has promise.

11/07/20

The Ruination of the World.

“Rock Pool Memory” - the original drawing is not exact and so the dimensions are a little skew-whiff. Possibly why the painting is not coming together.

12/07/20

Horrible day painting but at least it beats not doing anything at all! “Rock Pool Memory” is just that - a memory.

A sense of critical…. ?

14/07/20

Such as strange pain down arms and shoulders last night. Shake it off or…

Trip to A&E - allergic reaction to insect bites. The usual then.

15/07/20

Studio time.

High contrast in BT’s face might be best avoided. Playing around right now just.

Nice chat with Chloe, Dominic and Niamh - some interesting discussions.

16/07/20

“Hotel ‘78” complete. [] is right - something slightly different about it. Softer maybe.

A nice dull background on “Seashore Jester”.

17/07/20

Applied … again.

18/07/20

Solid studio day. Resurrected “Rock Pool Memory”. Tonal values not there on “Seashore Jester” just yet but happy enough so far. Stumbled across the old Enfield painting that I abandoned four years ago. Decided to give it another crack.

19/07/20

21/07/20

Been a few days of home improvements.

24/07/20

Sketched out little commission and cleaned out palette.

Our friend, interdisciplinary artist Martha Tuttle (@marthatuttle) joins us for a conversation with scholar and curator, Susan Harris in New Social Environme...

Martha Tuttle talk on Brooklyn Rail excellent! Links to antiquity and the tactility of the work is fascinating.

26/07/20

The past few days I’ve literally been going round in circles with “Rock Pool Memory”. Originally I thought executing the proportions properly would have solved any issues that were cropping up but no. I think I’m in two/three minds as to how to approach it so perhaps shelving it isn’t a bad idea for now.

27/07/20

I think it’s important to take a step back sometimes and focus on other elements of practice. So today is a drawing and research day.

“ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS”

“ART IS LONG, LIFE IS SHORT” the reversed first two lines of Hippocrates’ ‘Aphorismi’

Nearly six hours of sketchbook work today.

28/07/20

Did not expect to but “Rock Pool Memory” is finished. It really has been an unprecedented time of creativity. Silver lining in a weird and unnerving time.

“Rock Pool Memory” finished.

29/07/20

The Troxler Effect - monsters in the mirror.

Treated myself to some art books.

30/07/20

Detail of ‘Enfield’ painting in progress

Short stint today, Slow progress but progress nonetheless.

31/07/20

Parts looks OK and then others are close to the point of madness. At least the dead crab looks well.

RDH: JUNE 2020

01/06/20

Clarify your eye.

Mixed what was left on the palette after 7 weeks of caking. It produced this gorgeous black / green hue perfect for the large canvas. Dad gave me a hand to clean it as I only have one at the minute.

02/06/20

In two minds but some good ground work. VAI café now with Alan Phelan and Ursula Burke.

UB: Being a witness to what has been happening.

UB: Bridging the gap between antiquity and the contemporary.

AP: John Joly Photography method

03/06/20

Hospital appointment: I can take the wrist support off!

Painting again. Very very rusty but such a nice feeling to be standing in the studio again.

Detail of fracture

…there are areas that work really well (the transparency of the plates in the skull). Painterly approach. Pretty much the rest is just clunky and stale.

04/06/20

The following quotes are from ‘Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics’ by Herschel B. Chipp:

“The source of all inspirations. Whether the artist works directly from nature from memory, or from fantasy, nature is always the source of his creative impulses.”

Hans Hofman - on the topic of nature.

“…a synthesis from the artist’s standpoint of matter, space and colour. Creation is not a reproduction of observed fact”

Hans Hofmann - on the topic of creation.

05/06/20

Mucked up.

06/06/20

Built up layers on two smaller pieces. They are at that stage when there is something missing - limbo.

‘Circular Lapse’ was in that place until the overlapping discs were added. Patience.

07/06/20

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”

Salvador Dali

Put the brakes on today.

08/06/20

Detail of ‘Jester’ drawing

New projector at long last. It doesn’t move an inch!

09/06/20

Got to using a brush at the end of a bamboo cane like Matisse used to.

“It was in me like the rhythm that carried me along. I had the surface in my head.”

Henri Matisse - on the use of bamboo tool

Visual and bodily. Some good progress today.

Detail of “Beatrice Study”

10/06/20

Troy Michie Talk Art was very good.

Detail of "Beatrice Study”

Finished “Beatrice Study” but paid the price; head is banging. Am I doing too much too soon?

11/06/20

Well today was a write off. Spent several hours at the Royal in Belfast looking for answers to the pounding head and the potential CSF leakages. Feels like recovery has taken a step back by a few weeks.

13/06/20

Trebuchet magazine has arrived and some updates to website.

15/06/20

Slept in.

Would love to visit the Christo and Jeanne-Claude covering of the Arc de Triomphe in October 2021.

Studio time feels a little panicked for some reason. Settle the head.

Now I.N.A.R.P. but I think there comes a level of pressure when you are personally and emotionally connected to a person to try and capture them as they once were. Settle the head and shake it off!

Well - you do get days of going backwards. Pre-mix before committing?

Cinematic tropes to frame personal trauma - à la Roxanna Halls.

16/06/20

Close up of “Back in my Day”

Really early start. Seems to have worked - finished “Back in my Day”. When in a certain frame of mind I seem to work quickly. Time is something I have in spades at the moment. Have probably over-painted areas (hands) but best leaving it as is and moving on.

17/06/20

Drawing and tonal work to “Race to the Bottom” - working title.

A homemade multi-brush handle.

18/06/20

…any shout of a practical day in the studio has disappeared. May be a blessing in disguise though as it’s probably best that I don’t spend every day standing in the garage through this recovery period.

20/06/20

…in terms of “RttB”, washes are or will probably key to keeping the action / immediacy of the figures alive.

Really pleased with how some of the facial work turned out today and I think the differing tones of navy/blue/grey will work.

22/06/20

2pm start - better than not starting at all I guess. After a few hours of frustration it was decided to just omit the second figure from the left. Eventually made more sense compositionally - balancing out the tumbling ensemble.

Removal of a figure

Need to be careful.

23/06/20

Different perspectives - slightly out of focus.

Am I too picky?

Sketchbook work

Over six hours of really solid drawing time today.

24/06/20

Two canvases primed. Focus vision and work on that one element. It isn’t a race.

25/06/20

Before I literally wipe the slate (palette) clean - could I use those silky black colours on the large canvas? Probably shouldn’t have got up at 5am. Eyes are rolling in head and its only 10:16am…

…waiting on a phone call. It was 47 minutes later than scheduled and on the phone call they decided to reschedule and to expect a phone call next week…

On third wind now but thought it best to call it a day before setting out the stall entirely.

‘A cup of clarity from the clarity flute.’

Eye detail - in progress

26/06/20

Unified the sky of the large canvas with a thick thick covering of velvety black paint. Pushing the oppressive sky downwards closing in on the running figures. Claustrophobic.

Now, learn from previous over meddling mistakes and move on!

Michael Armitage talk from Brooklyn Rail was fantastic! Got to ask a question too!

27/06/20

Studio Shot: 27/06/20

Really need to sort out a decent sleeping pattern.

28/06/20

Charcoal work today and not much else. Notes and revising for a presentation.

29/06/20

Very very close. Addition of the poppy. Centuries ago, the poppy was known as the witch’s flower. This is where the Irish for poppy comes from as ‘cailleach dhearg’ translates to ‘red hag’.

30/06/20

VAI Show and Tell: Northern Ireland addition. Delighted to have taken part.

Life After Art College

A few days ago I put up a small post congratulating students from the Belfast School of Art for reaching the end of their degree show and graduating from their respective courses. There was quite a response to it so i thought it might be worthwhile expanding on any advice for life after art college. Take any following advice onboard with scepticism as there never is a one size fits all approach.

2020 was an end of year unlike any other with no shows amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown still in place (although it’s great to hear that students will get an opportunity to display some of their hard work in the MAC later this year). Even taking the current crisis into consideration, there seems to always be an uneasy feeling of ‘what the hell now’ especially after building up to the third year climactic degree shows.

Degree show - 2010

When I graduated in 2010 I was in the lucky position, along with others from the ballroom painting floor, to already have a studio set in place. For the first year post art college I didn’t lift a brush and instead applied for jobs to keep me in Belfast as going home to Mid-Ulster was to me a sign of defeat (I now know this is not the case and you can set up shop anywhere and still feel part of the art scene in the big towns and beyond). In that first year I spent my free time clearing out the inches of dust gathered in the attic space of 99 North Street which eventually became LOFT studios, an open planned studio space where artists with all kinds of disciplines sometimes worked on the same table! We gave each other advice, pulled together resources, moved furniture up three flights of stairs for events and basically worked alongside and on top of each other. This sense of communal activity was like the ballroom in many ways and made the transition a little smoother.

Our last ‘Drink and Draw’ event in LOFT before leaving.

In 2012 I made the decision to move home to the countryside but still refused to give up my little corner of North Street, sometimes travelling 3 - 4 times a week to paint and often sleeping in the studio to get work done for a show or just to feel close to the action. Eventually you and your peers move on to bigger and better things and the building is no more (demolished in 2016) but in those five years of helping to run LOFT on a shoestring budget and getting back into my own practice, I really learnt a lot in terms of sustaining a practice, what I really wanted to say with my work and keeping your head above water when things are stacked up against you.

Studio in 2020

Since moving my studio out to the sticks, my work has (hopefully) developed and I have been able to dedicate more time to my practice.

So that’s a brief snapshot of my years after leaving. Now onto the advice - in no particular order and notwithstanding current lockdown limitations:

• If you don’t make work for a while - that’s OK. There can be a pressure to plug on and if you feel like you should then more power to you. Just know it is OK to take a step back and reassess priorities for a while. This has also happened to myself recently; I was beating myself up about not being productive and it only had a negative impact on my practice and state of mind. BREATHE!

• Read - Watch - Learn Education doesn’t stop after graduating.

• Take a look at formed studio groups and consider applying for studio space or band together to create your own space. There can be strength in numbers but If you can’t that’s OK. Make time to clear a space in your home that you can dedicate to your practice. If you don’t want it to then it won’t be your last studio.

• Reach out to artists who you admire in an email. You could be surprised by a response.

• Apply for shows and cater your application/c.v. for each opportunity - depending on the criteria required. Try to keep C.V.s clear and concise and your keep updating your artist statement to what you’re doing right now.

• experiment with new things - keep what you were doing in uni going by all means but don’t be afraid to stretch out, learn and expand your practice.

• Volunteer with arts organisations / galleries / become a member of Catalyst Arts and take a look at Visual Artists Ireland. The latter will help keep you informed as to what is going on in the galleries from one place.

• Go to as many shows as you can and see work made from other disciplines - and not just from your floor! Artists supporting artists is a wonderful thing. Sadly there is still a feeling of competition among artists but we are all on differing paths with very different goals. If you see an opportunity that isn’t quite right for you but may be for others, SHARE IT!

• Keep in touch with your uni friends as many will be on the same boat - help each other.

• Keep a journal - everyday write down what went on, little notions, doodles - lists/goals. Writing things down is the first step in making something tangible.

• Online presence is becoming more and more important. Consider investing in a well built website and keep your artistic social media posts professional (private stories excluded).

Once again congratulations on reaching your final year. It may not have been the ending you envisaged but it is only the beginning and ultimately you have the reigns.

RDH: MAY 2020

01/05/20

Finding a new normal.

02/05/20

…so not just images / maps / diagrams but also fears: nightmares.

• Where are you?

• What’s your date of birth?

• What’s today’s date?

• Do you know why you are here?

• Who is the Prime minister?

• Lift both arms

• Push against me.

• Follow my finger.

• Any dizziness? Nausea?

A face in the clouds.

…cover the eyes.

05/05/20

VAI’s café: So good to see what Cecilia Danell is up to in lockdown.

06/05/20

Tried drawing. Didn’t go well. It’s going to take longer than first thought to get back to creative work. Super frustrating.

11/05/20

Head is so sore today. Silver lining: Jerry Saltz’s “How to Be an Artist” arrived today.

12/05/20

• …avoid little voice neigh-saying in your head. All topics are valid.

• utilise R.D. more.

• …with found imagery, find and explore that connection to your own experiences.

• You never stop learning or looking for new ways to work.

• Sharpen observational skills. Draw from experience.

Over-analysing? Maybe.

BBC4 LIFE DRAWING LIVE

“A work of art cannot depend on explanation” - Jerry Saltz

14/05/20

Really enjoyed the webinar from VAI with CCA’s Catherine Hemelryk

INTEGRITY!

16/05/20

National Drawing Day. Really good to sit down and just draw today. Did a live-stream where I set up a still life and a few people drew along.

17/05/20

John Berger is always a good read.

18/05/20

Sketchbook work

19/05/20

VAI café

Orla Whelan: existential questions - preoccupation with death. Philosophical exploration.

Another little bit of late night sketching.

22/05/20

The virtual opening of the Catalyst Members Show.

More late night sketchbook work.

24/05/20

“An artists’ job is to reflect the time we live in.” - Nina Simone

26/05/20

“Using line to make visual texture” - Fiona Rae on Dürer

“Race to the Bottom” detail.

27/05/20

28/05/20

Started teaching my dad how to stretch canvas as I can’t at the moment.

Apparently I have the same birthday as Edward Hopper.

30/05/20

Canvas projecting.

31/05/20

Early morning reading.

“At root, truth to painting is truth to light.” - Juliam Barnes

RDH: APRIL 2020

01/04/20

A day of cleaning.

02/04/20

Enjoyed doing the live stream for Atypical today!

04/04/20

“Inside Man” starting point.

“Titian: Behind Closed Doors”

Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ - The ethics of looking.

05/04/20

Not sure if attempting “The Ferryman” on this scale is the right move.

The falling boy: “Full of Grace”.

Blocking.

Some really good progress in the studio.

06/04/20

Commissions

“If your art doesn’t reflect your family and community then what’s the point?”

Dale Harding - Tateshots

07/04/20

Happy anniversary JG!

Applications.

Never rains but it pours! Buckets needed.

08/04/20

“Full of Grace” coming well. Would like to incorporate ultramarine blue - hint to the Virgin Mary in there (via the window).

Very funny search for a protractor.

09/04/20

Farcical.

Eventually got to painting after helping with a birdbox.

Birdbox with slated roof

"Full of Grace" finished

10/04/20

Should have been “Confessional” exhibition’s natural end.

11/04/20

Such a battle with “Inside Man” at the minute. Struggling with that balance of realistic approach and the drawing mark.

It’s been a while: “I AM NOT A REALIST PAINTER!”

12/04/20

13/04/20

Not overly happy with the finality of “Inside Man” but best to finish up now before I properly overcook it.

14/04/20

All but finished another painting. It’s very strange times indeed.

15/04/20

“Circular Lapse Study” - detail

16/04/20

Six hours and I’m pretty much no further forward than when I started. Going to have to take a completely different route to accomplish this. It would help if I had a goal in mind. Detailed vs Out of Focus. In between? Trying to tackle the green slab all at once isn’t working.

17/04/20

Back to drawing basics turned to mush.

18/04/20

One step forward and four back.

21/04/20

Little talk with VAI’s online café went well with really nice feedback on work in progress and the studio set up.

22/04/20

Meetings.

23/04/20

Some really good painting put down today.

24/04/20

Need to box up and send off!

25/04/20

Reset. Breathe.

26/04/20

Looking. So important. Doesn’t mean you can’t allow for spontaneity or randomness in the process.

“Ferryman” is finished!

27/04/20

A cartwheel with no floor. CT Scans reveal right-sided skull vault fracture and subdural haematoma. Off to Royal Victoria Hospital.

Avulsion fracture to right wrist.

30/04/20

Out of hospital. Time to start recovery process.

RDH: MARCH 2020

01/03/20

Focus turns to show opening.

03/03/20

Spend a little time looking and you might find a way in. Now at that limbo stage with “No Remorse”. Compositionally solid but colours and painterly gestures are off.

Surprising bound forward on “Self Portrait with Sketchbook”. Face is mask-like (maybe a good thing?)

05/03/20

Nervous as hell. First stop - Ursula Burke in the Ulster Museum. Wonderful scope and the wall mural is stunning. A quick jaunt into town - in GT’s “Dissolving Histories” I especially liked Stuart Calvin’s work. Great to see Dougal McKenzie’s project space show “More Bad News”. Beautiful little touches.

Ursula Burns in the Ulster Museum

"Dissolving Histories" in the Golden Thread

"Dissolving Histories" in the Golden Thread

"More Bad News" by Dougal McKenzie

"Songs and the Soil" by Mark Garry in the MAC

Next onto the MAC for Mark Garry’s “Songs and the Soil”. Placed over the three galleries, the work is immersive and stunning.

"Confessional" install in Atypical Gallery

Before the doors opened in Atypical

Myself and Dad under "Crown of Dionysus"

Helped with the last little touches to the show prep. Great turnout for Late Night Art and the feedback has knocked me back - in the best possible way. Really not good at taking compliments. Marcus Keeley came by for a chat in the store room for his “Instant Feedback” podcast.

06/03/20

Wee stay with Jane. A beautiful house and a beautiful soul. Finally got to visit QSS for “Four Female Painters” exhibition. Amazing space and great work. Alana Barton’s piece “Blossom” made me cry and not even ashamed to say it. It struck a nerve. The delicacy of the child’s little fingers touching the adult’s hair. Beautifully painted.

"Blossom" by Alana Barton

"Four Female Painters" show in QSS

Took myself back to re-watch Mark Garry’s videos in the MAC. The close up recordings of the horses is haunting and strangely intimate.

08/03/20

Few days off but little updates online here and there.

11/03/20

Sketchbook work

14/03/20

Scary times. Back to the looking phase. It seems to help.

Self Portrait: face is still very mask-like. Reminds me of a still from “Les yeux sans visage”.

…knowing when to quit for the day is important.

15/03/20

Slow burning day but when I eventually got to studio and began making real progress, the power goes off!

Serves me right for getting ahead of myself.

“No Remorse” in progress

16/03/20

The “In Conversation” that was to take place with the show in Atypical has rightly been postponed due to ongoing circumstances.

18/03/20

Have to self-isolate for 14 days. The worries mount.

22/03/20

Sketchbook work for the first time in 11 days. Feels like a lifetime.

Is there a better, more cohesive way to go about the drawing side of practice?

I think immediacy, or the notion of immediacy, is still important.

24/03/20

Transferred some recent drawings to acetate.

STEP UP!

25/03/20

Studio time with Radiohead.

26/03/20

A bit of sketching but mainly organising imagery.

“There’s no point in worryin’ what ye can’t control.”

BAK

“No Remorse” is finished. There are parts that still annoy but all in all pleased to it’s best to leave it and move on.

28/03/20

Pushing and pulling with “Self Portrait with Sketchbook”. Frustrating but really fun at the same time!

29/03/20

Cleaning palette and studio up. Also stripped the background of “SPwS”. Too similar to the skin tones and made the canvas seem quite flat.

30/03/20

So bloody close!

31/03/20

Last day of quarantine.

Great to take part in the VAI online café and to get an insight into Tinka Bechert’s wonderful work.

“SPwS” finished. It is very wonky as it’s taken from a very wonky sketch from a few years ago but there’s something about the sketch that made me want to try and develop it into a painting for quite some time.

"Confessional"

Solo exhibition at the University of Atypical Gallery.

Photography by Simon Mills.

RDH: FEBRUARY 2020

01/02/20

Detail of “Self-Portrait with Sketchbook” - painting in progress

Right, get paint down! Started two little pieces today and “The Crown of Dionysus” is complete"!

“The Crown of Dionysus” on my very dirty studio wall.

02/02/20

The last palindrome day for another 111 years. Damn rugby is distracting!

“No Remorse” - background building up.

03/02/20

Parcel.

06/02/20

“Religion decays, the icon remains; a narrative is forgotten, yet its representation still magnetises (the ignorant eye triumphs - how galling for the informed eye).”

Julian Barnes - ‘Géricault: Catastrophe into Art’

“No sooner do we come into this world, than bits of us start to fall off.”

Gustave Flaubert

09/02/20

Detail of body - “No Remorse”

Using storm Ciara to aid in the drying process.

10/02/20

Submission started.

Mobile installation?

11/02/20

…might be a little out there. Will sit on it for a while.

“Laziness is a sign of mediocrity.”

Voltaire

15/02/20

Visit by Jane and Hugh.

Victim / Perpetrator / Both

linking current work.

17/02/20

All pieces are wrapped and ready to go.

21/02/20

Slight change of plan.

23/02/20

Sketchbook work tonight.

25/02/20

Nerves are shredded already!

26/02/20

Work is on its way.

27/02/20

Well that’s it! Install complete I’m really happy with the exhibition and now it’s a waiting game for the opening.

29/02/20

Louis Fratino on Talk Art podcast.

Repeating motifs. mem: Like that odd shoulder loop that happens in drawings and then translates to paintings.

Made good progress in some areas of “Remorse” (bodies) but mostly have over painted to the point where I can’t put anything else down. Better to walk away now and go again another day than to push it over the edge today. Have reintroduced some rough drawing elements into the background.

Solo Exhibition at University of Atypical

Very happy to be displaying work in the University of Atypical Gallery for a solo show that is opening for Late Night Art Belfast on the 5th March.

Below is the text to accompany the exhibition. “Confessional” runs until the 10th April and there is an “In Conversation” event in the gallery on Saturday 21st March. All welcome

RDH: JANUARY 2020

01/01/20

New Decade. A quiet start to the year but with a feeling of resolve and drive to get things done.

02/01/20

“For the dead travel fast.” - Jonathan Harker’s Journal

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

03/01/20

mem: Sickert’s approach to “Portrait of Hugh Walpole” - one of my favourites - could work. Drastic yes but by simplifying the colours… more painterly…. ambiguous.

04/01/20

The Optimism Gap: Locally good. Nationally bad.

“Unsafe” Commission

Finished commission. Looked at Sickert and Dumas. Previously it was haggard and stale.

05/01/20

…relieved!

A lot of scanned drawings tonight.

06/01/20

Renewal

07/01/20

Five posts in five weeks.

09/01/20

“Confessional”

Potential title?

11/01/20

Performed open heart surgery on the 206 today.

“No Remorse” painting is moving very very slowly.

Detail of “No Remorse” in progress

Overthinking personal issues.

12/01/20

Belfast today.

Incense in sunlight

Issues of “crown” install is mind boggling.

DIONYSUS

13/01/20

Office updating and uploading.

14/01/20

Jade Riley wrote a little piece about my practice. Chuffed!

16/01/20

Ideas with Dad for install concepts.

Hodge-Podge.

17/01/20

Bit of breathing issues but otherwise OK.

19/01/20

Winter sunset

“Shoah” - 1985 A film by Claude Lanzmann

Eventually got out of a rut (well even a foot out of the door is good) and got sketching.

22/01/20

“To remove unwanted threads of your past (regrets or mistakes) is to undo the tapestry of your life.” - JLP

24/01/20

CCA Derry

Darren Banks

Agnes Meyer-Brandis

25/01/20

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening of “The Dark” in the CCA. Agnes Meyer-Brandis’ work has made me look at geese in a slightly more positive light.

Started two new canvases and pleased with the progress of “Crown of Dionysus”.

27/01/20

“Crown” finished - including wall fixing designed by Dad.

C.E.’s shouldn’t be halted until the weekend.

Finally getting around to reading the collection of art essays by Julian Barnes. I think since I got it the day I visited John in the Royal I’ve been avoiding it.

28/01/20

Late night sketching is better than no sketching at all!

Hatchet sketch

30/01/20

“Time dissolves the story into form, colour, emotion. Modern and ignorant, we re-imagine the story: do we vote for the optimistic yellowing sky, or the grieving greybeard? Or do we end up believing both versions? The eye can flick from one road or one interpretation, to the other: is this what was intended?

Julian Barnes - “Géricault: Catastrophe into Art”

31/01/20

All in all a horrible day.

E-Globe Artist's Project article by Jade Riley

A while back I had the pleasure of chatting to Jade Riley, a writer and photographer, who has since written the following little piece about my practice. Be sure to check out Jade’s other writings on her site.

Thank you Jade.

What I love most about art is getting to know the artist behind the work and find out haw far the gap is between intention and visual content. Brian’s work is saturated in content which speaks to me personally. His enigmatic sketches draw me in, invite me in to almost converse with his subjects. Delicate line, yet bold movements. This is definitely an artist with something to say!

Brian has been creating art since graduating in 2010 from the Belfast School of Art. Brian’s admiration for Frances Bacon really shines through ‘His quote - unlock the valves of feeling sticks to mind’ This is exactly what I see in Brian’s’ work – an organic recording of experiences. The images allow us to absorb a jolt of feeling in that split second, the outer experience is paramount to the impact of the image. Brian also states that he also relates to Dutch artist Marlene Dumas ‘for her unflinching look at the human condition’.

I love Brian’s process in relation to preparing a piece, he works from life occasionally but a lot of his work is based on personal archival images (photographs) which pull themselves from the pile of sacred storage and into the painterly life of human experience. The naming of Brian’s work also adds to this sense of open mindedness, they guide you into a familiar overgrown garden, but it’s up to you which flower you pick. Will it lead you to a world of pain, trauma and suffering? Or will it lead you to a place of reminiscence, memory and delight? I revel in delight as to whether artists actually find out which paths their viewers take.

A quick and clever hand creates painterly gestures which haunt and yearn. The immediacy of the sketches mirrors the fleeting experiences and thoughts we drown ourselves in every single day.

Brian starts conversations with the viewers trauma and experiences, shakes their hands and whispers, ‘it’s OK’. His paintings feel like dreams of escapism, assuredly a remedy of sorts for rattling thoughts and questions unanswered. A mixture of bitter sweet.

There is an aura of subversion in Brian painting called ‘Rose’. An image of serial killer Rose West which has been watermarked with a pale, white rose, revealing her dead, dull eyes and plump red lips. Bleached of all colour and striking across her face, stealing the identify of what a rose should be. Her face has absorbed the colour, significant of the life she drained from her victims. A very powerful image which is haunting and striking.

Brian’s work ‘Hideout’ is full of movement and energy. A nod to nature and a reminder of our need to recharge. This painting for me signifies adventure, whether that be from all that is bad or from jubilance and wonder lust. The figure is ready. Ready for movement, ready for progression. Ready.

Brian’s work ‘procession study’ is a particular favourite of mine. The fifth figure giving us their full attention. We have been caught out. There is something rhythmical about this piece. The trudge, the swing and the sense of isolation and togetherness coming together. A duality of personal and private experiences.

Please follow Brian’s work at the following tags to ensure you don’t miss out on these relics of imagery!

RDH: DECEMBER 2019

01/12/19

semiotics

02/12/19

It is never wise to stand on a plug.

UNSAFE SYMBOL

In a crisis are we all destined to retract to a small amount of predetermined protocols?

It is what we do in these scenarios that characterise who we can become - but that shouldn’t be confused with a concluded definition.

03/12/19

“Gaugin - A Dangerous Life” on BBC IPlayer

“The work of a man explains that man”

- Paul Gaugin

04/12/19

Sketchbook work this evening.

07/12/19

Really didn’t get as much done as I should have. Started commission though which is good.

08/12/19

So I now own a car!

15/12/19

A very tough week. Frustration at zero creative output. Filter and breathe.

16/12/19

… so I am grateful so for many things. The positives outweigh the negatives. It is OK to have lull bits. It is still be seen as necessary time to off load while creating space for work down the line.

Read the Room.

17/12/19

Some more sketchbook working out tonight.

A very foggy night

20/12/19

The welcomed return of lists - getting things straightened out for the first time in a long time.

21/12/19

If all else fails, even just sitting in the studio is good. It can induce making…

Detail of commission in Progress

Have decided to try and switch off over the holidays. Easier said than done as I’m never more than a few steps away from RD to jot thoughts/ideas down on. Will be good to spend some time away - clear some head-space.

28/12/19

2019 has been an odd year. Rejection, award, rejection, solo show, more rejection…

Making time and adhering to a schedule of sorts has to be up there with priorities in the new year. Keeping this blog going is good. Some folks say, isn’t it odd to type out what you’ve jotted down a few weeks ago but I’ve found that in order to move forward, it’s good to have a refresher of what has just preceded and digesting this helps put aims and dangers into perspective.

29/12/19

Less Flaky Would Be Good.

31/12/19

New Year’s Eve Poker Night and Rogue isn’t having a good run of cards at all.

2019 in Photos

JANUARY

Rearranging office space

Alana Barton exhibition in the Black Box, Belfast

Studio shot with works in progress

Beginnings of "Lost Woods Study"

FEBRUARY

Detail of "Ruins" in progress

Looking over the Lagan

MARCH

Bright day in the studio and re-purposing failed works

Adding text?

I popped the question and she said yes!

APRIL

Aimee Melaugh's wonderful show in the Glassworks, Derry

Leaving work in the RHA to take part in the submission process

Francis Bacon's studio in the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin

Visit to the Royal Academy, London

The National Gallery, London

Rousseau's Tiger in the National Gallery, London

Tate Modern, London

Peter Doig in the the Tate Modern

Self Portrait by Bonnard in the wonderful exhibition in the Tate Modern

Tate's new extension with a Franz West piece in the foreground

Doris Salcedo at IMMA

Jan with Jasper

MAY

Visiting the CCA Derry/Londonderry

Very disturbing window painting

"Ferryman" and "The Bogland Sackrace" in progress

Close up of "The Lost Woods Study"

JUNE

Taping up "The Bogland Sackrace"

Christopher James Burns' "Limbo Land" in the MAC, Belfast

Rogue at the River

JULY

Macro shot of painting skin

The smallest brush I own

Ballydugan Mill, Downpatrick

Wonderful show about Cindy Sherman on BBC Arena

AUGUST

Siblings

Sleeping Dogs

Prepping works for transit

SEPTEMBER

Mark McGreevy at the MAC, Belfast

Detail of painting in progress

Work by Craig Donald in the Goose Lane Gallery, Belfast

Still of 'Midsommar' - one of the best films I've seen this year

OCTOBER

Installing Bardo in the Ards Art Centre, Newtownards

Sandra Robinson solo show in the Ards Art Centre

Wonderful gift from Action Mental Health at the opening of Bardo

Ipod has returned!

Projecting images onto a new canvas

Visiting the RUA exhibition in the Ulster Musuem, Belfast

NOVEMBER

Fresh paint

"Helen" in progress

DECEMBER

Photo experimentation with Jan

Fog filled nights

Surprise gift wrapping

Detail of a commission in progress

Exhibition Highlights 2019

Here are five of my favourite exhibitions I’ve attended this year. I’ve struggled to omit some exceptional shows for this list, namely Christopher James Burns’ ‘Limbo Land’ and the Golden Thread Gallery’s ‘Noise of Silence: Japanese Art Now’.

The list below is in chronological order.

Porous Plane

Lennon

Golden Thread Gallery - 02/02/19 - 23/03/19

Lennon’s first solo exhibition in Belfast in twenty years saw the Golden Thread Gallery’s two spaces and connecting passage utilised to the full. The following is from the exhibition text:

Come and stand in front of artworks that are larger than you. Make time to fill your field of vision with Lennon’s innovation of ‘non image’ art, an art form he has dedicated his life to developing through rigorous research and experimentation since the 1970’s.

….

While the work has complex origins, no knowledge is required to enjoy the beauty of these paintings. Lennon’s paintings invites each of us to find ourselves and arrive at our own conclusions, from our individual viewpoints. For Lennon the “subject is always: how does it feel to be alive now knowing what we know”.

“PECHE MERLE FUGUE/AL13 MMVII x composite 2018” acrylic paint on aluminium, 14’6” high x 30’ wide approx.

While painting on aluminium isn’t new, the layout and interconnection of the works was a first for me and truly breathtaking. Like Rothko’s notion of taking up the complete field of vision, it was a joy to get up close to these works and just be there as the artist intended. The paint looked as if it was almost scratched on and the colours shimmered on the metal and beside each other. There were also smaller monochrome works which helped you not to overload on colour and gave the eyes a breather between the larger installations.

Detail of Lennon’s painting in “Porous Plane” in the Golden Thread Gallery.

Fragmented

Aimee Melaugh

An tSeaneaglais - The Glassworks, Derry - 28/03/19 - 10/04/19

In a former 19th Century Georgian Church beside the Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin in Derry’s Great James Street - is the Glassworks - the stage for Aimee Melaugh’s first solo exhibition. This was the first time I had seen her work outside of the degree show in the Belfast School of Art. I’m an admirer of Melaugh’s use of painterly technique to conjure a sense of mood in her work and the stunning venue seemed to heighten this tenfold.

The work is a collective exploration of traumatic events which have taken place throughout history but there are also personal elements thrown into the mix with references of the her grandfather’s experience in the Second World War. This method of working is in line to where my own practice lies (why I may have a soft spot for it) but where we differ is in Melaugh’s beautifully rendered elements of realism mixed with stencilled numbers / dates that fire the imagination of the viewer - a kaleidoscopic narrative emerging from the coloured haze.

“Fighters Mix It Above “ by Aimee Melaugh - 38cm x 42cm

The C C Land Exhibition

Pierre Bonnard: The Colour of Memory

Tate Modern - 23/01/19 - 06/05/19

To get to see one Bonnard would have been great enough but to get thirteen rooms filled with works was almost a sensory overload! While navigating the exhibition it occurred to me how blessed we are in NI to have time and space with the work we go to interact with. I went in the midway point of the show’s run and it was next to impossible to not say ‘sorry’ while bumping into other viewers who were also bumbling their way through the crowd.

“The Studio with Mimosa” Pierre Bonnard 1939-1946 Oil on Canvas

Hung in more or less in chronological order, Bonnard’s subject was continuously shifted among topics of everyday life but what remained was the stunning innovational use of colour, forcing colours together that would not normally be seen in proximity to create beautiful iridescence on canvas.

Working a lot from memory gives the work a non realistic and dreamlike quality to the compositions. Even the self portrait titled “The Boxer”, which would normally be a study from a mirror has links to being worked from memory. Fighting the throng across this exhibition was definitely worth it.

“The Boxer” Pierre Bonnard 1931 Oil on Canvas

“The presence of the object … is a hindrance for the painter when he is painting.”

Pierre Bonnard

Acts of Mourning

Doris Salcedo

IMMA - 24/04/19 - 21/07/19

“Plegaria Muda” by Doris Salcedo

Going to see this show, I was ill prepared. The first work that greets you is “Plegaria Muda” - an installation focussed on the loss of innocent life during civil war and it didn’t take long before I broke into tears. A few days prior the journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed during unrest in Derry. I had met Lyra a few times and she was destined to be a voice of tolerance and reason in a divided part of the world. Blades of grass find ways to penetrate each upended table; life inevitably goes on and hope is still present.

Detail of “Plegaria Muda” by Doris Salcedo

“Plegaria Muda” is the first of six bodies of work by Salcedo strewn across the wing of IMMA. “Atrabiliarios” contains female shoes encased in the walls behind preserved animal fibre. You can see the remains of the human but it is blurred and out of reach. This work reflected on the cruel treatment of female victims in Columbia where shoes were relied upon to identify remains. I was struck by the personal connection with Salcedo’s work throughout all the projects included here. The empathy with victims of trauma and violence is universal and made for an emotional reflection on loss and remembrance.

“Atrabiliarios” by Doris Salcedo

On Refusal: Representation and Resistance in Contemporary American Art

The MAC - 25/10/19 - 19/01/20

From the exhibition text:

On Refusal brings together the works of Paul Stephen Benjamin, Elliot Jerome Brown Jr., Aria Dean, Troy Michie, Arcmanoro Niles and Sable Elyse Smith to explore a notable (re)turn to figuration in the practices of a generation of artists currently working out of the United States, and to investigate the political impetus for this (re)investment in the body and notions of embodiment as a subject of art in the context of contemporary America; an increasingly nationalistic and conservative terrain, in which certain bodies are privileged and protected, while others (those of black, brown, queer and other minority peoples) have been made more vulnerable than ever.

“Ojitos” Troy Michie 2018

This is a thought provoking exhibition bringing together exciting artists form America to the MAC for the first time. There is a huge political pulse in this show and for good reason. With governance in NI at a three year standstill, Brexit looming ever closer and the choice to ignore or abuse human rights as political collateral . The UK government has thankfully now brought marriage equality and abortion rights into line with the rest of these islands since the exhibition’s opening but the reality of the topics covered in the works of these artists still remain.

What if?

“Out of Sight, Out of Mind” Troy Michie 2018

What if there was another way to see ourselves? Troy Michie’s photographic collages are powerful works in this context. In “Ojitos” (‘little eyes’ in Spanish) we are looked upon but theres a hint at a duality in the figure that is concealed in the figure’s identity - the same arm and eye repeated twice as to not give anything away. There is a real power in the use of ambiguity in Michie’s work. In the larger and more complex “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” multiple images interconnect and dissect each other, figures of varying scales push forward for dominance in the composition. Colour is used well to highlight areas of the picture but you get the feeling that the need to be seen clearly is falling on blind eyes. Michie’s figures hide in plain sight and are isolated in the open. The ‘resistance’ here could be that they will not go away.

"When We Played as Kids" Arcmanoro Niles Oil, Acrylic and Glitter on Canvas 2016

The large paintings of Arcmanoro Niles are colourful and heartfelt testaments to his childhood growing up in Washington DC. Faces are beautifully rendered in the surreal surroundings but there is always a hint of violence in the form of a little gremlin-like figure either hiding just around a corner or at the bottom of the canvas wielding a knife. The notion of the national image is not always far away but is far from the truth.

In a corner of the Tall Gallery is Paul Stephen Benjamin’s video piece “God Bless America”. Multiple screens with alternating red and blue lights surround a looped and edited recording of Aretha Franklin singing “God Bless America, My Home Sweet Home” for Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1977. Notions of black patriotism, American political ideology and the ongoing black lives matter movement ring loud and are beautifully tense when positioned close in Benjamin’s work. The space almost became like a place of worship in the rhythmic repetitions of Franklin’s audio.

Where all the work in this group show didn’t strike a chord with me, it was the works of Benjamin, Michie and Niles that made me come back twice more and I hope to visit again before the show comes down in January 2020.

Ungalleried Launch

Very pleased to have been asked to have my work included in a new online gallery project:

UNGALLERIED

It has just launched and will be rolling out further updates and projects in the coming weeks and months.

I want to say a huge thank you to Chief Curator Manuela Pacella for selecting my work, having faith in my practice and to the whole team at ‘Ungalleried’ for their hard work and patience.