Exhibition opening this weekend

The new exhibition, celebrating the first birthday of Camden Image Gallery, opens at the weekend, and above is one of the new pieces I'll be exhibiting. It's been a few months since I last exhibited, as I've had a lot of other things to focus on, so I'm looking forward to showing work again.

Camden Image Gallery has been very significant for me over the past year. The managing director is one of my close friends, and I've made many new friends through the gallery too. I remember, over a year ago, the first time I saw it before it was open to the public, and the way that it has grown over the last year is inspiring. Elena works extraordinarily hard, and I'm very proud to be associated with this gallery.

I'm really excited about the new pieces - I was intending to keep these drawings in charcoal only until I was asked to be part of this exhibition, but I feel that using colour has also been really effective. I love how streaks of vibrant colour come through in certain places, and I love the build up of layers, as in my paintings. One thing I'm really enjoying is the freedom to make mistakes and blur them again, and being flexible with how I build up layers. I'm really thinking of this body of work as experimentation, and maybe that is aiding my process.

Something I've really picked up on in these drawings is the texture that can be developed from constantly screwing up paper and drawing more layers. In the image above in particular, the final layers of pastel look like tracings of texture, and this is something I'm very keen on. I'm now even more enthusiastic about working on paper for a while, and drawing rather than painting. I have an idea for a large and intricate piece of work, totally different to previous pieces, that I plan to work on when I get back to Sweden next month, and now plan to incorporate colour into this piece, as well as monochrome charcoal drawings. 

My recent work, as well as being pieces in their own right, has also been serving as preparatory work for the new idea, and it has really inspired me. I've learned a lot about which types of paper work best, and the different results that different papers can yield. I've now been working with the theme of weathering for just over two years, and it's amazing how the idea has grown and developed in that time. Using paper allows for lots of new possibilities, and I want to keep working with this.

This exhibition is also significant, because it is likely to be my last exhibition in London for a while. On 2nd January I am going back to Sweden, and this time should be staying for the foreseeable future. I'm looking forward to producing more work, and exhibiting in a new country.

Exhibitions this week

"Expression", the show I've curated for Camden Image Gallery, opened on Saturday night, and I got a lot of really good feedback from both visitors and the artists involved. It was a lot of work but I'm really pleased with the quality of the work in the show, and I think it looks great. The show is now open to the public until 1st March, so please do go along and see the variety of work.

I'm also exhibiting at Parallax Art Fair later this week, and am now preparing my work for hanging there. I'm really happy that I was offered this opportunity, and I'm looking forward to setting up and the private view on Thursday night. Tickets are free of charge, and can be ordered here. This is the last time for the foreseeable future that I will be exhibiting certain pieces, including the pieces made in Iceland, as I'm focusing on progressing and developing the work with weathering, so this is a chance to see these works one last time.

Upcoming Solo Show - Interior

I'm very pleased to announce an upcoming solo exhibition on 18th and 19th January, titled "Interior". This is a pop-up show in my own home in North London, which will be really different to exhibiting in a conventional gallery setting.
The idea is to provide a more intimate experience, for both viewers and myself as the artist, than a traditional gallery environment could. As my work is quite personal I feel that it makes sense to exhibit it in my private environment. The show will be revelatory, and give viewers an insight into my life. I'm really excited about doing this.
I'll be showing work made between 2011 and 2014, including experiments and pieces that have not been shown before. I'm planning to hang the work like a salon exhibition, and include as much as I can. I'll also be showing some brand new fibre pieces. All work will be for sale.
I'm really looking forward to the show, and I hope to have a good turn out. Refreshments will be provided.

Vibe Gallery exhibition and other shows

The exhibition at Vibe Gallery was, I understand, a great success. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend as I was in Edinburgh, but I'm told that the private view was very busy, and there was a lot of good feedback about the show. My friend Alison curated it, and from what I can tell she did an amazing job. I really wish I could have been there, but nonetheless I'm really pleased that I was able to be involved. The space is great, and this was my first opportunity to exhibit the two canvasses I brought back from Iceland.
I have a couple of other exhibitions in the pipeline that I'm really excited about. From 7th - 17th December there will be the first ever exhibition at Camden Image Gallery, a brand new gallery opening in Camden Town, owned by one of my friends. I went to see the space for the first time on Wednesday evening, and I'm so impressed. My friend Elena has worked really hard to get this together, and I'm so proud of everything she's done. I'm really looking forward to exhibiting in this show, alongside a really varied selection of artists, I think it's going to be really successful, and encourage everyone to come along and see the gallery and show. I'm also acting as Promotions Manager for her, so I'm hoping that lots of people come along to see the gallery for the first time. More details will follow soon.
I'm very proud to announce that in January I will be having my very first solo exhibition, a pop-up show in my local area. I'm still in the planning stages as present, but I can confirm that this will be happening on 18th and 19th January. Again, this is a great opportunity that I'm really happy about.
I feel that things have been really exciting, and moving very quickly, since I came back from my residency at the end of September. The residency gave me a lot of time to reflect on my work and how things are going, and I definitely came back feeling extremely motivated. To a certain extent actually making work has taken a back seat for the time being, as I have a lot of work to do in terms of setting up shows, but from January onward I'm planning to get back to focusing on this, as well as continuing to exhibit as frequently as possible. Things are going really well at the moment with my work, and I feel that a lot of excellent opportunities are coming up. My renewed motivation has probably helped to actually bring up these opportunities; yet another benefit of my residency experience!
More details will follow about both of the upcoming exhibitions. At the moment I feel quite snowed under with work, but I have no doubt that it'll be very much worthwhile!

Weathered Fibre Work and an Upcoming Show

I'm finally back in London, and back to working away. I'm now working on my first ever weathered fibre piece, this is brand new for me and I can't wait to see how it turns out.
The embroidery part of the piece was completed much more quickly than I expected, and the work has been outside for a few days now. I'm very interested to see how the material is affected by becoming wet and drying out repeatedly.
The material is already becoming stained, so I'm hoping the impact will be great. I didn't tidy the edges of the fabric prior to placing it outside, as I'm hoping this might lead to some fraying and damage on the edges. If the weathering process goes as speedily as the initial sewing I will hopefully be in a position to exhibit the work quite soon.

On the subject of exhibitions, I'm happy to say that I'll be showing some work at Vibe Gallery in London next week. One of my friends is curating the show and has worked really hard, I think the show is going to turn out really well, definitely worth seeing if you're in London! Unfortunately I won't be able to make the private view, but I'm really pleased to be involved.
There are a few other shows coming up for me soon, in London and New York. Details to follow in due course...

Final piece is in progress

My final canvas here is now outside, I can't believe I am going back to England in a week! On this occasion I've tied the canvas with a longer rope, so it can be carried around by the wind and moved a bit more than the other pieces. I'm hoping that this will lead to it being bashed around a bit more than the others, and will produce a new result.
The canvas has already been outside for a couple of days, which should give it plenty of time to become weathered, and then finished off before I go back to Reykjavik and then home. It does feel like a shame to be leaving, as having experienced the conditions here I feel that there is much more potential for this type of work to be made here, and unfortunately I don't have time to explore many more ideas.
However, I've had time here to experiment with using other materials and surfaces that I hadn't previously considered, and this has definitely been helpful. I was already planning to work on an exclusively fibre based piece, and then weather this naturally when

I got home, and I now feel really excited to get onto this. I don't know why it never previously occurred to me to bring together the weathering process with a fibre piece, and I'm sure this will be interesting as I have no idea what to expect from that. I've been doing a lot of embroidery recently, in sketchbooks as well as on canvas, so I'm really into that at the moment.
I feel that this experience has been hugely beneficial for me, as I am coming away with a lot of ideas and plans, as well as a body of work. I've gained exactly what I wanted to from this residency, and I'm keen to take part in further residencies in the future. Perhaps I will even find myself returning to Nes at some stage!
When I initially applied for a few residencies I was mainly interesting in visiting a completely different environment, any environment, in order to develop the weathering work. But I really think things worked out excellently, as not only is the Icelandic coast completely different to anything I'm used to, but it has been so extreme and unpredictable, and greatly benefited my work. I think this really was the perfect place to bring the work and develop in further. I'm unsure whether I will carry on working with natural weathering once I get home, aside from the planned fibre piece, as the results will definitely not compare to what has happened here. However, if I do decide to do that I have some clear ideas now on how to make the process more effective.
I've absolutely loved having a period of time to concentrate purely on my work without other distractions, in particular having a day job that takes away so much of my time and energy. It obviously will not be the same once I am back in London, but I have some ideas on how to use my time more effectively when it comes to art. This has been a very significant experience for me and my career, and I'm so grateful that I was given this opportunity, I think it was exactly what I needed. I'm sad that the experience is nearly over and that I'll soon be home and back to reality, but I am looking forward to the future.

First finished piece!

 I'm so happy to say that I've now finished one canvas, and I am so pleased with how it has turned out. It has been titled "Mud", for obvious reasons!
Embroidering the canvas last night was a messy job, due to the amount of dirt of the surface, but it was absolutely worthwhile. The weathering is so clear here, and I'm still amazed by how quickly it happened. This is exactly the kind of result I wanted all along, so I'm very satisfied with this piece. In Iceland I've been working on a smaller scale than usual, due to time constraints, and I think this has also helped to speed up the process.
I love that there is balance between areas that are built up and intense, and areas such as the forehead that are less blemished, I think that really works in this piece. I also love that the dampness of the environment has caused to chalk to spread and drip in some places, that wasn't a result I was expecting but I think it works in contrast with the bolder aspects of the work.

 This piece has really confirmed for me that bringing my practice out here for a time was the best decision, I've accomplished what was not possible in London. When I originally conceived this idea, about a year ago, this was the kind of effect I was imagining and hoping for. I had to go a lot further than I expected to manage this, but I'm really satisfied now.
However, unfortunately yesterday I found that the piece in the rockpool has been washed away. This really doesn't surprise me, as in the past few days the sea has been very choppy, the waves have been even more violent than they were last week. with the waves being so big I would probably have drowned if I'd gone down to check the painting over the weekend.
It's a shame, but an occupational hazard if I choose to work in this way. I'm glad that I was at least able to document the weathering process with images and film, even though there is no work at the end of it. It has highlighted that I perhaps need to be even more

careful when it comes to securing the works, so  I'm keeping a very close eye on the piece that is still outside.
I am considering bringing it inside today, as it is already scratched, and this morning I had to climb along the rocks to retrieve it, as the winds last night had blown it further down the cliffs, along with the rock it is tied to. I obviously knew that the weather conditions would be more dramatic here, but I didn't understand just how extreme it could be. It's completely unpredictable, and whilst that it great for the weathering process I'm having to work a lot harder just to make sure that I do actually have some pieces left!
Even if the remaining works don't go to plan I'm so happy with this painting, and will be exhibiting it in London next month for sure. Yesterday I also placed a couple more paper experiments outside, and I'm also planning to try out a piece on wood, to see if and how this differs from weathering canvas. I'm so excited about the possibilities here!

One piece is back inside!

 I've just brought a painting inside, ironically this was the last one I placed outside, only yesterday! I suppose that's what happens when you put something in a pile of dirt whilst it's hailing. It still needs to be embroidered, but I am so excited about the outcome. I cannot stress enough what a brilliant decision it was to work here, the results are so much quicker and more effective than they were in London. I'm really happy, and I'm just waiting for the canvas to dry before finishing it off.
I'm so fortunate in that this opportunity has also allowed me a lot of time to reassess my work and career, and I feel that I have a really clear direction to go in when I get home in two weeks. I'm halfway through my residency now, and I've already benefited so much. I know what I want to work on when I get back home, and I have a clear idea of how to facilitate that as well.
I also have a few exhibitions coming up. One will be at Vibe Gallery in London between 25th and 29th October, and a couple of others are tbc. I'm expecting to show some of the work made

in Iceland at Vibe, and probably some older work too.
This period of time has been really productive for me, and I'm also so full of plans and ideas for the future, I feel so fortunate to be having this experience. It's really sad to think that this residency will come to an end soon, but I'm sure that the next two weeks will also be a very beneficial time for me, especially as some works are nearing completion. Soon it'll be time to worry about getting it all back to London!

Amazing Experience

 Yesterday I placed a second canvas outside, amongst the rocks on the shoreline. This afternoon I walked down there to see how it was progressing. The sea has been very choppy today, and some of the waves have been huge. Every wave was splashing or submerging the canvas!
I couldn't get too close because I would have got absolutely soaked, but I sat for ages on a rock watching the waves roll in and splash the painting. It was so peaceful, and so beautiful. I grew up by the sea and feel a great affinity with it, so this was a wonderful experience for me. In these images you can just see the canvas in the bottom right hand

corner.
I really can't wait for the sea to calm down so that I can get a good look at the painting's progress. The studio has an open house event on Saturday evening, and it would be great if I had a final piece ready for that time. I'm certain that this piece in particular will be a great success. I expected my work to weather more quickly in this environment, but I'm actually surprised by just how quickly this is happening.
Sitting there by the sea gave me a chance to think and reflect on my experience over the past week. I'm so pleased with how my work is developing, and I know that bringing my work out here was an excellent decision, allowing me to achieve the results I really want. I feel that this is a really important period of time for me as an artist, and I am really reaping the benefits.
As well as successfully producing so much, I've also had plenty of time and space to think and reflect, and so I have a couple of strong ideas to work with when I get back home. I feel that this is only the beginning. I can't even explain how happy and excited I am now!

Excellent results!

 Unfortunately half of the paper pieces I left outside on Wednesday have disappeared, I suspect this is due to strong winds. The weather was particularly bad last night, and I assume this accounts for the most recent disappearance. Using paper was a good idea as an experiment, but the material is just too weak to survive here. Only one paper piece is still outside now, I've taken one in this afternoon and I am so pleased with the results. The elements have had a big impact in the space of just four days, compared to months of leaving paper outside in London and having much milder results. This piece is so obviously weathered, and this is exactly the sort of result I've been hoping for all along. This makes me even more confident that bringing my work to Iceland was a good decision, and that the canvas pieces will work well.

The strong winds last night left me quite paranoid that the canvas I placed outside yesterday would have been blown away too. However, it is tied to a rock, and the rock is wedged in between others, so this anchors it, and the piece was thankfully still there this morning. The wind and rain was extremely heavy last night, so the chalk has almost completely washed off the surface. I'm looking forward to seeing how it continues to develop, and feel sure that the results will be more pleasing than they have been in England.
I'm planning to explore the area a bit further and find some new places where I can gain varied and dramatic results. I was going to do this today, but for much of the day the wind has been too strong, and walking in some places I was planning to go to could potentially be quite dangerous. I hope that I can do this in the next couple of days. Yesterday we walked up a mountain in order to see a sculpture/performance, and this really inspired me to look a bit further than my immediate surroundings at home and in the studio for places to leave the canvasses.

Further to this, for a while now I've been working on a series of cut-up texts, about moments of a particular day in July. I've nearly finished writing, and I'm so happy with what I've done that I'm planning to produce a number of artist's books of the cut ups once I get home. I've always been quite interested in book art, but it's not something I work with very often, so this will be a new challenge for me. The books will be produced by hand, and I'm planning to produce approximately five books, all with slight variations. This is something I'll explore further when I get back to England, but I'm forming a few ideas now about how to proceed.
I'm really pleased that being here has given me plenty of space to think and formulate new ideas and plans, as I feel I'm going to have quite a lot to work with when I get back to London.

It's almost September

It's almost September, meaning that in just over 2 weeks I'll be in Iceland taking part in an artist's residency. It's such a great opportunity, that I've been waiting for for so long, that it feels quite surreal that it'll be happening to me in just over 2 weeks. I've spent a long time preparing, and surprised myself with how efficient I've managed to be, I can't really believe the time is nearly here.

My preparations have gone quite smoothly so far, even though it's felt a bit overwhelming at times. I can't help but feel that something is bound to go wrong! I'm worrying over nothing, I know it'll most likely be a wonderful experience, just as I want it to be. This experience feels like a big step forward for me, and I can't wait for the time to come.

I'm so excited to have a chance, however brief, to concentrate purely on my work, no distractions. That's near impossible when you have a normal office job as well. Ever since I graduated I've realised how fortunate I was to have several years devoted to art and nothing else. I've really missed being in that position, and now I'll be able to do that again, even if it is only for one month. I've got a fairly solid plan of what to do, I know exactly how I want to start off, so I'm ready to dive in as soon as I get there. I don't want to waste any time at all, because I now appreciate how precious the time is.

Everything has gone well so far and I definitely feel ready to go!

7 weeks to go...

There's only 7 weeks left until I go to Iceland for my residency! I can't explain how excited I am and how much I'm looking forward to it.

I really cannot wait to have some time to focus purely on art, with no distractions. This is something I've really missed since graduating, so it'll be amazing to have that, even if only for a month. I've bought all the materials I'll need now, and have a solid plan of what I want to do and how I want to work. I'm going very prepared so that I waste as little time as possible. I think this residency could be a huge benefit for me and my work, so I want to take advantage.

As well as already having a plan for my studio work whilst I'm there, I've managed to sort out most of the practical things already; I'm actually quite impressed with myself! I've arranged somewhere to stay in Reykjavik, and just need to send some stuff ahead of me, and do a couple of other things before everything is ready to go!

I'm also so excited to be travelling somewhere new, somewhere that I've heard a lot of positive comments about. This is part of the appeal of residency programmes to me, and one of the major reasons that I started looking into residencies in the first place. I'm going to a very remote place, so it'll be a big change for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing what that's like. My trip is going to be a very exciting time.

I'm really so proud that I'm going to do this. Getting accepted in the first place, working and saving so that I could go ahead with it, and being able to do what I really want, even on a temporary basis, makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere with my career. It's a brilliant opportunity, and getting to this point hasn't all been straightforward. I'm sure it's going to be a brilliant experience, and that it will have a real effect on my work and career. Can't wait to go!

New work

I

I've just finished a new piece this evening, I've changed things up a bit, and really like the end result. This is the first piece, apart from some preliminary work, where I've intentionally damaged my canvas, not allowed it to happen naturally. I'm really pleased with the results of this, as they're much more violent and visible than the natural results. I enjoyed using natural weathering, and I'm certainly not ruling it out as something to use in the future, but for now I think that this method is more suitable for my aims. Added to that, throwing, kicking, and scraping a canvas along the ground is a good stress reliever!

With this piece I've also brought in drips of ink, which started as just a new way of adding layering, but I feel it's also reflective of the hanging threads I always incorporate, so I think it really works with the piece as a whole. the piece has ended up being quite dark due to the use of black ink and grey paint, but I think this won't always be the case when other colours are used. I'd definitely like to continue using ink drips in future work.

Using embroidery as a means of repair, as well as for decorative purposes was also successful. As the idea behind damaging the canvas was as an analogy for being damaged and affected by life experience, I feel that the repair stitching almost acts as a symbol for hope - if things are damaged there are still ways to fix them. As there's more going on in this piece in terms of the physical effect on the canvas, and the use of ink, I decided to keep the embroidery much more simple and low-key than it has been previously. I think using the intricate style I've used previously may overload the canvas.

I'm really excited about this piece, and feel a new wave of motivation. I'm really keen to experiment more with these new ideas, and build up my body of work on this theme. I'd also like to go back to painting portraits of others, as I'm a bit bored of using images of myself now. Really looking forward to choosing some new subjects and getting on with some more work!

Upcoming Exhibition

I'm very pleased to confirm that I'll be exhibiting at the upcoming Showcase Cities exhibition on 20th February at Rich Mix in London.
This is a really exciting one day exhibition, bringing together art, music, fashion, and theatre, and I'm thrilled to be involved. The venue is great too.
Entry is free, and work will be available for sale, so please do come along if you're in London. I'm sure it's going to be a really enjoyable night.

For further information please see http://www.showcase-cities.com/

Nes Artist Residency

For those who haven't seen on my Facebook page, I'm happy to say I have been offered a place on the Nes artist residency programme, in Skagastrond, Iceland. I'm very surprised to have heard back so quickly, as I only made my application last week, but I'm very pleased. I should be there between September and December 2013. I've got a while to plan ahead and get ready.
I've been really keen to find residencies abroad, as travel is also something I really care about. I'm very interested in this residency because the environment will be alien to me in just about every way, and I'm sure it'll help me to produce some interesting work, especially as I hope to focus on my idea of naturally weathering my work. I'm sure that the time of year, and the location will contribute to some really interesting results.
I only found out today, and I'm sure I'll have more to tell later.

Work in Progress

 I started a new piece on Monday, and I have to say I'm insanely excited about it. The basic layers have now been completed, but I'm now trying something new with it, and I'm really looking forward to seeig the new idea develop, and to see the end result.

 At this stage I don't want to reveal what I'm actually doing with it, but it will become clear eventually. I'm expecting that the end result is going to be really interesting, and if this new concept is successful I'll be working with it again.

 The new element that I'm introducing into my work is symbolic of life experience and change. I think the analogy works really well, so I'm hoping that the actual effect works out too. It's going to take a week to complete the next part of the piece, but I'm excited to see what happens. Once this has been completed I will likely be using embroidery, as usual, to bring the painted portrait back through the layers.

This is all quite mysterious sounding, but it will all become clear eventually. I'm really optimistic that some exciting effects will be produced, and I'm looking forward to the end result very much. In a weeks time I'll be able to reveal what I've been doing, and my rationale behind it. Can't wait to see how it goes!

Small changes

It's amazing the difference that one small change can make. I've just been working on a new portrait, and I'm so excited about it! Everything is the same as usual, except that I've downsized the portrait in relation to the canvas. This was initially an error, but as I carried on I found that it really worked for me. Possibly because my style of painting is not overly detailed, so a smaller scale doesn't take anything away. I'm still in the early stages, and there's much more to do, but I'm loving how it looks right now. I love it when I can get really excited about the work I'm doing, and I can't wait for this layer of paint to dry so I can carry on with it!
We've had a minor setback in terms of planning our upcoming show, but we're looking into some new options. One way or another we'll get it going, and I can definitely see this piece having a place in the exhibition. I'm really looking forward to carrying on with this and seeing how it turns out!