painting
On Saturday 3rd October I had the pleasure to show some guests around my studio and was interviewed by the wonderful folks at the University of Atypical. You can watch the video below and check out other videos by the gallery on their Vimeo Page here.
A huge thank you to Jane, Deirdre, Stuart and all the team for making this happen!
So saddened to hear of the passing of Chris Ledger. She was a true friend of the arts in NI and helped me in both a professional and personal capacity. Her tenacity and drive will be sorely missed.
Cleaning and priming.
‘Seashore Jester’ … over-painted to the point of no return - burnt and slashed. Good progress on “Enfield Study” though.
Close up of “Enfield Study”.
It’s finally happened! I’ve had a little painting accepted into this year’s RUA exhibition!
Wee day off.
“Enfield Study” finished.
Watched ‘Apocalypse Now’ properly for the first time. The real animal sacrifice at the end was disturbing.
Sketched out some new canvases including a narrow set for a triptych.
Object connected to the figure rather than the figure itself so may need to rethink the centre canvas.
…a few people have told me how “Enfield Study” disturbs them and makes them feel uncomfortable. So a job well done.
Lots of blocking in compositions today.
Greenberg vs Read (HANDBAGS!)
Sketchbook work.
Jenny Saville in the “A Brush With” podcast is great!
When asked what is art for, Saville replies:
“Art is for life. Art is for survival. You know it’s a shock of recognition that you feel a sense of belonging you recognise yourself in the world. I really believe it’s for survival. It’s intrinsic to being human. We either have to make marks or it’s like singing or making music. It’s fundamental to being a human being. I can’t imagine doing anything else. When I’m in the process of painting I feel very in touch with myself in a sense that nothing else I’ve ever done in my life does.”
Satellite paths
Nothing the past few days due to another trip to the hospital.
One year to go.
Finished “Exhibits A to C”. Good to get painting again after a little setback. Chuffed to be names Catalyst Art’s Member of the Month for August!
Some good studio time in today.
“A painting which is from a specific photograph - you have to go beyond the photograph so you have to make the paint do something and once it gets a nature of itself then it belongs to the world and it takes a long time to get be in that field.”
Jenny Saville (link for interview here)
“Avarice is the enemy of virtue.”
Leon Battista Alberti
Sketching and mostly failing.
Studio time but nothing too strenuous.
Great to have a virtual catch up with UoA folk!
Trauma is inarticulate.
Some good progress on “But I Don’t Get It”. Still flat in areas but it’s nearly there.
Finished “B.I.D.G.I.”
Some more Matisse-inspired bamboo work for shapes in the foreground and that’s the large painting finished! Title to be confirmed later.
Abrupt awakening.
So “The Hill of the Red Witch” it is. Very close.
Eventually got some good ground work down on two new pieces. Some human hair included.
Great Julie Curtiss talk with Brooklyn Rail.
2013 - 2015: 14 works (over 3 years)
2016 - 2018: 36 works (over 3 years)
2019 - June 2020: 16 works (in 18 months)
That’s crazy!
Really pleased with “Left Out” thus far but the mouth on “RPM” is really annoying me!
QUESTIONS
Working out left hand on “L.O.” is tough. It’s not the shape of it but the lay of the fingers that’s the bother. Pre-mixing … is needed to unify the hands and face. It’s the difference in definition between the upper and lower hands that are jarring a bit.
Days that just don’t go your way. THUMB NEEDS TO BE A FRACTION LONGER!
Working method today is attacking the canvas in micro stages.
NON FINITO = nice idea.
Does something have to look finished before being deemed complete?
Detail of “Left Out”
…I limped home tonight. Painted for nearly 11 hours. Not sure if “Left Out” is done, but it’s bloody close.
… Yes it’s there!
Good drawing time this evening.
Priming, studio cleaning and two little pieces drawn up. Interior one has promise.
The Ruination of the World.
“Rock Pool Memory” - the original drawing is not exact and so the dimensions are a little skew-whiff. Possibly why the painting is not coming together.
Horrible day painting but at least it beats not doing anything at all! “Rock Pool Memory” is just that - a memory.
A sense of critical…. ?
Such as strange pain down arms and shoulders last night. Shake it off or…
Trip to A&E - allergic reaction to insect bites. The usual then.
Studio time.
High contrast in BT’s face might be best avoided. Playing around right now just.
Nice chat with Chloe, Dominic and Niamh - some interesting discussions.
![“Hotel ‘78” complete. [] is right - something slightly different about it. Softer maybe.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a9c08aa372b9620b4f4faf4/1596298573274-34GK5VOLBNDGHLF24D6J/16.jpg)
“Hotel ‘78” complete. [] is right - something slightly different about it. Softer maybe.
A nice dull background on “Seashore Jester”.
Applied … again.
Solid studio day. Resurrected “Rock Pool Memory”. Tonal values not there on “Seashore Jester” just yet but happy enough so far. Stumbled across the old Enfield painting that I abandoned four years ago. Decided to give it another crack.
Been a few days of home improvements.
Sketched out little commission and cleaned out palette.
Martha Tuttle talk on Brooklyn Rail excellent! Links to antiquity and the tactility of the work is fascinating.
The past few days I’ve literally been going round in circles with “Rock Pool Memory”. Originally I thought executing the proportions properly would have solved any issues that were cropping up but no. I think I’m in two/three minds as to how to approach it so perhaps shelving it isn’t a bad idea for now.
I think it’s important to take a step back sometimes and focus on other elements of practice. So today is a drawing and research day.
“ART IS LONG, LIFE IS SHORT” the reversed first two lines of Hippocrates’ ‘Aphorismi’
Nearly six hours of sketchbook work today.
Did not expect to but “Rock Pool Memory” is finished. It really has been an unprecedented time of creativity. Silver lining in a weird and unnerving time.
“Rock Pool Memory” finished.
The Troxler Effect - monsters in the mirror.
Treated myself to some art books.
Detail of ‘Enfield’ painting in progress
Short stint today, Slow progress but progress nonetheless.
Parts looks OK and then others are close to the point of madness. At least the dead crab looks well.
Focus turns to show opening.
Spend a little time looking and you might find a way in. Now at that limbo stage with “No Remorse”. Compositionally solid but colours and painterly gestures are off.
Surprising bound forward on “Self Portrait with Sketchbook”. Face is mask-like (maybe a good thing?)
Nervous as hell. First stop - Ursula Burke in the Ulster Museum. Wonderful scope and the wall mural is stunning. A quick jaunt into town - in GT’s “Dissolving Histories” I especially liked Stuart Calvin’s work. Great to see Dougal McKenzie’s project space show “More Bad News”. Beautiful little touches.
Next onto the MAC for Mark Garry’s “Songs and the Soil”. Placed over the three galleries, the work is immersive and stunning.
Helped with the last little touches to the show prep. Great turnout for Late Night Art and the feedback has knocked me back - in the best possible way. Really not good at taking compliments. Marcus Keeley came by for a chat in the store room for his “Instant Feedback” podcast.
Wee stay with Jane. A beautiful house and a beautiful soul. Finally got to visit QSS for “Four Female Painters” exhibition. Amazing space and great work. Alana Barton’s piece “Blossom” made me cry and not even ashamed to say it. It struck a nerve. The delicacy of the child’s little fingers touching the adult’s hair. Beautifully painted.
Took myself back to re-watch Mark Garry’s videos in the MAC. The close up recordings of the horses is haunting and strangely intimate.
Few days off but little updates online here and there.
Sketchbook work
Scary times. Back to the looking phase. It seems to help.
Self Portrait: face is still very mask-like. Reminds me of a still from “Les yeux sans visage”.
…knowing when to quit for the day is important.
Slow burning day but when I eventually got to studio and began making real progress, the power goes off!
Serves me right for getting ahead of myself.
“No Remorse” in progress
The “In Conversation” that was to take place with the show in Atypical has rightly been postponed due to ongoing circumstances.
Have to self-isolate for 14 days. The worries mount.
Sketchbook work for the first time in 11 days. Feels like a lifetime.
Is there a better, more cohesive way to go about the drawing side of practice?
I think immediacy, or the notion of immediacy, is still important.
Transferred some recent drawings to acetate.
STEP UP!
Studio time with Radiohead.
A bit of sketching but mainly organising imagery.
“There’s no point in worryin’ what ye can’t control.”
BAK
“No Remorse” is finished. There are parts that still annoy but all in all pleased to it’s best to leave it and move on.
Pushing and pulling with “Self Portrait with Sketchbook”. Frustrating but really fun at the same time!
Cleaning palette and studio up. Also stripped the background of “SPwS”. Too similar to the skin tones and made the canvas seem quite flat.
So bloody close!
Last day of quarantine.
Great to take part in the VAI online café and to get an insight into Tinka Bechert’s wonderful work.
“SPwS” finished. It is very wonky as it’s taken from a very wonky sketch from a few years ago but there’s something about the sketch that made me want to try and develop it into a painting for quite some time.
Detail of “Self-Portrait with Sketchbook” - painting in progress
Right, get paint down! Started two little pieces today and “The Crown of Dionysus” is complete"!
“The Crown of Dionysus” on my very dirty studio wall.
The last palindrome day for another 111 years. Damn rugby is distracting!
“No Remorse” - background building up.
Parcel.
“Religion decays, the icon remains; a narrative is forgotten, yet its representation still magnetises (the ignorant eye triumphs - how galling for the informed eye).”
Julian Barnes - ‘Géricault: Catastrophe into Art’
“No sooner do we come into this world, than bits of us start to fall off.”
Gustave Flaubert
Detail of body - “No Remorse”
Using storm Ciara to aid in the drying process.
Submission started.
Mobile installation?
…might be a little out there. Will sit on it for a while.
“Laziness is a sign of mediocrity.”
Voltaire
Visit by Jane and Hugh.
Victim / Perpetrator / Both
linking current work.
All pieces are wrapped and ready to go.
Slight change of plan.
Sketchbook work tonight.
Nerves are shredded already!
Work is on its way.
Well that’s it! Install complete I’m really happy with the exhibition and now it’s a waiting game for the opening.
Repeating motifs. mem: Like that odd shoulder loop that happens in drawings and then translates to paintings.
Made good progress in some areas of “Remorse” (bodies) but mostly have over painted to the point where I can’t put anything else down. Better to walk away now and go again another day than to push it over the edge today. Have reintroduced some rough drawing elements into the background.
A while back I had the pleasure of chatting to Jade Riley, a writer and photographer, who has since written the following little piece about my practice. Be sure to check out Jade’s other writings on her site.
Thank you Jade.
It is never wise to stand on a plug.
UNSAFE SYMBOL
In a crisis are we all destined to retract to a small amount of predetermined protocols?
It is what we do in these scenarios that characterise who we can become - but that shouldn’t be confused with a concluded definition.
“Gaugin - A Dangerous Life” on BBC IPlayer
“The work of a man explains that man”
- Paul Gaugin
Sketchbook work this evening.
Really didn’t get as much done as I should have. Started commission though which is good.
So I now own a car!
A very tough week. Frustration at zero creative output. Filter and breathe.
… so I am grateful so for many things. The positives outweigh the negatives. It is OK to have lull bits. It is still be seen as necessary time to off load while creating space for work down the line.
Read the Room.
Some more sketchbook working out tonight.
A very foggy night
The welcomed return of lists - getting things straightened out for the first time in a long time.
If all else fails, even just sitting in the studio is good. It can induce making…
Detail of commission in Progress
Have decided to try and switch off over the holidays. Easier said than done as I’m never more than a few steps away from RD to jot thoughts/ideas down on. Will be good to spend some time away - clear some head-space.
2019 has been an odd year. Rejection, award, rejection, solo show, more rejection…
Making time and adhering to a schedule of sorts has to be up there with priorities in the new year. Keeping this blog going is good. Some folks say, isn’t it odd to type out what you’ve jotted down a few weeks ago but I’ve found that in order to move forward, it’s good to have a refresher of what has just preceded and digesting this helps put aims and dangers into perspective.
New Year’s Eve Poker Night and Rogue isn’t having a good run of cards at all.
Very pleased to have been asked to have my work included in a new online gallery project:
It has just launched and will be rolling out further updates and projects in the coming weeks and months.
I want to say a huge thank you to Chief Curator Manuela Pacella for selecting my work, having faith in my practice and to the whole team at ‘Ungalleried’ for their hard work and patience.
… good job I checked…
Sketching today but no joy. How to move past this?
A good tidy up in the studio. “H” going well.
Helping Jan with some wire-wool spinning experiments.
Recording today and some solid sketchbook time. It’s so important. It is where ideas form and lay roots.
“Long years of secrecy have turned their faces into masks.” - not sure where I heard this from.
Detail of “Helen” - oil and charcoal on canvas.
“Helen” finished up.
Consciously hold back images.
EMPATHY
What am I doing?
“Real painters understand with a brush in their hand.”
Need to try and make one little hour of creative work each weekday.
What a difference a boiler makes!
“A puncture - a level of emotion” - Zarina Bhimji
Mental health does not and should not define who we are.
Work is dropped off to Newtownards!
Umbrella destroyed by storm but the opening of “Bardo” was great. Great support from friends and a wonderful text written by Gemma Murphy.
“Sress is the killer of creativity” - Jamian Juliano Villani
Good sketchbook session tonight.
Doodles to burn.
‘Cooley’ is gone. Very stale so had to go. A really old image of Helen has replaced it. It’s been a long time since I attempted this image.
Mask and orchard idea. Sucker for attempting old failures.
Placed…
The prodigal ipod returns after nearly a year missing.
“Study of Helen” - image is nine years old and I’ve tried to tackle it many many times but only now does it feel like I am making any sort of headway. Difficult to describe. “No Regrets” - push and pull between the two images.
Conscious decision to limit the palette initially. Sometimes there can be too much choice - especially when starting a new piece. Thinking that by limiting colour in the first stages it can help focus in on tonal values and composition a little more.
“No Regrets” - Painting in progress
Weekends aren’t long enough.
Couple kissing under a dark sky.
Geometric lines turn from canvas folds to forks of lightning.
Portrait with slightly opened lips.
Very impressed with the RUA show this year. Some really strong works. Also great to check out the Ulster Museum’s new acquisition of Cornelia Parker.
‘On Refusal’ in the MAC is brilliant - especially Troy Michie’s stunning collages.
David Sherry’s ‘Philosophical Society’ in the Golden Thread Gallery was a lot of fun!
Some unexpected speed curating from VAI was good fun and great to meet up with old friends.
Little visit to Fiona Stewart’s fabulous studio to be recorded for an upcoming podcast.
Applications.
More work done to “The Ferryman”. I think it’s lost any painterly charm.
‘Arena: Kusama Infinity’ - such a great artist!
“While the dead show dead art, living artists die.” - Yayoi Kusama
Hope springs eternal.
Great talk and workshop with Action Mental Health. Really positive and interesting feedback from the crowd.
Patrick Horan’s fantastic paintings in the Ards Art Centre’s Sunburst Gallery.
Called into the Ards Art Centre for a quick chat and a little look at two shows opening; Gavin McCrea’s installation and Patrick Horan’s paintings.
Yusuke Asai’s amazing installation in the Golden Thread Gallery
At Late Night Art Mark McGreevy’s ‘Flop Sweat’ in the MAC is marvellous! Brilliant use of colour. ‘Knick Knacks and Whatnots’ by Cameron Morgan in University of Atypical is excellent. Blown away by the work on display in the Golden Thread’s “Noise of Silence: Japanese Art Now’ especially Yusuke Asai’s huge mud installations.
“Ferryman” is unusable.
Finally finished the middle panel from the originally conceived “Pioneer” triptych. Think it stands on it’s own merit.
More progress to the the ‘Cooley’ piece.
Sketchbook work tonight.
Really enjoyed “Memory: The Origin of Alien” documentary.
“At the Mountains of Madness” by HP Lovecraft.
“What will humanity find when they look in the dark places?”
Studio work - some additions of spray paint to ‘Cooley’ piece. Walked away before digging too far.
Little panel piece, “The Horror! The Horror” Speed is it’s friend. Wooden supports are responsive to gestural work - less so with the charcoal marks - more layers needed to achieve tonal quality I’m after.
Wonderful article about my time up at Action Mental Health.
Increase in productivity lately. Could it be a confidence thing? I’m working no more or no less than the slump periods. Is it a case of a fine tuning of better judgement when more at peace with practice? Plenty to look forward to in the coming months.
Notes: immediate drawing line combined with more deliberate painterly marks. Cross pollination.
“LW” = by removing the instrument of trauma can it be viewed in a miraculous or redemptive light?
Not spelling out the narrative - Great to sit down and chat about work and ideas with GM.
Visit to PS Squared and “How the Image Echos” show.
Sea Holly Gallery is absolutely stunning and wonderful work on from the 545 pop up group show. So good to see elements of the much loved Orpheus building back in an artistic sense.
Craig Donald’s work alongside restored windows from the Orpheus building in the Sea Holly Gallery
Finished little panel piece.
Quarantined.
Studio work and “Dress Rehearsal Study” is getting there. It’s weird how every time I paint children they end up completely terrifying.
Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ is utterly amazing. Beautifully filmed and will stay with me for a long time.
Collection of work for “Bardo” show tomorrow morning.
Save mode now!
Clean Palette.
Spider skin
Studio…
Detail of “Bogland Sackrace” - work in progress.
Drawing is essential in practice. It’s not even the success of the outcome that’s important but the act of looking and really scrutinising an image or object. Trying to find a way in.
Wrapping process.
Sketchbook work.
For tomorrow, let loose!
I’ve been lingering long enough on small little intricacies.
It’s not the first time I’ve struggled with a figure in profile.
Need to just look!
‘Art of Spain’ documentary : Goya was deaf!?
Black paintings were done “to the brink of incoherence” (AGD).
‘Bogland’ completed
A really good day in the studio. Huge improvement to ‘Sackrace’. The face in the central figure could be better but that is where I’ll leave it. Back is signed so it’s official.
Studio shot: 17/08/19
Unplanned progress on ‘Ferryman’. More painterly background.
Getting there with the small chores.
Early stages of “The Brown Bull of Cooley”
Started a new large canvas. Took on the image of a woman in motion - her stance suggested a figure that could be in battle. After a little research I decided to add a typical Celtic sword and shield combo. So this found magazine image turns into Queen Medb of Connaught.
Once the figure was on the canvas I was unsure whether to incorporate the bull (Medb’s infamous cattle raid of Cooley as inspiration) but curiosity got the better of me and I tore on with it.
Basically blocking the image up but it is promising so far. It will be interesting to see the fight between Medb and the bull in terms of who will come out dominant where in the composition.
Material delivery!
Studio work and ‘Ferryman’ has stagnated. Some parts work and others flop.
At that strange limbo point where a painting you’re working on fights back and refuses to yield. When one point of grievance is adjusted, two more pop up.
Today - more so than others - has been spent reflecting on lost loved ones and parts of that has made its way onto canvas. Little nods to moments once shared with someone no longer here.
I haven’t had this level of personal attachment to a work in progress in a long time and it has made the already frustrating back and forth of a painting’s final stretch all the more agonising.
Can you paint over a memory or is knowing that these little nods once existed enough?
Almost a disaster. Too hung up on certain elements and it is holding the piece back. So the notion of blurring the background and having the foreground sharply in focus works. Execution at the moment is lacking sadly. Need to figure out how to fix the mesh fence but will need to redo all the good work from today. Lesson Learnt.
Essentially yesterday was a pure slug fest in the studio.
Action is better than inaction. Working out grid for fence work.
Solo show by John McMacken
Belfast School of Art Degree Shows were great. Some outstanding work. Nina Johnston’s tree installation on level 6 is amazing. Regardless of levels/grades that many of the graduates are embarking on that’s the really exciting part.
Looking back, I adored my time in university but detested my degree show. All but one piece has been destroyed and it was the start of a huge, and still ongoing learning curve that’s led my practice to where it is.
Meeting in the evening went really well. Some good feedback and ideas for an upcoming project.
Little break from the studio today to recharge from the overload of art from yesterday.
“Frank Bowling - What do Artists Do All Day?”
The beginnings of planning an exhibition layout.
“Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is a strength”
“Dana Shutz: How Do You Depict A Feeling?”
Detail of the removal process.
Bit of start and stop in the studio but fixative giveth and fixative taketh away!
Just spied Grace McMurray’s piece in the Royal Academy documentary.
“Paula Rego: Secrets and Stories” - Great way to start the day!
“Depression is like a crown of thorns”
Dander down to the river with the dogs.
More pushing back on “Sack Race” although I could have easily got sucked into working on tiny details and not looked at the whole picture.
Glazing, Hatching, Cross Hatching, Direct, Sfumato, Painterly, Impasto, Staining, Dripping, Gestural, Broken Strokes, Dotting, A La Prima, Patches, Feathers, Scumbling, Washes, Bravara, Directional.
Sketchbook work.
Knowledge / Creativity / Inspiration
Beginnings / Liberation
Summer Solstice. Pleased with how mesh fence is coming.
Need to let go of aiming to get the little things perfect in the work. Ultimately its holding up the process. Obviously not saying to go full ‘Sloppy Joe’ on it but recognising when things get knit picky - take a step back and reassess time spent on something inconsequential.
Little break day. Sophia Campbell on “Sky’s PAOTY 2019”.
There’s no sugar coating it. Intrusive thoughts bombarding for practically 8 straight hours.
Embarrassing, frustrating but mainly just terrifying. I don’t want them anymore.
It will take time to get to grips with what is going on.
Currently going through potential imagery. I think its good to scan through images from time to time to build up ideas.
Getting to grips with terms and conditions and sorting out a plan of action together.
Painting Peer Critique hosted in CCA Derry.
Artist John Robinson with his work on the temporary stage at CCA Derry.
Close up of “The Lost Woods Study”
Been a while since using leaves to print on. Needs more layers but for now it solves the issue of the line… breaks the eye.
So after four months and four days I’ve finally finished a painting and broke my 2019 drought.
Detail of “Rose” - oil and charcoal on canvas.
First time visiting and it was like opening an old wound.
One very creepy window display.
Great Art show: “Goya: Flesh and Blood”
Started “Sack Race” (working title) and stupidly didn’t check material inventory before starting.
Sketching tonight. Past self was clever enough to leave certain works aside for potential events.
Study of an Uncle.
Really happy with how the studio went today.
Completed “The Lost Woods Study”.
Not to rely on gimmick. It has been an invaluable tool - one that I will continue to utilise - but only when the work demands it. If it is forced (like “Woman With the Dogs” and, more recently, “Ruins”) the work stagnates and imagery drowns in an unnecessarily complicated mess.
Should take own advice from time to time about differing paint properties.
In “Sack Race” - the looser the playing field the better. Almost tempted not to touch it at all.
A sort of closure. A temporary full stop.
Ran out of time. Need to keep RD by side.
Ring-gate.
“I know more. The lack of whats in the current work informs the next.” - Eva Rothschild.
More layers to “The Ferryman”. Because the face of the ferryman is so small it would be easy to fall into the familiar trap of aiming to capture all the detail and likeness of the source image. Focusing instead on light and tone - maybe even a hint of a blur? Like the figure is in the middle of turning to look at the viewer.
Back and forth with “Sack Race”. Happy with certain elements, like the sky but have consequently fogged up other sections in the process. Eager to not fall into the familiar trap of muddiness and over-painting.
More progress to the sky in “Sack Race”.
Late night sketchbook work.
Blocked out “Bereft Clown”.
Found an ogham poster on North Street with an interesting translation.
Vault studios is amazing - especially EMIC’s studio space!
…text to coincide with next solo show…
Studio work today. Thought I was close to finishing ‘confessional’ but it might be further away than I imagined.
“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.
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.
Materials courtesy of the University of Atypical’s iDA award arrived to the studio today.
Need to learn to keep some things to yourself.
See it through. Stay strong and keep head up.
Panic attack today.
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
Moon-rise over Glenshane.
Thought I had a good night’s sleep but my body is telling me different. Need to draw more again.
Getting lost in thought about art is a joy. It’s like taking a mini vacation.
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.
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.
A bit of work done to “Bereft Clown before clearing the palette and studio up for another year.
