Victoria Evans

Opening Party 4th March 6pm-Midnight - Old Hairdressers

2012-02-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

www.Facebook.com/28DrawingsLaterPhew! 28 Drawings Later has been taking up all my time. There are over 1300 fans on the page now which is over six times what it was last year and around 200 people are partipating regularly in the challenge. My energies are now turning to organising the exhibition.

(To be clear - Upstairs, Gallery Hair, Original work and sketchbooks for one night only 4th March - Downstairs Bar and Mezzanine exhibition of copies on until 8th March)

This info poster owes a lot to Mitch Miller's Glasgow Dialectograms as well as the fabulous RSA Animates.

In celebration of the 2012 leap year, 28 Drawings Later will culminate in an offline 'real world' exhibition of work at Gallery Hair, The Old Hairdressers in Renfield Lane, Glasgow City Centre. Anyone who successfully completes the online challenge will be invited to exhibit their work. Opening party is 6-midnight March 4th 2012.

You can take part in the physical exhbition in both of these two ways.

1. Copies of work

Use the extra day this February 29th to mail in copies of your 28 Drawings First Class guaranteed next day delivery to Victoria Evans at:
Studio 212
The Briggait
141 Bridgegate
Glasgow G1 5HZ

Remember to write your name and what day the drawing was done (day 1, day 2, day 3 etc.) on the front of your work.

The copies of your work will festoon the bar and mezzanine area of The Old Hairdressers until Wed 7th, then become part of the International Women's Day celebration on 8th as 'Re-draw - a 28 Drawings Later workshop'

IMPORTANT - Work will be recycled at the end of the exhibition and will not be returned so do not submit originals unless you can take charge of them in person. There is no Saturday delivery to the studios so the work needs to reach Victoria on or before Friday 2nd March to be sure of featuring in the exhibition.

2. Original Work

On 4th March, bring your sketchbooks or loose drawings to The Old Hairdressers, (opposite Stereo) Renfield Lane, Glasgow, G2 6PH anytime between midday and 4pm when Victoria will be installing the exhibition or if all else fails just bring them with you on the night. Please label your work clearly with your name.

Originals and sketchbooks will be displayed in Gallery Hair - on the upper level of The Old Hairdressers for the opening night only. You must be able to arrange collection of your work at the end of the night.

Any questions - post them as a comment on one of 28 Drawings Later's posts to make sure they are seen or email victoriaevansartist@gmail.com.

The Importance of Not Knowing

2012-01-12T02:14:00.000-08:00

Glasgow painter Teresa Brown once gave a talk titled 'The Importance of Not Knowing' and I've often thought about how that idea is crucial to the way that I make paintings too. Teresa has spent years thinking about and exploring this philosophy which also relates closely to her other practice as a psychotherapist. But I'm just beginning my journey with painting and trying to figure out what the process means for me and how and why it works the way it does.

Even if I begin a painting trying really hard to stick to an image or idea - at some point I always have to abandon control and let the painting go where it wants to go whether I like it or not.

This might sound like I'm being deliberately mysterious, or that I need to revamp my 'arty bollocks' yellow card system, but that's honestly how the process of painting feels when I'm properly engaged with it. If I resist this I end up with something that feels dry and lifeless and which, no matter how well (or badly!) painted I never feel says what I want to say.

This painting provisionally titled 'Comet in Moominland' (above is a detail - the actual piece is about twice as wide) is an extreme example of how completely the apparent subject can change during the time it takes me to complete a picture. Here's a photo of how the piece began (photo by Vito Andreoni).

At the beginning it was a reasonably literal representation of a wasteland area in Govan where housing had been demolished but three blocks of high flats were still standing.

Now I'm not sure what it represents in literal terms - there are certainly people there - slightly ghostly figures - which is ultimately perhaps what I found I was painting about when representing this urban space pregnant with past and future lives. I'll leave it up to the viewer to decide what it actually is.

At the moment perhaps it's important that I not know.

High Flats

2011-11-30T15:50:00.001-08:00

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A lot of the small paintings I've done over the last couple of weeks relate to the ongoing demolition of 60's tower blocks, or high flats, as they are known in Glasgow, going on near to my home.

At the end of this post there's a photo of the latest one being dissected. There's a huge mechanical claw that delicately takes down one vertical stack of rooms at a time - it takes about a week to pick away each column of homes.

Thinking about colour

2011-11-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

I thought a lot about colour combinations, and how to paint the perfect blue in particular, before I started these studies. I've been working in very neutral tones and making dark pictures for a while now, but I've noticed in the last few months a growing sensitivity to colour in my surroundings, and in the end these kind of painted themselves. They happened in a mad rush anyway - starting with some quite measured colour studies and ending with some more expressive free-form personal pieces - and were all completed in a few intense and highly messy days in the studio.

The blue I had been thinking about is the kind of beautiful bright mid-blue I've seen in places like Mexico and Morocco - or in the ice of a glacier. It's difficult to recreate the colour without particular light conditions but certain (complementary or semi-complementary) colours, when placed next to each other, bring out each other's vibrancy exponentially and optically 'create' shades which are impossible to mix on their own. So I wanted to experiment with that.

In some I stuck to variations on just two colours and in others I broadened the palette a little. Using trial and error to search for the perfect colour to place on the canvas last in order to make all the other parts of the painting come to life and 'sing' is really exhilarating. The reproductions here don't give accurate colour values, my camera just can't do it in the same way that the eye can and all computer monitors vary - but hopefully these images can give a general idea of what I was trying to do...

I Feel I Fear

2011-09-19T02:47:00.000-07:00

Two detail views from a painting I'll be showing at The Arches in Glasgow from 20th September to 2nd October. This piece was developed directly from painting sketches I made on a large canvas as part of the improvised performance 'A Sole Party' with dancer Tom Pritchard and musicians The Lotus Project at the Arches Studio Theatre in July (part of Tom's ongoing project 'On The Stage of the Present'). The group exhibition in the Arches foyer space includes work from many of the visual artists from the project and will feature an improvised dance solo by Tom on 28th September as part of 'Arches Live' festival.

Here is part of the video of the July improvised performance which was the starting point for the painting.

Summer/ Autumn Exhibitions & Open Studios

2011-08-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Jolene Crawford @ The Precious East

August and September are proving busy periods of showing work rather than making it. It's an exciting time but I'm looking forward to getting my head down and messing up my studio again in October. Here's what I'm up to until then:

Until 30th August

There are just a couple of days left to see the visual art/dance group exhibition I've been a tiny part of in Edinburgh - Recrea(c)tion: Versatile Beings curated by Adeline Bourret at the Arts Complex. You can read a review of the show in The Skinny here.

Thursday 1st September 18.00 - 23.00

'Universal' by Polka Dot Punks - an evening of music, art and conversation @
Universal, 57 - 59 Sauchihall Lane G2 4JD - I've got a couple of my favourite prints showing in this event which looks like being an all-round great night out.

September 16th & 17th 10.00 - 16.00

Open Studios - Myself and fellow Briggait artists will be opening our studios during Glasgow Doors Open Weekend @ The Briggait, G1 5HZ

September 20th - October 1st

Arches Live - All Around You - I am excited to be contributing to this group exhibition of visual art at The Arches. The work was undertaken and developed through Tom Pritchard's collaborative dance/ art/ text/ music improvisation project 'On The Stage of the Present' and throughout his Arches residency in particular. Tom will perform a short improvised solo dance piece in response to the work on 28th September at 19.20.

@ The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, G2 8DL

October 1st & 2nd - 12.00 - 17.00

Annual Wasps Open Studios Event - I'll be opening my studio to the public for the final time this year as part of the annual Wasps open weekend - artists from across the 16 Wasps studios in Scotland will be taking part.

The City - I Have Three Sisters

2011-08-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

A detail from one of my recent paintings (the whole painting is C. 4ft wide x 6ft high). The image that inspired it was the sight of the woman who feeds the birds on the grassy triangle outside my studio. On one particular day last year I was struck by her pose and the way she was standing at the edge of a pool of winter sunshine, next to the three trees that grow there, with buildings in shadow all around. She seemed lost in thought or observation and very much part of, though dwarfed by her surroundings. I identified strongly with her in that moment and I wondered about her life and her rituals, and what her tiny bit of nature in the city meant to her. During the months it took me to finish the painting I thought a lot about my three sisters. I live far away from them but, no matter what, I carry the fact of their existence with me wherever I go.

Edinburgh Group Show

2011-07-29T02:33:00.000-07:00

I'm taking part in Recrea(c)tion - Versatile Beings a group show at The Arts Complex in Edinburgh which features a variety of visual artists and dancers inspired by movement and dance. It has been curated by the lovely Adeline Bourret who is a multi-talented visual artist and dancer herself. I met Adeline during Tom Pritchard's Dancebase research residency of On The Stage of the Present (see earlier blogpost) and it's in this capacity I'm taking part.

The opening night (Friday 5th August 6.30 - 9.30) is shaping up to be really exciting. As well as the usual drinks, art viewing and mingling, there will be a short performance at 7.30 (full details on the Facebook page) with a group of dancers somehow hooked up to a computer which creates harmonious sounds/ music from their movements - they will then apparently stay in position as a live installation and the audience will be able to move them and see how the music reacts - this I really have to see....

There will also be a kind of 3d video installation - a circle of TV's showing different pov's from camera's hooked up to a dancer's movements so that from within the circle the viewer is in the position of the dancer - but I've been warned, this can cause seasickness.

All this plus another video room and loads of drawings, photography, prints etc all on the subject of dance and movement in the great space which is The Arts Complex Gallery. Don't miss it!

Briggait Open Weekend

2011-07-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

I will be taking part in the Briggait Open Weekend
Sat 23rd and Sun 24th July: 11am - 4pm
part of the Merchant City Festival.

You are warmly invited to come along and meet the artists, peek inside their working studios and view the variety of work being made there. As well as the artist's studios, the exhibition spaces and the stunning historic courtyard will be host to installations, circus and street theatre, dance and music at the times detailed here

further details on the Merchant City Festival website

Open Studios & exhibitions

Saturday 11am – 4pm

Sunday 11am to 4pm

Dance performances (commissioned by Glasgow Life)

Saturday 12noon -12.30pm and 3pm – 4pm

Sunday 12noon – 1pm and 4pm – 5pm

Family Circus Days

Saturday 11am – 12.30pm and 1pm - 2.30pm

Sunday 1.30pm - 3.30pm.

There will be a coffee cart selling refreshments over the weekend aswell.

Don't forget to come up to studio 212 on the top floor and say hello to me - I'll be showing my newest paintings and print work.

Arches Improvised Performance

2011-06-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I took part in another of dancer Tom Pritchard's improvisational collaborations (more about these in a previous blog post). This time I was the only visual artist working with one dancer (Tom) and two musicians - the wonderful Lotus Project.

We performed a 45 minute improvised score in front of an audience in The Arches studio theatre. I had a large - maybe 9 x 5 foot - canvas mounted on the back wall of the studio and sketched with pencil and oil paint in response to the dance and music.

I was conscious of the difficulty of getting the right balance between making the visual art work as part of a performance (something that could be enjoyed by the audience and that felt like a genuine interaction with the performers) and getting some results that I could work with afterwards. I felt like I started to get some nice movement happening in the sketches, although I found out from the audience feedback that it was hard for them to appreciate the work at a distance during the score - so that's something i'd be interested to work on if I take part in anything similar in the future.

A few details from the large canvas are pictured here and will probably form the basis for a series of prints at some point soon. Later I hope to find a way to work the canvas up into a completed painting - but that'll have to wait a bit, since I'm currently working hard in the print studio to get ready for my Neo-Patrons private view on 23rd July. The Briggait will be open on 23rd and 24th July as part of the Merchant City Festival and apart from special events happening in the courtyard, many artists including myself will be opening their studios to the public between 12 and 4pm on the Saturday and the Sunday.

This week I'm also very pleased to be featured on Jolene Crawfords inspiring lifestyle and culture blog about the East End of Glasgow called The Precious East. It's really worth checking out if you like to keep up with creative events happening in Glasgow.

Memories, Dreams, Reflections

2011-05-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

I'm about to start reading Memories, Dreams, Reflections - an autobiographical work by Carl Gustav Jung. Like many of us, I'm fascinated by dreams, and my friend and fellow artist Jo Shaw recommended the book. The image here is my latest mezzotint. It's of a subject I've returned to a few times but the first time I painted it was on the morning after a nightmare so borrowing the title from Jung feels appropriate.

There's a Munch painting which I'm now sure has been at least a subconscious inspiration for this work - I've found it online and although it doesn't look at all as I remembered it (I only saw it once before - as a slide - but it had a real impact on me at the time) there's a definite mood there with which I identify strongly and which I used as a mental touchstone for dealing with this bedroom motif.

I was recently asked 'who are my influences in painting?' and although I really understand why people want to know, I sometimes find the question difficult to answer - are we guided and influenced by the artists we love and admire, or do we respond to them precisely because they speak to something which is already in us? And as a non-artist for most of my life, are there other stronger influences in television, film, literature, news which have affected me as much or perhaps more than any painter or movement?

It's perhaps easier though for me to identify inspirations when talking about specific pieces or series. Here is Edvard Munch's painting, which I think is called Night in St Cloud. I love the contrast; the way you can barely see the figure in the centre of the canvas; and that it leaves you only with questions.

28 Drawings Later Book Available Now

2011-05-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Phew! The gargantuan task of pulling together images and text from 34 of the 28 Drawings Later participants and compiling it into a beautiful record of the event is complete. You can preview it here:

28 Drawings Later by Edited by Victoria Evans |

The official launch party was in Glasgow on Saturday 30th and a good time was had by all. Thank you so much again to the wonderful 28 Drawings Later participants near and far whose creative energies and spirit of collaboration made the project something really special.

The book is now available to browse or to order online at in a handy and affordable 7 inch version or a deluxe coffee table hardback. If you want to get your hands on a physical copy, prices range from 10.95 GBP to 59.74 GBP. The blurb bookshop allows you to leaf through the book from the comfort of your laptop, so even if you can't spare a tenner please feel free to enjoy the book. None of the artists involved (including myself) are making any money from book sales - but it's a wonderful showcase for so many talented people and hopefully an inspiration to anyone interested in drawing.

If you like the book, please do spread the word, and feel free to leave comments here or on the blurb site so that the participants can get some feedback.

2011-04-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

My first small mezzotint. Mezzotint (from the Italian mezzo tinto - medium tone) is a beautiful but laborious process where burrs are raised on a copper plate by a toothed rocker. After many hours of careful rocking (this two by three inch plate took me five hours) you can create an evenly burred surface that will print a unique rich velvety-black. The image then gradually emerges by gentle scraping and burnishing of the plate (using the imaginatively named scraper-burnisher tool).

2011-04-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I was able to officially join The Glasgow Print Studio at last. A big thank you to all my neo-patrons who donated a tenner towards my membership and materials - I start work there this week - and am hopping with excitement at the idea of getting access to all their brilliant equipment and expertise. Cash poor but art rich, I donated some work to Leith School of Art's small pictures exhibition to help raise funds for their assisted places scheme. I just found out that both my pieces (pictured here - 'snowdrops' and 'dancers') were sold, so I feel like the print side of my practice is off to a flying start already.

The next exhibition I'm involved with is 'Our Place', a group show curated by Lorna Callery from Polka Dot Punks (who happens to be a brilliant performance poet and visual artist to boot). 'Our Place' is a pop-up event running from 12-6pm on 30th April at 0/1, 59 Dixon Avenue, Govanhill, Glasgow, G42 8EN - part of Govanhill's Streetland Festival and I am showing two paintings and a collagraph.

Collaborations

2011-02-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

February has been an intense and sometimes overwhelming month of diverse artistic collaboration for me. From non-curated online exhibition-making in '28 Drawings Later' through being a runner for my friends The Dirt's gothic/alt-country music video, to asking for sponsors to help me fund the extension of my practice into print-making, my life has felt very social, very interactive, and at times disconcertingly public. So I'm looking forward to spending some serious private time in the studio during March - and retreating for a while into my comfort zone.

It felt really fitting then, that the last week of February should culminate in a project whose purpose was to explore artistic collaboration. Tom Pritchard's 'On the Stage of the Present' (ongoing work which now has a permanent home at Glasgow's The Arches) took up a research residency at Edinburgh's Dancebase and I was privileged to be invited along to participate.

Warm up in Studio 2 (with the view of Edinburgh Castle through the skylight)

The idea behind the work is to explore the possibilities around creating collaborative 'scores' (improvised performance pieces) involving artists working in movement, voice, music, text and visual art. I had no real idea of what to expect, or what I could contribute, if anything, but I pitched up on the Thursday morning with lots of paper and drawing materials and as open a mind as I could muster.

There were dancers, theatre practitioners, photographers and installation artists, a textile artist, painters, writers and musician. Tom put us through various physical games and interactions as a group and, whilst at first I felt uncomfortable and quickly retreated to the edges, I gradually started to understand the idea of 'conversations' happening between the different practitioners in a way that I don't think I would have been able to grasp just from sticking to my usual observational role.

Tom: Aileen: Pavel

What I had arrived wanting to get out of the workshop personally was to develop ways to express movement. I love drawing human beings, and dancers, for me, represent the ultimate in human physical expression and beauty - and I don't mean this just in a surface/ appearance sense. Early on in the workshop I was only able to capture moments of relative stillness (as above) or express the movement through making rather frenzied abstract marks. Although I think this worked fine in a participatory sense, my goal was to try to create something which could still be read as dance outside the context of the workshop.

Duets; interactions; conversations

These marks (above) in charcoal and chalks are starting to represent something of the experience, somewhere between the figurative and the abstract, at least to me, but I wanted to be able to manipulate the materials even more. So that a mark could appear - as something concrete - but then be moved or distorted as the score progressed. Overnight I had the idea to try using oil bars. Like with oil paint, oilbars allow you to work in layers, or to move pigment around on the paper a bit more flexibly than with pastels or charcoal - yet are manageable enough to feel like a drawing material rather than a paint.

Object becomes subject as the drawn draw

On my second morning, I asked Tom if he would be happy to invite the 'movers' to enter my world of paper and drawing materials even more than they had the previous day. He was up for it, and so we put up a few giant pieces of paper on the walls and floor for the next score. I had a notion that some of the dancers might possibly make a few delicate marks - leaving traces - that I could incorporate or work around, as they passed 'my' corner of the room. In the end they totally went for it and pretty much took over - having drawn and written 'conversations' with me or each other through mark-making. It was unexpected, a bit scary, and quite lovely. Above are a few snippets of what was produced.

A breakthrough with materials - I started with a thick layer of transparent oilbar over the whole surface, which creates a malleable startpoint, which I could draw into with more oilbar or pencil

For the final afternoon, Tom eased us gradually back into our natural 'languages' and I was able to concentrate on drawing again. I felt I was starting to identify the techniques that could enable me to feel like an active participant in the improvisation, as well as producing some kind of stand-alone visual remnant of the experience. I discovered that the other elements that were gradually being introduced to the scores: text - both stream-of-consciousness and mini-narrative; and music, were really useful in helping me find and maintain a way into the performance.

During the last score this drawing (left) came out in response. I'm quite pleased with it. It feels quite dark, which I'm sure was not everybody's experience, but I tend to find things that go deep, often go dark, for me, at the moment, at least. We are perhaps most aware of death when we are the most alive, the most sad when we are the most joyful and vice versa. The tension between these opposites is something I'm exploring in my painting, so it was very interesting to know that it was possible for me to access this personal element of my work as part of a collaboration.

Drawing as performance.

The public sharing which rounded off the week long research residency was invigorating and strange. An audience were invited to witness one final improvised 20 minute score. They could walk around the stage space and position themselves behind the visual artists and watch them work as well, so it really cemented the visual artists in as part of the performance: watched and watching at the same time; responding and being responded to. True collaboration.

Call for Patrons

2011-02-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

Artists throughout history have sought the personal sponsorship of wealthy individuals in order to survive hard times financially. On some level I've always found this idea unappealing. I think art should be for everyone as far as possible, and I'd feel compromised if I had to please a particular patron rather than being guided by my own instincts. But the fact remains, most artists struggle at some point in their careers and this is particularly true of new artists.

So I'm proposing a more down-to-earth form of sponsorship which I hope will be affordable to all. I'm looking for thirty-five Neo-Patrons to fund me in expanding my practice into printmaking. If you are interested in my work, and how it might progress, you can pre-buy an unframed print from a selection of Limited Editions or Artist's Proofs created between now and the Autumn for just ten pounds. Your investment will entitle you to attend a special patrons preview ahead of my next Open Studios weekend (usually October 2011 - precise date tbc) where you can have a glass of wine, select your print and view my other work as well.

This three hundred and fifty pound fund will pay for my year's membership to the Glasgow Print Studio including all my session fees, and enough to buy a few tools and materials to get me started. So as well as receiving a invite to the preview and a signed print, you will have helped sponsor my career development in a very direct way.

It's first-come-first-served, up to a limit of thirty-five. If I cannot reach my target of thirty-five, I'm afraid I'll have to reserve the right to withdraw the offer. To become a neo-patron, drop me an email on victoriaevansartist@gmail.com and I'll let you know how to pay. In return you'll receive the voucher above and an invite to the preview later in the year when the date is confirmed. If you are unable to attend the preview, you will still be able to select your print from an online preview, and I can arrange postage to any UK address (there may be a minimal additional cost for postage if you are overseas).

Finishing work

2011-02-16T04:12:00.000-08:00

This is a small detail from the previously posted painting 'This World Which We Must Leave'.

People often ask how do you know when a painting is finished and the truth is sometimes I don't. I forget which famous artist's reply to that question was 'When it's sold'. I wouldn't go that far but this latest painting is a good example of the uncertainty I sometimes feel over whether I have done enough. I added these tiny figures about a week after I had already decided the painting was finished. It's something I had always intended would be part of the composition, but then when I got to that point I worried that something so literal would jar with the rest of the painting. It niggled at me however, and I had to go back to it and finish the thought. I'm glad I did since I think the painting is improved. But then again, who knows whether it will be quiet now, or whether it will demand something else from me. I'm really not sure about this one yet. I may still go back to it later.

This World Which We Must Leave

2011-02-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Oil on canvas C. 4ft x 3ft

A new painting, inspired by dark commutes on the 900 bus between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and gym-goers seen on treadmills through windows surrounded by night sky. The layered glazes I use make it quite shiny and difficult to photograph well, but I will post a better one when I have it.

The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I've spent a lot of time getting 28 Drawings Later going, and so far I'm really pleased with how people have taken to it. It's hard to tell exactly how many people are doing the challenge, the page has 199 fans so far and I think somewhere between thirty and fifty of those are posting their drawings regularly on the page. The most gobsmacking statistic though, is that in the first week there were 18,466 post views - that means 18,466 times that people clicked through to the page or clicked on a drawing or comment. So I think that shows a great deal of interest at the very least. My main measure of success, though, will be if even one person feels they've got into, or got back into art after some time away because of taking part in the challenge.

The other thing I've happily given a lot of time to is my new-found love of intaglio print-making. I definitely want to pursue this form of art-making more seriously, but I need funds in order to get access to the expensive equipment involved. Unfortunately this isn't something I can just set up in my studio and pursue independently on the cheap. Enter my new scheme - Print Artist's Neo-Patronage Ticket Scheme or PANTS - because it's more fun if it's got a stupid acronym. Watch this space to find out more soon...

Lateral Moves

2011-01-31T06:12:00.000-08:00

I've said that this year will be mainly about producing a cohesive body of work with the ultimate goal of a solo exhibition. But it also has to be about me starting to find my feet as an artist: discovering what routines and practices work best for me; devising strategies to help sustain my practice both psychologically and financially. Part of this means working out where I fit in the artistic community and the wider world. What will being an artist mean for me? Can I collaborate? Can my practice engage with non-artists and artists alike? Are there ways I can present work outside of formal exhibitions?

So the last couple of weeks have been surprising and exciting since, without consciously trying, I've started to come across some unexpected possible answers to those questions. My project '28 Drawings Later' started as a personal challenge to help me focus on drawing skills, but since I created the Facebook page there's been so much interest (100 people signed up within a week) that I feel the project has almost become a piece of group art in itself. I love the idea of a democratic, non-curated art exhibition, and social networking sites make this easier than ever before to realise. I think of the project as an 'art intervention' of some sort.

Please wish us luck, and visit the Facebook site to see how many people are actually posting their work/ sticking to the challenge.

I also met a dancer Tom Pritchard (here's a link to his website) who is doing some very interesting research into collaboration between performers and visual artists which I find fascinating. I'm delighted that he's invited me to take part in his Edinburgh residency research workshops towards the end of February if we can make the dates work out. I really have no idea of what to expect, but it's very very intriguing, and is opening up my thinking in terms of collaboration - something I never thought would be open to me. More and more I think drawing could play a balancing role in my practice - and be a link between the solitary nature of my painting practice and the wider artistic community.

I've also been dabbling in print-making during January and have just completed The Glasgow Print Studio's excellent introduction to etching course. I loved every minute of the course, and this seated figure (based on the pencil drawing I posted in my previous blog entry) is my first attempt at building a complex image, using the combined techniques of soft-ground, hard-ground and aquatint etching.

All this social networking and print-making activity has meant that my painting has had to take a momentary back-seat, but with a bit of luck I'll be posting a photograph of the completed work in my next blog entry.

2011-01-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

This drawing is one from the life drawing class I do on a Tuesday night at the botanic gardens. It reminds me of that January feeling...

Coming back to the studio after an extended festive break was strange. I had to try to remember what it is that I do and why I do it. I felt like last year I spent a lot of time finding the courage to talk about being an artist and to show people my work, but not so much time actually painting. I'm two weeks into a new piece now and gradually starting to engage with it more. I had a moment on Friday of what could have been madness, frustration, or sheer destructiveness, when I took my palette knife to the thinnest area of paint in the centre of the canvas and scraped right back to the gesso. I was left with an area which looks a bit like what happens when you burn a hole through the centre of a piece of paper. For a while I thought I'd ruined two weeks of work, but then I turned the canvas upside down and suddenly felt like I was on to something - I'd found my composition perhaps. Everything may change again on Monday.

The painting is inspired by the gym-goers in the Glasgow Caledonian Uni up near Buchanan Bus station. The exercise machines and their users are exposed to the world through giant glass windows. Last year I did a lot of commuting between Edinburgh and Glasgow on the cheap but slow Megabus. During the winter, the long hours spent looking out into the dark had a powerful effect on me and at the time I remember finding the sight of my fellow humans on their individual treadmills, surrounded by the vast night sky, almost unbearably poignant.

This is Edward Hopper's 'Night Hawks' which evokes in me a similar feeling.

2010-09-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

High Flats
Oil on canvas
141 x 167 cm

This painting was inspired by the high flats near where I live being demolished. They used a technique whereby a mechanical claw tears into the side of the building, partially removing one wall so that the block will come down safely in a particular direction.

People's former homes, in all their individual decorative detail - wallpaper and dado rails included - stand weirdly exposed, high up there for weeks as the process continues.

I couldn't get over the strangeness of this sight, and eventually it got translated into a painting.

2010-09-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Working Man's Rest
sand, grit, tile-grout,
ash and pigment
on paper & board

2010-08-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

Study 'High Flats'
Oil and gesso on canvas and board

2010-08-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

Study 'High Flats'
Oil on Board

2010-08-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait - Transition (detail)
Oil on board

2010-08-03T15:03:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait - Transition
Oil on board

2010-08-03T14:58:00.001-07:00

29 Brand Street II - "After the Fire"
Oil on canvas

Open Studios Event July 24th & 25th

2010-07-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

Forth Rail Bridge

2010-06-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

29 Brand Street 1
Oil on canvas on board