RDH: NOVEMBER 2020

01/11/20

Focus required…

…reaching it back to integrity of practice.

Large scale drawings?

02/11/20

Eventual studio time - detail of “Misunderstood” in progress

03/11/20

Great to get imagery into some semblance of order.

“Thinking through making.” - Joy Gerrard during interview with GTG. Watch here.

Some good sketchbook work tonight.

06/11/20

“Misunderstood” finished.

07/11/20

Reusing one canvas and starting another.

08/11/20

…settling back into a new routine… still healing.

10/11/20

11/11/20

IMMA Talk: From the Rego Studio.

13/11/20

Limbo-Land yet again.

14/11/20

Finding it difficult to concentrate with all going on. Just wish that aspects were sorted so that some kind of routine could be adhered to.

Some results but not all.

Detail of “Norwegian Nude” - work in progress.

…giving up the ghost on the little ‘go cart’ piece. It just went stale but that’s OK. It wasn’t the right time.

16/11/20

Some sketchbook work tonight.

19/11/20

Absolutely baltic in the studio.

Studio Shot: 19/11/20

20/11/20

Mostly focused on “Norwegian Nude” today but building up layers on other pieces too.

Left to Right: “Troublesome” - “Shock” - “Norwegian Nude”

22/11/20

Detail of hand in “Norwegian Nude” in progress.

Really good progress today.

23/11/20

BP 158/113

26/11/20

Site update

27/11/20

Really great online talk from the Garter Lane Arts Centre: Chloe Austin in conversation with Matt Higgs, Kitsch Doom, and Ciara O Neill.

Did a few quick sketch of the speakers as they discussed their practices.

29/11/20

…readjust, centre, breathe and focus on what matters.

30/11/20

After having a long, hard look at “Troublesome” - came to the realisation that figure is complete. Nice to leave it loose in parts. It explains what it needs to without having to divulge anything else.

Bit of building work in the background and it’s finished.

Decorations are up and a little winter halo to round off a very odd month.

RDH: SEPTEMBER 2020

01/09/20

Power is out.

02/09/20

The Rashomon Effect: When the same event is described in significantly different and often contradictory ways by people who were involved.

03/09/20

I do feel a little stuck with the Crimean Painting. Some sketchbook work - get back to the drawing board.

06/09/20

Death Masks: bottling the soul, bottling the trauma.

08/09/20

Very strange few days. ‘Taking Orders’ painting - just not sure where to go with it. Leaving it aside for now and having a look at adding a recent sketch and incorporating it into an old abandoned piece. The only good thing I can see in the failed ‘St. Lurach’s’ work is that weeping willow to the left. It should stay in some capacity.

Very lethargic for some reason.

Thoughts = NOT A REALIST PAINTER!!!

Lifelike/ reality isn’t what I’m aiming for in drawing or painting. Yes, sometimes a more realistic application or approach is required depending on what the image dictates. EG: ‘GO’K’ works in that it hints at realism but ultimately leaves the majority of the portrait minimal - barely any detail. This is not just limited to composition, but especially colour I think.

10/09/20

Belfast bound.

Saffron Monks-Smith

Stephanie Tanney

So good to get to the MAC for the degree shows from the Belfast School of Art.

‘Confessional’ reopening was great! It’s a show I’m very proud of.

12/09/20

Some good progress on ‘The Voyage Home’. Less is more - even on this scale I think. Suits the image and composition well.

13/09/20

Finished!

15/09/20

Halfway through September! HOW?!?!

Figuring out ideas for next steps and possibilities. Good to get some sketching done tonight. Forgot how accessible sketching smaller than A4 is.

18/09/20

‘The Week in Art’ podcast.

Guston and de Kooning - both developed making works with a ‘formula’ able to commercialise work / work that could be made in their sleep and sell no problem. Both rejected this formula and started again.

Integrity.

‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Mary Ann’ studies - the looser the better.

20/09/20

Detail of ‘Elizabeth Study’ - work in progress

I think I’m coming close to a mini burn out as far as studio work is concerned. Might be good to take a step back, read and research for a few days and see where we are.

22/09/20

Finished the little portrait studies. Really different approach but that’s no bad thing. Started some new canvases.

“Art is a wound turned into light.”

Georges Braque

‘Elizabeth Study’ and ‘Mary Ann Study’

23/09/20

Research - that’s about it.

24/09/20

Some good progress in the studio today.

25/09/20

Got scared very easily.

Sketchbook work.

26/09/20

Five canvases on the go at the minute. Best to focus on one or two at a time. First up., ‘Waiting Room’. It’s been a while from I attempted this image.

Seats / Symbols?

‘The Waiting Room’ - detail

27/09/20

What was light at the end of the tunnel has turned into a dark abyss. Shrug it off and keep going.

28/09/20

Sketching

29/09/20

So the past few days have seen a real drop in productivity and drive. Reasons or not —> focusing on work will help. Taking a mini break will also help. Easy to fall into old, procrastinating habits.

Meaty questions.

30/09/20

Studio all clean and tidy!

RDH: AUGUST 2020

01/08/20

So saddened to hear of the passing of Chris Ledger. She was a true friend of the arts in NI and helped me in both a professional and personal capacity. Her tenacity and drive will be sorely missed.

02/08/20

Cleaning and priming.

03/08/20

‘Seashore Jester’ … over-painted to the point of no return - burnt and slashed. Good progress on “Enfield Study” though.

Close up of “Enfield Study”.

It’s finally happened! I’ve had a little painting accepted into this year’s RUA exhibition!

04/08/20

Wee day off.

05/08/20

“Enfield Study” finished.

Watched ‘Apocalypse Now’ properly for the first time. The real animal sacrifice at the end was disturbing.

06/08/20

Sketched out some new canvases including a narrow set for a triptych.

Object connected to the figure rather than the figure itself so may need to rethink the centre canvas.

…a few people have told me how “Enfield Study” disturbs them and makes them feel uncomfortable. So a job well done.

07/08/20

Lots of blocking in compositions today.

10/08/20

Greenberg vs Read (HANDBAGS!)

Some studio time today. Almost too warm.

12/08/20

Left up “Hotel ‘78” to the RUA today.

Sketchbook work.

14/08/20

Jenny Saville in the “A Brush With” podcast is great!

When asked what is art for, Saville replies:

“Art is for life. Art is for survival. You know it’s a shock of recognition that you feel a sense of belonging you recognise yourself in the world. I really believe it’s for survival. It’s intrinsic to being human. We either have to make marks or it’s like singing or making music. It’s fundamental to being a human being. I can’t imagine doing anything else. When I’m in the process of painting I feel very in touch with myself in a sense that nothing else I’ve ever done in my life does.”

Satellite paths

16/08/20

Nothing the past few days due to another trip to the hospital.

18/08/20

One year to go.

19/08/20

Finished “Exhibits A to C”. Good to get painting again after a little setback. Chuffed to be names Catalyst Art’s Member of the Month for August!

20/08/20

Some good studio time in today.

21/08/20

“A painting which is from a specific photograph - you have to go beyond the photograph so you have to make the paint do something and once it gets a nature of itself then it belongs to the world and it takes a long time to get be in that field.”

Jenny Saville (link for interview here)

23/08/20

“Avarice is the enemy of virtue.”

Leon Battista Alberti

Sketching and mostly failing.

25/08/20

Studio time but nothing too strenuous.

Great to have a virtual catch up with UoA folk!

29/08/20

Trauma is inarticulate.

Some good progress on “But I Don’t Get It”. Still flat in areas but it’s nearly there.

31/08/20

Finished “B.I.D.G.I.”

RDH: JULY 2020

01/07/20

Some more Matisse-inspired bamboo work for shapes in the foreground and that’s the large painting finished! Title to be confirmed later.

02/07/20

Abrupt awakening.

So “The Hill of the Red Witch” it is. Very close.

Eventually got some good ground work down on two new pieces. Some human hair included.

Painter Julie Curtiss (Instagram: @julietuyetcurtiss) joins us for New Social Environment #77, hosted by Rail Editor at Large Jason Rosenfeld (Instagram: @jm...

Great Julie Curtiss talk with Brooklyn Rail.

03/07/20

LOFT

2013 - 2015: 14 works (over 3 years)

LISNAMUCK

2016 - 2018: 36 works (over 3 years)

2019 - June 2020: 16 works (in 18 months)

That’s crazy!

04/07/20

Really pleased with “Left Out” thus far but the mouth on “RPM” is really annoying me!

05/07/20

QUESTIONS

07/07/20

Working out left hand on “L.O.” is tough. It’s not the shape of it but the lay of the fingers that’s the bother. Pre-mixing … is needed to unify the hands and face. It’s the difference in definition between the upper and lower hands that are jarring a bit.

Days that just don’t go your way. THUMB NEEDS TO BE A FRACTION LONGER!

08/07/20

Working method today is attacking the canvas in micro stages.

NON FINITO = nice idea.

Does something have to look finished before being deemed complete?

Detail of “Left Out”

…I limped home tonight. Painted for nearly 11 hours. Not sure if “Left Out” is done, but it’s bloody close.

09/07/20

… Yes it’s there!

Good drawing time this evening.

10/07/20

Priming, studio cleaning and two little pieces drawn up. Interior one has promise.

11/07/20

The Ruination of the World.

“Rock Pool Memory” - the original drawing is not exact and so the dimensions are a little skew-whiff. Possibly why the painting is not coming together.

12/07/20

Horrible day painting but at least it beats not doing anything at all! “Rock Pool Memory” is just that - a memory.

A sense of critical…. ?

14/07/20

Such as strange pain down arms and shoulders last night. Shake it off or…

Trip to A&E - allergic reaction to insect bites. The usual then.

15/07/20

Studio time.

High contrast in BT’s face might be best avoided. Playing around right now just.

Nice chat with Chloe, Dominic and Niamh - some interesting discussions.

16/07/20

“Hotel ‘78” complete. [] is right - something slightly different about it. Softer maybe.

A nice dull background on “Seashore Jester”.

17/07/20

Applied … again.

18/07/20

Solid studio day. Resurrected “Rock Pool Memory”. Tonal values not there on “Seashore Jester” just yet but happy enough so far. Stumbled across the old Enfield painting that I abandoned four years ago. Decided to give it another crack.

19/07/20

21/07/20

Been a few days of home improvements.

24/07/20

Sketched out little commission and cleaned out palette.

Our friend, interdisciplinary artist Martha Tuttle (@marthatuttle) joins us for a conversation with scholar and curator, Susan Harris in New Social Environme...

Martha Tuttle talk on Brooklyn Rail excellent! Links to antiquity and the tactility of the work is fascinating.

26/07/20

The past few days I’ve literally been going round in circles with “Rock Pool Memory”. Originally I thought executing the proportions properly would have solved any issues that were cropping up but no. I think I’m in two/three minds as to how to approach it so perhaps shelving it isn’t a bad idea for now.

27/07/20

I think it’s important to take a step back sometimes and focus on other elements of practice. So today is a drawing and research day.

“ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS”

“ART IS LONG, LIFE IS SHORT” the reversed first two lines of Hippocrates’ ‘Aphorismi’

Nearly six hours of sketchbook work today.

28/07/20

Did not expect to but “Rock Pool Memory” is finished. It really has been an unprecedented time of creativity. Silver lining in a weird and unnerving time.

“Rock Pool Memory” finished.

29/07/20

The Troxler Effect - monsters in the mirror.

Treated myself to some art books.

30/07/20

Detail of ‘Enfield’ painting in progress

Short stint today, Slow progress but progress nonetheless.

31/07/20

Parts looks OK and then others are close to the point of madness. At least the dead crab looks well.

RDH: JUNE 2020

01/06/20

Clarify your eye.

Mixed what was left on the palette after 7 weeks of caking. It produced this gorgeous black / green hue perfect for the large canvas. Dad gave me a hand to clean it as I only have one at the minute.

02/06/20

In two minds but some good ground work. VAI café now with Alan Phelan and Ursula Burke.

UB: Being a witness to what has been happening.

UB: Bridging the gap between antiquity and the contemporary.

AP: John Joly Photography method

03/06/20

Hospital appointment: I can take the wrist support off!

Painting again. Very very rusty but such a nice feeling to be standing in the studio again.

Detail of fracture

…there are areas that work really well (the transparency of the plates in the skull). Painterly approach. Pretty much the rest is just clunky and stale.

04/06/20

The following quotes are from ‘Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics’ by Herschel B. Chipp:

“The source of all inspirations. Whether the artist works directly from nature from memory, or from fantasy, nature is always the source of his creative impulses.”

Hans Hofman - on the topic of nature.

“…a synthesis from the artist’s standpoint of matter, space and colour. Creation is not a reproduction of observed fact”

Hans Hofmann - on the topic of creation.

05/06/20

Mucked up.

06/06/20

Built up layers on two smaller pieces. They are at that stage when there is something missing - limbo.

‘Circular Lapse’ was in that place until the overlapping discs were added. Patience.

07/06/20

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”

Salvador Dali

Put the brakes on today.

08/06/20

Detail of ‘Jester’ drawing

New projector at long last. It doesn’t move an inch!

09/06/20

Got to using a brush at the end of a bamboo cane like Matisse used to.

“It was in me like the rhythm that carried me along. I had the surface in my head.”

Henri Matisse - on the use of bamboo tool

Visual and bodily. Some good progress today.

Detail of “Beatrice Study”

10/06/20

Troy Michie Talk Art was very good.

Detail of "Beatrice Study”

Finished “Beatrice Study” but paid the price; head is banging. Am I doing too much too soon?

11/06/20

Well today was a write off. Spent several hours at the Royal in Belfast looking for answers to the pounding head and the potential CSF leakages. Feels like recovery has taken a step back by a few weeks.

13/06/20

Trebuchet magazine has arrived and some updates to website.

15/06/20

Slept in.

Would love to visit the Christo and Jeanne-Claude covering of the Arc de Triomphe in October 2021.

Studio time feels a little panicked for some reason. Settle the head.

Now I.N.A.R.P. but I think there comes a level of pressure when you are personally and emotionally connected to a person to try and capture them as they once were. Settle the head and shake it off!

Well - you do get days of going backwards. Pre-mix before committing?

Cinematic tropes to frame personal trauma - à la Roxanna Halls.

16/06/20

Close up of “Back in my Day”

Really early start. Seems to have worked - finished “Back in my Day”. When in a certain frame of mind I seem to work quickly. Time is something I have in spades at the moment. Have probably over-painted areas (hands) but best leaving it as is and moving on.

17/06/20

Drawing and tonal work to “Race to the Bottom” - working title.

A homemade multi-brush handle.

18/06/20

…any shout of a practical day in the studio has disappeared. May be a blessing in disguise though as it’s probably best that I don’t spend every day standing in the garage through this recovery period.

20/06/20

…in terms of “RttB”, washes are or will probably key to keeping the action / immediacy of the figures alive.

Really pleased with how some of the facial work turned out today and I think the differing tones of navy/blue/grey will work.

22/06/20

2pm start - better than not starting at all I guess. After a few hours of frustration it was decided to just omit the second figure from the left. Eventually made more sense compositionally - balancing out the tumbling ensemble.

Removal of a figure

Need to be careful.

23/06/20

Different perspectives - slightly out of focus.

Am I too picky?

Sketchbook work

Over six hours of really solid drawing time today.

24/06/20

Two canvases primed. Focus vision and work on that one element. It isn’t a race.

25/06/20

Before I literally wipe the slate (palette) clean - could I use those silky black colours on the large canvas? Probably shouldn’t have got up at 5am. Eyes are rolling in head and its only 10:16am…

…waiting on a phone call. It was 47 minutes later than scheduled and on the phone call they decided to reschedule and to expect a phone call next week…

On third wind now but thought it best to call it a day before setting out the stall entirely.

‘A cup of clarity from the clarity flute.’

Eye detail - in progress

26/06/20

Unified the sky of the large canvas with a thick thick covering of velvety black paint. Pushing the oppressive sky downwards closing in on the running figures. Claustrophobic.

Now, learn from previous over meddling mistakes and move on!

Michael Armitage talk from Brooklyn Rail was fantastic! Got to ask a question too!

27/06/20

Studio Shot: 27/06/20

Really need to sort out a decent sleeping pattern.

28/06/20

Charcoal work today and not much else. Notes and revising for a presentation.

29/06/20

Very very close. Addition of the poppy. Centuries ago, the poppy was known as the witch’s flower. This is where the Irish for poppy comes from as ‘cailleach dhearg’ translates to ‘red hag’.

30/06/20

VAI Show and Tell: Northern Ireland addition. Delighted to have taken part.

RDH: MAY 2020

01/05/20

Finding a new normal.

02/05/20

…so not just images / maps / diagrams but also fears: nightmares.

• Where are you?

• What’s your date of birth?

• What’s today’s date?

• Do you know why you are here?

• Who is the Prime minister?

• Lift both arms

• Push against me.

• Follow my finger.

• Any dizziness? Nausea?

A face in the clouds.

…cover the eyes.

05/05/20

VAI’s café: So good to see what Cecilia Danell is up to in lockdown.

06/05/20

Tried drawing. Didn’t go well. It’s going to take longer than first thought to get back to creative work. Super frustrating.

11/05/20

Head is so sore today. Silver lining: Jerry Saltz’s “How to Be an Artist” arrived today.

12/05/20

• …avoid little voice neigh-saying in your head. All topics are valid.

• utilise R.D. more.

• …with found imagery, find and explore that connection to your own experiences.

• You never stop learning or looking for new ways to work.

• Sharpen observational skills. Draw from experience.

Over-analysing? Maybe.

BBC4 LIFE DRAWING LIVE

“A work of art cannot depend on explanation” - Jerry Saltz

14/05/20

Really enjoyed the webinar from VAI with CCA’s Catherine Hemelryk

INTEGRITY!

16/05/20

National Drawing Day. Really good to sit down and just draw today. Did a live-stream where I set up a still life and a few people drew along.

17/05/20

John Berger is always a good read.

18/05/20

Sketchbook work

19/05/20

VAI café

Orla Whelan: existential questions - preoccupation with death. Philosophical exploration.

Another little bit of late night sketching.

22/05/20

The virtual opening of the Catalyst Members Show.

More late night sketchbook work.

24/05/20

“An artists’ job is to reflect the time we live in.” - Nina Simone

26/05/20

“Using line to make visual texture” - Fiona Rae on Dürer

“Race to the Bottom” detail.

27/05/20

28/05/20

Started teaching my dad how to stretch canvas as I can’t at the moment.

Apparently I have the same birthday as Edward Hopper.

30/05/20

Canvas projecting.

31/05/20

Early morning reading.

“At root, truth to painting is truth to light.” - Juliam Barnes

RDH: MARCH 2020

01/03/20

Focus turns to show opening.

03/03/20

Spend a little time looking and you might find a way in. Now at that limbo stage with “No Remorse”. Compositionally solid but colours and painterly gestures are off.

Surprising bound forward on “Self Portrait with Sketchbook”. Face is mask-like (maybe a good thing?)

05/03/20

Nervous as hell. First stop - Ursula Burke in the Ulster Museum. Wonderful scope and the wall mural is stunning. A quick jaunt into town - in GT’s “Dissolving Histories” I especially liked Stuart Calvin’s work. Great to see Dougal McKenzie’s project space show “More Bad News”. Beautiful little touches.

Ursula Burns in the Ulster Museum

"Dissolving Histories" in the Golden Thread

"Dissolving Histories" in the Golden Thread

"More Bad News" by Dougal McKenzie

"Songs and the Soil" by Mark Garry in the MAC

Next onto the MAC for Mark Garry’s “Songs and the Soil”. Placed over the three galleries, the work is immersive and stunning.

"Confessional" install in Atypical Gallery

Before the doors opened in Atypical

Myself and Dad under "Crown of Dionysus"

Helped with the last little touches to the show prep. Great turnout for Late Night Art and the feedback has knocked me back - in the best possible way. Really not good at taking compliments. Marcus Keeley came by for a chat in the store room for his “Instant Feedback” podcast.

06/03/20

Wee stay with Jane. A beautiful house and a beautiful soul. Finally got to visit QSS for “Four Female Painters” exhibition. Amazing space and great work. Alana Barton’s piece “Blossom” made me cry and not even ashamed to say it. It struck a nerve. The delicacy of the child’s little fingers touching the adult’s hair. Beautifully painted.

"Blossom" by Alana Barton

"Four Female Painters" show in QSS

Took myself back to re-watch Mark Garry’s videos in the MAC. The close up recordings of the horses is haunting and strangely intimate.

08/03/20

Few days off but little updates online here and there.

11/03/20

Sketchbook work

14/03/20

Scary times. Back to the looking phase. It seems to help.

Self Portrait: face is still very mask-like. Reminds me of a still from “Les yeux sans visage”.

…knowing when to quit for the day is important.

15/03/20

Slow burning day but when I eventually got to studio and began making real progress, the power goes off!

Serves me right for getting ahead of myself.

“No Remorse” in progress

16/03/20

The “In Conversation” that was to take place with the show in Atypical has rightly been postponed due to ongoing circumstances.

18/03/20

Have to self-isolate for 14 days. The worries mount.

22/03/20

Sketchbook work for the first time in 11 days. Feels like a lifetime.

Is there a better, more cohesive way to go about the drawing side of practice?

I think immediacy, or the notion of immediacy, is still important.

24/03/20

Transferred some recent drawings to acetate.

STEP UP!

25/03/20

Studio time with Radiohead.

26/03/20

A bit of sketching but mainly organising imagery.

“There’s no point in worryin’ what ye can’t control.”

BAK

“No Remorse” is finished. There are parts that still annoy but all in all pleased to it’s best to leave it and move on.

28/03/20

Pushing and pulling with “Self Portrait with Sketchbook”. Frustrating but really fun at the same time!

29/03/20

Cleaning palette and studio up. Also stripped the background of “SPwS”. Too similar to the skin tones and made the canvas seem quite flat.

30/03/20

So bloody close!

31/03/20

Last day of quarantine.

Great to take part in the VAI online café and to get an insight into Tinka Bechert’s wonderful work.

“SPwS” finished. It is very wonky as it’s taken from a very wonky sketch from a few years ago but there’s something about the sketch that made me want to try and develop it into a painting for quite some time.

RDH: FEBRUARY 2020

01/02/20

Detail of “Self-Portrait with Sketchbook” - painting in progress

Right, get paint down! Started two little pieces today and “The Crown of Dionysus” is complete"!

“The Crown of Dionysus” on my very dirty studio wall.

02/02/20

The last palindrome day for another 111 years. Damn rugby is distracting!

“No Remorse” - background building up.

03/02/20

Parcel.

06/02/20

“Religion decays, the icon remains; a narrative is forgotten, yet its representation still magnetises (the ignorant eye triumphs - how galling for the informed eye).”

Julian Barnes - ‘Géricault: Catastrophe into Art’

“No sooner do we come into this world, than bits of us start to fall off.”

Gustave Flaubert

09/02/20

Detail of body - “No Remorse”

Using storm Ciara to aid in the drying process.

10/02/20

Submission started.

Mobile installation?

11/02/20

…might be a little out there. Will sit on it for a while.

“Laziness is a sign of mediocrity.”

Voltaire

15/02/20

Visit by Jane and Hugh.

Victim / Perpetrator / Both

linking current work.

17/02/20

All pieces are wrapped and ready to go.

21/02/20

Slight change of plan.

23/02/20

Sketchbook work tonight.

25/02/20

Nerves are shredded already!

26/02/20

Work is on its way.

27/02/20

Well that’s it! Install complete I’m really happy with the exhibition and now it’s a waiting game for the opening.

29/02/20

Louis Fratino on Talk Art podcast.

Repeating motifs. mem: Like that odd shoulder loop that happens in drawings and then translates to paintings.

Made good progress in some areas of “Remorse” (bodies) but mostly have over painted to the point where I can’t put anything else down. Better to walk away now and go again another day than to push it over the edge today. Have reintroduced some rough drawing elements into the background.

RDH: JANUARY 2020

01/01/20

New Decade. A quiet start to the year but with a feeling of resolve and drive to get things done.

02/01/20

“For the dead travel fast.” - Jonathan Harker’s Journal

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

03/01/20

mem: Sickert’s approach to “Portrait of Hugh Walpole” - one of my favourites - could work. Drastic yes but by simplifying the colours… more painterly…. ambiguous.

04/01/20

The Optimism Gap: Locally good. Nationally bad.

“Unsafe” Commission

Finished commission. Looked at Sickert and Dumas. Previously it was haggard and stale.

05/01/20

…relieved!

A lot of scanned drawings tonight.

06/01/20

Renewal

07/01/20

Five posts in five weeks.

09/01/20

“Confessional”

Potential title?

11/01/20

Performed open heart surgery on the 206 today.

“No Remorse” painting is moving very very slowly.

Detail of “No Remorse” in progress

Overthinking personal issues.

12/01/20

Belfast today.

Incense in sunlight

Issues of “crown” install is mind boggling.

DIONYSUS

13/01/20

Office updating and uploading.

14/01/20

Jade Riley wrote a little piece about my practice. Chuffed!

16/01/20

Ideas with Dad for install concepts.

Hodge-Podge.

17/01/20

Bit of breathing issues but otherwise OK.

19/01/20

Winter sunset

“Shoah” - 1985 A film by Claude Lanzmann

Eventually got out of a rut (well even a foot out of the door is good) and got sketching.

22/01/20

“To remove unwanted threads of your past (regrets or mistakes) is to undo the tapestry of your life.” - JLP

24/01/20

CCA Derry

Darren Banks

Agnes Meyer-Brandis

25/01/20

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening of “The Dark” in the CCA. Agnes Meyer-Brandis’ work has made me look at geese in a slightly more positive light.

Started two new canvases and pleased with the progress of “Crown of Dionysus”.

27/01/20

“Crown” finished - including wall fixing designed by Dad.

C.E.’s shouldn’t be halted until the weekend.

Finally getting around to reading the collection of art essays by Julian Barnes. I think since I got it the day I visited John in the Royal I’ve been avoiding it.

28/01/20

Late night sketching is better than no sketching at all!

Hatchet sketch

30/01/20

“Time dissolves the story into form, colour, emotion. Modern and ignorant, we re-imagine the story: do we vote for the optimistic yellowing sky, or the grieving greybeard? Or do we end up believing both versions? The eye can flick from one road or one interpretation, to the other: is this what was intended?

Julian Barnes - “Géricault: Catastrophe into Art”

31/01/20

All in all a horrible day.

RDH: DECEMBER 2019

01/12/19

semiotics

02/12/19

It is never wise to stand on a plug.

UNSAFE SYMBOL

In a crisis are we all destined to retract to a small amount of predetermined protocols?

It is what we do in these scenarios that characterise who we can become - but that shouldn’t be confused with a concluded definition.

03/12/19

“Gaugin - A Dangerous Life” on BBC IPlayer

“The work of a man explains that man”

- Paul Gaugin

04/12/19

Sketchbook work this evening.

07/12/19

Really didn’t get as much done as I should have. Started commission though which is good.

08/12/19

So I now own a car!

15/12/19

A very tough week. Frustration at zero creative output. Filter and breathe.

16/12/19

… so I am grateful so for many things. The positives outweigh the negatives. It is OK to have lull bits. It is still be seen as necessary time to off load while creating space for work down the line.

Read the Room.

17/12/19

Some more sketchbook working out tonight.

A very foggy night

20/12/19

The welcomed return of lists - getting things straightened out for the first time in a long time.

21/12/19

If all else fails, even just sitting in the studio is good. It can induce making…

Detail of commission in Progress

Have decided to try and switch off over the holidays. Easier said than done as I’m never more than a few steps away from RD to jot thoughts/ideas down on. Will be good to spend some time away - clear some head-space.

28/12/19

2019 has been an odd year. Rejection, award, rejection, solo show, more rejection…

Making time and adhering to a schedule of sorts has to be up there with priorities in the new year. Keeping this blog going is good. Some folks say, isn’t it odd to type out what you’ve jotted down a few weeks ago but I’ve found that in order to move forward, it’s good to have a refresher of what has just preceded and digesting this helps put aims and dangers into perspective.

29/12/19

Less Flaky Would Be Good.

31/12/19

New Year’s Eve Poker Night and Rogue isn’t having a good run of cards at all.

Episode 8 of the Art Advocate Podcast

Delighted to have been asked to sit down and have a chat with the wonderful Fiona Stewart for episode 8 of the Art Advocate Podcast!

Huge thanks to Fiona for inviting me to her wonderful studio for a chat and definitely check out previous episodes as well as keeping an eye out future podcasts.

RDH: SEPTEMBER 2019

01/09/19

More work done to “The Ferryman”. I think it’s lost any painterly charm.

02/09/19

‘Arena: Kusama Infinity’ - such a great artist!

“While the dead show dead art, living artists die.” - Yayoi Kusama

Hope springs eternal.

05/09/19

Great talk and workshop with Action Mental Health. Really positive and interesting feedback from the crowd.

Patrick Horan’s fantastic paintings in the Ards Art Centre’s Sunburst Gallery.

Called into the Ards Art Centre for a quick chat and a little look at two shows opening; Gavin McCrea’s installation and Patrick Horan’s paintings.

Mark Mcgreevy at the MAC

Mark McGreevy at the MAC

Cameron Morgan at the University of Atypical

Yvonne Keenan in the Golden Thread Gallery

"Off the Rails" exhibition in Belfast Exposed

Sp0re: Psychedelic Laughter in Platform Arts

Yusuke Asai’s amazing installation in the Golden Thread Gallery

At Late Night Art Mark McGreevy’s ‘Flop Sweat’ in the MAC is marvellous! Brilliant use of colour. ‘Knick Knacks and Whatnots’ by Cameron Morgan in University of Atypical is excellent. Blown away by the work on display in the Golden Thread’s “Noise of Silence: Japanese Art Now’ especially Yusuke Asai’s huge mud installations.

06/09/19

“Ferryman” is unusable.

07/09/19

Finally finished the middle panel from the originally conceived “Pioneer” triptych. Think it stands on it’s own merit.

"The Forgotten" - detail

"The Brown Bull of Cooley" - detail

More progress to the the ‘Cooley’ piece.

11/09/19

Sketchbook work tonight.

12/09/19

Really enjoyed “Memory: The Origin of Alien” documentary.

“At the Mountains of Madness” by HP Lovecraft.

“What will humanity find when they look in the dark places?”

15/09/19

Studio work - some additions of spray paint to ‘Cooley’ piece. Walked away before digging too far.

Little panel piece, “The Horror! The Horror” Speed is it’s friend. Wooden supports are responsive to gestural work - less so with the charcoal marks - more layers needed to achieve tonal quality I’m after.

16/09/19

Wonderful article about my time up at Action Mental Health.

17/09/19

Increase in productivity lately. Could it be a confidence thing? I’m working no more or no less than the slump periods. Is it a case of a fine tuning of better judgement when more at peace with practice? Plenty to look forward to in the coming months.

19/09/19

21/09/19

Notes: immediate drawing line combined with more deliberate painterly marks. Cross pollination.

“LW” = by removing the instrument of trauma can it be viewed in a miraculous or redemptive light?

Not spelling out the narrative - Great to sit down and chat about work and ideas with GM.

Visit to PS Squared and “How the Image Echos” show.

Sea Holly Gallery is absolutely stunning and wonderful work on from the 545 pop up group show. So good to see elements of the much loved Orpheus building back in an artistic sense.

Craig Donald’s work alongside restored windows from the Orpheus building in the Sea Holly Gallery

22/09/19

Finished little panel piece.

24/09/19

Quarantined.

28/09/19

Studio work and “Dress Rehearsal Study” is getting there. It’s weird how every time I paint children they end up completely terrifying.

Ari Aster’s ‘Midsommar’ is utterly amazing. Beautifully filmed and will stay with me for a long time.

30/09/19

Collection of work for “Bardo” show tomorrow morning.

RDH: AUGUST 2019

01/08/19

Save mode now!

04/08/19

Clean Palette.

08/08/19

Spider skin

10/08/19

Studio…

Detail of “Bogland Sackrace” - work in progress.

Drawing is essential in practice. It’s not even the success of the outcome that’s important but the act of looking and really scrutinising an image or object. Trying to find a way in.

PERFECTION IS AN ILLUSION.

13/08/19

Wrapping process.

15/08/19

Sketchbook work.

16/08/19

For tomorrow, let loose!

I’ve been lingering long enough on small little intricacies.

It’s not the first time I’ve struggled with a figure in profile.

Need to just look!

‘Art of Spain’ documentary : Goya was deaf!?

Black paintings were done “to the brink of incoherence” (AGD).

17/08/19

‘Bogland’ completed

A really good day in the studio. Huge improvement to ‘Sackrace’. The face in the central figure could be better but that is where I’ll leave it. Back is signed so it’s official.

Studio shot: 17/08/19

Unplanned progress on ‘Ferryman’. More painterly background.

21/08/19

Getting there with the small chores.

22/08/19

Otto Dix - War Triptych

24/08/19

Early stages of “The Brown Bull of Cooley”

Started a new large canvas. Took on the image of a woman in motion - her stance suggested a figure that could be in battle. After a little research I decided to add a typical Celtic sword and shield combo. So this found magazine image turns into Queen Medb of Connaught.

Once the figure was on the canvas I was unsure whether to incorporate the bull (Medb’s infamous cattle raid of Cooley as inspiration) but curiosity got the better of me and I tore on with it.

Basically blocking the image up but it is promising so far. It will be interesting to see the fight between Medb and the bull in terms of who will come out dominant where in the composition.

28/08/19

29/08/19

Material delivery!

31/08/19

Studio work and ‘Ferryman’ has stagnated. Some parts work and others flop.

At that strange limbo point where a painting you’re working on fights back and refuses to yield. When one point of grievance is adjusted, two more pop up.

Today - more so than others - has been spent reflecting on lost loved ones and parts of that has made its way onto canvas. Little nods to moments once shared with someone no longer here.

I haven’t had this level of personal attachment to a work in progress in a long time and it has made the already frustrating back and forth of a painting’s final stretch all the more agonising.

Can you paint over a memory or is knowing that these little nods once existed enough?

RDH: JULY 2019

01/07/19

Slow but important work on “Bogland” today. Thinking a lot about Sickert.

Detail of "Bogland Sack Race"

Fast sketchbook work

It’s been a rough week but finally seeing positives.

Sketchbook time.

02/07/19

Meditate and Release.

03/07/19

Found ‘failed’ middle panel of “Pioneer Studies”. Works on it’s own merit. Must have been a weak link at the time.

Rework maybe?

04/07/19

Submission sent. A glutton for punishment.

06/07/19

Bit later in the day for studio time but spent longer tonight to make up for it.

Some texture with sawdust.

Colours are popping and really contrast from the blurred background. Still trying to maintain the mantra of “MAKE EVERY PAINTING A STUDY” but it’s hard when the focal point is a figure where it seems to be falling short.

More integration of sawdust needed? Question everything?

The smallest brush in the arsenal.

07/07/19

Didn’t get to sleep until 5am. It’s not my fault.

Crisp morning breeze. Brought a rose in.

Staring at work, the foreground, which I tolerated a few weeks ago, now seems flat. Texture, perspective and overlapping of light and shade required.

09/07/19

A.A.H.

10/07/19

Francis Bacon mask

13/07/19

Ballydugan Mill

14/07/19

Amazing day at G &N’s wedding yesterday! Trying to get a bit of studio work in now before a much needed early night!

Frustrating. Two steps forward, two steps back. No better off but not worse off either.

15/07/19

“Never mind that nobody bought them! Do them! Tell your story!”

Faith Ringgold

“He who follows is always behind.”

Paul Cézanne

16/07/19

How to get back in the creative mindset?

19/07/19

“Asking for Trouble” - pen on paper

‘What gets measured gets done’ is a quote is heard rattled around today.

20/07/19

Plenty of little niggly bits to run through. Let’s not fall into that usual trap of realism!

“I.N.A.R.P.”

Am I focusing too much on that main figure?

Right… don’t panic!

22/07/19

Strange birthday. Nothing bad, just strange.

Beautiful sketchbook from Jan.

23/07/19

Didn’t get through. Plough on!

25/07/19

Intense building.

27/07/19

Trying not to waste to so much paint. Working on “Sack Race” - shadows and sack texture.

“Ferryman”: painterly background. Leaving it early.

28/07/19

“As an artist you should be the one to sing off key.”

Nicholas Hlobo

A non-studio art day. Starting new sketchbook. Smaller sale seems to suit drawing technique. I think I came to this realisation some time ago but it must have slipped the memory.

Arena’s Cindy Sherman: #untitled was great! Chameleon. Film stills and centre pieces are still some of my favourite works.

29/07/19

“I trust you to make the narrative”

Olafur Eliasson

31/07/19

“Art can offer a chance for self examination”

Olafur Eliasson

RDH: JUNE 2019

01/06/19

Almost a disaster. Too hung up on certain elements and it is holding the piece back. So the notion of blurring the background and having the foreground sharply in focus works. Execution at the moment is lacking sadly. Need to figure out how to fix the mesh fence but will need to redo all the good work from today. Lesson Learnt.

02/06/19

Essentially yesterday was a pure slug fest in the studio.

Action is better than inaction. Working out grid for fence work.

07/06/19

Great to meet up with folks today.

GOLDEN THREAD GALLERY VISIT:

"The Telepaths" by Susan MacWilliam

"Kim Happiness" by Philippe Chancel

THE MAC VISIT:

"Limbo Land" by Christopher James Burns.

Stunning solo exhibition!

Frances Hegarty and Andrew Stones: "The Land That..."

Moving video work and installations.

Engine Room Gallery visit:

Solo show by John McMacken

Belfast School of Art Degree Show:

Leoni Hill

Nina Johnston

Latisha Reihill

Lauren Ciara McConnell

Belfast School of Art Degree Shows were great. Some outstanding work. Nina Johnston’s tree installation on level 6 is amazing. Regardless of levels/grades that many of the graduates are embarking on that’s the really exciting part.

Looking back, I adored my time in university but detested my degree show. All but one piece has been destroyed and it was the start of a huge, and still ongoing learning curve that’s led my practice to where it is.

Meeting in the evening went really well. Some good feedback and ideas for an upcoming project.

08/06/19

Little break from the studio today to recharge from the overload of art from yesterday.

11/06/19

“Frank Bowling - What do Artists Do All Day?”

12/06/19

The beginnings of planning an exhibition layout.

“Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is a strength”

Katy Grannan

“Dana Shutz: How Do You Depict A Feeling?”

15/06/19

Detail of the removal process.

Bit of start and stop in the studio but fixative giveth and fixative taketh away!

Just spied Grace McMurray’s piece in the Royal Academy documentary.

16/06/19

“Paula Rego: Secrets and Stories” - Great way to start the day!

“Depression is like a crown of thorns”

Paula Rego

Dander down to the river with the dogs.

More pushing back on “Sack Race” although I could have easily got sucked into working on tiny details and not looked at the whole picture.

Treat every painting as a study.

17/06/19

Glazing, Hatching, Cross Hatching, Direct, Sfumato, Painterly, Impasto, Staining, Dripping, Gestural, Broken Strokes, Dotting, A La Prima, Patches, Feathers, Scumbling, Washes, Bravara, Directional.

Sketchbook work.

19/06/19

Knowledge / Creativity / Inspiration

Beginnings / Liberation

21/06/19

Summer Solstice. Pleased with how mesh fence is coming.

22/06/19

Need to let go of aiming to get the little things perfect in the work. Ultimately its holding up the process. Obviously not saying to go full ‘Sloppy Joe’ on it but recognising when things get knit picky - take a step back and reassess time spent on something inconsequential.

Perfection is an illusion.

23/06/19

Little break day. Sophia Campbell on “Sky’s PAOTY 2019”.

24/06/19

There’s no sugar coating it. Intrusive thoughts bombarding for practically 8 straight hours.

Embarrassing, frustrating but mainly just terrifying. I don’t want them anymore.

25/06/19

It will take time to get to grips with what is going on.

27/06/19

Currently going through potential imagery. I think its good to scan through images from time to time to build up ideas.

30/06/19

Getting to grips with terms and conditions and sorting out a plan of action together.

RDH: MAY 2019

03/05/19

Painting Peer Critique hosted in CCA Derry.

Artist John Robinson with his work on the temporary stage at CCA Derry.

04/05/19

Close up of “The Lost Woods Study”

Been a while since using leaves to print on. Needs more layers but for now it solves the issue of the line… breaks the eye.

So after four months and four days I’ve finally finished a painting and broke my 2019 drought.

Detail of “Rose” - oil and charcoal on canvas.

05/05/19

First time visiting and it was like opening an old wound.

11/05/19

One very creepy window display.

12/05/19

Great Art show: “Goya: Flesh and Blood”

Started “Sack Race” (working title) and stupidly didn’t check material inventory before starting.

Studio shot of "Sack Race" in progress

Close up of "Sack Race" with sawdust applied.

17/05/19

Sketching tonight. Past self was clever enough to leave certain works aside for potential events.

Study of an Uncle.

18/05/19

Really happy with how the studio went today.

More depth put into "Sack Race".

Close up of a dripping shadow

Started work on "The Ferryman".

19/05/19

Completed “The Lost Woods Study”.

20/05/19

Not to rely on gimmick. It has been an invaluable tool - one that I will continue to utilise - but only when the work demands it. If it is forced (like “Woman With the Dogs” and, more recently, “Ruins”) the work stagnates and imagery drowns in an unnecessarily complicated mess.

21/05/19

Should take own advice from time to time about differing paint properties.

In “Sack Race” - the looser the playing field the better. Almost tempted not to touch it at all.

A sort of closure. A temporary full stop.

22/05/19

Ran out of time. Need to keep RD by side.

23/05/19

Ring-gate.

25/05/19

“I know more. The lack of whats in the current work informs the next.” - Eva Rothschild.

"The Ferryman" - detail 1

"The Ferryman" - detail 2

More layers to “The Ferryman”. Because the face of the ferryman is so small it would be easy to fall into the familiar trap of aiming to capture all the detail and likeness of the source image. Focusing instead on light and tone - maybe even a hint of a blur? Like the figure is in the middle of turning to look at the viewer.

Surprise / Confrontation / Acknowledgement

Back and forth with “Sack Race”. Happy with certain elements, like the sky but have consequently fogged up other sections in the process. Eager to not fall into the familiar trap of muddiness and over-painting.

More progress to the sky in “Sack Race”.

27/25/19

29/05/19

Late night sketchbook work.

RDH: MARCH 2019

02/03/19

“The Ivy Crown" progress.

Struggling with “Bereft Clown”. I think it’s too contrived. Another image overlay maybe?

"Bereft Clown" - overlay

"Ruins" - detail

"The Lost Woods Study"

Adding another image automatically forces you to simplify the composition in a way so that just the essentials are left.

Loosening up on “Ruins”. Music really makes a difference in the studio for me.

The imagery may be personal but the doors are left open. Viewers bringing their own experiences / ideas to the work is paramount.

Don’t like the word ‘style’. It’s too certain of itself.

03/03/19

“Sack Race”

Bit better productivity wise.

07/03/19

“Guardian Study”

Sketchbook work tonight.

08/03/19

…has “Bereft Clown” gone the way of the dodo yet again? Is it stifling and holding me back? Even just setting it aside for a week or two could help.

09/03/19

"Ruins" - Detail of Child

"Rose" - Work in Progress

Temporarily removed the shrub in “Ruins”.

10/03/19

Pablo the Monstera

15/03/19

Lynda Benglis doesn’t make work for other people or for specific shows but purely out of curiosity.

“The Boatman”

Attempted some sketchbook work - hit and miss - mostly miss.

16/03/19

Cake tin for the sky disc. I think it’s a good idea to get closer to the colour scheme in my head than what is on the canvas at the moment.

20/03/19

21/03/19

“Quick Call”

Sketchbook work.

23/03/19

In the studio where I’m happiest. Even if it’s not working well it’s about going through the process.

Detail of a weeping willow.

A good bit of experimentation today but heading in the right direction nonetheless.

24/03/19

"Regal Nest" ideas

"Tarnished" ideas

Corita Kent rules:

1. Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while.

2. General duties of a student: Pull everything out of your teacher. Pull everything out of your fellow students.

3. General duties of a teacher: Pull everything out of your students.

4. Consider everything an experiment.

5. Be self disciplined. This means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self disciplined is to follow in a better way.

6. Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.

7. The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

8. Don’t try to create and analyse at the same time. They are different processes.

9. Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

10. “We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving room for X quantities.” - John Cage.

Helpful hints: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything. It might come in handy later.

There should be new rules next week.

26/03/19

…in my thoughts today.

“If you mix your voice with others’ voices you feel as though you are caught in a hook.

Franz Kafka - “Children on the Road”

27/03/19

So in front of a warm fire and three sleeping dogs, I asked Jan to marry me.

Thankfully she said yes.

30/03/19

A little semblance of normality today: back in the studio.

Less contrast between the sun and sky?

Slowly but surely making progress on the “The Lost Woods Study”.

Detail of “The Lost Woods Study”.

31/03/19

…more work done to “Rose” today.

Detail of “Rose” - work in progress.

RDH: FEBRUARY 2019

01/02/19

Slight change of tact…

02/02/19

03/02/19

Some tonal work on “Bereft Clown”

05/02/19

Lagging behind.

06/02/19

Applications submitted.

09/02/19

DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to DISTRACTIONS leads to NOT DOING WORK leads to FEELINGS OF GUILT leads to … etc etc.

How do you combat this?

“Discipline is key" - JG

Break the cycle by physically setting time aside for practice. Depending on the day of the week and other commitments, the type of productive work will differ.

10/02/19

Cleaning the palette

12/02/19

One good sketch is better than not drawing at all.

16/02/19

“What’s for you won’t go past you.”

Reworked pattern and colours on clown today.

17/02/19

Great to get painting today albeit a little later than I would have liked.

Counting works - didn’t realise there were so many!

23/02/19

Belfast. Great to see the last day of ‘The Question of Feeling at Home’ in PS² - curated by Moran Been-Noon. Bonus to get a run down from Moran about the show and to see Cecilia Bullo’s work in the flesh! Been excited to see it since her talk in the DLR LexIcon last year. Next was a visit to Belfast Exposed for the ACNI collection show with a solo show by Linda Conroy in the upstairs space. Conroy’s work is disturbing and utterly absorbing at the same time. Removing notions of the individual from religious ritual resonated with me personally. Then it was on to ‘Porous Plane’ by Lennon in the Golden Thread Gallery. The sheer scale and vibrancy of the work was immense. In the information leaflet it says that “no knowledge is required to enjoy the beauty of these paintings” and that Lennon “invites each of us to find ourselves and arrive at our own inclusions”. Leaving room for the viewer is something I’m particularly keen on.

Lastly onto the wonderful ‘Alternate Perspective’ in Platform featuring work by Aimee MeLaugh and Karl Hagan. Both reflect on ‘memory, people, places and trauma’. The grandeur of history painting coupled with highly personal and intimate narratives. Wonderful painting exhibition.

"Deconstruction, Reconstruction"

Sarah Smith

PS²

"Third Space" (detail)

Cecilia Bullo

PS²

ACNI Collection

Susan MacWilliam (left) and Peter Richards (right)

Belfast Exposed

"1942" and "1948"

Linda Conroy

Belfast Exposed

"PECH MERLE FUGUE//AL13 MM VII x" (detail)

Lennon

Golden Thread Gallery

"Alternate Perspective"

Karl Hagan and Aimee MeLaugh

Platform Arts

25/02/19

Project profile submitted.

27/02/19

It’s the journey not the destination.

28/02/19

Nearly into third month and nothing really to show for it. Plenty of works in progress but not enough progress being made.

RDH: JANUARY 2019

01/01/19

Mountain walk with Jan and Rogue.

“I think of drawing as a way of getting information and really learning to understand imagery.” - Cecily Brown

Anna Bjerger has a corner filled with ten years of old books / magazines. There’s usually nothing new but it’s about looking at imagery time and again to see if anything jumps out.

OLD IMAGERY RECEIVING NEW CONTEXT.

You need to have a genuine feeling for an image.

02/01/19

Two large canvases. Diptych idea?

03/01/19

05/01/19

Found in a car park.

Nothing done is also nothing ruined.

06/01/19

10/01/19

If it is to be it will come again.

London is happening in April. Can’t wait!

11/01/19

Idea for a painting: “The To and Fro of Indecision”.

Sketchbook work tonight. Looking at old paintings from second year in University.

12/01/19

Boiler suit

If you look a little longer you will see things that have always been there but not in the same context as before. I’ve started looking a little closer at drawings that have been transferred onto acetate and pairing them off with others that I normally wouldn’t have previously.

13/01/19

Christening + St Lurach’s ruins. This is the biggest canvas I’ve tackled in a long time.

“Organised Forgetting”

Paint went well today - generally just blocking so it’s not too tasking. Colours - light v dark. Which elements of the image come to the fore and what fights to be heard.

15/01/19

Meaningless vote.

Chris Ofili’s “No Woman No Cry” - canvas rested on 2 heaps of elephant dung covered in a transparent resin.

Sculpture ideas - photos stacked like a house of cards. On panels?

Pyramid.

17/01/19

Trip to Newtownards and Belfast today.

The Ards Art Centre

The Ards Art Centre’s Georgian gallery space is stunning! So much light! Really interesting work by Katrina Cobain on show.

Stunning work by Alana Barton in the Black Box.

Great opening of Vault show in the Golden Thread Gallery’s project space.

Pauline Rowan’s photography was the stand out work for me in the latest instalment of Golden Thread’s “Dissolving Histories” series.

19/01/19

20/01/19

Really struggling to get motivated.

The act of drawing has stagnated. If you cut off the source how do you expect the river to flow?

Even working on other imagery (drawings) when painting something else is bound to have positive repercussions?

27/01/19

Took a while to get going. Not really focusing on one task but I think that’s good sometimes.

A little experiment

28/01/19

Been thinking a lot about potential sculptural ideas recently. Give it a whirl?

29/01/19

Sketchbook work

30/01/19

“Shooting the Darkness” documentary on RTÉ was fascinating insight from photojournalists who were front line witnesses to some of the most horrific atrocities during the Troubles.

2018 in Photos

JANUARY

Detail of "Bereft Clown" painting in progress

Infinity symbol

Studio Wall - 6th January

Injured bird

Home in candlelight

Paw prints on canvas

FEBRUARY

Kyle Barnes on BBCNI's 'The Arts Show'

"Next in Line" drawing

Reflective palette

LOFT's Drink and Draw at Town Square, Belfast

EMIC spotted on Botanic

Gilbert and George at the MAC, Belfast

David Godbold at the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

MARCH

Jan

Office work

Cleansing the palette

Reworking failed works

APRIL

'Stalker' (1979) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Family photo

Detail of "Bye Standers" painting in progress

Drawing that didn't quite make the cut

Grace McMurray at the University Gallery, Belfast

MAY

"Damned It" part of group show in Catalyst Arts, Belfast

Solo show by Kyle Barnes at the Burnavon, Cookstown

Mate's night out

Opening of 'The Here and Now - Six Painters' at Townhouse Gallery, Belfast

Lindsay Seers at the MAC, Belfast

Drawing in the sun

Detail of 'Bye Standers'

Glenshane forest

JUNE

Playing with negative space

Studio shot - 16th June

Detail of 'Cult' - painting in progress

Rosses Point beach, Sligo

The Model Gallery, Sligo

JULY

"Requests?"

Ready for stretching

Justine McDonnell at the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

Elizabeth Magill at the Ulster Museum, Belfast

Beginnings of 'Oedipus' painting

Sunflower from the iDA Award ceremony at the University of Atypical, Belfast

AUGUST

Alex Cecchetti at VOID Gallery, Derry

Shadows in the studio

"Take Five" drawing

SEPTEMBER

Retrieving works from Belfast

Hoarding ideas

Detail of "A Manifold and Truly Glorious Strife"

The wedding of the year

Studio shot - 23rd September

Peer Critique in the Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

OCTOBER

Studio shot - 11th October

Rewatching a classic

View from DLR Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire

Detail of "Pioneer Studies" - work in progress

Studio shot - 27th October

Fright Night

"Confessional" painting in progress

NOVEMBER

Progress on "Afore the Stoop"

Ali Cherri's wonderful work as part of the MAC International 2018

"Confessional" - work in progress

Sketchbook work - 28th November

DECEMBER

Work being sent to Belfast for a group show

EMIC's amazing studio space in VAULT, Belfast

Moon-rise over Glenshane

Sketchbook work - 27th December

Detail of "Confessional" - finished

Re-working "Bereft Clown" - detail