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!

Showcase Cities exhibition

The exhibition last night was really enjoyable, and after the disaster with the last exhibition I'm really pleased that this one went so smoothly. I was lucky, as I realised on Tuesday that I had more space than I thought, so I was able to include one additional piece. I'm pleased that the work was seen, and I met some nice people. Nothing was sold but I was more interested in just getting the work out there. Some of the other work being shown was really good as well.

I learned a couple of things from this experience to bear in mind for the future, so I definitely feel that this was successful. I'll certainly carry these things into future exhibitions. The only unfortunate thing is that my arms ache from carrying canvasses around for much of yesterday!

I definitely feel relieved that the work has actually been exhibited now, as the exhibition in January is still in the process of being rescheduled, and hasn't been the easiest process.

 However, I do have some plans at the moment for a solo show, and now that this exhibition is out of the way I'll start arranging that more seriously for some time in the near future. This will be in addition to a show with Yeliz. That one really hasn't gone to plan, but we're constantly thinking of new ideas for it, and really do hope to resolve the problems as soon as possible.

Last night was a good night, and I'm very grateful to my friends who came along to see the work.

Exhibition next week!

 

If you're in London on the 20th please do come along, it looks to be really exciting. For more information please see  http://www.showcase-cities.com/whos-exhibiting-next/

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/

Productive Saturday

I've had a productive day, and feel really pleased with what I've got done so far. I've written some more, and feel very happy with how the book is progressing. I also spent some times yesterday reordering the texts I've written, in order to make the writing more cohesive overall.
I've also experimented with throwing and kicking a blank canvas in order to deliberately weather and damage it. This was in preparation for the next piece I'm planning, and I thought the effects were great. The canvas was very obviously damaged, and even the frame was slightly broken in some places. This is in contrast to the pieces that are naturally weathered, as the effects of this are quite subtle. I think this will make a really interesting contrast when the two are shown alongside each other.
I think I'm going to embroider onto this canvas so it's not so plain. I'm interested in using embroidery as a means of repair with the final canvas.

Further to all of this, I've also finally finished the piece I've been weathering. I'm pleased that the snow has actually had an effect, and seems to have weakened the canvas in places. There is a small patch at the bottom of the canvas that has become a bit frayed. I'm quite pleased with this, as with previous pieces they haven't physically been altered, and the surface becoming dirtied is the only effect.
I'm really happy with what I'm doing at the moment, and now we just need to look further into finding a new venue for our exhibition, which really hasn't been a smooth process unfortunately. At least the experiences we've had organising this exhibition have been a big learning experience. We're both looking into alternative options, so I hope that we'll be able to arrange something sooner rather than later.

Progression of current work

London is currently covered in snow, and as much as I dislike snow this is obviously very exciting for the work I'm weathering. From the time this idea was conceived, I've wanted some extreme conditions to come into play, and I'm glad that this has now happened.
I'm really excited to see how the piece is affected by the snow, but unfortunately there isn't any sign of the snow stopping, so I might have to wait a while.
Last night, when I came home at about 2am, the snow was melting, so I was hopeful that the piece could maybe be finished today. However, it was snowing when I woke up, and hasn't stopped all day, so I expect to be waiting a while longer. This piece might give me an idea of what to expect from weathering my work in Iceland. Although I'm a bit impatient I'll be waiting for the snow to fully melt on the canvas, as I don't want to interrupt the process at all.

I have another exciting project going on at the same time as this. I've started writing a book, based on my experiences and feelings as a young emerging artist. The book is in the format of a series of essays on a variety of themes, including art galleries, day jobs, and money, and also incorporates some elements of philosophy and art theory. I have almost 6,000 words so far, and I'm pleased with the progress I'm making. I'm aiming for a minimum of 50,000 words, so there's still a long way to go yer. I've made numerous attempts at writing books in the past, none of which have reached their end, but I do feel that this is an endeavour I can stick with.

Upcoming projects

Lots happening at the moment, both positive and negative.

Sadly our exhibition has been postponed, due to the gallery shutting down. It's really unfortunate but we've found a new location, and are expecting to hold the show in February instead. More details to come.
The much more positive, and exciting, thing is that I've now confirmed my place at Nes Artist Residency in Iceland, starting in September. The more I think about and plan this, the more exciting it becomes. I'm really pleased to be going there, and I hope that it will be very beneficial for my work and career.
In terms of my work, I'm going to experiment with a slightly new direction, and at least pushing back the exhibition gives me a chance to do so immediately. Rather than allowing my work to become weathered naturally I'm planning to experiment with throwing my canvas around and forcibly damaging it. This fits with the theme of being weathered by life experiences, but makes reference more to the effect that other individuals have upon you, and the direct impact of their behaviour and treatment to the self. I'm going to try this with my next piece, which should be exhibited alongside the two naturally weathered canvasses. As I'm planning to work with the natural weathering concept when I'm working in Iceland I think it's a positive to try other ideas out in the meantime, in order to keep this idea fresh and interesting to me.