Art Journal

Art Journal: May 2026

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01/05/26

‘Reflections’ - new sculpture outside Belfast Central Station from artist Kevin Killen and Golden Thread Gallery

There is one thing that I have been lacking in - a new year’s resolution that has slipped way down the pecking order - carving out time to draw. The sketchbook needs dusted off - badly.

03/05/26

So bloody close to the finishing line (whatever that is) with 'Meet at the Dolmen’. Essentially, its refining the robed figures and incorporating some structure into the treeline.

05/05/26

Venice. Surreal. It’s a very dimly lit city at night - giving it a strange presence. Familiar like a dream and stunningly beautiful. Except for the rat - size of a small dog (slight exaggeration) which jumped down from a low wall while I was locking a gate. Horrible.

06/05/26

Right, day one officially kicked off with a walk in the increasingly heavy rain to Piazza San Marco, down along the water to the Giardini. Stood in the slowest moving line for the guts of an hour, finally making it in. The hunt for a tote bag had begun.

German and British pavilions - great. 11am - all of a sudden, chaos erupted: Pussy Riot staging a protest outside the Russian pavilion. Dutch pavilion - locked in. Spanish pavilion, very good. Next to the central pavilion to see ‘In Minor Keys’. Crowds were insane - a real circus to the point I couldn’t see any work. Too many people clambering and bumping into each other. Should have went earlier. In saying that, Tammy Nguyen’s paintings were stunning.

A fly through the sculptures of the Nordic space to the Japanese pavilion. Loads of babies!

Leaving the Giardini, bumped into a tall, imposing figure all dressed in black… clocked eyes… immediately recognising him as an artist that has inspired my own practice… but could I pluck his name from the ether!? “Jesus Christ!” I exclaim to my simultaneous feelings of “I know him” and “what is his name!?” Moving on , it annoyed me all through lunch. About halfway through food, who walked into the restaurant but the man in black…. long story short - it was [redacted]! Knees went weak and shook his hand for far too long! Star struck.

Next up was visits to the Holy See, Icelandic and Scottish spaces before swinging past San Marino to check Mark Francis’ work.

07/05/26

Arsenale day. Started practically at the beginning of the queue, found this viewing of ‘In Minor Keys’ a way more enjoyable experience - more room to view work. Maybe the weather helped. Central space had so many jaw dropping moments - incredible works - Alfredo Jaar, Nick Cave to name just a couple. A quick regroup before the national spaces.

Lovely opening for Ireland, Chile was unnerving but great. Bit of a detouring boat ride for Eva gathering. Palazzo Grassi - Michael Armitage. Show was just sublime. Seeing this work I’ve loved in the flesh was just a dream come true. A little chat with a critic about Northern Irish snooker. Finishing the night off with a party - meeting old friends and new!

08/05/26

Slept in! That’s what I get for trying to sit and write in bed at 6am. A double Derry adventure from the heart of Venice all the way back to Dublin. Made it home in time to see the kids before bed.

One last look.

11/05/26

Missed the opening of Anna Vidamour’s exhibition in Atypical so happy to spend time with it today. I’m the worst patient.

13/05/26

Still not fully recharged. This coming weekend:

  • Breathe

  • Take Stock

  • Set out Plans

15/05/26

Evening studio session. ‘Meet at the Dolmen’ completed. Pretty happy with this one.

Architecture has it’s limits. Nature always wins.

19/05/26

Tim Patrick at Arcade. Beautiful works - fluid immediacy and could just sit and look all day.

21/05/26

Golden Thread visit after picking up charcoal at lunch. Frédéric Huska’s ‘Traces of a Traumatic Future’ - beautiful intimate works.

Sharon Kelly’s ‘Disposal of Fullness’. Stunning work as always. Stitches with hair.

24/05/26

Canvas stretching, priming - seeing where to go with this 3-person piece.

*****

Well, I didn’t get as far as I thought I would have. Now, that’s not to say I’ve been lazy today. Far from it. Two canvases stretched and triple primed. Thought I would have got to draw up the commission, checking which size of canvas will fit the image best. Not to be. I did get working on ‘Lessons in Silence’ - more backwards but still work nevertheless. At the very last moment before finishing and, clearly fed up with the lack of progress, I began blocking out the figure with the hat. First in charcoal and then with a dark grey/blue. Could this be the way to go? The colour might be too ‘on the nose’. What about that sickly pink that’s echoing on the cell walls to the left of the canvas?

26/05/26

How to get drawing back on the table.

31/05/26

… posthumously …

The figure in the hat has now moved to a pink silhouette and elements of the blurred female portrait have been muted in - lightening the darker portions (hair, mouth, shadows, eyes). A slightly more ghostly effect. Sketching up smaller canvases.

Where to next? Outer frame, more natural - greys, browns but try to keep quality of marks that are already there.

Art Journal: April 2026

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01/04/26

Dublin Gallery Visits

02/04/26

Belfast Late Night Art. A busy night. Highlights were Aoife Ní Dhuinn in Platform and Mia Stewart in Belfast Print Workshop.

04/04/26

Studio - so much moving back and forth. At least there’s a bit of form and structure now.

10/04/26

A surprise late night studio session - unusual for a Friday. ‘The Week in Art’ Duchamp, Dorothea Tanning and Leonora Carrington.

Some progress on the medium canvas. It’s good to know there is a late night option - kind of surprised with the level of productivity. Thought Gathering

19/04/26

A crisp, bright morning start in the studio. Sadly, (or happily), that sharp spring light laid bare the failings of the recent work on the medium canvas a little too clearly. Maybe there’s something to be said about sticking to working in natural light.

‘A Brush With… Danh Vo / Lorna Simpson /. Hurvin Anderson’ - triple whammy of catching up.

There’s a weird type of frustration when struggling to submerge or push back what’s clearly a focal point - the 1890’s female portrait that is front and centre of the canvas. It’s too loud and overbearing for the composition.

Last time, I tried semi-natural skin tones with no joy and pared it back to just a neutral mess / shell. I want the image to be the atmospheric anchor but it was just a flat meh - making the whole piece disjointed.

Had to make a decision - either chicken out and scrap it - the temptation was there - but ultimately opted for something a little different and something I haven’t tried in a while. Commiting to a monotone shift - making the female portrait out of ultramarine, titanium white and ivory, the memory finally started to sink in.

Lightening the harsh charcoal blacks to the cooler grey makes her presence felt without having her scream. All of a sudden, the orange/brown frame wasn’t just bowing to the lady. Now, I’ve started incorporating some architecture to the cell of the inmate in green.

Is it a memory or a timeline?

Stopped while there’s still energy in the marks.

23/04/26

25/04/26

A short but sharp stint in the studio this morning. Feels like I’ve taken a big swing on this large canvas - adding texture, tone and light/shade into the foreground. Also, included a little notion I had a while back - Reflection of light from the lamp, hitting a pair of eyes in the darkness to the right of the composition. I had thought about incorporating more animal like features (legs, eyes, tail) but was reminded of a quote from Ridley Scott

“ The most important thing in a film of this type [Alien] is not what you see, but the effect of what you think you saw.”

In other words, the eyes could be anything and it leaves interpretation wide open.

26/04/26

Second day in a row - short stay again but relatively productive. Light wash on sky to add depth,

Art Journal: March 2026

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01/03/26

Raw umber / warm grey for walls. Prussian blue was over top hat. Burnt sienna / reds / pinks. Sage green = pacing figure.

Thought I would’ve gotten further ahead than I did but then when I came down home with a sour head on me, have since been told that it was plenty. That was right of course. I just think the images in my head, or the projected outcome wasn’t matching reality, In hindsight, of course there’s been movement. Tonal work on mid-sized canvas - the ground work of the colouring blocks are done.

For the small double portrait, using the lines in the hidden self-portrait to create structure behind (and possible in front) the female portrait.

Sometimes there isn’t (well to be honest, its nearly 99%) that magic spark when working - where a single mark can bring a work to life. Today was a grind and that’s OK. It’s whats needed. Still need to turn up, put paint down and work through problems as they arise. That’s the joy and the fear.

04/03/26

Dublin. Maryam Tafakory “Daria’s Night Flowers” in the Project Art Centre. Next, on to the RHA to catch the Hennessy Craig and Homan Potterton Awards 2026. Stand outs - Eileen Leonard Sealy, Daniel Coieman and Manar Mervat Al Shouha. Wonderful work!

Kirsty Bell’s work is absolutely stunning; the merging of layers and the unusual presentation (on poles, curtains) adds to theatricality and draws you in.

07/03/26

A classic case of teetering on the edge of over-painting - Small double portrait. The elements that I think are working are currently out-weighed by isn’t. Tonally, it’s OK, a little flat at present, I think its the application of the paint and the colour scheme that’s off at the moment.

13/03/26

“Non Squeal Killers” - “A Tacitun Mask”

15/03/26

In the studio. Back and forth once again on the small canvas. One minute I think a problem is resolved, then an impulse to go in the opposite direction takes hold. Not sure where this comes from or why.

It could be my idea of the finalised idea is split between accuracy of the source material and leaning into the more expressive immediacy that the intial drawings derive from.

Third session on this. I think if things don’t clean up after the next session, it will be a case of putting it against the wall for a while before tackling it again with fresh(er) eyes.

18/03/26

“Fate rebuked him with a terrible swiftness”.

22/03/26

Studio and a little impromptu photo shoot!

There was a point in the morning where I thought I was going to ruin it all.

Now, it is definitely not what I initially envisaged but for the process and danger that this wee canvas has gone through, it’s not in a bad space. It’s as good as I can do with how it has gone previously. So, a long, drawn out way of saying. It’s downing tools time on “Thought Gathering”.

Now, thoughts to gather towards….

Lists need made up.

29/03/26

There was no painting or drawing this weekend. A little respite didn’t do any harm.

Art Journal: February 2026

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01/02/26

Canvas priming. Such a dirty floor… and then my pen decides to implode on the third line of a new art journal!

In between priming layers - want to try and finish ‘Melina Study’. It’s the robe that annoying at the moment. Too smooth - lack of texture…

‘M.S.’ finished - added subtle hint of texture and line to robe.

A strange sort of nausea…

02/02/26

…chilling.

04/02/26

Still trying to process…

On a personal note, I feel I’m getting better at distancing… …yes there are still some late night checks but it is definitely an improvement.

‘Considering Art Podcast’ - Joanna Whittle.

05/02/26

LNAB

Catalyst Members’ Show - happy with placement of ‘BWoatS’- up high, looming down on the viewer. Nice choice.

On the way home, hit in the face with milk. Stank to high heaven.

07/02/26

Third and final coat of primer on canvasses ahead of studio session tomorrow.

08/02/26

Mapping out works. Image from ‘Masque of the Red Death’ culled from seven figures down to three and a bit of fun mixing the scale of the Tirnony Dolmen. Feels huge. Medium canvas has three acetates on it. Sounds a bit much but for now, its working compositionally. The trick will be what elements to recede and which to bring forward.

11/02/26

When I’m tired, my right eye closes involuntarily.

12/02/26

Sketchbook work

19/02/26

Lunchtime visit to the Golden Thread Gallery - ‘Insight into the other’ - a collaboration with UH Gallery in Boston. Particularly fond of Nancy McCormack’s paint-manipulated photographs.

20/02/26

I had started thinking about painting ‘strategy’ when getting kids to bed last night.

Particularly the ‘Dolmen’ and the small (slightly doubled) portrait. Now, I did fall asleep mid way through something of a little eureka moment so I will try and recollect.

Want to try something with the Dolmen piece:

  • work on night sky first - furthest back

    • Build up with thin washes, skits of stars (toothbrush) and a light fade.

    • Elements of colours from the sky washes (pthalo, prussian, indigo hinted at in the ground / grass.

  • One of the hooded figures - carrying a lamp - adding energetic brushstrokes to the illuminated ground, edges of robed figures and ancient stones. DRAMA

  • The trick will be making the trees disappear - how they do in life when looking up at the sky at night. They aren’t a silhouette but almost an echo of what’s there - waiting to be lit or to come into focus.

  • Slightly thicker paint on light edges - loosen control of the brush a little.

For the ‘double portrait’: Off skin palette - again loosen grip of brush in areas, tighten in others.

Relinquish control to gain unexpected moments in the process…

22/02/26

The other night was writing - today was doing. Pretty much did what was hoped to ‘Dolmen Gathering’. Now there is an itch to possibly include something else… hint of nature / danger. The only word that seems to matter with this piece - atmosphere.

25/02/26

Eyes peeled on Venice announcement! Congratulations to Alan Phelan, Alice Maher and Rachel Fallon on invitations to ‘In Minor Keys’.

27/02/26

Sketchbook work - late night - finishing off sketches that were started mid-week.

Art Journal: January 2026

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01/01/26

HNY. Here is to a fruitful, productive and peaceful 2026!

03/01/26

04/01/26

First studio day of the year. Nice bit of structuring to ‘Milena Study’ face.

05/01/26

Late night sketching

06/01/26

Golden Thread Gallery visit at lunchtime. Azzedine Saleck’s 'The Border That Crossed Me' - haunting spectral figures rendered in gold leaf.

​Sharon Murphy’s 'Mise en Abyme' plays with the ‘uncanny’ through theatrical settings and the clever masquerading of material.

08/01/26

The Rispin Curse.

10/01/26

“The innovations in the painting come from the parameters I set within the practice”

Tim Benson

11/01/26

Wrapping up “BWoatS” for Catalyst Show.

13/01/26

Visit to Ulster Presents to see part I of MFA ‘Prologue’ show.

15/01/26

Some very late night sketching. Must get a decent R.

17/01/26

Derry visit. Guildhall Taphouse Studios - so great to see space for artists of this ilk in the NW especially after the news through the week elsewhere.

VOID - Barbara Steveni retrospective ‘I Find Myself’. A privilege to learn more about her lifelong commitment to the intersection of art and activism.

Rounding up with CCA - ‘It’s Not Clear From Here’. A wonderful show where curator Ashleigh Wilson has beautifully brought together three artists that weave common threads throughout the gallery space.

A lovely phone call on the way to the bus (“There’s one more thing I have to tell you…”).

18/01/26

Stretching large canvas - lots and lots of staples. Now for a bit more time with ‘Milena Study’…

Took a big swing so fingers crossed that fresh eyes in a day or two will see progress rather than a step back. I’ve a feeling it’s both, in different areas.

19/01/26

…first thought is “how the **** is this going to work?”. Polar opposites. Need to chew it over.

24/01/26

Looking at the duality of external vs internal?

25/01/26

A ton of sketchbook work. Drama…. not playing nice. Good news and bad news in the end up.

27/01/26

The MAC over lunchtime. “The Lost Paintings: A Prelude to Return”. Wow, just wow. A powerful show. Deeply moving - caught myself holding tears back walking around the gallery. The show demands you sit with it and witness it. Definitely won’t be the last visit. Raed Issa’s capturing of life in constant displacement - reminded me of Käthe Kollwitz but with a raw immediacy.

28/01/26

Dublin. 'The Last Balkan Cowboy' by Dragana Jurišić in Temple Bar Gallery and Studios. I saw Harry Dean Stanton. In Photo Museum Ireland was 'Empathy Machine' Maija Tammi. Poor wee locust. Rounded up with ‘Passages’ by Siobhán McDonald in the LAB Gallery.