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?