‘news from the shed’

Looking at previous posts I realised that I have not written anything for a week, rest assured, I haven’t been slack, just getting on with lots of different things… some painting, sketching out ideas, formulating projects, training rugby (and things connected with the club!), socialising, and even mundane items as paper work for school!!!
Also, someone is interested in purchasing a painting, awaiting feedback on that at moment

‘beachcombers’ acrylic on canvas
Completed and removed masking tape from ‘all day..’ painting. Taken some dodgy photos of it – light is vey poor at the moment with it starting to turn dark by 4.30 pm

detail

detail

Fairly pleased with result; as its part of a series of 6 it should stand up well with the other 5 (as soon as I have finished them!!)

Update on ‘just three words’ series – after posting image last time I have made some headway – although the classic one step forward, two steps back is working its ugly head. Originally, the background was going to be titanium white, when I was about to start I had a change of heart – opted for a sky blue/baby blue, painted it then as you can image, not happy. Out came the sketch book/wall and starting mixing colours. I have reworked the background with a deep mix of crimson with purples, blues and applied this. It kinda works, but I think i shall return to the original white, as I like to create a surface layer or two there’s no real harm done! (image at some time!)

Whilst posting on an artforum, a question was raised about where people paint-my reply was of course in my shed. This apparently is quite common and several postings have been made in response and with pics to. Further posts included how they like to work in their sheds and what they use as tools/equipment – some were very impressive and some were very neat and tidy!!
Then a question about sketchbooks – I have always had difficulty using them, I prefer to work things out on the work itself or scraps of paper/wood/anything close at hand. I have found myself working more in terms of working out titles, colours and thoughts on the walls of my ‘shed’, and was requested to upload some on the said forum, haven’t done so far but I might.
Thought I’d put some up here, excuse the handwriting – left handed and I use a word processor more than a pen!!

Oh, by the way ……………….. off to see the Sex Pistols tonight at Brixton Academy – a little too young first time around!! But managed at some some time to see most of the other bands of that era. give you a review later!!!!!

as previously posted, started a new series of work based on three little words (influence of the Humament – Tom Phillips). Still undecided about background colour, off to have a think…

terrible lighting has meant I need to take the photos again, but here’s the written aspect (close up)

Title: tongue twister. graphite on paper

If you have had the opportunity to see some of my earlier work you we know that I like to use expletives!!
Came across this on my inderweb travels.. shame its over the water, maybe the will transport over to the UK!
I have edited the words for tender eyes!

THE SWEARING FESTIVAL II
back to swear one
Saturday November 10, 2007
main event $12
panel event $5
TICKETS ON SALE HERE
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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10, 3pm, $5 door (no presale of tix for Panel)
Experts discuss HOW THE S***S AND F***S CHANGE THE WORLD
Linguist Dr. Jonathan Hunt
Author and Litquake founder Jack Boulware
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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10, 8pm, $12 door
The Mass Swearing Experiment – A multi-media exposure of us and our mouths.
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A Most Horrible, Vile Oaths contest – Where you get to offload on your personal targets.

LIVE MUSIC from Les Merdes – Sing along to the s**t parade
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Filthy, foreign tongues – Foreign guests educate us on How to cuss your stale croissant? And how to tell the Spanish train conductor, Why don’t you get some f*****g toilet paper on these trains? Other bad languages to feature too.
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Swear Into the Light – Curse torture, sponsored by The Dick Cheney Ideas Group
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The Shite Discotheque Party
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And loads more wrongness….
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Raffle Prizes
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Special Guests
The Swearing Festival explodes it all.

SWEARING

72% of men and 58% of women swear in public.
Swearing takes up 13% of adult conversation
Spock swore in Star Trek 4
One South Park episode used the same expletive 146 times.

Spent a little time last night on the lettering on the painting – now third layer has been applied – being basically a cadmium red base it really contrasts well with the lime background – in fact it makes my eyes go funny (an effect I was hoping to achieve!)
will post image later today – light permitting
other work currently on the go – just three words series – applied second layer of blue, thinking about the background; maybe opt for a white with a hint of colour, or just zinc white, have to a have a think and play.

just a quickie – been working hard this evening and managed to complete second layer of Payne’s grey, no canvas showing through!
Thought as I was on a role would start on the white areas, surprised myself and completed that, again two coats (000 brush).
Still felt on top of it so I have started on the lettering, a base coat of white, usual font; Times Roman style, thinking about which direction I should go in in terms of selecting final colour for lettering, based on lime I thought I might go for a cadmium red… well see as I start playing / mixing about with colour formats.
Also ….
a little taster of future projects: (will post more details in the not to distant future)
‘It’s all ……’
‘just three words’
‘exchanged inspired’
‘the one that got away’

There is just isn’t enough hours in the day!!

Funny, as I was writing the previous post on Banksy, it came up on the news – had camera to hand; batteries running low (see rule 6!) and using sky plus pause button on television in kitchen managed to get some images of the Banksy work. Bloke in one picture is a news reporter.
Several of the public were asked about the latest ‘graffiti work’
Lady 1: I think he’s done one round the corner on the side of a local shop, I think it looks great
Man 2: Saw it last night on way home from work – looks like a worker from the council. Had to get a photo of it this morning
Man 3: I think that it brightens up the neighbourhood and if it winds up tower Hamlets council cant be bad.

Personally I like the idea of the double yellow line going off the road and ending as a griant flower. I don’t think that it demonstrates some of the quality stencils he has previously done.

Artist Banksy ‘captured in photo’

The passer-by believes she may have captured an image of the elusive Banksy
His work sells for thousands of pounds and he is feted by the Hollywood elite, yet the identity of guerrilla artist Banksy remains shrouded in mystery.
Now a photograph has emerged which some people claim could show the reclusive artist at work on a London street.
The photograph, taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, shows a man at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck.
Banksy made his name with stencils and subversive art in public spaces but fiercely guards his true identity.
The photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous, is familiar with Banksy’s work and took the shot as she was passing the artist at work.
The mural depicts double yellow lines veering off a road and up the side of a building, creating an outline of a flower. A stencil of a painter sits beside it.
But like some of his stencils that appear periodically around his home city, authenticating the image as “Banksy” could prove difficult.

The completed mural shows a painter and a flower
While his anonymity has captured public imagination in the artist and his work, it leaves him open to copycats.
A recent auction of 10 pieces of original Banksy art sold for more than £500,000 in Bonhams, London.
He has also become a favourite with Hollywood stars, with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie buying his work at a recent exhibition in Los Angeles.
A possible new piece of his work appeared in his home city of Bristol earlier in the month opposite the Children’s Hospital.
It shows an armed police officer with a child about to burst a paper bag behind him. Hospital workers said they liked the piece.
But in Tower Hamlets a decision has been made to treat all of Banksy’s stencilled artwork as graffiti to be painted over.
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council said: “In this case, Banksy has sought permission from the owners of the privately-owned building for his latest work.
“We do however need to look at the issue of the yellow lines as we have a legal obligation to reinstate the bit of the double yellow lines which has been painted out.
“As ever, priority is given to the removal of offensive graffiti.”

Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, Halloween festivals, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses” and viewing horror films. Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.
The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe’en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day”,[1] also which is now known as All Saints’ Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions,[2] until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints’ Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.
Many European cultural traditions, in particular Celtic cultures, hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent (according to, for example, Catalan mythology about witches and Irish tales of the Sídhe).

To be honest, I have no real interest in celebrating Halloween, but having an 8yr old one has to make the effort! So today I will transform a pumpkin into a piece of art, drape cobwebs and spiders about the porch and open the door to little people who threaten me with plastic tridents and flimsy masks begging for sweets. (do I sound like a miserable old git!)

In years gone by we have thrown Halloween parties – spending two days setting up the flat with some serious latex heads; courtesy of an old friend with contacts.
I must admit to having a devilish time last year when we were bombarded with trick or treat (I must ask why we have this, is it another American import, in my day we never did anything like this, the nearest being carol singing for a couple of quid), anyhow, I decided to play a double stooge on those knocking on my door – I dressed up, wore a latex mask and when I opened the door jumped out and gave a deep scary wail (the idea was copied from a video of a man sitting on a porch and jumping out at victims – so no real original credit there!). Result: a lot of terrified kids, laughing parents and spilt sweets…. maybe, I might try that again…..
But why do we have to be subjected to this trick or treat anyway? One year I put up a big sign across the door – ‘dont bother’ – still the doorbell rang another year, having managed to get hold of a robotic arm, I fed it through the letter box and when someone came to the door, it moved (sound activated and ran a tap recording of eye gauging noises (made by using a fork and a potato just for interest!!)

As I read back this post, part of me says I can’t be bothered with halloween, especially the horrible activity of trick or treat – although JJ will want to go round the neighbourhood and ask for a treat, so I feel obliged to reciprocate. What pressure to conform to today’s society expectations
As for the pumpkin…… sharp knife at the ready
To get me in the mood – found some examples of pumpkin lanterns… enjoy the night!!!!

and this one is my favourite……