It’s been a little while since my last blog post – entirely because the real, ‘non-blogging’ world is full. My head has become a stockpile of information that I suppose I should share …
I have developed my 6IX Souls project along narrative lines, and am compiling the all-important tales of those that will pass away.
On a purely experimental front, to develop the component parts of the piece still further, I have been having a bit of fun with burning things; I always did like burning things …
It’s Sunday. I’ve been thinking all week about some creative adventures I can have with my theme. On Thursday, my gallery had an opening event for the next exhibition staged by the artist-led group I am a part of – DIG! More about that at some other time.
The point is, it’s been a ridiculously busy week, and every time I’m at uni, I don’t get the things done that I’d like to. I used to get these things done in my spare time, but I don’t have any of that now – so I have to work hard to make things happen whenever I can. Yesterday, I was at the gallery all day, and it was particularly well attended, which was obviously good; I dreamt of being somewhere quiet, making art.
So, it’s Sunday and I’ve been busy multitasking again; but I did get a chance to work artistically. I awoke this morning thinking about a new addition to my paintings.
I have long enjoyed punching through canvasses to create holes through the picture plane, and I’ve also got into film-making in the last 3 years. So, I thought, I can make films that will show through these punched holes in my canvasses.
Today, I took a canvas I’d been working on and mildly dislike (not unusual!) outside, and used my propane blowtorch to scorch & burn it – oh, and I cut and slashed a hole through it in a place that will give balance to the composition.
The blowtorch gave me some control; too much at times. I’ve always enjoyed chance in art – my recent dissertation was on that very subject. Once you let things catch fire, you have less control, and so this is what I did at times. As a result, holes were burnt through the surface in places that the fire decided to burn completely through.
It’s been a cold, windy day, and a difficult one to work on. I doused the canvas in water and left it outside overnight to ensure I don’t end-up burning down my house.
Tomorrow, I shall take it to university if it’s dry enough and begin the next stage – making a wire frame for the back to hold a tablet pc. The tablet pc will show my films of smouldering fires and flames through one of the holes, such that the viewer will see what seems to be a canvas that is burning.
Once that is done, I shall set about fine tuning the painting to make the composition work.
Why do all this? Because my degree show piece will include 4 canvasses representing 4 different lives ending. I am still working on how exactly I will do that. This then, is a sketch.
Images relating to this artwork to follow sometime this week. It was too dark & cold outside to hang around recording my madness on camera (this time) ..!
First thoughts on a difficult subject, with me waffling-on. As I mentioned in a previous post – these are early thoughts that I have already adapted; I’ll get onto that at a later date.
6ix Souls project presentation.
Fish … I said, fish …
Interestingly, I own a contemporary art gallery business called ‘The Freudian Sheep’. It launched in December 2013. I am a very busy chap … and sometimes wish that I could sit quietly in a room at home and make art that only I get to see (like I used to).
Why on earth would I want to do that?
Out there in the world, I am a fish swimming around in a bowl (not unlike all the other fish). As an artistic fish, it’s a particularly difficult sea for me. We artistic fish have to survive by any means we can. I suppose I’ve been safe as a member of the Art School of Fish for the past couple of years – but there are many different types of fish, even there.
All us different arty fish swimming around in our different ways, trying to attract attention to our art, but probably not so much to ourselves. We have been working together as a school of artistic fish, to give us a chance of survival out there in that big deep ocean that we’re swimming towards.
My art gallery is a place where I can enjoy displaying the art of all these other fish friends of mine, alongside my own; hopefully, it’ll keep the sharks at bay, and might even help some of us to a bigger and better sea altogether.
The gallery is, of course, more ‘sheep’ than ‘fish’. But that’s another story …
It was my intention to post the aforementioned video which seeks to explain my upcoming project, 6ix Souls. The size of the vid is ensuring that it’s taking a long, long time to upload – so, I guess I’ll post it tomorrow seeing as it’s so late in the day now.
So late it is in fact, that it’s already tomorrow. And they say ‘tomorrow never comes’ …
Well – it has.
I am am Ian, and I am an Artist.
