RDH: NOVEMBER 2020

01/11/20

Focus required…

…reaching it back to integrity of practice.

Large scale drawings?

02/11/20

Eventual studio time - detail of “Misunderstood” in progress

03/11/20

Great to get imagery into some semblance of order.

“Thinking through making.” - Joy Gerrard during interview with GTG. Watch here.

Some good sketchbook work tonight.

06/11/20

“Misunderstood” finished.

07/11/20

Reusing one canvas and starting another.

08/11/20

…settling back into a new routine… still healing.

10/11/20

11/11/20

IMMA Talk: From the Rego Studio.

13/11/20

Limbo-Land yet again.

14/11/20

Finding it difficult to concentrate with all going on. Just wish that aspects were sorted so that some kind of routine could be adhered to.

Some results but not all.

Detail of “Norwegian Nude” - work in progress.

…giving up the ghost on the little ‘go cart’ piece. It just went stale but that’s OK. It wasn’t the right time.

16/11/20

Some sketchbook work tonight.

19/11/20

Absolutely baltic in the studio.

Studio Shot: 19/11/20

20/11/20

Mostly focused on “Norwegian Nude” today but building up layers on other pieces too.

Left to Right: “Troublesome” - “Shock” - “Norwegian Nude”

22/11/20

Detail of hand in “Norwegian Nude” in progress.

Really good progress today.

23/11/20

BP 158/113

26/11/20

Site update

27/11/20

Really great online talk from the Garter Lane Arts Centre: Chloe Austin in conversation with Matt Higgs, Kitsch Doom, and Ciara O Neill.

Did a few quick sketch of the speakers as they discussed their practices.

29/11/20

…readjust, centre, breathe and focus on what matters.

30/11/20

After having a long, hard look at “Troublesome” - came to the realisation that figure is complete. Nice to leave it loose in parts. It explains what it needs to without having to divulge anything else.

Bit of building work in the background and it’s finished.

Decorations are up and a little winter halo to round off a very odd month.

139th Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition: Virtual Tour

Due to the ongoing restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ulster Museum has rightly chosen to close their doors until such time as it is safer for the public and their staff.

Sadly this means that it will be a few weeks before we can get to see the annual RUA show in person.

This doesn’t mean that we can’t explore in the meantime! The RUA have worked tirelessly to create a virtual experience for the 139th RUA exhibition which you can click through below or visit the Royal Ulster Academy website.

If you want to jump to see where my work is placed you ‘ll find it here.

Special thanks to the RUA and to Paul Marshall to designed the virtual exhibition.

Interview with Reimagine, Remake, Replay Project

On 10th October (world mental health day) I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the folks at Reimagine, Remake, Replay.

We discussed my experience with mental health issues and my artistic practice. I’d encourage everyone to check out the other speakers from the RRR’s Head and Heart Festival here.

Huge thanks to Stephen , Niamh and all the RRR team for making this interview happen!

Studio Visit with University of Atypical

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!

RDH: SEPTEMBER 2020

01/09/20

Power is out.

02/09/20

The Rashomon Effect: When the same event is described in significantly different and often contradictory ways by people who were involved.

03/09/20

I do feel a little stuck with the Crimean Painting. Some sketchbook work - get back to the drawing board.

06/09/20

Death Masks: bottling the soul, bottling the trauma.

08/09/20

Very strange few days. ‘Taking Orders’ painting - just not sure where to go with it. Leaving it aside for now and having a look at adding a recent sketch and incorporating it into an old abandoned piece. The only good thing I can see in the failed ‘St. Lurach’s’ work is that weeping willow to the left. It should stay in some capacity.

Very lethargic for some reason.

Thoughts = NOT A REALIST PAINTER!!!

Lifelike/ reality isn’t what I’m aiming for in drawing or painting. Yes, sometimes a more realistic application or approach is required depending on what the image dictates. EG: ‘GO’K’ works in that it hints at realism but ultimately leaves the majority of the portrait minimal - barely any detail. This is not just limited to composition, but especially colour I think.

10/09/20

Belfast bound.

Saffron Monks-Smith

Stephanie Tanney

So good to get to the MAC for the degree shows from the Belfast School of Art.

‘Confessional’ reopening was great! It’s a show I’m very proud of.

12/09/20

Some good progress on ‘The Voyage Home’. Less is more - even on this scale I think. Suits the image and composition well.

13/09/20

Finished!

15/09/20

Halfway through September! HOW?!?!

Figuring out ideas for next steps and possibilities. Good to get some sketching done tonight. Forgot how accessible sketching smaller than A4 is.

18/09/20

‘The Week in Art’ podcast.

Guston and de Kooning - both developed making works with a ‘formula’ able to commercialise work / work that could be made in their sleep and sell no problem. Both rejected this formula and started again.

Integrity.

‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Mary Ann’ studies - the looser the better.

20/09/20

Detail of ‘Elizabeth Study’ - work in progress

I think I’m coming close to a mini burn out as far as studio work is concerned. Might be good to take a step back, read and research for a few days and see where we are.

22/09/20

Finished the little portrait studies. Really different approach but that’s no bad thing. Started some new canvases.

“Art is a wound turned into light.”

Georges Braque

‘Elizabeth Study’ and ‘Mary Ann Study’

23/09/20

Research - that’s about it.

24/09/20

Some good progress in the studio today.

25/09/20

Got scared very easily.

Sketchbook work.

26/09/20

Five canvases on the go at the minute. Best to focus on one or two at a time. First up., ‘Waiting Room’. It’s been a while from I attempted this image.

Seats / Symbols?

‘The Waiting Room’ - detail

27/09/20

What was light at the end of the tunnel has turned into a dark abyss. Shrug it off and keep going.

28/09/20

Sketching

29/09/20

So the past few days have seen a real drop in productivity and drive. Reasons or not —> focusing on work will help. Taking a mini break will also help. Easy to fall into old, procrastinating habits.

Meaty questions.

30/09/20

Studio all clean and tidy!

RDH: AUGUST 2020

01/08/20

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.

02/08/20

Cleaning and priming.

03/08/20

‘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!

04/08/20

Wee day off.

05/08/20

“Enfield Study” finished.

Watched ‘Apocalypse Now’ properly for the first time. The real animal sacrifice at the end was disturbing.

06/08/20

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.

07/08/20

Lots of blocking in compositions today.

10/08/20

Greenberg vs Read (HANDBAGS!)

Some studio time today. Almost too warm.

12/08/20

Left up “Hotel ‘78” to the RUA today.

Sketchbook work.

14/08/20

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

16/08/20

Nothing the past few days due to another trip to the hospital.

18/08/20

One year to go.

19/08/20

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!

20/08/20

Some good studio time in today.

21/08/20

“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)

23/08/20

“Avarice is the enemy of virtue.”

Leon Battista Alberti

Sketching and mostly failing.

25/08/20

Studio time but nothing too strenuous.

Great to have a virtual catch up with UoA folk!

29/08/20

Trauma is inarticulate.

Some good progress on “But I Don’t Get It”. Still flat in areas but it’s nearly there.

31/08/20

Finished “B.I.D.G.I.”

Life After Art College

A few days ago I put up a small post congratulating students from the Belfast School of Art for reaching the end of their degree show and graduating from their respective courses. There was quite a response to it so i thought it might be worthwhile expanding on any advice for life after art college. Take any following advice onboard with scepticism as there never is a one size fits all approach.

2020 was an end of year unlike any other with no shows amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown still in place (although it’s great to hear that students will get an opportunity to display some of their hard work in the MAC later this year). Even taking the current crisis into consideration, there seems to always be an uneasy feeling of ‘what the hell now’ especially after building up to the third year climactic degree shows.

Degree show - 2010

When I graduated in 2010 I was in the lucky position, along with others from the ballroom painting floor, to already have a studio set in place. For the first year post art college I didn’t lift a brush and instead applied for jobs to keep me in Belfast as going home to Mid-Ulster was to me a sign of defeat (I now know this is not the case and you can set up shop anywhere and still feel part of the art scene in the big towns and beyond). In that first year I spent my free time clearing out the inches of dust gathered in the attic space of 99 North Street which eventually became LOFT studios, an open planned studio space where artists with all kinds of disciplines sometimes worked on the same table! We gave each other advice, pulled together resources, moved furniture up three flights of stairs for events and basically worked alongside and on top of each other. This sense of communal activity was like the ballroom in many ways and made the transition a little smoother.

Our last ‘Drink and Draw’ event in LOFT before leaving.

In 2012 I made the decision to move home to the countryside but still refused to give up my little corner of North Street, sometimes travelling 3 - 4 times a week to paint and often sleeping in the studio to get work done for a show or just to feel close to the action. Eventually you and your peers move on to bigger and better things and the building is no more (demolished in 2016) but in those five years of helping to run LOFT on a shoestring budget and getting back into my own practice, I really learnt a lot in terms of sustaining a practice, what I really wanted to say with my work and keeping your head above water when things are stacked up against you.

Studio in 2020

Since moving my studio out to the sticks, my work has (hopefully) developed and I have been able to dedicate more time to my practice.

So that’s a brief snapshot of my years after leaving. Now onto the advice - in no particular order and notwithstanding current lockdown limitations:

• If you don’t make work for a while - that’s OK. There can be a pressure to plug on and if you feel like you should then more power to you. Just know it is OK to take a step back and reassess priorities for a while. This has also happened to myself recently; I was beating myself up about not being productive and it only had a negative impact on my practice and state of mind. BREATHE!

• Read - Watch - Learn Education doesn’t stop after graduating.

• Take a look at formed studio groups and consider applying for studio space or band together to create your own space. There can be strength in numbers but If you can’t that’s OK. Make time to clear a space in your home that you can dedicate to your practice. If you don’t want it to then it won’t be your last studio.

• Reach out to artists who you admire in an email. You could be surprised by a response.

• Apply for shows and cater your application/c.v. for each opportunity - depending on the criteria required. Try to keep C.V.s clear and concise and your keep updating your artist statement to what you’re doing right now.

• experiment with new things - keep what you were doing in uni going by all means but don’t be afraid to stretch out, learn and expand your practice.

• Volunteer with arts organisations / galleries / become a member of Catalyst Arts and take a look at Visual Artists Ireland. The latter will help keep you informed as to what is going on in the galleries from one place.

• Go to as many shows as you can and see work made from other disciplines - and not just from your floor! Artists supporting artists is a wonderful thing. Sadly there is still a feeling of competition among artists but we are all on differing paths with very different goals. If you see an opportunity that isn’t quite right for you but may be for others, SHARE IT!

• Keep in touch with your uni friends as many will be on the same boat - help each other.

• Keep a journal - everyday write down what went on, little notions, doodles - lists/goals. Writing things down is the first step in making something tangible.

• Online presence is becoming more and more important. Consider investing in a well built website and keep your artistic social media posts professional (private stories excluded).

Once again congratulations on reaching your final year. It may not have been the ending you envisaged but it is only the beginning and ultimately you have the reigns.

RDH: MAY 2020

01/05/20

Finding a new normal.

02/05/20

…so not just images / maps / diagrams but also fears: nightmares.

• Where are you?

• What’s your date of birth?

• What’s today’s date?

• Do you know why you are here?

• Who is the Prime minister?

• Lift both arms

• Push against me.

• Follow my finger.

• Any dizziness? Nausea?

A face in the clouds.

…cover the eyes.

05/05/20

VAI’s café: So good to see what Cecilia Danell is up to in lockdown.

06/05/20

Tried drawing. Didn’t go well. It’s going to take longer than first thought to get back to creative work. Super frustrating.

11/05/20

Head is so sore today. Silver lining: Jerry Saltz’s “How to Be an Artist” arrived today.

12/05/20

• …avoid little voice neigh-saying in your head. All topics are valid.

• utilise R.D. more.

• …with found imagery, find and explore that connection to your own experiences.

• You never stop learning or looking for new ways to work.

• Sharpen observational skills. Draw from experience.

Over-analysing? Maybe.

BBC4 LIFE DRAWING LIVE

“A work of art cannot depend on explanation” - Jerry Saltz

14/05/20

Really enjoyed the webinar from VAI with CCA’s Catherine Hemelryk

INTEGRITY!

16/05/20

National Drawing Day. Really good to sit down and just draw today. Did a live-stream where I set up a still life and a few people drew along.

17/05/20

John Berger is always a good read.

18/05/20

Sketchbook work

19/05/20

VAI café

Orla Whelan: existential questions - preoccupation with death. Philosophical exploration.

Another little bit of late night sketching.

22/05/20

The virtual opening of the Catalyst Members Show.

More late night sketchbook work.

24/05/20

“An artists’ job is to reflect the time we live in.” - Nina Simone

26/05/20

“Using line to make visual texture” - Fiona Rae on Dürer

“Race to the Bottom” detail.

27/05/20

28/05/20

Started teaching my dad how to stretch canvas as I can’t at the moment.

Apparently I have the same birthday as Edward Hopper.

30/05/20

Canvas projecting.

31/05/20

Early morning reading.

“At root, truth to painting is truth to light.” - Juliam Barnes

RDH: APRIL 2020

01/04/20

A day of cleaning.

02/04/20

Enjoyed doing the live stream for Atypical today!

04/04/20

“Inside Man” starting point.

“Titian: Behind Closed Doors”

Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ - The ethics of looking.

05/04/20

Not sure if attempting “The Ferryman” on this scale is the right move.

The falling boy: “Full of Grace”.

Blocking.

Some really good progress in the studio.

06/04/20

Commissions

“If your art doesn’t reflect your family and community then what’s the point?”

Dale Harding - Tateshots

07/04/20

Happy anniversary JG!

Applications.

Never rains but it pours! Buckets needed.

08/04/20

“Full of Grace” coming well. Would like to incorporate ultramarine blue - hint to the Virgin Mary in there (via the window).

Very funny search for a protractor.

09/04/20

Farcical.

Eventually got to painting after helping with a birdbox.

Birdbox with slated roof

"Full of Grace" finished

10/04/20

Should have been “Confessional” exhibition’s natural end.

11/04/20

Such a battle with “Inside Man” at the minute. Struggling with that balance of realistic approach and the drawing mark.

It’s been a while: “I AM NOT A REALIST PAINTER!”

12/04/20

13/04/20

Not overly happy with the finality of “Inside Man” but best to finish up now before I properly overcook it.

14/04/20

All but finished another painting. It’s very strange times indeed.

15/04/20

“Circular Lapse Study” - detail

16/04/20

Six hours and I’m pretty much no further forward than when I started. Going to have to take a completely different route to accomplish this. It would help if I had a goal in mind. Detailed vs Out of Focus. In between? Trying to tackle the green slab all at once isn’t working.

17/04/20

Back to drawing basics turned to mush.

18/04/20

One step forward and four back.

21/04/20

Little talk with VAI’s online café went well with really nice feedback on work in progress and the studio set up.

22/04/20

Meetings.

23/04/20

Some really good painting put down today.

24/04/20

Need to box up and send off!

25/04/20

Reset. Breathe.

26/04/20

Looking. So important. Doesn’t mean you can’t allow for spontaneity or randomness in the process.

“Ferryman” is finished!

27/04/20

A cartwheel with no floor. CT Scans reveal right-sided skull vault fracture and subdural haematoma. Off to Royal Victoria Hospital.

Avulsion fracture to right wrist.

30/04/20

Out of hospital. Time to start recovery process.

"Confessional"

Solo exhibition at the University of Atypical Gallery.

Photography by Simon Mills.

RDH: FEBRUARY 2020

01/02/20

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.

02/02/20

The last palindrome day for another 111 years. Damn rugby is distracting!

“No Remorse” - background building up.

03/02/20

Parcel.

06/02/20

“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

09/02/20

Detail of body - “No Remorse”

Using storm Ciara to aid in the drying process.

10/02/20

Submission started.

Mobile installation?

11/02/20

…might be a little out there. Will sit on it for a while.

“Laziness is a sign of mediocrity.”

Voltaire

15/02/20

Visit by Jane and Hugh.

Victim / Perpetrator / Both

linking current work.

17/02/20

All pieces are wrapped and ready to go.

21/02/20

Slight change of plan.

23/02/20

Sketchbook work tonight.

25/02/20

Nerves are shredded already!

26/02/20

Work is on its way.

27/02/20

Well that’s it! Install complete I’m really happy with the exhibition and now it’s a waiting game for the opening.

29/02/20

Louis Fratino on Talk Art podcast.

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.

Solo Exhibition at University of Atypical

Very happy to be displaying work in the University of Atypical Gallery for a solo show that is opening for Late Night Art Belfast on the 5th March.

Below is the text to accompany the exhibition. “Confessional” runs until the 10th April and there is an “In Conversation” event in the gallery on Saturday 21st March. All welcome

RDH: DECEMBER 2019

01/12/19

semiotics

02/12/19

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.

03/12/19

“Gaugin - A Dangerous Life” on BBC IPlayer

“The work of a man explains that man”

- Paul Gaugin

04/12/19

Sketchbook work this evening.

07/12/19

Really didn’t get as much done as I should have. Started commission though which is good.

08/12/19

So I now own a car!

15/12/19

A very tough week. Frustration at zero creative output. Filter and breathe.

16/12/19

… 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.

17/12/19

Some more sketchbook working out tonight.

A very foggy night

20/12/19

The welcomed return of lists - getting things straightened out for the first time in a long time.

21/12/19

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.

28/12/19

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.

29/12/19

Less Flaky Would Be Good.

31/12/19

New Year’s Eve Poker Night and Rogue isn’t having a good run of cards at all.

RDH: NOVEMBER 2019

01/11/19

… good job I checked…

Sketching today but no joy. How to move past this?

02/11/19

A good tidy up in the studio. “H” going well.

03/11/19

Helping Jan with some wire-wool spinning experiments.

11/11/19

Recording today and some solid sketchbook time. It’s so important. It is where ideas form and lay roots.

15/11/19

“Long years of secrecy have turned their faces into masks.” - not sure where I heard this from.

16/11/19

Detail of “Helen” - oil and charcoal on canvas.

“Helen” finished up.

17/11/19

Consciously hold back images.

EMPATHY

22/11/19

What am I doing?

24/11/19

Sketchbook work.

25/11/19

“The Art Advocate” podcast - episode 8 is live!

28/11/19

Bizarre

Delighted to have been commended in the Moth Art Prize 2019!

29/11/19

“Real painters understand with a brush in their hand.”

Berthe Morisot

Need to try and make one little hour of creative work each weekday.

30/11/19

What a difference a boiler makes!

Episode 8 of the Art Advocate Podcast

Delighted to have been asked to sit down and have a chat with the wonderful Fiona Stewart for episode 8 of the Art Advocate Podcast!

Huge thanks to Fiona for inviting me to her wonderful studio for a chat and definitely check out previous episodes as well as keeping an eye out future podcasts.

RDH: OCTOBER 2019

01/10/19

“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!

03/10/19

Umbrella destroyed by storm but the opening of “Bardo” was great. Great support from friends and a wonderful text written by Gemma Murphy.

09/10/19

“Sress is the killer of creativity” - Jamian Juliano Villani

Good sketchbook session tonight.

11/10/19

Doodles to burn.

12/10/19

‘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.

17/10/19

Placed…

The prodigal ipod returns after nearly a year missing.

19/10/19

“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.

20/10/19

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.

24/10/19

Couple kissing under a dark sky.

Geometric lines turn from canvas folds to forks of lightning.

Portrait with slightly opened lips.

26/10/19

Joy Gerrard

Zoë Murdoch

Ciaran Harper

Alana Barton

Cornelia Parker

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.

Troy Michie

Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.

‘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.

27/10/19

Little visit to Fiona Stewart’s fabulous studio to be recorded for an upcoming podcast.

30/10/19

Applications.

Text for "Bardo: An Unknown Country"

Below is text written by Gemma Murphy that accompanied my solo show “Bardo: An Unknown Country” in the Ards Art Centre. Huge thanks to Gemma for her kind words and research into the exhibition.

Gemma Murphy

RDH: SEPTEMBER 2019

01/09/19

More work done to “The Ferryman”. I think it’s lost any painterly charm.

02/09/19

‘Arena: Kusama Infinity’ - such a great artist!

“While the dead show dead art, living artists die.” - Yayoi Kusama

Hope springs eternal.

05/09/19

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.

Mark Mcgreevy at the MAC

Mark McGreevy at the MAC

Cameron Morgan at the University of Atypical

Yvonne Keenan in the Golden Thread Gallery

"Off the Rails" exhibition in Belfast Exposed

Sp0re: Psychedelic Laughter in Platform Arts

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.

06/09/19

“Ferryman” is unusable.

07/09/19

Finally finished the middle panel from the originally conceived “Pioneer” triptych. Think it stands on it’s own merit.

"The Forgotten" - detail

"The Brown Bull of Cooley" - detail

More progress to the the ‘Cooley’ piece.

11/09/19

Sketchbook work tonight.

12/09/19

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?”

15/09/19

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.

16/09/19

Wonderful article about my time up at Action Mental Health.

17/09/19

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.

19/09/19

21/09/19

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

22/09/19

Finished little panel piece.

24/09/19

Quarantined.

28/09/19

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.

30/09/19

Collection of work for “Bardo” show tomorrow morning.

Action Mental Health Talk and Workshop

On Thursday 5th September I visited Action Mental Health in Newtownards to give a talk and run a drawing workshop ahead of a new solo exhibition opening in the Ards Art Centre next month. In the talk I spoke about my work and how my own experiences of mental health issues relate and continue to be drawn into my practice. The feedback and the discussion from the clients and staff there was amazing and I want to thank everyone involved on the day.

AMH has written a wonderful article about the visit here.

“Bardo: An Unknown Country” preview will be from 7pm on Thursday 3rd October in the Ards Art Centre and aims to raise funds for Action Mental Health.

This exhibition has been made possible by the iDA award from University of Atypical which is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.