Belfast School of Art

Art Journal: June 2026

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04/06/26

“It’s the conflicting feelings that make the picture.”

Nick Willing on Paula Rego (Talk Art)

07/06/26

No studio this weekend. Instead, a long overdue sketchbook day - playing with and working through found and personal imagery. I think one of the issues I have with drawing is looking to nail a sketch first time and with the limited time in the evenings to work through ideas, frustration can mount.

Today was a long one, five hours, and that’s not always achievable in a week lest I forego the studio like today and in the long run, that isn’t helping. Surely I could carve out a half hour 3-4 nights a week - aiming for one (two max) drawings. If they miss, they miss. Better to have done…

09/06/26

Mad news. Got a whirlwind visit to the Belfast School of Art Degree Show.

10/06/26

More warnings of unrest. Whistle stop look at the Anna Vidamour show in PS² before an extremely awkward and lengthy journey home.

14/06/26

Studio. Back and forth on this one. One minute I love elements, the next - it’s maddening. Time will tell. Also started on a little commission.

17/06/26

Very strange email yesterday - bit of digging to find it a legit nomination. Bafflingly bizarre.

22/06/26

Mullingar trip - lots of fun and lots of sun.

“My apologies your majesty!”

23/06/26

Repentant Magdalene in a town centre hotel.

26/06/26

Pretty much knew from the get go in the studio this morning that ‘Lessons in Silence’ had run its course. There was just the final flailing attempts at salvaging it before wiping the slate clean, hitting refresh.

Cape Fear series - excellent. A scene in episode 4 took me by surprise and an interesting conversation was had. That feeling of who you were before trauma dying and there being almost an element of grieving / loss of who that person was - or at least parts that have now been significantly altered or erased entirely.

Thinking about how to make works more impactful - ensuring the there’s personal input - not just about the image having a resonance with a lived experience…. trip-a-trap / it and the meshing of an elaborate lamp / under the patio / ‘94 to the ceiling.

27/06/26

So, how to implement into compositions without diverting completely?

28/06/26

An OK start to christening piece. Although, its not really feeling like mind yet - good blocking none-the-less. Another smaller canvas - the ground is too dark to get the initial layers off to a tidy start. An uphill battle so might have to refresh on this already.

30/06/26

Heading home from Dublin and a little rainbow spotted at the border to end a difficult day.

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: 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.

Art Journal: December 2025

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07/12/25

‘To Conjure’ finished.

teacup poisoner. Ability to blend in - an unassuming, quiet figure who poisoned people in plain sight.

Brushes down.

09/12/25

Always a strange month, hectic in so many ways but hopefully there will also be time to work on my own stuff a bit. take time to reflect on the past year and taking some quality time with the family.

10/12/25

The Sketchbook quandary. Nearly impossible to carve time to draw when I normally would have - in the evening before bed. Looking at other options. Commute and breaks are most viable options for now. Will test.

11/12/25

Rolling back the years here. Sitting outside Belfast Art College on lunch - sketching, observing and dusting off the cobwebs.

14/12/25

Snapping recently finished works and a bit of cleaning - palette wiped and some acetates sketched out.

Drew up two canvases - could have been far more but stopped myself. Don’t want to draw up works just for the sake of drawing up - filling the gaps, breaking the silence.

15/12/25

In Southern Regional College, Banbridge today to give a talk to students.

16/12/25

20/12/25

Studio session. Three latest works out of the way and down into storage. When down, four of the larger damaged works could be cut and restretched. Will be interesting to see what, if anything can be salvaged.

‘A brush with, Luc Tiuymans’ —> “Authentic Forgeries”.

Good start to ‘Milena Study’ today.

Milena Pavlović-Barili was a Serbian born artist who never settled into one style or one city, finding fame in New York rather than Europe. Her death is marked by an air of mystery.

24/12/25

31/12/25

Ending the year with a lovely, if not a little chilly walk around Pomeroy forest.