Late & Early in the Year

a bunch of drawings, I'm struggling to get my head around.

Trying to work out  how they read, how they connect.

all are potential compositions on a fairly large scale.

"The Jaipur Express"

Based on a musical composition from my son Aydin. also containing a lot from my own experience in Rajasthan.

a rickety steam train coming out of the pink city, quite slowly and cutting across the dried out fields.

This is ready to be painted quite large, but before moving on, needs a covering of similar, but different colour variation.

"Supernatural in Trees"

Design for the website covering that specific topic.

Ephemeral beings that may or may not be there.

It could be tarted up and solidified on the laptop and to straight onto the website.

Or maybe not.

"Onomatopoeia"

The background for another music post on a web page.

as a draughtsman, the problem was to fuse the three elements, not specifically into one, but at least to make them read smoothly across the board.

I think I have the colour chart worked out, but the big job is sort out a tonal balance.



drawing converted to giff image, then superimposed on a collage background.

"Pipe Dance" (at Standing Rock)

Mainly derived via google of dancing Sioux Indians, with the odd slogan and as many spears and tomahawks as I could comfortably fit in.

a solitary Joe

The colour chart on the side, is an alphabet of hues that I thought I should be able to apply to the painting.

Near enough as high-lights.

"Dog"

Taken from a watercolour doodle, but now taking the form of a 2.D. papier- mache relief.

It seems to follow on from the scorpion I made from tree branches at the side of the drive at Shipping Hill.

"October Strings"

Put together from half a dozen doodles, plus added sketched information images of various string components in this composition.

With added colour from one autumnal photograph, containing a tree within trees.

"Light the Blue Touch paper"

Following various Facebook discussions With Alan Morris in particularly adlibbed format.

These two doodle sketches specifically attempted to illustrate the verbiage, which I cant at present find.

"King Phil & Queen Will"

 a lost poster/painting for two old friends which actually got parceled up, then lost.

Taken and inspired by/from some medieval ironwork.

Originally "hacked" in an etching type way, now digitally "smudged"  

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In eternity, it is always ten to two. The perfect time for all watch adverts.

reseting my return

From around Christmas at the Hill

Stand for the new stove, I had to inch it up stone by stone

the first deity from on top of a Chinese pagoda

deity two (of course in an unfinished state)

rebuilding the end of the bath

Smart Post

Well, back at the Hill, in fact back in the Boars Head. Which seems to have settled as an eatery , has local people and tonight local management.
Nice to have a wi-fi connection - the idea of coming here one early evening a week is relatively appealing.
And, I seem to be back on the blog connection.

Goblins Hot Ding Time

Certainly fitting into the " possible worst worst job in my life" category.

 

On leaving art college in 1974, I felt that I ought to get a taste of real life, after spending the summer as a postman, then a fair period hitching around the south of France with Barbara Young. I decided to take on the real world.

 

Bob Meecham and I worked in a vacuum cleaner factory, working in the aluminium foundry. Smelting. I was alright for the first three hours each day. I could think about things - take my mind off the immenent dangers, unfortunately abject empty boredom took over.

 

There was a tannoy system that went off bong bong bong in a crescending scale of notes. Bob and I decided to take it in 15 minute shifts to note down each and every message, it kept us in touch with another world. Our foreman who should have been called Tommy, came over to me one day and quietly said "I don't know what you are up to but for Christs sake don't get caught".

 

I bumped into Richard Butler in the canteen a couple of days after he had been there. Another finished at art college enforced labourer. " When I came in for the interview, they asked me what I wanted to do. < something menial > I replied. (might as well make it easy for myself) Little did I know what I was setting myself up for".

 

 

Phil Gray worked there as well, in a much more advanced capacity - actually sticking the machines together. Him and his mates used to call the "hoovers" - well, you have to annoy the management, don't you?

Songs for Aydin

Songs for Aydin.

These paintings were produced as kind of illustration to music that my son was making, often as a cover for each piece.

Strings Section

All the strings

Electric

Four acoustic guitars

four wild acoustic guitars

string quartet

another string quartet

An Italian section

Town centre

Bahia

Castle

Pillars

All the above images were mainly painted in ink onto photographic paper.
As soon as a mark was made, that's where it stayed, touches of slight improvement weren't part of the deal!

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Why do I make Stars?

Why do I make Stars?



A blog on why I should write blogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h7WZtZgszc
Caravan, who do you think you are?

 What's the point?
(what's the point of anything?-nothing matters)
When you boil it down there is no point to anything!
I suppose my answer to this is simply "DO IT AND DIG IT"
Along the lines of
If all paths lead nowhere - choose a path with a heart.
Maybe for me it's a kind of work process, maybe a kind of therapy.

It's a good chance to stop "that" life from slipping away.
You don't have to spend all your time in the present, the past can colour it.

"you don't have to spend all your time in the present, the past can colour it."

It's amazing how" sod bustin can focus the mind on not sod bustin ".
I suppose it's kind of anti Buddhist in a Buddhist kind of way. Along the lines of - -
Don't get hung up about being or doing in the present moment which in itself is a distraction.
I fear total immersion in the present could be too much of an escape from the past and all it holds, not just the good bits. Embracing it could be informative in terms of how you deal with situations emergent.
You are what you are and your past as well_ constant rebirth is difficult.
Although I do believe I am a pretty on the spot kind of guy.

For instance, I have just built a garden for my son. It is nearly finished and I realise that I haven't logged it from its own very messy beginnings, I didn't take the before and after snaps. A year down the line and I may find it difficult to believe just how bad it was!

How I superficially run my blogs :
Posterity / Legacy & the smaller angle.
A catalogue of events.

I suppose I do it for myself, but it's nice to share it with others.
Of course you write / compose / paint it initially for yourself - but even thinking selfishly, it does clarify it to express it in readable terms for others, and brings out other un~thought of aspects.
"it's easy to please your self, but harder to please others "- from a foundation lecturer.
Hardly cemented philosophy, but there again aren't there always five sides to every coin?

Putting stuff into a blog sandwich can detach you and in a sense give you :
Hindsight,
Lateral vision,
The eyes of a friend. (because you are portraying it for someone else)

Dealing with long stays in India and Turkey, I have used blogs to mix words, drawings and photos to put together a rounded anecdotal summary of my times there. Following the problems involved, what with correlating the mass of information, making it chronological and readable. I'd love to take an opportunity to work with a short project putting it together in a complete format. Catalogue it to the best of my present ability. Especially involving the restrictions of a blog. Thinking along the lines of Sgt Peppers in that four track discipline, whereas if there had been more technology available, maybe it could have become a little over mashed!

Keep the diary, but this makes it a journal /scrapbook /sketchpad.

Why do I make stars?
~ A picture about "God" getting bored of creating universes. Which I suppose you would do if you had been doing it for ever (what ever that is) ~

How immortal are blogs? when will they fade away?

Emergent Work Early Spring 16

Emergent Work Early Spring 16

Mostly on the Achilles Shield Theme

some more finished than others

A promise in May

The first City.

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