Iconic Moments in Football.
This series demonstrates how paintings can, deliberately, have more than one meaning. Each painting reflects an historical moment in footballing history, as well as a concurrent political situation.
1. The White Horse Cup Final, 1923. Bolton Wanderers 2, West Ham 1.
(This painting also refers to The Women's Peace Movement, post 1918.)
2. The Magnificent Magyars, 1953. England 3, Hungary 6.
( Mau Mau, Kenya.)
3. The Russian Linesman, 1966. England 4, West Germany 2.
(The Space Race).
4. The Best Save......Ever, 1970. Brazil 1, England 0.
(Military Junta, Brazil).
5. The Hand of God, 1986. Argentina 2, England 1.
(The Disappeared, Argentina).
6. The Head Butt, 2006. France I, Italy 1. (Italy won a.e.t.)
(Fundamentalism).
Guantanamo Sweet.
In this series I used modernist references of a utopia to represent a dystopian world. The paintings are made to look attractive and so disguise the horrors they represent.
1. 9/11.
2. Axis of Evil.
3. Extraordinary Rendition.
4. Camp X-Ray.
5. Interrogation.
7. Homeland Security.
In their present home. (Courtesy of the Prescotts).
Dulwich Artists' Open House.
In 2012, I took part in the Dulwich Artists' Open House, part of the Dulwich Festival. It was the first time I had shown on my own and many of the works were displayed for the first time. It proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience, much busier than I had anticipated and many of the visitors were quite challenging in their questioning. I intend to repeat the experience this year, but this time I'm sharing with Julian Collins, a printer and painter. I feel confident that we will complement each other. The event is over two weekends in May, 11th/12 and 18th/19th. (It is with great sadness that I have to report that Julian finally succombed to the leukaemia that he had fought for the past five years. He passed away on Monday, 8th April, 2013. His work will still be displayed at the Artists' Open House in May).
The series, 'Iconic Moments in Football' caused a lot of comment and visitors really enjoyed trying to work out both the incident and the concurrent political event. They have subsequently been sold as a collection.
It was at the Artists' Open House that 'Guantanamo Sweet' found its new home.
These paintings were the first ones in which I concentrated on triangles to make a statement. They read 'Exclusion', 'Inclusion', 'Integration' from left to right and 'Imprisonment', 'Escape', 'Freedom' from right to left. They sold during the event.
Medal Ribbons.
I first use medal ribbons in the Guantanamo series and decided to explore their possibilities to make beautiful paintings, but with alternative undertones.
The painting on the left is called 'Trade Agreement' and is composed of ribbons from the Indian Mutiny. Centre is 'Mission Statement' using ribbons from campaigns in Africa and on the right is 'Special Relationship', with medals from Iraq and Afghanistan. There are many possible interpretations of these paintings, but my main intention was to show that the ulterior motives for overseas campaigns haven't changed over the centuries and they are usually about what the West can gain from the 'Other'. In awarding medals we commend the bravery of the invaders, but forget about the consequences to the invaded.
The following two paintings use United Nations medal ribbons. They are actually arranged in spirals, which reflects the apparent indecision and lack of direction that seem to take hold of the UN at times. Although they are mainly awarded for peace keeping missions, death and destruction have usually occurred. They are entitled, 'UNdecorated 1' and 'UNdecorated 2.'
These paintings were the first I made when I began geometric abstraction. They are intended to show the benefits of immigration, by comparing the England team, which lost to Hungary in the 1950s, with the England team that beat Kazakhstan.
A happy group of visitors.
The Creative Process.
It was at the Artists' Open House that I received my first commission, from a couple who had wanted to buy the 'Exclusion', 'Inclusion', 'Integration' triptych, but it had already sold. Following discussions with the client, a triptych emerged about the creative process, which would remind him of the purpose of his work,(musician and specifically, composer).
From left to right they read, 'Inception', 'Indecision', 'Inspiration'.
'Inception' denotes the original ideas and the symbols represent parts of the body; the brain, organs, limbs and dna graphic code. 'Indecision' describes the chaos as ideas whirl around as decisions have to be made and the panic that this causes. 'Inspiration' is the final piece, when often minor ideas come to the fore and dominate the finished work. (The tree of life in this painting is actually two trees, representing the purchasers' two sons. This conclusion could give the other two paintings different meanings).
The Simple Gallery, Esher.
'Ten' is a group of artists who studied together and show together a couple of times a year. We held an exhibition, entitled 'Response', at the Simple Gallery in November 2012.. To make the show a bit different, all members of Ten were tasked to provide a charity shop purchase, which were then distributed at random. Each artist had then to respond to the article. I 'chose' a pottery Winnie the Pooh!
My response came about after an afternoon playing pooh sticks with my grandchildren. The water was too fast flowing and the sticks regularly got jammed in the river bank. The image swirled around in my head, hence, 'Perpetual Pooh Sticks.' (This idea originated when I was researching for the football paintings and arose out of the video clip of David Beckham, surrounded by legs, before his sending off against Argentina. I was toying with the idea of the deification of Beckham).
'In My Life'.
In the summer of 2012, I received a commission to make a work which was to be personal and relevant to the client. After a number of discussions, I was given free reign to produce the painting.
The painting is about a person, represented by the circles, who has spent a lifetime on a journey of personal development and self improvement. The journey is marked by the route and the stations signify decisions, people or places that have made an impact on the person. As the route criss-srosses the developing person, the circle becomes more 'whole' until fulfilment is reached in the form of a complete circle suspended in perfect balance. The work becomes a conduit for reflection as the viewer chooses which events to consider for each 'station'. The disconnected routes at the top of the work indicate future possibilities.
Family Trees.
I was asked to create a work, which commemorated a particular family. I needed to make something that the young members in the family could understand, so I hit upon this idea. Each family member chose a colour and the 'trees' emerged. (Triangles again!)
Mothers and Daughters.
For this painting I was given a title, but the freedom to make my own design. The mother and two young daughters chose a colour each as a starting point, but I was able to choose the rest.
The central square with two circles is the starting point and represents the mother and her two daughter. The daughters then develop as women in their own right, until they bear daughters and the process begins again.
The last four paintings will be included in Ten's show at the Harvey Gallery, Guildford, from 15th-27th April 2013, entitled 'Ten Artists, 10 Responses'.
As part of this exhibition, all ten of us have produced work on 15cmx15cm blocks, to be mounted as one composite work. Mine is a triptych entitled 'She's Leaving Home'.
'She's Leaving Home' has now been sold.
I am now embarking on two paintings for clients. One is called 'Full House' to commemorate the month two families fo three generations shared one home. The second is a painting in memory of two parents.
Dulwich Artists' Open House, 11th/12th May 2013.
The first weekend was very busy, with over 80 visitors. As my work is appreciated better with a commentary, I was fully occupied by an interested series of viewers. There were a number of expressions of interest for future commissions, so time will tell. The second weekend was just as busy and many people sought clarification and interpretation. A number of previously commissioned works could have been sold two or three times. Overall the venture was successful and people enjoyed seeing Julian's work, even though it was very sad to discuss it.
Views of Julian's work.
I was worried that I would do justice to Julian's work, but, in the event it looked good and Shura, Julian's wife was pleased with it, when she visited with her family.
Having said that, these photos don't do justice to Julian's work.
Views of my work at the Artists' Open House. It can be seen that I did show some work from last year.
These works were made by photographing ink on ice and then superimposing portrait negatives.
The remaining paintings from 'Guantanamo Sweet', which I didn't include last year and which, therefore, didn't get sold.
My grandchildren came to view my work, (and party).
Along with other loyal friends and family. (I'm not sure when the Power Ranger appeared).
.July 2014.
It's been over a year since I've been able to add anything to this blog. A lot has happened in that time, but I'm now painting again.
.Rock'n Roll.
I completed this painting for my wife earlier this year. She gave me the title, a reference to our dancing enthusiasm, and left the rest to me.
Ox Market Gallery, Chichester.
TEN is mounting an exhibition next week at the above gallery, which will run for two weeks from 22nd July. The title is 'Artists' Bloc' and the work will all be on similar sized block mounts. The main focus will be a collection of triptychs. I have completed two new triptychs for this show.
Trinity.
The inspiration for this work comes from the Piper Tapestry in Chichester Cathedral, the cathedral of the Holy Trinity. I based the work on the colours and shapes in the tapestry to create another trinity.
Exclusion.
Inclusion.
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