RDH: OCTOBER 2023

01/10/23

Three white rabbits.

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

“A Brush With… Sarah Lucas”

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

03/10/23

Anxiety overload!

05/10/23

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

'Cladding' at Catalyst Arts

'Dredge' by Gerard Carson at PS2

Johanna Leech and Stuart Calvin at Threshold space

Belfast Exposed

Royale Arcade Academy opening - Arcade Studios

Vault Studios Opening

09/10/23

Put the bloody phone DOWN!

11/10/23

Quick sketch of artist Amy Higgins. Ideas brewing.

12/10/23

Easy to say, but difficult to implement.

In transit

15/10/23

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

17/10/23

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

18/10/23

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

21/10/23

…worth sticking foot in the door.

22/10/23

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

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

Palette given a good scrub before finishing up.

25/10/23

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

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

RDH: AUGUST 2023

02/08/23

Securing loose ends this week. Collecting and dropping off work.

Still from “THE NEW DAWN FADES” by Clare Langan at the Golden Thread Gallery.

09/08/23

Fell through. In any case it was still an honour to have been asked alongside the other artists!

11/08/23

14/08/23

Wonderful time over in London. Tried to paint today. Stared at the work for ages but nothing leaped out. Sometimes just looking can be productive. Time to re-energise and heal.

15/08/23

Now may be a suitable time to take own advice and reach out…. can’t just fire a blanket. Have enough work.

17/08/23

Reset desperately needed. Very distracted creatively at the minute. Whatever time can be set aside MUST be used for artistic purposes. Hopefully will get on the right track. Am I too harsh on myself?

Pleased to be a part of Catalyst Arts Member’s Show.

20/08/23

Some progress but not much. Don’t want to dwell on this too much but, as an honest self-assessment in a diary context, WTF. The will to paint is there at times, at others it’s the furthest thing from mind. Perhaps if there were one or two short - medium term targets. Something to aim for may light the fire again.

21/08/23

23/08/23

Yesterday… will remain nameless but they reminded me of the passion and push to create. Jan had noticed when I haven’t made work in a while my mood goes down, procrastination increases and there’s a that wee spiral downwards.

1. Accepting you’re in a rut.

2. Take a Break - self care.

3. Collaborate with others.

4. Change it Up.

5. Search for Inspiration

6. Keep Going

Morning pages - keep moving the pen. Don’t stop writing.

Pages 1 -3: Uncontrolled free writing

Page 4: Reflection on the day.

Advice from subconscious. Not showing my best self. Live by example. To be able to hold your head high. Shake it off and move on.

• Clean, workable space

• Back to the drawing board (there is a reason this is a saying)

• 30 minutes of drawing / research is better than 30 minutes of trash TV. Use time wisely!

24/08/23

I wonder if the morning papers would work for sketchbook work. Probably not unlike what Maggie Hambling does as part of her morning routine.

It’s a beautiful morning. The sun is blinding in the brilliant flashes as the bus winds and turns heading across the river Bann. Wall to wall blue. …solo heart to heart, I did my best to be less distracted last night. It’s about being conscious about the negative habits and aiming to nip them in the bud as quick as possible that should really make pay dividends.

Sore neck = Poor Posture.

…give myself permission…

You’d think that well over a decade I should know the answer.

IDEAS / DRAWING / REFLECTIONS / LISTS

Anything goes. The only rule is to put pen to paper every day as much as possible.

Life has a way of happening around you so if shit happens and venting is needed. That’s OK. A.i.L. - L.i.A.

Observing more can only be a good thing - possible leads into other areas of practice. Maybe best to not get too carried away.

Called into Anne Butler’s show “Objects in Time” at the GT on lunch. Such beautiful detail and intricacy in something so delicate and heavy. Love it when materials aim to confuse - mimic characteristics of another.

27/08/23

“Ready to Go” - does it need scaled up? Looking at the “Rooftop / Marina” piece, there are elements in the city scape that are working. Nice, loose and gestural marks but it still needs a lot of work. For the roof in the foreground, less charcoal marks perhaps? Just get something down.

“RtG” charcoaled up, witg the figure more prominent, its already looks like a far more intertersting composition. Solid progres on “Marina” today, especially the cityscape. SSS' aren’t to be taken lightly.

NB: SSS stands for Short Sunday Sessions.

28/08/23

APPLY

30/08/23

Dublin - Curved street is great!

31/08/23

Looking forward to ARRAY event tonight.

Fifteen years. Fifteen years since my outlook was altered forever. Still raw, even after all this time. Anniversaries reel back the pain like a fishing line. You cast it off eventually, but it will always come back. Wrote that like Senior.

“The Night Draws Near” by Array at the Ulster Museum. Wonderful experience.

BE PRESENT!

I will remember the chorus; singing as we were led up to the Síbín for a long time.

RDH: JULY 2023

02/07/23

TALK ART: TIM STONER

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

Edward Hopper

“Process of Catharsis”.

“The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye… The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.”

from ‘The Ascent of Man’ by Jacob Bronowski

Really good going with “In a Huff” today. Yellow a little acidic maybe and the t-shirt needs refining - but not to the point of going too tight with it.

06/07/23

Matthew Wilson at Threshold, Belfast

Katharine Paisley at Threshold, Belfast

Allison Maria Rodriguez at DAS, Belfast

09/07/23

‘A Brush with… Jeremy Deller’

“In a Huff” - muted the floor; slightly less acidic and lightened the background / walls. T-Shirt texture is troublesome so pared it back to jostle with it another day.

“Put it Away” - background darkened and textured up. Happy little accidents like the dripping on the skin and around the mouth. Have kept them there for now. Perhaps veil them at a later layering stage.

The lighter hair is going to be a challenge and at this point it’s rough as hell

but

I’m looking forward to tackling it again. I feel this may be a case of slowly working in between a few days of drying time. The open hand is a headache because the source image is so bleached out with light that it looks flat. COUNTER THIS.

11/07/23

A few days off.

LATE NIGHT SKETCHING!

13/07/23

Palette cleaned and two new canvases drawn up. Essentially getting ready for Sunday/Monday painting session.

Noticed something when looking through acetate sources. Initials. Lots and lots of initials. Subconsciously adding? Especially ‘A’. If you look at the drawings (and by proxy the paintings too as I try to keep elements of the drawing mark there too) they are there from the get go. Food for thought.

15/07/23

… submitted …

16/07/23

Thought better of putting paint out for a morning studio session. Decided to focus on pushing the drawing and tonal elements of the two new canvas works instead. Full day in the studio tomorrow. Best not throwing that away!

17/07/23

The bones of Orestes.

A really good day in the studio. “In a Huff” finished and more progress on “Put it Away”. Also some layering and groundwork done on the two new pieces. More of this please!

19/07/23

Take own advice.

22/07/23

Oppenheimer = outstanding.

23/07/23

A solid six hours in the studio. Good momentum on large piece - still no title (but worked from an image of Marina Ginestà). An enjoyable birthday weekend.

27/07/23

… preselection…

30/07/23

Not feeling it today. That does not mean that you simply walk away from studio. Grind it out. Do something! Will set ‘Marina’ aside and work on “Put it Away” instead.

See what happens if you stick it out!? Finished this painting even though head was not in it today at all. Yes, the guts of it was done and it just needed refined in certain areas. There’s a level of satisfaction to be had when you accomplish something that is usually the bread and butter stuff when you’re not in the zone. Makes it sweeter somehow.

RDH: OCTOBER 2022

02/10/22

#Mousegate

Strange events

08/10/22

…notes complete. Need refined for easy consumption.

13/10/22

Crowd at opening of RUA in the Ulster Museum

Craig Donald's winning portrait: "Marinus van der Lubbe"

Alana Barton with her painting "Faeries".

Pictured alongside "Girl with Red Hair"

Royal Ulster Academy opening. Craig Donald won an award for best portrait! A great night all round and chuffed to see my little painting up on the wall with some wonderful artists.

14/10/22

Early start. Perhaps the X in X4 stands for extra-long.

The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin

Works In Progress Space in the Hugh Lane

Mid Presentation

"O, To have a little house" by Michelle Malone at the LAB Gallery

Talk in the Hugh Lane couldn’t have gone any better. Pleased with the reaction and feedback from everyone and profoundly grateful to Basic Space for the opportunity to speak.

15/10/22

Studio Shot: 15/10/22

‘A Brush With… William Kentridge’.

charcoal - the indeterminacy of the point.

… at the edge of meaning.

“Give an image the benefit of the doubt… there is a danger in certainty.”

William Kentridge.

21/10/22

NB: Melancholic apostle image interesting.

22/10/22

World of proximities.

23/10/22

26/10/22

Sketchbook work.

David Lynch “The Art Life” - documentary

27/10/22

“The Art Spirit” by Robert Henri

30/10/22

“Cherish your own emotions and never under value them”

Robert Henri

RDH: MARCH 2022

01/03/22

So pleased to have been asked to contribute in the latest issue of Visual Artists Ireland News Sheet.

Meteorological Spring is here.

Nice to catch up with the Ogham crew again.

02/03/22

Loose drawing in response to J.A.’s prompt and RMc’s drawings.

03/03/22

…done now…

05/03/22

Belfast. ‘Don’t Look’ piece is done I think.

• Smooth out the dog / red?

• New piece / Loosey Goosey

* LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE SPACE! *

Nearly ruined ‘Ode’ piece with a flood of red. Hopefully brought it back.

06/03/22

Didn’t stray too far.

07/03/22

Really good chat with writer for ‘Ogham’.

08/03/22

It’s never going to be finished!

12/03/22

Final day of ‘Ogham’ residency.

Painted me wee heart out, finishing two larger pieces and having some fun with the smaller study of Stephanie Tanney’s casts.

Wet walk home.

13/03/22

A slight onset of melancholia creeping up now that the residency is over. But, the show is still to come!

15/03/22

A process of threads?

All of this is temporary?

A pause in the process?

Settling of the sands?

THIS IS NOT THE END

17/03/22

Exhibition open to the public today.

20/03/22

Louise Bourgeois - “A spider creates from it’s own body.”

Pregnant with atmosphere, enigma.

New work in progress.

Great to get painting in garage today and get palette cleaned up.

27/03/22

Imogen Rhonda Kielt, born in the early hours of Mother’s Day. 7lbs 6oz. Perfect and everyone well.

Can see so many loved ones’ faces in this tiny new one. It’s just incredible.

29/03/22

Working to find a rhythm.

31/03/22

Belfast Bound. Helped add some chalk to Joy’s Entry for Rachel Macmanus’ superb performance. So good to see the show in the flesh blown and all involved in the project at Catalyst Arts.

It’s been a great experience at a time I will never forget.

RDH: JANUARY 2022

03/01/22

Paranoic Critical Method - Dalí

08/01/22

Studio.

Starting two pieces. Smoky feel in a cold studio.

16/01/22

Short but interesting stint in the studio. Peaks and troughs with little P.P.E. piece.

Detail of “A New Normal” in progress

Heaven is a half pipe.

22/01/22

Another Saturday not in the studio but will make up for it tomorrow.

Serial Works: Paintings in a series - leaves out imagination?

23/01/22

“A New Normal” finished.

Different disciplinary artists working together! It’s happening!

24/01/22

Head is buzzing with ideas. Renewal.

25/01/22

Home / Displacement

Urgency

27/01/22

Some fun reacting to S.T.’s drawings.

29/01/22

The Loup. Kept in the…

30/01/22

Day and Date. A dark day remembered.

The Chameleon lays in wait,

Knuckles pressed white on the oak armrests.

There you’ll find an empty place at the table.

Under the fire’s amber glow,

Home is where the hearth is.

31/01/22

H.B.A. You are always missed.

Felt good to get some sketchbook work done tonight.

RDH: OCTOBER 2021

02/10/21

Point of order today: DO NOT OVER PAINT!!!

Think “Rex Aegypti Penultimus” is finished.

05/10/21

VAI GET TOGETHER 2021

Rediscovering private and personal spaces / rituals.

06/10/21

Chanelle Walshe - self organised self-curation.

Duc Van Pham - Breaking down the figures - is this a way of adjusting / adding narrative?

Keynote: Christian Jankowski - “The Hunt” “Casting Jesus”

Beuys - difficult.

07/10/21

Why do we put people in boxes?

Superflex - interspecies living - “Flooded McDonalds”.

10/10/21

Dosed to eyeballs so not going anywhere fast.

12/10/21

Some sketchbook studies tonight.

13/10/21

Two new canvases begun today. Little and large.

16/10/21

Strong sense of self.

Good progress in the studio today. Didn’t mean for the small one to go Holy.

20/10/21

Accepted into Platform Arts group show!

Detail of “Lady of the Manor”.

Getting there with “Lady of the Manor”.

23/10/21

Globalist cheerleading.

24/10/21

Wardrobe fiasco.

Detail of "The Doctor Will See You Now"

"Lady of the Manor" with "The Doctor Will See You Now"

“Lady of the Manor” finished.

25/10/21

Day trip to Belfast to deliver “Saint and Sinner” for Platform Arts group show.

28/10/21

HALLELUJAH!

29/10/21

Definitely been distracted lately but the blinkers need to come back on.

30/10/21

As it’s the season for it, here’s a golden oldie from 2003. This photo was taken for a GCSE Art project where my cousin Aidan dressed as the grim reaper holding a very rusty scythe. Our cat then walked along the tin roof behind him, jumped on his shoulders and then proceeded to stroll across the top of the blade. It all happened purely by chance and made for a great photo.

31/10/21

Early morning tonal work to “The Doctor Will See You Now”. Slow and steady progress but definitely best to stop when I did to give new layers a chance to dry.

Detail of work in progress - “The Doctor Will See You Now”.

Merry Halloween.

RDH: JUNE 2021

03/06/21

Canvas stripping, stretching and some sewing experimentation.

04/06/21

Priming canvas is such a messy business!

05/06/21

Once the work is made, build bridges to your audience.

Artists need to band together!

Anne Imhof - finding refuge in the blur.

Sketched up new canvases.

06/06/21

Easily worked up - relax.

09/06/21

Finally getting round to cleaning garage and setting paint out. Asked if I’d like to be featured in a takeover. Chuffed!

Bit of a mixed bag in studio today. On wooden piece, that image just sucks you in and spits you out! With the large canvas started (‘Man Digging’ - working title) it’s quite a forgiving composition and palette working well so far.

10/06/21

“An archive of emotions”

Dr. Kate McLean

Didn’t get shortlisted.

11/06/21

12/06/21

Reading group outside this morning.

13/06/21

Some good, solid progress today.

16/06/21

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

Sketchbook Studies

18/06/21

First vaccine received today!

19/06/21

Work on small portrait today - title undecided as yet.

‘The Eternal Bride’ myth.

22/06/21

Memory is forgetting.

A little mid-week push.

23/06/21

“A Brush with … Julian Opie”

So so close to finishing “Moon Boy”.

24/06/21

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

25/06/21

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

Ambera Wellmann

Maya Balcioglu

Jaap Pieters

Will have to wait another little while for rings.

26/06/21

Studio time!

“Moon Boy” finished!

30/06/21

Ballyliffen

RDH: APRIL 2021

01/04/21

“A Brush With… Ali Banisadr” - audio-visual synesthesia.

02/04/21

Palette is cleaned and managed to get some good work on “On Gilded Steps”.

03/04/21

Added some gold aerosol for the edges of the steps. So close to finishing it up. Very frustrating as last week one of the figures that was working the best is now the last piece of the puzzle yet to fit.

05/04/21

“On Gilded Steps” finished!

09/04/21

…apparently it was coming but it was a jolt and now a growing sense of uncertainty.

10/04/21

“Seven Types of Ambiguity” by William Empson.

Ambiguity has to be purposeful, holding multiple elements in suspension - that’s when the ambiguity works and has a function.

11/04/21

Such a leap from what was happening last year.

12/04/21

Catch up on webinars. Is ‘brand’ a dirty word?

13/04/21

Episode 27 of “Jo’s Art History Podcast” is live! Always strange to listen to yourself back but I really did enjoy the chat with Jo.

Some good sketchbook work tonight.

14/04/21

Re-watching Rego Documentary.

“Gathering Thoughts” gathering momentum.

16/04/21

Quick run to Belfast to lift “Hotel ‘78” from the RUA.

17/04/21

Studio work: less will be more with “G.T.”. Progress made but very slowly. I could have ploughed on this evening but I thought it was best to quit for the day while I was ahead.

19/04/21

“Leonardo" on Prime. Fast and loose with facts but still fun to watch.

22/04/21

Yesterday saw a long overdue clear-out of the office and the start of a fresh lick of paint.

25/04/21

I think I’ve taken “Gathering Thoughts” as far as I can go.

27/04/21

A solemn anniversary.

28/04/21

Submissions made. Fingers crossed. Primed large canvas today which took several coats. Barrow + woman with dogs / butcher?

Starting to get excited by a piece that hasn’t even been started yet.

29/04/21

Decided against ‘woman with dogs’ and ‘butcher’ imagery and opted instead for early biplanes of the RAF. This way I can instead swap scale instead of orientation and hopefully not overcrowd the composition. The red container behind the medics should be kept and then adding the planes using tonal differences / slightly different register. There and not there. Pillers - might be best to paint them out. There will probably be remnants of them as layers are added.

30/04/21

A broken up sort of day.

RDH: FEBRUARY 2021

01/02/21

My display for Firstsite’s “Great Big Art Exhibition”.

Blessings this morning.

…it’s not animals.

02/02/21

Parcel from Trebuchet

04/02/21

Good sketchbook work tonight.

05/02/21

Some paint down but not much.

07/02/21

Trip to the Derry Vaccine Centre.

08/02/21

Sketchbook work this evening.

10/02/21

Fingers crossed.

11/02/21

Rookie mistake so sketchbook work instead.

13/02/21

Less doodle and more noodle.

15/02/21

Great news!

16/02/21

Need to make a point of getting into the studio tomorrow.

17/02/21

A lot of scraping and pushing around paint to “Washing of Hands” piece. It may be, for right now, I’m forcing works that are stagnating. As solid as they may be compositionally I feel at a loss with where to go next. Could be why I’m drawing a hell of a lot more lately - looking for other avenues?

In any case it felt great to move paint about for the first time in a while.

18/02/21

Fully intended - FROZE - self-doubt.

20/02/21

Self actualisation - making real of the inner self.

22/02/21

Back to work!

…little more interactive.

23/02/21

…collapsed. Postural hypotension.

24/02/21

HBKA!!!

25/02/21

“Titles are an extra brushstroke”

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Clarification

27/02/21

Poor … way too much going on at the one time.

Reading round is back! So happy to see those faces!

Little bit of self-doubt still here. If I try to force it, the doubt seems to grow roots. Flip side of that is that you can the self-doubt can stagnate and you can then avoid going into the studio all together.

GET IN BUT NO PRESSURE

Bleached out several canvases on a spur of the moment this evening. I think starting again / fresh thinking is the best option. Out with the old.

28/02/21

Well, completely cleared the window piece. Aiming to start Spring with a spring in step so I’ve drawn up few pieces and see where they lead.

RDH: NOVEMBER 2020

01/11/20

Focus required…

…reaching it back to integrity of practice.

Large scale drawings?

02/11/20

Eventual studio time - detail of “Misunderstood” in progress

03/11/20

Great to get imagery into some semblance of order.

“Thinking through making.” - Joy Gerrard during interview with GTG. Watch here.

Some good sketchbook work tonight.

06/11/20

“Misunderstood” finished.

07/11/20

Reusing one canvas and starting another.

08/11/20

…settling back into a new routine… still healing.

10/11/20

11/11/20

IMMA Talk: From the Rego Studio.

13/11/20

Limbo-Land yet again.

14/11/20

Finding it difficult to concentrate with all going on. Just wish that aspects were sorted so that some kind of routine could be adhered to.

Some results but not all.

Detail of “Norwegian Nude” - work in progress.

…giving up the ghost on the little ‘go cart’ piece. It just went stale but that’s OK. It wasn’t the right time.

16/11/20

Some sketchbook work tonight.

19/11/20

Absolutely baltic in the studio.

Studio Shot: 19/11/20

20/11/20

Mostly focused on “Norwegian Nude” today but building up layers on other pieces too.

Left to Right: “Troublesome” - “Shock” - “Norwegian Nude”

22/11/20

Detail of hand in “Norwegian Nude” in progress.

Really good progress today.

23/11/20

BP 158/113

26/11/20

Site update

27/11/20

Really great online talk from the Garter Lane Arts Centre: Chloe Austin in conversation with Matt Higgs, Kitsch Doom, and Ciara O Neill.

Did a few quick sketch of the speakers as they discussed their practices.

29/11/20

…readjust, centre, breathe and focus on what matters.

30/11/20

After having a long, hard look at “Troublesome” - came to the realisation that figure is complete. Nice to leave it loose in parts. It explains what it needs to without having to divulge anything else.

Bit of building work in the background and it’s finished.

Decorations are up and a little winter halo to round off a very odd month.

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.

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.

RDH: SEPTEMBER 2019

01/09/19

More work done to “The Ferryman”. I think it’s lost any painterly charm.

02/09/19

‘Arena: Kusama Infinity’ - such a great artist!

“While the dead show dead art, living artists die.” - Yayoi Kusama

Hope springs eternal.

05/09/19

Great talk and workshop with Action Mental Health. Really positive and interesting feedback from the crowd.

Patrick Horan’s fantastic paintings in the Ards Art Centre’s Sunburst Gallery.

Called into the Ards Art Centre for a quick chat and a little look at two shows opening; Gavin McCrea’s installation and Patrick Horan’s paintings.

Mark Mcgreevy at the MAC

Mark McGreevy at the MAC

Cameron Morgan at the University of Atypical

Yvonne Keenan in the Golden Thread Gallery

"Off the Rails" exhibition in Belfast Exposed

Sp0re: Psychedelic Laughter in Platform Arts

Yusuke Asai’s amazing installation in the Golden Thread Gallery

At Late Night Art Mark McGreevy’s ‘Flop Sweat’ in the MAC is marvellous! Brilliant use of colour. ‘Knick Knacks and Whatnots’ by Cameron Morgan in University of Atypical is excellent. Blown away by the work on display in the Golden Thread’s “Noise of Silence: Japanese Art Now’ especially Yusuke Asai’s huge mud installations.

06/09/19

“Ferryman” is unusable.

07/09/19

Finally finished the middle panel from the originally conceived “Pioneer” triptych. Think it stands on it’s own merit.

"The Forgotten" - detail

"The Brown Bull of Cooley" - detail

More progress to the the ‘Cooley’ piece.

11/09/19

Sketchbook work tonight.

12/09/19

Really enjoyed “Memory: The Origin of Alien” documentary.

“At the Mountains of Madness” by HP Lovecraft.

“What will humanity find when they look in the dark places?”

15/09/19

Studio work - some additions of spray paint to ‘Cooley’ piece. Walked away before digging too far.

Little panel piece, “The Horror! The Horror” Speed is it’s friend. Wooden supports are responsive to gestural work - less so with the charcoal marks - more layers needed to achieve tonal quality I’m after.

16/09/19

Wonderful article about my time up at Action Mental Health.

17/09/19

Increase in productivity lately. Could it be a confidence thing? I’m working no more or no less than the slump periods. Is it a case of a fine tuning of better judgement when more at peace with practice? Plenty to look forward to in the coming months.

19/09/19

21/09/19

Notes: immediate drawing line combined with more deliberate painterly marks. Cross pollination.

“LW” = by removing the instrument of trauma can it be viewed in a miraculous or redemptive light?

Not spelling out the narrative - Great to sit down and chat about work and ideas with GM.

Visit to PS Squared and “How the Image Echos” show.

Sea Holly Gallery is absolutely stunning and wonderful work on from the 545 pop up group show. So good to see elements of the much loved Orpheus building back in an artistic sense.

Craig Donald’s work alongside restored windows from the Orpheus building in the Sea Holly Gallery

22/09/19

Finished little panel piece.

24/09/19

Quarantined.

28/09/19

Studio work and “Dress Rehearsal Study” is getting there. It’s weird how every time I paint children they end up completely terrifying.

Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ is utterly amazing. Beautifully filmed and will stay with me for a long time.

30/09/19

Collection of work for “Bardo” show tomorrow morning.

RDH: MAY 2019

03/05/19

Painting Peer Critique hosted in CCA Derry.

Artist John Robinson with his work on the temporary stage at CCA Derry.

04/05/19

Close up of “The Lost Woods Study”

Been a while since using leaves to print on. Needs more layers but for now it solves the issue of the line… breaks the eye.

So after four months and four days I’ve finally finished a painting and broke my 2019 drought.

Detail of “Rose” - oil and charcoal on canvas.

05/05/19

First time visiting and it was like opening an old wound.

11/05/19

One very creepy window display.

12/05/19

Great Art show: “Goya: Flesh and Blood”

Started “Sack Race” (working title) and stupidly didn’t check material inventory before starting.

Studio shot of "Sack Race" in progress

Close up of "Sack Race" with sawdust applied.

17/05/19

Sketching tonight. Past self was clever enough to leave certain works aside for potential events.

Study of an Uncle.

18/05/19

Really happy with how the studio went today.

More depth put into "Sack Race".

Close up of a dripping shadow

Started work on "The Ferryman".

19/05/19

Completed “The Lost Woods Study”.

20/05/19

Not to rely on gimmick. It has been an invaluable tool - one that I will continue to utilise - but only when the work demands it. If it is forced (like “Woman With the Dogs” and, more recently, “Ruins”) the work stagnates and imagery drowns in an unnecessarily complicated mess.

21/05/19

Should take own advice from time to time about differing paint properties.

In “Sack Race” - the looser the playing field the better. Almost tempted not to touch it at all.

A sort of closure. A temporary full stop.

22/05/19

Ran out of time. Need to keep RD by side.

23/05/19

Ring-gate.

25/05/19

“I know more. The lack of whats in the current work informs the next.” - Eva Rothschild.

"The Ferryman" - detail 1

"The Ferryman" - detail 2

More layers to “The Ferryman”. Because the face of the ferryman is so small it would be easy to fall into the familiar trap of aiming to capture all the detail and likeness of the source image. Focusing instead on light and tone - maybe even a hint of a blur? Like the figure is in the middle of turning to look at the viewer.

Surprise / Confrontation / Acknowledgement

Back and forth with “Sack Race”. Happy with certain elements, like the sky but have consequently fogged up other sections in the process. Eager to not fall into the familiar trap of muddiness and over-painting.

More progress to the sky in “Sack Race”.

27/25/19

29/05/19

Late night sketchbook work.

RDH: 01/11/18 - 30/11/18

02/11/18

… all but done…

03/11/18

Do I need a foreign colour? “Afore the Stoop” went in a slightly different direction than first thought. I think I had that quote by Helen Johnson still ringing in my ears about imagery possessing different surface qualities and being on different registers on the same picture plane.

The buzzard is still; hovering overhead while the still-life is in flux. Melting in on itself. To not just merge separate imagery on the one canvas but to treat them differently via technique. I’ve done this regularly in the past but never to this extent before and definitely not on this scale. There’s loads going on: blocked areas, melting, washes and burning/corroding of the surface for texture.

“Confessional” is a different beast altogether. It’s going to be a slower process - building up washes of colour, drawing elements back in followed by more washes until it comes to an end or a crossroads. So far so good. It’s not really a colliding of images. It’s the notion of what a negative of a pattern could do to another image.

Refreshing to see organisations opening doors. The model is being altered.

04/11/18

Kept hearing the shrieking of a buzzard every time I went to work on “Afore the Stoop”. When I looked it was perched on top of the tallest tree at the end of the lane and then glided off.

06/11/18

Some sketchbook work. Not a lot of time but that’s my fault.

09/11/18

HELP!

10/11/18

For studio work: cautious steps or daring leaps? Annoyingly close to finishing “ATS”.

Submission writing hurts my head.

11/11/18

Films to watch:

‘Deer Hunter’

‘Inland Empire’

‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’

’Kill List’

‘Enemy’

‘Fruitvale Station’

‘Green Room’

‘Silence’

Finished “ATS”. Still bits that annoy but for the sake of not destroying it entirely, I don’t mind the imperfections.

Help has been indispensable.

12/11/18

Still waiting on magazine.

13/11/18

Egon Shiele Documentary - transcending the idea of the body as beauty.

15/11/18

Nothing.

16/11/18

Belfast bound for curator talks but looking forward to visiting some galleries first.

Jane McCormick’s “Not Half Right” at the University of Atypical was absolutely amazing. Insanely strong drawing and sculptural elements.

Nikolaus Gansterer in the MAC International 2018

Ali Cherri in the MAC International 2018. His work was the stand out work for me.

Curator talks as part of Belfast Open Studios from Visual Artists Ireland offices. Speaking at the event: Nora Hickey from CCI in Paris, Ika Sienkiewicz-Nowacka from CCA Warsaw, Dean Brierley from Caustic Coastel in Manchester and Anna Ciabach - formally of Monopol Gallery in Warsaw.

17/11/18

Work is being used as an example to show other artists about finding your own voice. Chuffed.

…someone has been keeping an eye on my progress and that is something!

Another trip to Belfast for more galleries and then a Speed Curating event.

Gerard Carson’s “Submersible Extractions” in Platform.

Patrick Colhoun at the Golden Thread Gallery.

Still of Barbara Hammer’s work at the Golden Thread Gallery exhibition.

Layout of the ‘Speed Curating’ event by VAI held in Belfast Exposed.

18/11/18

It has been a hectic but brilliant few days. Yesterday I called into Platform to see Gerard Carson’s “Submersible Extractions” and a solo show by Dryden Wilson. I followed this up by a quick look at the Barbara Hammer exhibition and Patrick Colhoun’s project space work in the Golden Thread Gallery. Then it was time for the speed curating event at Belfast Exposed.

… do research. What artists i admire….

…Strange. Nothing negative. Just nothing.

A lot of information. A real painter?

19/11/18

“In Defence of Representation” essay by Tristan Garcia.
In western philosophy the representational object is either a copy, a sign or a duplex.

“… according to the semiotic model, there is no representation without signification, that is to say without interpretation.” - Tristan Garcia

20/11/18

“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” - Screen (1973)

“The Victim” - Saul Bellow

21/11/18

Tried sketchbook work - failed miserably.

23/11/18

Projection onto fog screen.

Beaver Moon.

24/11/18

Thunderchild?

Line of connection between viewer and work - GO’H

Ask the question: what do you see?

25/11/18

Yesterday I eventually got painting around lunchtime - back and forth with ‘Confessional’ but progress made.  Great talk with GO’H about ‘the gaze’.

Leaf blowing.

27/11/18

Need to select paintings for Framewerk Christmas show.

28/11/18

“The Trouble with Painting” - ICA (YouTube)

“What you’re interested in in the world will feed back into what you are interested in as an artist.” - Alison Pilkington

…speaking about dreams, a quote from Alison Pilkington’s drawing seminar from the RHA really stuck out.  I’m paraphrasing here but the guts of it is this:  talking to people about why you make the work you do (or about your inspirations for that matter) is like talking to people about your dreams.  People aren’t overly interested when someone else describes a dream.  It’s subjective and personal and it’s all but impossible to get the experience across properly.

Sketchbook work.

29/11/18

A difficult few weeks to come.

RDH: 01/10/18 - 31/10/18

01/10/18

… of interest. Attainable small steps to reach big goals.

02/10/18

Delivery mix up.

05/10/18

Booked VAI speed curating slots for November.

…LA… fingers crossed!

06/10/18

initials in ogham

Experiment in the studio with a degree of success. When a fine layer of fixative is lit on the paintings surface, areas of the canvas that are predominantly charcoal or thin layers of colour are singed and blister - creating an interesting effect. Safety first though.

Jan is right —> the lighter background to “Pioneer” was more unsettling. Rectify.

07/10/18

Staring at “Pioneer”. I think I’m hesitant because its… I don’t know. I think the colours are too similar between light and shade. By the same token - you don’t want it to become too contrasting and cartoonish. A foreign colour introduced into the third panel may point a direction.

Flying by the seat of pants but you can’t control the spontaneous. Some detailed work today. It is getting there. Attention directed towards other matters.

… paintings and clusters of drawings - like a shotgun spread of memories. Jumbled - linked yet conflicting. Fighting for dominance.

\\\THE TRAUMA PARADOX\\\

08/10/18

Just realised a connection between “AMATGS” and the ivy crown. Oedipus plays would have been played during the festival of Dionysus - who is associated with a crown of ivy.

09/10/18

“ I gave myself permission to follow my voice and that’s what my whole career has been. I still give myself permission and no compromise. I compromised before but not when I became an artist.” Mark Bradford

10/10/18

World Mental Health Day.

11/10/18

13/10/18

“Into The Void Magazine” submission successful!

Sketchbook work and now watching the original ‘Suspiria’ for the first time.

14/10/18

Notes finished for presentation. Pleased with burning effect on triptych.

… was suggested something on Friday. Well it was more of a dialogue regarding “Pioneer”; the first and last sections work. They’re strong but the one that should be the strongest and the anchor, the middle piece is way behind. Changing from a triptych to a diptych? Leave it for a while - continue working on all three before abandoning the middle piece.

Using ash as a painting/drawing medium. Religious links? Why do ideas come in the final minutes of the day? Processing process.

18/10/18

On way to Dublin. Looking forward to talking about work in DLR Lexicon. Not nervous. Yet.

Just saw the most beautiful fox casually strolling across a field outside Armagh.

I’ve been skirting around issues. The ‘recall’ notion might be worth exploring again. Drawing. Painting. Video. Audio.

The DLR Lexicon is stunning. Really enjoyed the other talks - especially work of Cecilia Bullo.

19/10/18

Yesterday’s trip and talks were great. Just wish I had more time to go around some of Dublin’s galleries when I was down. Decided it was best to drop the middle canvas in “Pioneer Studies”. Finished the other two pieces and happy with the results.

20/10/18

A little tweaking to “Afore the Stoop”.
Dad suffered a bleeding eye following his operation.

22/10/18

Have been neglecting practice and methods during the week. Ards - it seems a long way off but it will fly in.

Keeping your finger on the pulse is no bad thing.

24/10/18

Personal history is a source - not the explanation. ‘imagine…’ with Tracey Emin on iPlayer was insightful. Have a new found respect for Emin’s practice and quite like a few of some of her new paintings.

27/10/18

No paints were used today but three canvases were started. The smallest piece - I don’t think will have legs. As a drawing it is strong but I feel it won’t work on canvas. I’ve drawn up “Bereft Clown” again - a different size to the previous square stretcher. Will see how it goes. The third canvas is the one I’m most excited about. It’s a merging of two images but in a slightly different way. First is an image of a German officer stationed in a concentration camp. The other is a negative of a confession screen. The idea is to project light through the lattice onto the portrait. Fright Night in the jungle was great fun!

28/10/18

Slept so much. Slow progress but progress nonetheless.

31/10/18

Spacing error.

“I’m really interested in creating moments of ‘push and pull’ in paintings and having different registers of imagery with different surface qualities - so one thing might be compositionally in the foreground but materially might be being subsumed by whats behind it.” Helen Johnson

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

01/08/18

Blog generally.

03/08/18

Work wrapped and ready.

Confessional - portrait through mesh?

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

"The Ash Wednesday Supper" by Giordano Bruno - 1584

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

04/08/18

'Real Artists Don't Starve' by Jeff Goins

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

CNIP Meeting in CCA Derry went really well.

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

05/08/18

RUA works dropped off.

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

06/08/18

Bits that work and bits that don't.

08/08/18

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

09/08/18

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

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

11/08/18

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

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

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

12/08/18

On the ropes. Really badly on the ropes.

Life-sized buzzard started.

Triggers: words, memories, looks, objects?

13/08/18

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

14/08/18

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

15/08/18

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

16/08/18

...waiting on submission is tortuous.

17/08/18

A strange seed.

Trying very hard not to get ahead of myself.

Sketchbook work.

18/08/18

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

20/08/18

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

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

22/08/18

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

Trying out new things.

23/08/18

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

24/08/18

Prioritise / Lists - allow for flexibility.

25/08/18

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

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

Blocked in rough colours for "Afore the Stoop";

26/08/18

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

27/08/18

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

28/08/18

Bank Buildings in Belfast city centre completely gutted by fire.

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

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

29/08/18

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

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

30/08/18

Cat is missing.

31/08/18

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