figurative

RDH: MAY 2021

01/05/21

NB: Take a little more time…

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"History Repeating”: Good Start!

02/05/21

Admin all day long!

03/05/21

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Sketchbook work with snooker on in the background. Not a bad combination

04/05/21

passing-time.org : great concept for a website showcasing work.

05/05/21

Submission unsuccessful.

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Studio time eventually… come the weekend I will probably try and figure out a way to block out the planes so that I can paint the red container background in one motion. Right now its all a little scrappy and stop/start.

07/05/21

Belfast bound. When walking around the town I hear ARRAY have been nominated for the Turner Prize! Amazing news and thoroughly well deserved! This feels like it could be a huge boost to Belfast / NI art community going forward.

08/05/21

Rodin’s “Gates of Hell

…has to reflect your own practice. We all think and experience the world differently.

Weekend screening of ‘Painting After Postmodernism with Barbara Rose’ courtesy of The Brooklyn Rail.

… permit the accident and then aim to control it afterwards.

Concept of space - innovation of contemporary painting regardless of abstract or figurative work.

09/05/21

Initially didn’t feel in form for studio today but it really does pay off to just do it and go in regardless.

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Masked planes and now I’m fairly content with the more solid / rusted container in the background.

10/05/21

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Sketchbook work.

12/05/21

The over-thinking / perfectionist side is in overdrive.

Perhaps it’s the large scale that is showing up it’s flaws. Embrace the flaws? Easier said than done - however I do seem to appreciate other artist’s little oddities in their work that could be seen as inaccurate. One person’s poor areas are another person’s highlights I guess.

There’s a lot to be said for confidence in the work and/or the process. Here’s to letting go.

13/05/21

Finally bit the bullet in some respects. “T.H.T.H” sold!

14/05/21

Memory is so imperfect.

15/05/21

A lot of doodles and not much substance.

Joan of Arc will be the elephant in the room today.

Figurative -> Genre

Abstract -> Colour / Editing

Perfectionism is stifling “History Repeating” It’s getting there but extremely slow and frustrating. Straddling between realistic and looser motifs. In two minds when in the thick of it all.

Listening to ‘Jo’s Art History Podcast’ in the studio.

Listening to ‘Jo’s Art History Podcast’ in the studio.

16/05/21

Rearranging storage space.

Rearranging storage space.

17/05/21

OFFSITE from Catalyst Arts. Peer Support / crit group was excellent and definitely well worth expanding on.

Patterns of People.

The act of Keening / Post-memory.

18/05/21

Paint the fence.

19/05/21

That ‘I want to be on my own’ kind of feeling.

H.R.” - truly, these planes are the bane of my life at the minute. Whatever the case, regardless of how they are (in my eyes) I’ll want to push on and be done with this canvas by the weekend….

…are they finished? Dare to hope.

IMMA talk with Chantal Joffe and Katy Hessel - ‘The Artist’s Mother’.

‘Attempting the impossible’ - the best definition of portraiture and painting.

Just submitted “Shock” and “Gathering Thoughts”.

20/05/21

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21/05/21

The Training of Memory in Art and the education of the Artist’ by Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran.

Cart and standing figures worked on today. Trying to strike a balance between the light tones of the ground, the bodies and the cart.

22/05/21

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25/05/21

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Work and yard work.

26/05/21

history-repeating

History Repeating” finished!

28/05/21

Saltz v Scully.

Started putting paint down on one of the smaller pieces and just decided to call it. Whether the smaller works are tripping me up on where to go next or they’re just not exciting me enough to push on. I’m not sure.

30/05/21

When asked if I would be willing to help Ciara McMullan, an architecture student with a project, I was happy to fill out a questionnaire and make some small works on canvas and glass to include in a study model of a studio / exhibition space. I was blown away to see the final results of the project. Some fantastic ideas.

Internal shot of Ciara McMullan’s art studio / exhibition space project.

Internal shot of Ciara McMullan’s art studio / exhibition space project.

31/05/21

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Late night sketching to finish off the month. The past few weeks has seen an unusually singular focus / pandering to one specific canvas. Typically I jump from one work to another with usually three on the go at once. I always thought this helped keep the head and the eyes fresh. I wonder if this may explain May.

Slight sense of fatigue creeping in. At least there are avenues to explore in terms of going about fixing it.

RDH: OCTOBER 2020

02/10/20

Prepping studio for visit

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03/10/20

GT Reading Round returns!

-inbuilt desire to want something out of ourselves.

Atypical Studio Visit.

04/10/20

Sketchbook work.

06/10/20

MRI scan. Very loud.

Some progress on the little boy piece that was swiftly undone.

07/10/20

Studio Shot:  07/10/20

Studio Shot: 07/10/20

Materials ordered.

10/10/20

World Mental Health Day.

Very happy to have been asked to take part in the second day of Reimagine, Remake Replay’s mental health festival - Head and Heart.

Got a little emotional at one point but that is OK. In good company.

11/10/20

Real struggle to focus the past week. Probably the least productive day in the studio since March.

12/10/20

More work on little boy portrait.

More work on little boy portrait.

15/10/20

Buck up ideas. Foot off the gas.

16/10/20

With new restrictions in place, there will be no Belfast visit tomorrow sadly.

17/10/20

Started two new canvases today. Not sure what’s up. For a while I thought it was the imagery that isn’t exciting enough but I don’t know anymore.

18/10/20

Some good movement on one canvas and a bit of weird experimenting on another.

Some good movement on one canvas and a bit of weird experimenting on another.

21/10/20

New York Times: Rabbit Hole Podcast

(create intrigue)

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22/10/20

“Silence is Golden” finished.

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24/10/20

Surround Sound!

26/10/20

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Painting work. (‘Misunderstood’ as a wee inside joke?)

The little go-cart piece - tougher than expected.

Two tone might be an option - like voyage home and G’OK.

27/10/20

Out of sorts.

20 paintings since March - hard to believe.

29/10/20

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‘Confessional’ home safe and sound. Thanks to University of Atypical for their support and patience.

Sketchbook session

Sketchbook session

30/10/20

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31/10/20

Radio Three’s Sunday Feature: Tate Modern - Exploding the Canon

With the darker evenings and the colder weather setting in, it’s not a surprise that studio time has dwindled. This shouldn’t mean that productive time goes to waste. I have been doing sketchbook work more and now is a good time to research other creative outlets.

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