Painting 9: Light My Sky

Oil on canvas, 100x80cm, 2008


As I was painting this, it felt like everything I was doing was creating the possibility for something to exist within the painting.  Not so much a background, more the conditions for something to be held or contained by the painting.  It wasn't until I added the rainbow that the composition came together and seemed to give me resolution of a sort.  It was another move towards abstraction giving birth to form.

Looking forward

Some people have asked me if I’m worried that I’ll miss my paintings or one day regret not being able to show them again as part of another exhibition.

It's true that my paintings mean a great deal to me.  As with all belongings, they have stored memories and sentiments of where I was in my life when I painted them and what my values were at the time.  Part of the fear of letting go of possessions is that they are somehow part of our identity; that it’s our things that make us who we are and define us to some extent.

I think we are encouraged to believe this but my experience is that we are constantly changing and by holding on to old stuff we are tempted to stay stuck in old ways of being too.  I feel my creative side can take flight as my paintings move on to pastures new!

I’ve been thinking about how other professions let go of work and in fact where they consider their work to exist.  For example, when retiring, does a teacher consider her work to exist within the many boxes or files of lesson plans or is it a living thing that exists within all her ex-students?

Does my work exist in the paintings I make or in the experience of the people who look at them?  If it’s the latter, how sad for them to be stored away, inert.  People who own my paintings say they often see something new and respond differently to them as time goes on.  I think in this way, they do have a life of sorts.

All of these feelings put together, tell me that I don’t need to hold on to my paintings and enables me to let go of how much they go for and where they go to.  The whole thing is about movement and energy and freedom to grow.

Painting 8: Sing Little Bird

Oil on canvas, 100x80cm, 2008


I think this painting found its title because it feels so free-spirited and to me the bright colours and freedom of the mark-making speak of a flighty energy.  It was a big part of my transition into making more figurative work and you can almost see the structures and forms starting to come through the abstraction.

Exhibition and auction dates

It is two weeks since I started this project and I'm really pleased to say that today I finalised the exhibition details.   

Originally my plan was to blog for a month whilst planning from scratch an exhibition of all my remaining paintings, after which I would auction them each on eBay with a starting price of one penny.  As the project has developed over the past fortnight I've preferred the idea of holding my exhibition and auctions within the month so that they finish in the final weekend of this blog.

Empty spaces

While exploring the logistics of making a disused shop into an exhibition space, I've done lots of research through the commercial letting agents in Brighton, none of whom have been very helpful.

I've discovered a wonderful movement of artists, curators and creative bods who are developing the Empty Shops Network.  It’s exciting to see the energy behind the drive to make use of all the vacant premises around the city, answering a need for artists to find space to show and perform, while serving the community and bringing the beautiful world of art to everyone!

Due to my self-imposed deadline of pulling this project off within a month, I’ve chosen to leave that adventure for another time.  I'll make the most of visiting the events organised by Waste of Space during the Brighton Fringe in May.

The exhibition

So, I’ve been exploring alternative venues.  Yesterday, I was offered an ideal space in the Friese-Greene Gallery at Brighton Media Centre.  I had an exhibition there some years ago and I’m really pleased to be showing there again for this project.

Lots of you have been asking when the auction and exhibition kick off, and I’ve just finalised these dates:

Thursday 5^th April  My penny art auctions will begin on eBay at 6.30pm.

Thursday 12^th April  Exhibition opening night from 6-9pm at Friese-Greene Gallery, Brighton Media Centre, 15-17 Middle St, Brighton BN1 1AL, including a set from DoYou Feel What I Feel, Deer? and a licensed bar. 

Friday 13^th April Exhibition open from 10am-5pm.

Saturday 14^th April  Exhibition open from 10am-5pm.

Sunday 15^th April  Exhibition open from midday till 8pm, with the eBay auctions ending from 6.30pm-7.45pm.

The auctions

Each painting will have its own individual auction on eBay, and I’ll stagger the start times of each auction five minutes apart.  I’ll post links to the auctions on this blog, Facebook and Twitter when they go live on the 5th. 

Update (5th April): You can find the eBay auctions here: www.stores.ebay.co.uk/Penny-Art-Auction

Painting 7: Beat Glorious Heart

Oil on canvas, 100x80cm, 2008

I really pushed myself with this painting to be as free as I could be and express very directly where the paint was taking me without thinking about it or judging it prematurely.  I had to be brave at the time to follow through with that but it was extremely rewarding in that it opened up the way for me to be more playful and perhaps more honest in my painting process.

Music to my eyes

Listening to music is a huge part of my artistic process and musicians have got me out of many creative tight spots.  It really helps me to connect to the part of me that is unbound by my normal preoccupations so that I can respond to the moment freely and imaginatively.

I think there are so many comparable elements of song-writing and painting.  I was listening to Joanna Newsom loads while painting The New Sublime. I found her lyrics poetic in that they create their own world within each song, similar to the way I attempt to use space and light to transport the viewer of my paintings.  I also feel really inspired that someone so young is staying so true to her own voice, despite having such a different style.  She managed to reach a massive audience by being herself and writing from her heart.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have had a big influence on me creatively.  In particular, the album 'No more shall we part'.  I remember listening to it for the first time - I couldn't do anything until the whole album was over!  I think spirituality is mentioned in each song somewhere, but in a universal way that explores the light and dark elements of how we live with ourselves day to day.

Sometimes the inspiration is general, so the music tunes into a feeling or a phase I'm in.  And sometimes there's a specific song (or a few lines from a song) that underpins the whole painting.  This has happened a couple of times with paintings that I'm yet to show you.  For example, there are 4 lines in 'There Are Eyes Above' by Josephine Foster that I created a whole painting out of!

I find that going to gigs can really help if I need some creative energy.  Maybe its because the experience is live so you are caught in the present moment and feeling first hand what the artist is trying to convey.  I've spoken a lot about the place I try to reach when painting and there are some musicians that are really good at drawing out my emotions, such as Silver Apples, Arvo Part, Jean-Claude Vannier and The Mars Volta.

I mentioned in the launch of my blog that my exhibition would be hosting a gig by 'Do you feel what I feel Deer?'.  This Brighton-based band have written beautiful songs based on some of my more recent deer paintings and its so interesting to see, or hear, the process reversed.

Painting 6: Shine Baby Shine

Oil on canvas, 100x80cm, 2008

I consider the next four paintings to form a body of work although they aren't technically a series.  They are much smaller than the paintings you've seen so far (half the size!) and they are beginning to hint at more tangible subjects.

I painted them after moving into Studio 106 and wanted to bring a lightness and freedom to my process in this new context.  It was a big challenge to move on from my weightier canvases and the philosophy underpinning them.  I feel very affectionate towards them!