francis bacon
RDH: 01/12/18 - 31/12/18
01/12/18
Blocked out “Bereft Clown”.
02/12/18
Found an ogham poster on North Street with an interesting translation.
Vault studios is amazing - especially EMIC’s studio space!
04/12/18
…text to coincide with next solo show…
08/12/18
Studio work today. Thought I was close to finishing ‘confessional’ but it might be further away than I imagined.
09/12/18
“You make a mistake when you explain the paintings through the war.”
Mark Stevens - on Bacon’s “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion”
Several shooting stars.
15/12/18
Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. Childhood hero reduced. It's a real jolt to the system.
Trauma doesn’t discriminate. It’s so subjective that it can defy explanation or description. Nightmarish.
16/12/18
Need to learn to keep some things to yourself.
See it through. Stay strong and keep head up.
17/12/18
Panic attack today.
21/12/18
You never fully appreciate someone until its too late. A true legend that has shaped so many. Time with family is so important.
Resolutions < Revolutions
22/12/18
Thought I had a good night’s sleep but my body is telling me different. Need to draw more again.
26/12/18
Getting lost in thought about art is a joy. It’s like taking a mini vacation.
27/12/18
Some sketchbook work. Not much but it’s a start.
Look more before putting pen to paper. This is not to say to lose the immediacy during the act of drawing but to take a breath to absorb and examine what an image has to offer.
29/12/18
Finished “Confessional”. Maybe when the mind is distracted slightly it makes studio work more of an automated response? Decisions were made and action was taken.
Not saying having a completely distracted head-space works. Far from it. I’ve been there plenty of times and it’s disastrous. No. It’s more a case of - you’re in the studio and you have a clear(ish) idea of where the work will go so you follow that. The decision making dilemma is lessened due to the preoccupation of other matters going on upstairs.
30/12/18
A bit of work done to “Bereft Clown before clearing the palette and studio up for another year.
RDH: 27/05/18 - 30/06/18
27/25/18
NB:- "Imprint": washes over selected charcoal marks makes for a more painterly and softer outcome whilst still retaining the drawing element - it's just not as overwhelming. Marrying the two worlds. Artistically I'm in a good place. It's utilising time more effectively.
28/05/18
On Hodler's "Night": covered figure personifies death as an intensification of sleep. On the back of the canvas Hodler wrote: "There is many a people who lies down to rest in the evening but who does not wake up in the morning."
"Riot" and "Chidren of the Stage" started.
Haven't painted on board in two years. Keep forgetting how forgiving the surface is.
29/05/18
Started small canvas of "Cult" drawing I did five years ago. Been a long time but its always good to keep everything - just in case.
30/05/18
Let's see what happens.
02/06/18
Playing about with "The Mountain of the Heights" - particularly the sky. Intangible so the marks should be also.
03/06/18
"I want to be a painter of modern life, and modern bodies." - Jenny Saville.
A.F. born today.
04/06/18
05/06/18
Notes from a previous workshop:
Turn off distractions
Centred space
Give yourself permission to move your practice forward.
Elevator pitch - needs work.
Find focus and priorities.
Studio days - regimented routine.
Be persistent and consistent.
Find unproductive habits + break them.
Defend creative time.
Slow down and hear your own ideas.
"Creativity is not a talent - it's a way of operating." - John Cleese
When you value serendipity, you start noticing it at work right away.
07/06/18
Awarded iDA from Atypical Gallery and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland!
09/06/18
Saw a lot of art. A LOT OF ART.
Belfast School of Art degree show was fantastic but there were four stand out artists:
Ryan Hamilton in photography.
Stephanie Tanney in sculpture.
Karl Hagan in painting
Aimee Melaugh in painting.
The Golden Thread Gallery group exhibition "After an Act" was great.
David Moore's show in Belfast Exposed was really interesting.
10/06/18
11/06/18
Zero energy. There are not enough hours in the day. Structure. Guilty of putting off work because of convenience.
13/06/18
Is yellow is the colour of hope?
16/06/18
Bacon was fascinated by butcher shops as a child. The figure in the painting said to be pre-war Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain - known for carrying an umbrella. This work is raw power, beauty and horror rolled in one.
18/06/18
Paint/draw with purpose. Reasons - just because I can't pin them down doesn't mean they aren't there.
20/06/18
Lubaina Himid - take a "given history" from found objects and then "paint a history on them that isn;t as much talked about." Daytime can't be squandered - every hour counts.
23/06/18
Painted pretty much up to 10pm tonight,. Stuck in the zone.
24/06/18
Trip to Rosses Point. So hot too and great to bump into Rob and Sally. Small world.
25/06/18
Great to see familiar names (Lisa Ballard, Alison Pilkington and Clement McAleer) in the Hamilton Gallery's group exhibition 'An Irish Airman Foresees His Death'.
26/06/18
Trip to The Model in Sligo town before home. A wonderful space.
28/06/18
Slowly getting back into the rhythm of working again. Finished "Cult". The small child is considerably creepier than expected. More work to "Mountain of the Heights" - been looking at Cezanne's multiple treatments of Mont Sainte-Victoire for some sort of guidance.
Extremely hot in the studio - close to 30°C.
30/06/18
I have Sickert's "Ennui" on my mind.