The boulder has been taken out of the entrance to Structure 8, and they are removing stones and roof tiles that fell in – to get down to the main slab. Apparently, interesting things are found in doorways. It has […]
Yesterday, halfway through my painting, the sky on the horizon went black with rain and a small twister. It was too late to alter the sky, but I think it may show in the way the foreground picked up the […]
Yesterday, halfway through my painting, the sky on the horizon went black with rain and a small twister. It was too late to alter the sky, but I think it may show in the way the foreground picked up the […]
Changeable weather again – so what’s new? Chris, who makes carved stone balls using neolithic tools, has suggested composing a still life of them. Why does Chardin come to mind first, when I empathise with Cézanne’s approach. Chris agrees we […]
An amazingly still day – hardly any wind, which is so unusual. Voices carry across the trench. Huge cotton wool clouds moving very slowly. Some rain on the far horizon. The sky is so big. The trench is huge when […]
Trench tour for the many specialists working with the Ness of Brodgar makes me feel in awe of the complexity of the dig. Put in parallel with my project as Artist in Residence, it shows up the bewildering nature of […]
Porthole — I hate – Friday 28th July 2017 Rickmansworth – Grand Union Canal – chalk marker pen on glass
Hugo talked most interestingly about how Structure 14 may have been built – what was probably established first and how, bit by bit, the (non architect based) structure gradually appeared over time. Stones straight on to earth. (Our early C19 […]
Re excavation. Revisiting an eight year old trench. Yesterday they excavated the black plastic. Today brushing, weeding and gentle spade work, dragging off earth settled on top of previously exposed stone. Like working with a big trowel. Not on their […]
Porthole — Tuesday 25th July 2017 Rickmansworth – Grand Union Canal – chalk marker pen on glass
Something orange showing in the mud – a piece of oxidised pottery. Another piece slowly appears as the trowel gently scrapes away the earth crumb by crumb. Trying to draw the undulating stones like wafers, which I wrote about on […]
The Orkney Museum have given me a space, just off the Archeology display in Room 1, for an exhibition of work from my Artist’s Residency on the Ness of Brodgar in 2016. The show is now open and will continue until the end […]
A fine day on site at last, although the ever present wind makes the barrier tape rattle noisily on my sound recording. Quiet voices working on the final stages of Structure 14, where drawings are being made before stones are removed. […]
Porthole — Tuesday 18th July 2017 Rickmansworth – Grand Union Canal – chalk marker pen on glass
I’m still watching the sea, waiting for the tide to turn and retreat from the beach so I can watch the beach. Noticing how it effects it’s immediate environment, the activity as it changes, I go out looking for drawings. Lines […]
This year, I have begun writing as well as drawing, bearing witness to the activity on site. So from now on, alongside drawings and paintings, I will be posting written observations rather than journal entries. Wind and rain. Have to […]
I am now recording (with permission) conversations with friends which cover aspects of my practice that I want to research, the recordings are a not only a great way for me to revisit good ideas and thoughts but also to […]
Drawings made at the end of a series of dives collecting data on biodiversity, counting indicator species in the Bay of Roses, Spain. On the back of my slate I began to experiment with, what I thought, was a better […]
Piddocks making holes in stones and worms casting spirals.
Drawings of life along a rock face. 20m depth, air getting low, waiting for Max and Sarah to complete their transect lines. Counting urchins, spotting sea squirts, finding new familiarity under water, recognising markers. I’ve been here before. There are […]
Porthole – I am the media – Tuesday 4th July 2017 Croxley – Grand Union Canal – chalk marker pen on glass
‘Porthole’ is a practical (and literal) exploration between the human and the non-human world, in direct response to the places I moor my narrowboat.
