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.
