same as it ever was...

I am in pain after yet another long, late night stint in the painting studio...we are really pushing to get our work finished and of course this requires dedication and perseverance...we got what it takes however and there is a group of us who can be found at any given time of the day or night, chained to the easel, paintbrush in hand. Without being overly dramatic, of course...

As you can see, there has been quite a few changes on the big one- I'll update the previous blog post which has the progressive photos of this painting- but you may have noticed but I have actually rearranged the order of the panels by swapping the ends- the middle remains the same, but it has brought a very different dynamic...I discussed this idea with my lecturer and after doing it, we both agreed that it gave quite a different visual experience...I think also now with the addition of more yellow, white and blue, the painting really seems to be gelling together. I get the feeling that I'm on the right track with this one and that I may just pull it off yet. My lengthy discussions with my fellow students, in particular John the Generalist, who has been an indispensible help with giving me another informed perspective, have helped greatly toward getting this beast in the bag...

I havent posted pics of this one in a while, i guess because I havent done much on it recently but in the last week I have felt the need to lay down more paint...this is one that I'll continue to overlap layers on to build it up...I like how it's going and it staying true to my original sketches I made when I was in the plane on the way to sydney... Thats it for right now, not sure when I'll post again due to having eight million things to do for school but I'll certainly post new developments as they happen...

The Mechanics of Desire...

This is an update one to show where my big picture is at- as of Friday the 18th of May and to give a better look at the collage elements that I havent shown before...

After hitting the picture with some clarifying white, I had some room to breathe, so to speak and to be able to contemplate my next move. I had an idea at some stage I was going to strengthen the yellow and really start to unify the picture but I didnt know exactly how- that was always going to be something that I would tackle in the same way as I have all the other issues, when I came up against it, a solution would appear. So now I move on to the next stage, to continue to resolve and complete the picture. As always I'll continue to keep posting the progression on this blog- stay tuned...

These pictures below illustrate the collage elements that run across the bottom third of the painting...I am contiuing to build this up but this gives you an idea of what it looks like. As a visual device, it is designed to act as advertisements ar supposed to and draw your attention in. I chose things that I found amusing or mildly offensive and manipulated others, as the advertisers do, for my own purposes. Have a look and see if you recognise any stuff, Im sure you will, if only purely by virtue oof the fact that the average person sees an average of 3000 brands, logos and advertisements in a single day....

Enjoy and remember to keep checking the blog for progress....

This is what you want, this what you get...

Sooooooo...the kick to overdrive is beginning- well who am i kidding, its stuck on overdrive alot of the time these days, but when a lecturer said on wednesday, ever so casually "Well at the end of this week, theres only three weeks until you have to present this!" whilst pointing at my big painting which I continue to wrestle with...As I was saying in regard to overdrive, the last week I have been working between the painting room and the spray booth. Bouyed by recent sales of my stencil work, i have been working on the big painting, then dropping the brush, grabbing my mask, gloves and cans of paint and then heading into the spraybooth to pu layers on new stencil paintings- This goes on all day and eventually I feel like i am getting somewhere...The only catch here is that the stencils aren't part of any of my course work, but still it helps to keep me sharp for my brush paintings, so not a bad thing.

Also, Friday night I had the pleasure of catching the Tooth and Nail Print Cult show. I've been getting invited to the Tooth and Nail Shows since the opening and this was the first show I have been able to get to and I'm glad I did...Featuring new work from Jake One Holmes, Josh Searson, Kerri Ann Wright,Jayson Fox and Jake Two Bresanello aka the Print Cult, I gotta say its awesome to see these guys really on top of their game. The work was top notch and if that wasn't enough, if you brought a blank tshirt, they were doing a live tshirt printing and so you could walk away with a ginuwine bonafide souvenir- and in the Tooth and Nail Tradition of giving til it hurts, they did it for all comers completely free of charge. Adelaide needs more people like this crew, getting it together and just doing what they do because they love it...as the print cult sez- Print make every day!!! Anyway, enough of those uber talented kids and back to my own endeavours...I have been producing more stencils as I was saying and as is my habit, I thought I'd whack some photos of my new stencil stuff in progress...

This one isnt too far off now- its looking rather vortex like and has quite a nice feeling of movement to it...

This was a stencil that I was still cutting but I just thought it looked finished and decided I would paint it. In progress, more photos to come.... Anyways, I'll try and post the latest photo of the big painting as well, if I can be bothered...Peace.

Standing on the edge, looking down.

So here i am now, standing back and looking at my painting...when brett whiteley painted "alchemy",he said there were points where he began to question his sanity. I think I understand, to a degree, what he meant. The abstract painting process to me is a constant puzzle, a chess game- i am always working to move ahead and to find the next handhold as I ascend the mountain that is my painting. The research that I do before and during a painting is integral to my work and provides me with the resources that i need to continue to build the painting. One of my original ideas for the structural basis for my paintings comes from the International Style of Architecture- One of the foundations of this style is the principle that the building has an internal support structure of evenly space columns which do all the load bearing leaving the internal space open plan with the ability to divide the space with walls in virtually any configuration due to the fact that they have no structural role...the external walls are also freed of any load bearing also, meaning that you can pretty much hang whatever you like on the outside of the building- hence the towers of glass which are so common today. My painting style works in a similar manner, I lay down an internal structure which then allows me to put whatever I like over the top of it. I have been playing with these ideas for quite some time and this is the first time i have applied it to a surface this big. I too have found myself standing in front of it, trying to figure out if I am actually losing my mind. One big difference is having the painting in a bigger area where I can actually stand at distance and really get a sense of where the painting is going- you can see this when you look at the pics. So, here before you is a step by step breakdown of the evolution of my big painting...it is still in progress and is moving toward completion but looking at these photos in sequence you can really get a sense of it coming alive.

This is where the painting is right now. Prior to putting on the last coat of white, i had begun to feel a little lost and despondent- that was when the painting was in its second to last photo state. Then on friday, I read and re read picasso, rauschenberg and perhaps the one painter whose writing has continually spurred me on whe Ive been feeling down- Mark Rothko, in paticular his quote that says- "The most important tool an artist fashions through constant practice is faith in his ability to produce miracles when they needed." So Friday, I required a miracle and following some stretching and some meditative moments, considering the painting, i loaded my brush and produced one.

The hardest working man in show business...

The other night I was a volunteer at the Helpmann Academy's annual fundraiser shindig after having my work accepted to be in the silent auction. It was of course a roaring success with lots of people pitching in to help fund the likes of me in my artistic endeavours. I was lucky enough to have all three pieces sell in the silent auction- two stencil works and a hand coloured screenprint of Italian cycling maestro- rightly dubbed the King of Kings, Fausto Coppi...I will at some point write an actual post on him alone, such is my interest- maybe closer to Tour De France time, a race he won twice. It was a pleasure to meet the people who bought my work, being able to explain what it is that I do and have people show their appreciation. If in fact any of these people are reading this blog, once again I thank you for your custom and hope that you enjoy owning the works- They were made with a decent injection of the usual blood, sweat and tears. Stay tuned as more work is to come and if you ever want more, contact me and you can see what Ive been working on.

I have said to some friends already that it was weird seeing my work leaving without me. You get so used to putting paintings back in your car and taking them home that when you dont, it seems very strange. A little bit of separtaion anxiety, perhaps. With that said, I was very encouraged to see how happy the people who bought them were- I got a real kick out of it and I dare say it is an addictive feeling. I had a very positive experience participating in the event and will certainly be submitting work and volunteering next year. i would also encourage anyone else who thought about it this year but didnt do it to have a crack next year.The photos here are a bit sketchy, but as I only had my equally sketchy phone camera on me, it was the best i could manage. These are the three works that now are being enjoyed by their new owners.

This one was titled Verde Insieme, which in Italian (or at least my bodgy version of Italian) means Greens Together.

This one was the first to get a bid and the person who made the first bid ended up getting it. This one is titled Blue Green Blue, for obvious reasons...

This last one was the screenprint of Fausto Coppi, a hero of my Father and of all Italians at the time. Coppi is still recognized as a legend of the sport, with both of his Tour De France wins coming in the same year he won the Giro D' Italia, a feat rarely matched. For this reason, he is still known as the "King of Kings." As always watch this space as much more is to come...

Welcome Home

This is my most recent work started today, new stencil, new painting- it's probably been 3 or 4 months since ive been in the spraybooth, but i tell ya today was like, welcome Home!

Oh yeah and Rest in Peace MCA/Adam Yauch and Maurice Sendak.Peace.

Stencils au go go

Ok, so here are a big chunk of my stencils from last year- this was when I was developing my technique, a process that continues to this very day...all of these are Spraypaint and stencil on paper and some have been sold. Normally I frame them to sell, but they are available un framed as well. These paintings represent many hours at the cutting mat and in the spraybooth- a process i have returned to recently and will show you the results of in coming posts.

Any questions,comments or queries hit me up...Enjoy...

Meanwhile, in other news...

I think i may have mentioned it before, but oil painting is my main thing. Yes, i like to muck around with all manner of other mediums but ultimately, I always come back to the brush. I love the ritual associated with mixing paint, the smell, the feeling of a brush making contact with canvas for the first time. I am posting some paintings of my current set of oil works, but eventually I'll post my older stuff as well. All of these paintings are of course still in progress, so I will be sure to continue the updates as I progress...