RDH: SEPTEMBER 2021

02/09/21

Organised ‘used imagery’ away into respective folders.

04/09/21

Acetate transfers onto canvas.

05/09/21

King Farouk onto pyramids? … GREEN LIGHT!

Quitting while ahead today but so far so good.

06/09/21

Scanning.

07/09/21

Such a mover! Beyond happy and proud and excited for things to come.

08/09/21

Some good groundwork done on the two smaller pieces.

09/09/21

Sketchbook work.

11/09/21

Tidy and apply sort of a day.

12/09/21

“Painting as an act of assembling different references.” - Ralph Rugoff

Finished “Saint and Sinner”.

13/09/21

Excited for VAI Get Together ‘21.

14/09/21

A long night of scans, and resizing drawing works.

15/09/21

Layers and layers, back and forth. Named due to facial expression.

18/09/21

Long shift in the studio but finished “Unimpressed”. Front hand is rough but if there was more done, it could ruin the whole piece.

22/09/21

… relished in the relationship between the paint mark and the drawn line - their harmonious and, at times, antagonistic tendencies.

Good bit of progress to “Rex Aegypti Penultimus”.

Applied and a waiting on.

25/09/21

<— This will be tough!

A nice couple of hours in the studio today. Pushing and pulling on “R.A.P.”.

26/09/21

Really good live chat with Clinton Kirkpatrick on Instagram. Nervous but thought it went alright.

28/09/21

Sketchbook work.

Huge congratulations to Array Collective for opening their Turner Prize exhibition. Everything is crossed!

30/09/21

Wake me up…

RDH: JUNE 2021

03/06/21

Canvas stripping, stretching and some sewing experimentation.

04/06/21

Priming canvas is such a messy business!

05/06/21

Once the work is made, build bridges to your audience.

Artists need to band together!

Anne Imhof - finding refuge in the blur.

Sketched up new canvases.

06/06/21

Easily worked up - relax.

09/06/21

Finally getting round to cleaning garage and setting paint out. Asked if I’d like to be featured in a takeover. Chuffed!

Bit of a mixed bag in studio today. On wooden piece, that image just sucks you in and spits you out! With the large canvas started (‘Man Digging’ - working title) it’s quite a forgiving composition and palette working well so far.

10/06/21

“An archive of emotions”

Dr. Kate McLean

Didn’t get shortlisted.

11/06/21

12/06/21

Reading group outside this morning.

13/06/21

Some good, solid progress today.

16/06/21

So grateful to be included in Paint-Tube Dublin by Louise Wallace.

Sketchbook Studies

18/06/21

First vaccine received today!

19/06/21

Work on small portrait today - title undecided as yet.

‘The Eternal Bride’ myth.

22/06/21

Memory is forgetting.

A little mid-week push.

23/06/21

“A Brush with … Julian Opie”

So so close to finishing “Moon Boy”.

24/06/21

Some good sketchbook work this afternoon. Looking forward to getting to Belfast tomorrow.

25/06/21

Great to get into the MAC shows today, sadly didn’t have time to get round anywhere else.

Ambera Wellmann

Maya Balcioglu

Jaap Pieters

Will have to wait another little while for rings.

26/06/21

Studio time!

“Moon Boy” finished!

30/06/21

Ballyliffen

RDH: FEBRUARY 2021

01/02/21

My display for Firstsite’s “Great Big Art Exhibition”.

Blessings this morning.

…it’s not animals.

02/02/21

Parcel from Trebuchet

04/02/21

Good sketchbook work tonight.

05/02/21

Some paint down but not much.

07/02/21

Trip to the Derry Vaccine Centre.

08/02/21

Sketchbook work this evening.

10/02/21

Fingers crossed.

11/02/21

Rookie mistake so sketchbook work instead.

13/02/21

Less doodle and more noodle.

15/02/21

Great news!

16/02/21

Need to make a point of getting into the studio tomorrow.

17/02/21

A lot of scraping and pushing around paint to “Washing of Hands” piece. It may be, for right now, I’m forcing works that are stagnating. As solid as they may be compositionally I feel at a loss with where to go next. Could be why I’m drawing a hell of a lot more lately - looking for other avenues?

In any case it felt great to move paint about for the first time in a while.

18/02/21

Fully intended - FROZE - self-doubt.

20/02/21

Self actualisation - making real of the inner self.

22/02/21

Back to work!

…little more interactive.

23/02/21

…collapsed. Postural hypotension.

24/02/21

HBKA!!!

25/02/21

“Titles are an extra brushstroke”

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Clarification

27/02/21

Poor … way too much going on at the one time.

Reading round is back! So happy to see those faces!

Little bit of self-doubt still here. If I try to force it, the doubt seems to grow roots. Flip side of that is that you can the self-doubt can stagnate and you can then avoid going into the studio all together.

GET IN BUT NO PRESSURE

Bleached out several canvases on a spur of the moment this evening. I think starting again / fresh thinking is the best option. Out with the old.

28/02/21

Well, completely cleared the window piece. Aiming to start Spring with a spring in step so I’ve drawn up few pieces and see where they lead.

RDH: JANUARY 2021

03/01/21

‘sub cruce salus’

… too simplistic or is it hard to get ideas across?

04/01/21

Need to leave site.

05/01/21

Elevator pitch: use personal and found imagery to explore notions of trauma, memory and experience. (13 words, 83 characters)

imagery with personal connection - greater impact?

large scale drawings = link between sketchbook and canvas.

06/01/21

FORM —> CONTENT —> FORM —> CONTENT …

Can you distil the feeling of an image?

Play with gesture.

…adding just for the sake doesn’t cut it. Integrate if it adds to a message.

07/01/21

Hillsborough

08/01/21

Growing uncertainty in other areas is just leading to this “deer in headlights” feeling.

09/01/21

Lists are all well and good but to get making again ; that’s what it’s all about.

“Shock” looking good thus far.

10/01/21

Passionate about painting / drawing and interplay between the mark-making of both processes… juxtaposing imagery. How do they sit together?

11/01/21

Still have to show though.

12/01/21

Detail of “Shock” - finished today - Oil and Charcoal on Canvas

13/01/21

“As an artist you leave a trace of yourself.”

- Mira Schor

Magnets came and work a treat!

Sketchbook work: 13/01/21

16/01/21

A little slow to get in today but four canvas pieces off the starting block which makes up for it.

18/01/21

21/01/21

…in a jar for the day.

23/01/21

Forgetown Bridge

25/01/21

Sketchbook work

27/01/21

…days just melting into each other.

28/01/21

Not one but two zooms this evening.

29/01/21

Some surprising paint down today. Loosely does it.

Detail of work in progress.

30/01/21

Cold.

Sketchbook work this evening,

NOTE: Check out the music of Nadine Shah.

31/01/21

One clean palette and one sore head.

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.

RDH: OCTOBER 2020

02/10/20

Prepping studio for visit

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

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.

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.

21/10/20

New York Times: Rabbit Hole Podcast

(create intrigue)

22/10/20

“Silence is Golden” finished.

24/10/20

Surround Sound!

26/10/20

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

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

Sketchbook session

30/10/20

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.

○○○

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!

RDH: JUNE 2020

01/06/20

Clarify your eye.

Mixed what was left on the palette after 7 weeks of caking. It produced this gorgeous black / green hue perfect for the large canvas. Dad gave me a hand to clean it as I only have one at the minute.

02/06/20

In two minds but some good ground work. VAI café now with Alan Phelan and Ursula Burke.

UB: Being a witness to what has been happening.

UB: Bridging the gap between antiquity and the contemporary.

AP: John Joly Photography method

03/06/20

Hospital appointment: I can take the wrist support off!

Painting again. Very very rusty but such a nice feeling to be standing in the studio again.

Detail of fracture

…there are areas that work really well (the transparency of the plates in the skull). Painterly approach. Pretty much the rest is just clunky and stale.

04/06/20

The following quotes are from ‘Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics’ by Herschel B. Chipp:

“The source of all inspirations. Whether the artist works directly from nature from memory, or from fantasy, nature is always the source of his creative impulses.”

Hans Hofman - on the topic of nature.

“…a synthesis from the artist’s standpoint of matter, space and colour. Creation is not a reproduction of observed fact”

Hans Hofmann - on the topic of creation.

05/06/20

Mucked up.

06/06/20

Built up layers on two smaller pieces. They are at that stage when there is something missing - limbo.

‘Circular Lapse’ was in that place until the overlapping discs were added. Patience.

07/06/20

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”

Salvador Dali

Put the brakes on today.

08/06/20

Detail of ‘Jester’ drawing

New projector at long last. It doesn’t move an inch!

09/06/20

Got to using a brush at the end of a bamboo cane like Matisse used to.

“It was in me like the rhythm that carried me along. I had the surface in my head.”

Henri Matisse - on the use of bamboo tool

Visual and bodily. Some good progress today.

Detail of “Beatrice Study”

10/06/20

Troy Michie Talk Art was very good.

Detail of "Beatrice Study”

Finished “Beatrice Study” but paid the price; head is banging. Am I doing too much too soon?

11/06/20

Well today was a write off. Spent several hours at the Royal in Belfast looking for answers to the pounding head and the potential CSF leakages. Feels like recovery has taken a step back by a few weeks.

13/06/20

Trebuchet magazine has arrived and some updates to website.

15/06/20

Slept in.

Would love to visit the Christo and Jeanne-Claude covering of the Arc de Triomphe in October 2021.

Studio time feels a little panicked for some reason. Settle the head.

Now I.N.A.R.P. but I think there comes a level of pressure when you are personally and emotionally connected to a person to try and capture them as they once were. Settle the head and shake it off!

Well - you do get days of going backwards. Pre-mix before committing?

Cinematic tropes to frame personal trauma - à la Roxanna Halls.

16/06/20

Close up of “Back in my Day”

Really early start. Seems to have worked - finished “Back in my Day”. When in a certain frame of mind I seem to work quickly. Time is something I have in spades at the moment. Have probably over-painted areas (hands) but best leaving it as is and moving on.

17/06/20

Drawing and tonal work to “Race to the Bottom” - working title.

A homemade multi-brush handle.

18/06/20

…any shout of a practical day in the studio has disappeared. May be a blessing in disguise though as it’s probably best that I don’t spend every day standing in the garage through this recovery period.

20/06/20

…in terms of “RttB”, washes are or will probably key to keeping the action / immediacy of the figures alive.

Really pleased with how some of the facial work turned out today and I think the differing tones of navy/blue/grey will work.

22/06/20

2pm start - better than not starting at all I guess. After a few hours of frustration it was decided to just omit the second figure from the left. Eventually made more sense compositionally - balancing out the tumbling ensemble.

Removal of a figure

Need to be careful.

23/06/20

Different perspectives - slightly out of focus.

Am I too picky?

Sketchbook work

Over six hours of really solid drawing time today.

24/06/20

Two canvases primed. Focus vision and work on that one element. It isn’t a race.

25/06/20

Before I literally wipe the slate (palette) clean - could I use those silky black colours on the large canvas? Probably shouldn’t have got up at 5am. Eyes are rolling in head and its only 10:16am…

…waiting on a phone call. It was 47 minutes later than scheduled and on the phone call they decided to reschedule and to expect a phone call next week…

On third wind now but thought it best to call it a day before setting out the stall entirely.

‘A cup of clarity from the clarity flute.’

Eye detail - in progress

26/06/20

Unified the sky of the large canvas with a thick thick covering of velvety black paint. Pushing the oppressive sky downwards closing in on the running figures. Claustrophobic.

Now, learn from previous over meddling mistakes and move on!

Michael Armitage talk from Brooklyn Rail was fantastic! Got to ask a question too!

27/06/20

Studio Shot: 27/06/20

Really need to sort out a decent sleeping pattern.

28/06/20

Charcoal work today and not much else. Notes and revising for a presentation.

29/06/20

Very very close. Addition of the poppy. Centuries ago, the poppy was known as the witch’s flower. This is where the Irish for poppy comes from as ‘cailleach dhearg’ translates to ‘red hag’.

30/06/20

VAI Show and Tell: Northern Ireland addition. Delighted to have taken part.

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.

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.

2019 in Photos

JANUARY

Rearranging office space

Alana Barton exhibition in the Black Box, Belfast

Studio shot with works in progress

Beginnings of "Lost Woods Study"

FEBRUARY

Detail of "Ruins" in progress

Looking over the Lagan

MARCH

Bright day in the studio and re-purposing failed works

Adding text?

I popped the question and she said yes!

APRIL

Aimee Melaugh's wonderful show in the Glassworks, Derry

Leaving work in the RHA to take part in the submission process

Francis Bacon's studio in the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin

Visit to the Royal Academy, London

The National Gallery, London

Rousseau's Tiger in the National Gallery, London

Tate Modern, London

Peter Doig in the the Tate Modern

Self Portrait by Bonnard in the wonderful exhibition in the Tate Modern

Tate's new extension with a Franz West piece in the foreground

Doris Salcedo at IMMA

Jan with Jasper

MAY

Visiting the CCA Derry/Londonderry

Very disturbing window painting

"Ferryman" and "The Bogland Sackrace" in progress

Close up of "The Lost Woods Study"

JUNE

Taping up "The Bogland Sackrace"

Christopher James Burns' "Limbo Land" in the MAC, Belfast

Rogue at the River

JULY

Macro shot of painting skin

The smallest brush I own

Ballydugan Mill, Downpatrick

Wonderful show about Cindy Sherman on BBC Arena

AUGUST

Siblings

Sleeping Dogs

Prepping works for transit

SEPTEMBER

Mark McGreevy at the MAC, Belfast

Detail of painting in progress

Work by Craig Donald in the Goose Lane Gallery, Belfast

Still of 'Midsommar' - one of the best films I've seen this year

OCTOBER

Installing Bardo in the Ards Art Centre, Newtownards

Sandra Robinson solo show in the Ards Art Centre

Wonderful gift from Action Mental Health at the opening of Bardo

Ipod has returned!

Projecting images onto a new canvas

Visiting the RUA exhibition in the Ulster Musuem, Belfast

NOVEMBER

Fresh paint

"Helen" in progress

DECEMBER

Photo experimentation with Jan

Fog filled nights

Surprise gift wrapping

Detail of a commission in progress

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.

RDH: MAY 2019

03/05/19

Painting Peer Critique hosted in CCA Derry.

Artist John Robinson with his work on the temporary stage at CCA Derry.

04/05/19

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.

05/05/19

First time visiting and it was like opening an old wound.

11/05/19

One very creepy window display.

12/05/19

Great Art show: “Goya: Flesh and Blood”

Started “Sack Race” (working title) and stupidly didn’t check material inventory before starting.

Studio shot of "Sack Race" in progress

Close up of "Sack Race" with sawdust applied.

17/05/19

Sketching tonight. Past self was clever enough to leave certain works aside for potential events.

Study of an Uncle.

18/05/19

Really happy with how the studio went today.

More depth put into "Sack Race".

Close up of a dripping shadow

Started work on "The Ferryman".

19/05/19

Completed “The Lost Woods Study”.

20/05/19

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.

21/05/19

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.

22/05/19

Ran out of time. Need to keep RD by side.

23/05/19

Ring-gate.

25/05/19

“I know more. The lack of whats in the current work informs the next.” - Eva Rothschild.

"The Ferryman" - detail 1

"The Ferryman" - detail 2

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.

Surprise / Confrontation / Acknowledgement

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”.

27/25/19

29/05/19

Late night sketchbook work.

RDH: FEBRUARY 2019

01/02/19

Slight change of tact…

02/02/19

03/02/19

Some tonal work on “Bereft Clown”

05/02/19

Lagging behind.

06/02/19

Applications submitted.

09/02/19

DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to … etc etc.

How do you combat this?

“Discipline is key" - JG

Break the cycle by physically setting time aside for practice. Depending on the day of the week and other commitments, the type of productive work will differ.

10/02/19

Cleaning the palette

12/02/19

One good sketch is better than not drawing at all.

16/02/19

“What’s for you won’t go past you.”

Reworked pattern and colours on clown today.

17/02/19

Great to get painting today albeit a little later than I would have liked.

Counting works - didn’t realise there were so many!

23/02/19

Belfast. Great to see the last day of ‘The Question of Feeling at Home’ in PS² - curated by Moran Been-Noon. Bonus to get a run down from Moran about the show and to see Cecilia Bullo’s work in the flesh! Been excited to see it since her talk in the DLR LexIcon last year. Next was a visit to Belfast Exposed for the ACNI collection show with a solo show by Linda Conroy in the upstairs space. Conroy’s work is disturbing and utterly absorbing at the same time. Removing notions of the individual from religious ritual resonated with me personally. Then it was on to ‘Porous Plane’ by Lennon in the Golden Thread Gallery. The sheer scale and vibrancy of the work was immense. In the information leaflet it says that “no knowledge is required to enjoy the beauty of these paintings” and that Lennon “invites each of us to find ourselves and arrive at our own inclusions”. Leaving room for the viewer is something I’m particularly keen on.

Lastly onto the wonderful ‘Alternate Perspective’ in Platform featuring work by Aimee MeLaugh and Karl Hagan. Both reflect on ‘memory, people, places and trauma’. The grandeur of history painting coupled with highly personal and intimate narratives. Wonderful painting exhibition.

"Deconstruction, Reconstruction"

Sarah Smith

PS²

"Third Space" (detail)

Cecilia Bullo

PS²

ACNI Collection

Susan MacWilliam (left) and Peter Richards (right)

Belfast Exposed

"1942" and "1948"

Linda Conroy

Belfast Exposed

"PECH MERLE FUGUE//AL13 MM VII x" (detail)

Lennon

Golden Thread Gallery

"Alternate Perspective"

Karl Hagan and Aimee MeLaugh

Platform Arts

25/02/19

Project profile submitted.

27/02/19

It’s the journey not the destination.

28/02/19

Nearly into third month and nothing really to show for it. Plenty of works in progress but not enough progress being made.

RDH: JANUARY 2019

01/01/19

Mountain walk with Jan and Rogue.

“I think of drawing as a way of getting information and really learning to understand imagery.” - Cecily Brown

Anna Bjerger has a corner filled with ten years of old books / magazines. There’s usually nothing new but it’s about looking at imagery time and again to see if anything jumps out.

OLD IMAGERY RECEIVING NEW CONTEXT.

You need to have a genuine feeling for an image.

02/01/19

Two large canvases. Diptych idea?

03/01/19

05/01/19

Found in a car park.

Nothing done is also nothing ruined.

06/01/19

10/01/19

If it is to be it will come again.

London is happening in April. Can’t wait!

11/01/19

Idea for a painting: “The To and Fro of Indecision”.

Sketchbook work tonight. Looking at old paintings from second year in University.

12/01/19

Boiler suit

If you look a little longer you will see things that have always been there but not in the same context as before. I’ve started looking a little closer at drawings that have been transferred onto acetate and pairing them off with others that I normally wouldn’t have previously.

13/01/19

Christening + St Lurach’s ruins. This is the biggest canvas I’ve tackled in a long time.

“Organised Forgetting”

Paint went well today - generally just blocking so it’s not too tasking. Colours - light v dark. Which elements of the image come to the fore and what fights to be heard.

15/01/19

Meaningless vote.

Chris Ofili’s “No Woman No Cry” - canvas rested on 2 heaps of elephant dung covered in a transparent resin.

Sculpture ideas - photos stacked like a house of cards. On panels?

Pyramid.

17/01/19

Trip to Newtownards and Belfast today.

The Ards Art Centre

The Ards Art Centre’s Georgian gallery space is stunning! So much light! Really interesting work by Katrina Cobain on show.

Stunning work by Alana Barton in the Black Box.

Great opening of Vault show in the Golden Thread Gallery’s project space.

Pauline Rowan’s photography was the stand out work for me in the latest instalment of Golden Thread’s “Dissolving Histories” series.

19/01/19

20/01/19

Really struggling to get motivated.

The act of drawing has stagnated. If you cut off the source how do you expect the river to flow?

Even working on other imagery (drawings) when painting something else is bound to have positive repercussions?

27/01/19

Took a while to get going. Not really focusing on one task but I think that’s good sometimes.

A little experiment

28/01/19

Been thinking a lot about potential sculptural ideas recently. Give it a whirl?

29/01/19

Sketchbook work

30/01/19

“Shooting the Darkness” documentary on RTÉ was fascinating insight from photojournalists who were front line witnesses to some of the most horrific atrocities during the Troubles.

RDH: 01/12/18 - 31/12/18

01/12/18

Blocked out “Bereft Clown”.

02/12/18

Found an ogham poster on North Street with an interesting translation.

Vault studios is amazing - especially EMIC’s studio space!

04/12/18

…text to coincide with next solo show…

08/12/18

Studio work today. Thought I was close to finishing ‘confessional’ but it might be further away than I imagined.

09/12/18

“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.

15/12/18

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.

16/12/18

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.

17/12/18

Panic attack today.

21/12/18

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

22/12/18

Moon-rise over Glenshane.

Thought I had a good night’s sleep but my body is telling me different. Need to draw more again.

26/12/18

Getting lost in thought about art is a joy. It’s like taking a mini vacation.

27/12/18

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.

29/12/18

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.

30/12/18

A bit of work done to “Bereft Clown before clearing the palette and studio up for another year.

RDH: 01/11/18 - 30/11/18

02/11/18

… all but done…

03/11/18

Do I need a foreign colour? “Afore the Stoop” went in a slightly different direction than first thought. I think I had that quote by Helen Johnson still ringing in my ears about imagery possessing different surface qualities and being on different registers on the same picture plane.

The buzzard is still; hovering overhead while the still-life is in flux. Melting in on itself. To not just merge separate imagery on the one canvas but to treat them differently via technique. I’ve done this regularly in the past but never to this extent before and definitely not on this scale. There’s loads going on: blocked areas, melting, washes and burning/corroding of the surface for texture.

“Confessional” is a different beast altogether. It’s going to be a slower process - building up washes of colour, drawing elements back in followed by more washes until it comes to an end or a crossroads. So far so good. It’s not really a colliding of images. It’s the notion of what a negative of a pattern could do to another image.

Refreshing to see organisations opening doors. The model is being altered.

04/11/18

Kept hearing the shrieking of a buzzard every time I went to work on “Afore the Stoop”. When I looked it was perched on top of the tallest tree at the end of the lane and then glided off.

06/11/18

Some sketchbook work. Not a lot of time but that’s my fault.

09/11/18

HELP!

10/11/18

For studio work: cautious steps or daring leaps? Annoyingly close to finishing “ATS”.

Submission writing hurts my head.

11/11/18

Films to watch:

‘Deer Hunter’

‘Inland Empire’

‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’

’Kill List’

‘Enemy’

‘Fruitvale Station’

‘Green Room’

‘Silence’

Finished “ATS”. Still bits that annoy but for the sake of not destroying it entirely, I don’t mind the imperfections.

Help has been indispensable.

12/11/18

Still waiting on magazine.

13/11/18

Egon Shiele Documentary - transcending the idea of the body as beauty.

15/11/18

Nothing.

16/11/18

Belfast bound for curator talks but looking forward to visiting some galleries first.

Jane McCormick’s “Not Half Right” at the University of Atypical was absolutely amazing. Insanely strong drawing and sculptural elements.

Nikolaus Gansterer in the MAC International 2018

Ali Cherri in the MAC International 2018. His work was the stand out work for me.

Curator talks as part of Belfast Open Studios from Visual Artists Ireland offices. Speaking at the event: Nora Hickey from CCI in Paris, Ika Sienkiewicz-Nowacka from CCA Warsaw, Dean Brierley from Caustic Coastel in Manchester and Anna Ciabach - formally of Monopol Gallery in Warsaw.

17/11/18

Work is being used as an example to show other artists about finding your own voice. Chuffed.

…someone has been keeping an eye on my progress and that is something!

Another trip to Belfast for more galleries and then a Speed Curating event.

Gerard Carson’s “Submersible Extractions” in Platform.

Patrick Colhoun at the Golden Thread Gallery.

Still of Barbara Hammer’s work at the Golden Thread Gallery exhibition.

Layout of the ‘Speed Curating’ event by VAI held in Belfast Exposed.

18/11/18

It has been a hectic but brilliant few days. Yesterday I called into Platform to see Gerard Carson’s “Submersible Extractions” and a solo show by Dryden Wilson. I followed this up by a quick look at the Barbara Hammer exhibition and Patrick Colhoun’s project space work in the Golden Thread Gallery. Then it was time for the speed curating event at Belfast Exposed.

… do research. What artists i admire….

…Strange. Nothing negative. Just nothing.

A lot of information. A real painter?

19/11/18

“In Defence of Representation” essay by Tristan Garcia.
In western philosophy the representational object is either a copy, a sign or a duplex.

“… according to the semiotic model, there is no representation without signification, that is to say without interpretation.” - Tristan Garcia

20/11/18

“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” - Screen (1973)

“The Victim” - Saul Bellow

21/11/18

Tried sketchbook work - failed miserably.

23/11/18

Projection onto fog screen.

Beaver Moon.

24/11/18

Thunderchild?

Line of connection between viewer and work - GO’H

Ask the question: what do you see?

25/11/18

Yesterday I eventually got painting around lunchtime - back and forth with ‘Confessional’ but progress made.  Great talk with GO’H about ‘the gaze’.

Leaf blowing.

27/11/18

Need to select paintings for Framewerk Christmas show.

28/11/18

“The Trouble with Painting” - ICA (YouTube)

“What you’re interested in in the world will feed back into what you are interested in as an artist.” - Alison Pilkington

…speaking about dreams, a quote from Alison Pilkington’s drawing seminar from the RHA really stuck out.  I’m paraphrasing here but the guts of it is this:  talking to people about why you make the work you do (or about your inspirations for that matter) is like talking to people about your dreams.  People aren’t overly interested when someone else describes a dream.  It’s subjective and personal and it’s all but impossible to get the experience across properly.

Sketchbook work.

29/11/18

A difficult few weeks to come.

"Procession Study"

The image from Procession study takes inspiration from a still of the 1964 film “The Masque of the Red Death” which is based on a short story by Edgar Allen Poe of the same name. The film is dated and garish but does have some interesting visuals.

Still from “The Masque of the Red Death” 1964 film.

I first explored this image in 2017. In my sketchbook (above) I pared the image down to the three component parts; land, sky and figures and ignored nearly all detail. It was then projected up onto a large canvas. Below is the reveal of the figures once the background was applied.

Sadly the painting didn’t go any further and I set the image aside until recently. I decided to do the opposite of last year’s attempt and work on a small study with the figures facing the other way. The sky soon became convoluted so it was then pulled back to neutral tones.

“Procession Study”

Oil and Charcoal on Canvas

©2018

Studio Shot: 03/09/18

A shot of the studio with two large paintings in progress. Left: "Afore the Stoop" Right: "A Manifold and Truly Glorious Strife".