The dance floor at Knossos

 (The painting) remains as still juggled back and forth - but I am confident in a kind of doubtful way.

I see it almost as three dimensional chess
A grid work of activities with nooks and crannies that disappear backward also containing activity.

http://www.art-3000.com/picture/?iid=71353

I realise that it follows on from a painting made in the mid eighties that was stolen from me by an aggressive lawyer in Cardiff, who took it to compensate for money owed to him by a friend of mine.
I was just about to give it to a "good home" belonging to Gill & Piers Morgan in Canton.
It was entitled "big day out" and comprised mainly of people blowing musical instruments from various openings and balconies in a kind of large public building.

(in this painting) there are a few concurrent themes and stories.

There are the onlookers - situated in various vantage points. "The Muppets" springs to mind with the old fogies discussing acts from a balcony.

There are the TWO acrobats - performing in the middle of things, egging things on as it were.



There are the wallflower men, semi dancing under the "arches" in the background.

(to come)

And the two lines of dancers that line up to make contact. This can happen within the whole time frame of lining up to actually making contact.

The "jiving can happen at both ends of the lines and the lining up and partner assessment in the middle on both sides of the acrobats. In fact, to each end it can get more and more anarchistic.



Knossos is a Tapestry.
Over the years I have been collecting both dancers and audience.
Basically from a linear standpoint, albeit with a touch of tone thrown in.

On reflection this canvas has been constructed hanging next to a complex Rajasthani embroidered rug /tapestry.
Without realizing, it has influenced me tremendously.
Its eidetic nature
and mosaic formation of five basic colours with added highlights. Reflecting hot, dry lands in earth colours. Its geometric constructed composition binding it together.
I have decided to use these very same colours in the same kind of intermixed pattern defined only by light and dark tonal areas.

The lost painting, well, actually stolen in Cardiff. Originally painted for the Brekon Jazz Festival, back in the 80's



Assassins, Guardians & Armageddon

Its almost like the wind up game being played has Armageddon as in it's final sight. This is not a definitive post, I'm trying to find out where I stand on these present Middle Eastern matters - where I stand on a platform that maybe isn't my own.



I was walking home with my dog, soaked in the pouring rain. I was kind of o.k. because I'd had a couple of cans & I was going home.
I passed what used to be a large Kindergarten & now is a Shiek place, obviously used communally, though not necessarily, particularly, religiously.
There was a space in the entrance that I decided needed a guardian. Maybe a large, six foot high and fairly wide relief in ebony effect with a sword and crouching (ready) in some way.

I got home, lit the fire, opened another can and banged out my guardian idea as soon as I could before it left me.
I finished it, sat back & thought "its not bad" & left it alone for a short while. On my return - I realised that it wasn't a guardian

that I had produced, it was an Asasin. 


20-11-15,
If I became radicalised, where would I want to hit? (Personalised) me personally.
or/
In my area, which are the best targets? (Because I know them)

http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/The_Creed

I wasn't sure how to spell it and looked it up in a dictionary with a couple of surprising results:
Assassin
One who undertakes to kill treacherously.
Fanatical sect of the Ismali Muslims at the time of the Crusades.
Founded by " The Old Man of the Mountains"
(Hasan-Ben-Sabbah)
[Arab. hashshashin, oblique pl. of hashshash - hashish addict]

Keeper, Defender, Protector,
Angel, Spirit watching over person or place.

So, I had another go.

Anyway 

- so the Western Alliance see themselves as the Guardians and Da'esh as the Assassins, is it? 

With the upcoming world stage being anything out side the Caliphate, or is it inside?

Armageddon

 PLACE WHERE THE KINGS OF THE EARTH

ARE TO BE GATHERED TOGETHER

FOR

"THE BATTLE OF THAT GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY"

(Rev.16;14-16)



The Temple

edifice dedicated to the service of God.

place in which God resides.

of the Tabernacle

curtained tent containing Ark of the Covenant

which served as a portable sanctuary of Jews

during their wandering in the wilderness.

of the testimony

evidence, statement made under oath or affirmation.



in heavens was opened.

15:6

And the seven angels came out of the temple

having the seven plagues,

affliction, esp. as divine punishment

pestilence.

clothed in pure and white linen,

and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

belt or cord worn round the waist

something that surrounds.

7Angels with Vials.

A great voice came out of the temple saying to the seven Angels "Go your ways & pour out the vials of the wrath of god upon the earth"

Which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. - into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.



The Lake & other stories.

My copy, unfortunately, the shine on top of the varnish doesn't do it any favours!

 

A month ago I decided to knock out a bunch of large pictures instead of painting on old cupboard doors and the like, and bought a large roll of canvas.
So far I have only painted three (sometimes life gets in the way) with two more are ready to go. I decided to paint mainly known themes, along the lines of straight through from start to finish stuff.

The 1st was from a water-colour of old Ankara that I produced in 1990 in Turkey. The aim was to get the vitality that I had achieved with thew/c - always a hard objective to achieve as it is easy to produce a stereotyped, predetermined and comparatively flat statement.

I feel I succeeded!

The next was a canvas that was bursting to come out and I felt it pointless to impose any restraint on myself.
Entitled " Autumn comes but once a year" and was informed by a doodle from a simple collage and the actual colours from said collage. Again, I suppose, pretty straight through, containing many of my own characters, emerging without pre-thought during that cider fueled doodle. - 
Followed by a copy of "The Lake" by Kandinsky.
I decided that it was my favourite picture when I started to learn to paint in '71 in Epsom.

One of the photos in art books, all vastly different!

 

I have a strong feeling that it still is.
I should have done this copy more than forty years ago.
I have made it as realistic as I could - from a small image in a small art book.

The next painting in which I aim to change a bit-there is an area of "flat people" I am unsure of - bottom left. I mean to replace them with something else - any suggestions?
I love Titles especially imaginative ones which dont neccessarily convey a specific message.

( although it will probably end up as a horse rider!)
Another Kandinsky, which will be "after" the original - " Glass Painting"
What does "after" mean?
I believe that what Ive seen as "after" means the "copying painter's" version of the original picture rather than a faithful representation.

The other canvas I am working on is a step further in The Achilles' Shield series, which I seem to think I've finished, then something bigger seems to crop up!

colour/rough layout for the on-going canvas

link to: http://umphries.blogspot.co.uk/p/achilles-shield.html

On looking at this blog, I realise it needs a fair bit of updating!
(see above statement)








  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn comes but once a year



 

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My mate Kandinsky

And a couple of little numbers that have caught my fancy at present. I think I may copy one - to go on a wall over a large dark blue settee.

 

 

 

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Return to the edge

I originally started painting this as one of a series of pub signs, with a place in Digbeth - more of an art centre than pub though.

Over a couple of years, it seems to have moved on though!

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours.

If not the best, certainly one of the best things I produced during my foundation course in 1970.

It kind of got missed.
I liked it and enjoyed making it - but didn't feel it was important enough to push forward.

It could have been spotted.
I could have been pushed in "that direction"
& I could still be pushing chicken wire into various shapes.
  - Mind, come to think of it, I wouldn't mind making a flock of imps and gargoyles in 3D (with chicken wire)

The thing was two strands of chicken wire, joined together, twisted with pliers and then fixed to an old felt notice board.
It originated from a cartoon box from the Beano. I re-drew it, cut it up, stretched and distorted it - then transformed it into wire.

My tutors were waiting for a complete explanation of the process and maybe a bit of why(?)
They felt it didn't follow through clearly enough.
The problem was that I didn't have the will or ability to follow it through from start to finish - in terms of verbiage.
I suppose I felt that if you couldn't read or follow an obscure message, then that was your problem.

The start of the existence of "evidence lead work"
As oppose to the production of an item, followed by an explanation of how and why it came about.

On hindsight I name the piece "neighbours", seeing as the cartoon was about a little guy being bullied by his enormous neighbour over the garden fence.

p.s.
In contemporary terms, the fact that the construction is made out of fencing material follows/fits into the system which informs production of art and its tick box presentation.

Audience

 

A volatile post to make - it has seemed to have a mind of its own.
I'll try to put a bit more on it later.

Maybe a collection of scrappy notes
Maybe not just a way of presenting work or even storing it and archiving it.

But also presenting it
for myself,
Grouping it from various sources,
in order to make sense of it.

" Chairs to view an exhibition from"
From the Green Street Show 2007, With Peter Hadfield.
Actually, there is a painting of his in the background of people at an art opening (not looking at any of the work - just networking)



Finding that themes can come back again
  (or around, depends on which way you look at it).
It's interesting to note how the viewpoint can change,
(or not ) with time.

From an original idea of mine which I still intend to build one day.
Following the nature of the show, Peter suggested we just build it as good as we could for now with the materials available.

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The realisation or re-realisation that I'm interested in "audience" started with the "Rock Dog" picture and then with the Yehudi Menhuin Triptych.

 

 

Rock Dog left



Rock Dog right

The programme seem to be playing up a tad, although it will allow me to type this in. These first pictures are from the painting I sent to Nick South, I painted them this summer after a trip to see him in London working on recording a sound track for the upcoming cartoon "Rock Dog"

 

 

 

Other parts

An audience of two

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Following this panoramic image, I came across an old piano front which I felt would make an ideal home for a similar painting, only in triptych format .

 

Yehudi



 

 



 

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Collecting up all the background notes and sketches informed me that although they were aimed at a larger goal - it seems many of them could have gone off in their own direction.

 

Other parts of the audience at the Royal Albert Hall (note the red carpet)



 

 

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