This week is the first week without something or other scheduled in my diary for months. Except on Thursday the local press are coming to take photographs for a piece about Southwell Open Studios. We are joining forces with the first Southwell Music Festival (brainchild of Marcus Farnsworth).
My 6ft paintings from ‘Perfume and Savages’ are currently stored in the garage but I’ve managed to install a couple in the house. One is a bit low – therein lies the problem of squeezing big paintings into domestic settings. I’m toying with the idea of taking the light fixings down. Mmmm
The other three paintings will hang at the newly refurbished ‘Reach’ centre, home to a charitable organisation which supports adults with learning disabilities. Kerri Pratt from HMS will also be installing work in the offices too.
Yesterday I took a small portrait (35 x 25cm), oil on board, to the framers. This is the second one. The first one completed last year was longlisted for the BP portrait prize. These are legacy paintings of my two little grand daughters Emily and Rose. When Jem was ill last year I started to think about mortality. I couldn’t go to the studio but I was able to work at a desk in my small space at home. Whilst my family support and enjoy my contemporary work they actually LOVE the portraits.
Two weeks of talks, research and focus. I’m shattered. I wasn’t expecting a huge outcome as I concentrated on animation and you can’t do that in a hurry. Also I was using PremierPro which was totally new to me. However, I had some great technical help from students and technicians so I made better headway than expected. I set myself the task of transforming a fragile figure into a relaxed character, then someone more assertive. Using the Body Language Bible as reference I also got one of the students to pose.
Working form memory I created painterly characters which I chopped and changed in Photoshop. I realised early doors that painting each frame would be too jumpy.
I’m sorry I ca’nt upload but the computer says no.
I like the new A-N website.
It’s the end of week one of Summer Lodge, a two week research opportunity/ residency for 30+ artists at NTU.
Most are NTU staff and PhDs students with a few invited guests, some international. I am one of five artists selected from studios in and around Nottingham. Chris Wright from HMS is another.
Day five was a one-day symposium focusing on the activity of process within arts practice. Some interesting threads and much food for thought.
The rest of the week has been spent developing an idea which has been on the back burner for some time now. Over a period of eighteen months I have made a series of 5 paintings which look identical at first glance but are quite different on closer inspection. They are ‘copies’ of a bigger painting but there are many accidental inaccuracies in terms of colour and mark making. My intention has been to animate them and project. This week I have managed to photograph and animate for the first time. HD quality too. Next week I am hoping to project it. So far I am so pleased with the result that I am motivated to make 7 more, therefore 12 frames altogether. This is quite a task as each painting takes weeks and the process of copying is not something I enjoy. However, I am sure it will be worth it.
