My hands are my palette

I often use my hands as a palette when painting with acrylics. Here is an example at the CREATE Conference in France in February.
The image is from the CREATE website.

Certain Trees Book exhibit

Certain Trees: the Constructed Book, Poem and Object, 1964-2008

I went to see this show yesterday at the V&A.
If only they weren't in cases and you could handle them!
But many are one page cards and objects so you see a lot from just spending time examining the cases. If you like concrete poetry, puns and word twists, or the history of artists' books and small presses you will find this exhibition interesting.

Cy Twombly's Autunno

Cy Twombly's Autunno
I saw this painting yesterday at the Tate Modern and I love it.

New Painting

Butterfly Lung
June 2008, oil and acrylic on canvas, 150 x 120cm.

Caves Paintings

In addition to my investigation into colour I make figurative paintings that are concerned with communicating the way I see the world around me. Caves' paintings.

I love colour

I paint because I am fascinated by colour, both visually and conceptually. My work usually involves creating an interior or exterior space. Viewers often feel that they are seeing something vast but on a magnified level, like a universe inside a drop of water. The excitement of luminous colour and the rich variety of texture possible with paint overwhelm me with their beauty.
I want to see my ideas manifest. It is experimentation born of curiosity. My colour combinations move in a come-hither dance of attraction and repulsion, the romantic give and take of a relationship.

Love is for the Lucky and the Brave
2006, oil and acrylic on canvas,100x110x4cm

Twilight.

These paintings are some of the new work I showed at the Open Studios last weekend. It is unusual for me to make such small work. I had to make my space smaller. I found that to be able to keep my movements small and focus so close up I had to sit on the floor with the soles of my feet together and paint in my lap and on the floor. Because it was warm and I was in shorts this meant my legs were covered in paint everyday!

They are all oil and acrylic on linen, 30x40cm, made this April and May. I have titled the series Twilight because they are all based on the idea of creating light by darkening the rest of the picture. So I wanted a title that included the idea of darkness.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Book show in Milton Keynes

My small pop-up book "Regret" has moved to artworks-mk in Milton Keynes.
Saturday 12th July to
Saturday 23rd August
Looks like there are some workshops, too!
Click the flyer images for a larger view.

Pictures of the studio

Took these on Sunday near the end of the Open Studios.

Summer '08 Open Studios!

Our summer Open Studios was good fun, when I was able to be there...apologies to all who came to see my work on the Saturday. My studio was shut because I had food poisoning from the Friday night and could not get out of bed until Sunday afternoon.

Here is a picture through my open studio door on the Sunday. Paintings are on the right side and my books are on the table on the left. By the door is a new addition to the studio- 2 pots of happy daisies from Gary and Mike!

I got a good response to the new paintings. Thank you everyone.

Press and Release Artists' Book Fair, Brighton

To coincide with the Press and Release exhibition at the Phoenix Gallery in Brighton they are having an artists' book fair on May 24th. I will be there with my Serendipity Press.
For more information go to Phoenix Arts Association.

Over thirty stalls will feature limited edition, hand made books, fanzines, comics, multiples, ephemera and more. Special performances, readings, food and music will round out the event.

Re: Exhibit is open

I didn't make it to the private view on Friday but it sounds like it went very well.
Here are some images of my book in the exhibit on the weloveyourbooks site:
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3

Here is my page in the catalogue:

Stokefest 2008

The artists from the Chocolate Factory Studios will be handing out invitations to our Summer Open Studios at Stokefest in Clissold Park on June 8th. Rude Designs from the studios, designed our invitation.

I like Art

I like art that you want to look at over and over again, seeing something new each time. When I create art I lose myself in it and find parts of myself I don’t use in daily life. I hope that viewers can get a glimpse of the less-used parts of themselves.

When I make work to communicate an idea I love the philosophical realisations and moments of clarity that cause the idea of the work to be realised as communication and I use subtle humour to share my way of thinking. In my non-figurative work I make intuitive choices and savour the moment when everything reaches the balance point of vibrant composure, full of ambiguity and atmosphere. I am interested in colour, texture and movement.

Every day I am amazed, I enthusiastically paint my amazement. My studio practice is varied. My painting is primarily concerned with colour. My figurative work tries to puzzle out the different way I see everything and my artists' books are often visual lists. I use my interventions and gestures to make contact with other humans, often offering a moment of cheerful confusion.

Gold & Green Vegetable Forms on Blue, 2006, oil on canvas, 70x80cm

iCandy Arts Postcard Show

I have sent 4 pieces to the annual iCandy Arts Postcard Show at the EAT@Ours Cafe in Hastings which will open on May 1, 2008 and run throughout the month.
All work will be postcard sized and will be sold for £10 per piece.
It will be a large exhibition, last year over 600 works were displayed. The artists were from all over the country and their work was massively varied.

I sent in 4 pieces. The brief was that the work be wall mountable and 6x4 inches. But since it was called The Postcard Show I decided to take it literally. I painted on my 50% Happier postcards in acrylic.

iCandy Arts



The image at the top of the hung show is from the iCandy Arts website.

scissorspaperstone

scissorspaperstone on April 12th
The first artists' book fair held by London Print Studio was well attended. I saw a few people from the book fair circuit and met loads of new people. It was good fun!

Re: exhibit

My little pop-up book Regret has been selected for an international exhibition of experimental artists' books, linked by the theme of words beginning 'Re…'.
At The Gallery , The University of Northampton, Avenue Campus, the UK.
12-May to 29-May 2008
Private view: Friday 9th May 4.30–7pm
(open weekdays 10-4, closed Bank Holiday Monday)
It has been curated by weloveyourbooks.

Leeds book fair

The 11th Annual Contemporary Artists' Book Fair at the University of Leeds last Friday and Saturday was really good.
I met some new people, caught up with some old friends and saw lots of books. I especially liked Sam Belinfante's cello book. I also hung around Leeds and ate lots of curry! Then I went to the Leeds City Art Gallery and saw the 45 books chosen for the Book To Book exhibit.

Scissors Paper Stone

I am working on my newest book Hackney Leaves to be finished in time for Scissors Paper Stone Saturday 12 April 2008, 11am – 6pm, at the London Print Studio at 425 Harrow Road, London W10 4RE.

Here is what their web site says:
scissorspaperstone is a one-day artists' book and multiples fair showcasing a range of vibrant and innovative work by over 80 contemporary artists, book artists and small presses. scissorspaperstone will promote a rich and diverse range of artists’ books and multiples, from cloth-bound volumes, altered books, collated digital images and texts, to comics and experimental work using found texts and other ephemera. This exciting event offers an opportunity to buy and commission work directly from artists themselves. scissorspaperstone will be supported by a programme of workshops and demonstrations, and an exhibition at londonprintstudio exploring ‘the book’ as subject, form and inspiration.

11th International Contemporary Artists’ Book Fair

Friday 7 & Saturday 8 March 2008, 11.00am–6.00pm in the Parkinson Court at the University of Leeds
I will have a new book called Book Alphabet Book.

Putting the Human Back into Colour

I am going to France tomorrow for a conference on colour! It is at the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne at Charleville-Mézières.
It has been organised by Create at UWE.

With lectures such as these it will be a great 3 days:
History of colour in arts and architecture.
Body-number-colour : light phenomena of Eye-Ocean, real time 3D computer graphics images.
Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa analysis with today’s technologies
Physical colours in Insects: Origin, role in life and art.

With views such as these it will be a great trip:
Here is my poster for the conference:

Sitting Room exhibition is now in Cambridge

Sitting Room
An exhibition dedicated to the art of sitting and reading.
Thursday 13th December 2007 - Wednesday 2nd January 2008
The Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge School of Art,
Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1PT

After Cambridge, the books by themselves without the sitting room furniture will be going off to the USA and Mexico in the Spring. I have two copies of my "H on a Train" book in this travelling exhibit.

As it says on The Ruskin Gallery web site:
Sitting Room is a show of artists' books in a domestic environment re-created within the gallery. The setting is a mock sitting room, where visitors are encouraged to choose a book from the bookcase, make themselves at home and enjoy a rare opportunity to handle and interact with the limited edition artist-made book works. Artists from across Europe were invited to create books on the theme of 'sitting room'. Interpretations include: books on domesticity, seated journeys, chair related ephemera, ejector seats and a day in the life of a sofa. This eclectic mix represents work by acclaimed artists of national and international standing.

Cafe Gallery Projects Open Exhibition

This was a beautifully hung show. Lots of different work that was presented really well. See Nov 11 post (2 below) for more info.
My painting is the yellow and red one that is about in the middle of the picture. Click the picture for a slightly larger view.

Winter 2007 Open Studios

The Open Studios have been great this year!
With my group of older work and experiments that had lower prices, many people who had only bought reproduction prints before were able to get an original painting they love. It was quite satisfying to help new collectors get started and to see people so chuffed as they left!
YAY!

Cafe Gallery Projects Open Exhibition 2007

I have a small painting in the Open Exhibition.
21st Nov. to 9th Dec. Wed to Sun, 11am to 4pm (they are shut Mon. and Tues.)
Private View: Sun 18th Nov., 1pm to 4pm
Cafe Gallery Projects, in the Centre of Southwark Park, London SE16 2UA
Entry is free

Open Studios, less than 2 weeks away!

I am framing and varnishing like mad!
I will also be having a Studio Clearing sale. I need to make room and will be selling dozens of small and medium sized paintings on canvas for £30 to £60. These are transition pieces and experiments and colour studies. Come help me get some space back!

Chocolate Factory N16

Halloween rocks

I am one of my own paintings. Couldn't you tell?
I call it "Reds and Blues No. 1"

Artselector Contemporary Fine Art Collective

I have a page with some of my paintings on the Artselector web site. It has good discussions and information as well as a great contemporary gallery.

Save the date - Winter Open Studios

The Winter Open Studios double weekend at the Chocolate Factory N16 will be the last weekend in November and the first weekend in December.
Nov 24 & 25, and Dec 1 & 2

Chocolate Factory N16

There are 25 studios with about 30 artists most of whom will be around for the four days. The variety of practices include ceramics - sculptural and functional, lampshade and windowshade design, paintings - in many media, textile design, graphic design, printmaking, sculpture - objects and installation, photography, artists' books, performance and drawing.

I now have books at The Bookartbookshop

The Bookartbookshop in Shoreditch, East London now carries the following titles of my books:
Have a Nice Day (In the collections of Tate Britain Special Collection, Camberwell College of Arts Library, Manchester Metropolitan Library)
Welcome To the Neighbourhood (In the collections of Tate Britain Special Collection, Camberwell College of Arts Library)
Redundant
cut it out
Some of My Parts
Regret
H On a Train (Touring for the last 2 years with the Sitting Room exhibition)
Have a Nice Day postcard set (set of 10)
Compliments Slips post card set (set of 5)

Sitting Room is now in The Netherlands for a month!

I have books in a travelling exhibition called Sitting Room. It is now in The Netherlands and as always the installation is exquisite. Thanks Tom and Lucy.

The exhibition is being held in the AKI, Academy of Fine Arts in Enschede. The show opens today (10th October) and is on until 12th November.

Opening Night of Rich and Strange

new postcard

I am heading up to Manchester in a few hours to prepare for tomorrow's Book Fair.

Among many other things I will be showing a new postcard of the stages of the making of the altered book Dreamers of Decadence for the Rich and Strange altered books project.
Here it is.

Bookmarks V exhibition

Small artists' bookworks in the form of bookmarks are now exhibiting as Bookmarks V. You can see mine on-line here: Bookmarks V Artists. There is also a world distribution schedule there.
I am in great company, the collection is stunning!
Many thanks to Sarah Bodman of the The Centre for Fine Print Research at The University of the West of England.

Manchester Artist’s Book Fair 2007

I will have a table at the second annual

Manchester Artist’s Book Fair

on Sept 29, 2007.
I will have about 12 different books and some postcards on display.

Sent off painting to auction

Here is the painting I just finished and sent to the Spectrum Autism charity art auction. It is from The Universe in a Drop of Water series. The title is Interior Landscape 26. It is acrylic on 60x60cm deep edged canvas.

Spectrum art site
Spectrum art blog

A studio snapshot

Last week. Lots of work in different stages. It gets crowded sometimes when some work has to lay flat to dry and the oil paint formula is a slow drying one.

Rich and Strange book is finished!

I finally finished the painting and gilding of the Dreamers of Decadence book for the Rich and Strange altered books project. The project is a way to use discarded books (they were all art books). It should have arrived with them on Friday.

Dreamers of Decadence is about Symbolist painters and is an interesting book but I was fascinated by the title. To create a feeling of decadence the pages of the book are extravagantly painted and gilded with an extra thick layer of 24kt gold. This excessive use of gold expands the fore edge of the book and gold shines out.

They have now set up a web site about the exhibit: Rich and Strange

Spectrum Art Auction for autism charity

I am donating a painting to the Spectrum art auction in Cornwall. It is to raise money for the Spectrum autism charity.
Spectrum art site
Spectrum art blog

The Twits in Shoreditch

Last chance to see the Twits in Shoreditch exhibition at Standpoint Gallery. There is one day left. The open evening was Thursday and the MP for Shoreditch who cut the ribbon pointed out that 22% of people in Shoreditch are under 16 and that Hackney has the largest concentration of artists in Europe, so we should do more with our 2 largest groups: kids and artists.
I helped Anna Boggon with a workshop where the kids made small furniture and stuck it on the ceiling upside down like in the book.
I will put pictures on when I get them from Mia, the organiser of the event.

Rich and Strange: Altered Books Project

Flock Gallery Space, Newport School of Art Media and Design
artschool.newport.ac.uk
04-Oct to 18-Oct-2007

A group exhibition of 120 altered books by artists all over the world and the UK that begins at the Flock Gallery. The project is a way to use discarded books (they were all art books).
All books will be exhibited first at flock, the new gallery space at Newport School of Art Media and Design, University of Wales, Newport, from 4th to 18th October 2007. The exhibition will then move to Newport Central Library, from 22nd October to 2nd November, where the public will be able to check the books out on loan.

For 3 months I have been constantly painting and gilding my book Dreamers of Decadence. I will miss the book when it is gone, it is an hourly part of my life, painting and waiting for that page to dry and coming back and painting the next one...

Just finished a big fish

As always my painting revolves around colour. This time I chose a fish to play in the colours. Just finished it yesterday. Acrylic and oil paints on deep canvases. It is 200x120cm, pretty big, so it is over 2 canvases.

Gasworks Poster Show

The Gasworks show begins this week.
Opening Night
Thursday 9 August,
7-9pm

Exhibition Continues:
to Sunday 26 August

Gasworks
155 Vauxhall Street
London SE11 5RH
UK

Pictures from the Holloway Arts Festival 07-07-07

The kids from the Rowan Arts after school art club Art Games did a fantastic job and we had such a great day! It was better than anyone expected. And the people who attended were very interested and asked the children lots of questions and it went really well. Well done everyone!
Also, not only did it not rain but I got a bit of a sunburn! Woohoo!

070707

It is July 7 2007.

Poster in Stick*Stamp*Fly

Stick*Stamp*Fly, 2007
Gasworks
10-26 Aug. 2007

I have had a poster selected for exhibition in Stick*Stamp*Fly. It is an A2 version of my 50% happier flyer.
There will also be events each Thursday at 7:00 during the exhibition.

Another picture of my studio floor

Holloway Arts Festival

The Art Games group of kids and Over 60's will have their work set up on Saturday July 7 for the big day of the Holloway Arts Festival. The art work is really good. They have made sculptures based loosely around the idea of a made-up board game. There are plaster buldings, wishful islands, and trophies (for things like the best limbo dancer). It has been great working with them and the other artists.
Here are the new links available with information:

Holloway Arts Festival
Holloway Arts Festival on myspace
Rowan Arts blog

UK Artists' Book Fairs

At my Open Studio private view last night two lovely people said I should put the dates of book arts fairs on my blog so that new book artists and collectors could see an overview. I will just do the ones I attend for now, and add more later. A good place for this type of information is UWE's Centre for Fine Print Research

March-Until this year there has been one in March in Halifax, this year it moved to Leeds.
The 10th International Contemporary Artists' Book Fair

April-BABE - Bristol Artist Book Event is a weekend affair in April at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol. This year was the first one and it plans to be every two years.
BABE website
UWE's website coverage of BABE

September-Manchester book Fair is in September. This will be the second year. (and I better get my table soon or it will be too late!)
Manchester Artist’s Book Fair

November-The London Artists Book Fair is every year in November at the ICA near Trafalgar Square. Very expensive to have a table unless you share or can put your book on the table of your alma mater or something. It is huge and is a great opportunity to see a lot of work.
London Artists' Book Fair

Open Studios Summer 07 !!!

It's that time again! Sunshine and blue skies and walking around visiting the artists in their studios. It is one of the few times when we are all here at the same time and hanging around rather than immersed in work. So it is a perfect time for me to get to catch up with studio neighbours, see what new work people are making and meet new arrivals to our group. Please come along. I would like to know if anyone reads this blog! There is also a new building with lots of new studios in it! (I think the group is about 18 artists in the original building and maybe about 14 in the new one. A few of their spaces are really huge.)
It will be the weekend of June 16 and 17 in North East London.


The Chocolate Factory N16