All kinds of awesome

Hi! Wow, I didn't realise until I looked at the date of my last post just how long it's been since I wrote something here. Also, that last post was really whiny wasn't it? Ok, so if neither of those things has put you off and you're still reading this, let's have a nice fun, moan free blog post! I promise to only talk about cool and awesome things in this post, and post lots of nice pictures too!

So, as promised in my last post, here is the painted version of the "Future Mars" image I also did a version of on Photoshop. As you can see, it's a mixed media collage style piece, which I quite like the effect of, but I might also try a purely painted version as well. As I said before, I haven't done any painting in a really long time, so I was pretty pleased with the results of this, although I consider it more of a "sketch" than a finished piece. The sort of texture in the sky was created because there's actually a layer of newspaper under the paint, which gave a really nice effect I think - I think the depth it sort of builds into the image without adding loads of layers of paint.

Ok, now onto awesome thing number one - I now have some studio space! For the very reasonable price of £25 a month (most studio space is normally about x5 that!) I have some room in a flat above a hire plant shop. The flat is pretty run down, but there's running water, a pretty good amount of room, plus other artists to hang out with, some of the time, and some of the time you have the place to yourself! Pretty much perfect! I have been kind of inspired to do more painting after this effort, which is the main thing I've been doing there since I got it. I've also been inspired to do more painting because I keep discovering awesome abstract painters on Saatchi Art who make me think "that's so like my work, only painted not photography!! I could totally do that too!" Here's a couple of my favourite recent examples:

WHITE by Ana Devora

I like the absolute minimalism of this one, with just the faintest hints of newspaper print underneath. It made me realise that sometimes less is more with abstract art - I might try some really pared down, single colour images a bit like this.

Maritime blue by Christian Hetzel

This one could really be one of my photos of the side of a boat. I'm going to enjoy trying the figure out how to replicate those scratches and worn areas in a painted surface!  So, watch this space for some results of this sudden burst of painterly inspiration soon!

Awesome thing; the third. I recently put in an application for a residency at a local art centre. I haven't heard back yet whether I've got it (and probably won't, as they seem to want slightly more established artists), but in making the application I had a bit of a breakthrough about how to take my work forward. I really want to have a go at making some of the themes of my work really explicit, and perhaps try to bring them to life in a gallery setting - so maybe investigate the unconscious creation of the marks in my pictures, and the idea of "unseen/ unknowing collaborators" (phrases I've been using about my work a lot recently in applications, and an idea that really intrigues me, I now realise). I'm not sure how exactly I would do it, but it would definitely mean moving away from traditional media and maybe moving more towards installation and even performance art. Basically I want to somehow involve members of the public in the creation of my works (like they do out on the streets with my photos, y'see?), but I also somehow want to figure out how to make it a random or unconscious contribution, so the idea needs a bit of work. However, I think it could be a really exciting new direction for me, and I also think it might be the kind of thing that a contemporary gallery would really go for as an interesting exhibition, so even if I don't get this residency, I'm going to keep working on this idea and will submit it to any other opportunities for which I think it fits.

Ok, well there's many more awesome things to discuss, and I REALLY will try and get back sooner with them, but for now I'll leave you with one final awesome thing; a new product I'm working on for my upcoming return to the art fair scene; stickers! Here's a few of the little details of my images that I am planning to get printed out to sell with sticky backs. 

  
 

Am I tempting you?

The Chosen Few Pt 2

Well, that was hardly soon, but I am back! As usual, way more to tell you than I probably have time for, but I'll try and squeeze in as much as I can!

OK, so first to deal with those topics I mentioned in my last post. First I'll wrap up this whole "chosen few" thing. So, yeah, basically, this is something I'm discovering about the art world, and I think it's kind of a rubbish thing. It just feels like the art world is a pretty elitist, snobby and unfriendly place, where those lucky few at the top who get all the attention/commissions/prizes/exhibitions whatever, are very reluctant to help or even interact with those further down the pecking order. A recent example; an artist I just discovered on Saatchi Art, whose work I think is AMAZING, but also very much like mine except in paint, and is very successful, didn't bother to reply to my very effusive email or the friend request I sent her on that website. Just a small thing, but it kind of bugged me, and I do remember thinking to myself after I looked at their website "Wow, they've had loads of exhibitions, I bet they won't get back in touch with me, they're so successful!". And my pessimism was correct. Anyway, that's a small thing compared to my next complaint. As I think I mentioned before, I went to a talk by a successful London based art curator, who has been responsible for putting on loads of big shows and working with lots of famous artists. Her advice about approaching galleries? Well, it was pretty depressing. I don't think she meant to do this, I really think she was trying to be helpful, but the basic message she sent out was "Curators are busy people, artists are always trying to get to meet them, you're really kind of an annoyance, so don't bug them too much". OK, I'm exaggerating for effect, but that really was the effect what she said had on me. Let's examine a fews key things she said:

1.Don't just send in work unsolicited to galleries, you need to build up a personal relationship with a curator if you want them to show your work.
2. On the other hand, don't expect curators to have time to talk to you at opening evenings, they are there to promote that artist's work, not talk to aspiring artists.
3. When an curator gives a talk, that's a good time to go and introduce yourself, perhaps by dropping into the conversation that the work they were talking about inspires you. (Yeah, I thought. Go join the line of all the other desperate aspiring artists all keen to compliment your talk, as it is the only opportunity they will have to meet you, and you only do it every few months.)
3. Most of the artist's they work with are people they've worked with before, or have been recommended to them by those artists or other curators.

So basically, she built up this picture of a really closed circle of elite artists and curators who all work with each other, and who don't want to be disturbed by us mere mortals, because, y'know, they're really busy doing ART! This talk kind of depressed me, as you can probably tell. Also, in my mind at least, confirming this theory, I didn't get into the Open West show. I sent in £42 entrance fee just to be considered, so these guys are happy taking money of us mere mortals, just not showing our work. (Incidently, I partly did this because the curator said you must enter shows, because even if your work isn't selected, at least it gets seen by a curator. Great. £42 well spent then.)

So, as you can tell, I'm a little fed up. But I'm not gonna let that stop me! I know I've had a problem in the past about getting one rejection and then going home and feeling like setting fire to all my work, because it must be all rubbish, and I know that to survive in this business, I need to get more resilient. And you know what? Like I said before, I am honest with myself, and I really do feel, deep down, that my work is good, so that makes me stronger. Now I just have to figure out how to convince all those people at the top of the food chain about that!

Right, well I am actually off out to go see some art now, in the form of the "Diagrams" show at the Holden Gallery, so I have to dash. Actually, when I first conceived of this blog I intended it to be a lot more about going to see other artist's work as well as my own ups and downs, and actually I have recently gone to see several really cool things, but as usual, it will have to wait until next time!

Ok, in the meantime, as a counterpoint to all that doom and gloom, here's something new I've been working on. It was initially in response for a request for work for an exhibition on the theme of "Speculative Futures", which I may or may not still enter - the deadline is tomorrow.
My inspiration, as a Sci Fi geek, was the question that's been on my mind a lot lately, about whether we will ever colonise Mars. (There was an awesome programme about this on the BBC recently, plus the "Mars" trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, that deals exactly with this issue, are some of my favourite ever books). I was thinking - would mankind at this moment make a good job of colonising Mars, or would we be destined to make all the same mistakes we do here on Earth? So this piece kind of came out of that. I made it from photos I took all within about a mile radius of my flat, so if it looks Mars like to you, I'll be pleased!

"Mars Future?"

Actually, this piece raises another issue I'm struggling with at the moment. Can something made entirely in a computer be hung on a gallery wall as "Art"? This piece does look a bit "Graphic Design-y" for want to a better expression. If I had more time, I might have printed it out and painted over it. I did make another version as a painting, which I'll maybe post next time. It's the first painting I've done in ages and I'm about 85% happy with it. But maybe splashing a bit of paint around is what my work is lacking at the moment, at least in the eyes of those that make decisions about these things....
OK, running late. More soon(isn)!