January 2014

Nearly the end of January...I can't quite grasp the passage of time at the moment. I must admit it fills my thoughts constantly. I feel like I need to take a course of study in time?

I included some images in my last blog of work where I had begun using burnt soil and bark....I gathered a bag full way back from the top of Back Bowden Doors after an unfortunate small but damaging forest fire. I thought the inclusion of these organic materials would be an interesting addition to my work. It provides interesting texture and  for me is imbued with a sense of significance in the context of place. Anyway I have included a short visual sequence of how the small pieces come together.

Scrunching up the soil and burnt bark

PVA on card

Feels and looks like charcoal, I suppose it kind of is!

Weirdly I can see a horse in this!

Cadmium yellow and transparent green

Adding colour

Completed study

Reflecting on this process I see some opportunity for development. The glueing down of the soil can be controlled to an extent (depending on where you place the glue) however there is a magical random quality about it and this is something I would like to explore. Whilst I am interested and even like some of the completed colour studies the soil and glue stage is really visually exciting.

I went to the Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh with our students on Monday to visit the Louise Bourgeois exhibition Women without Secrets. Oh what a fantastic exhibition! I was blown away. The diversity of materials, ideas, techniques and the sheer amount of work on display was amazing. She in her long life was a force to be reckoned with and her work  stands so tall. I find her ideas so rich in meaning and emotion. She immersed all of herself, body and soul into everything she created. I particularly love her use of materials both in the sculptures,sewn and cast and her 2-dimensional works in water colour and printing. She had a deft but free hand and that is evident in everything she has done. It was a very thought provoking and uplifting exhibition and one that really  resonated with me.

And then if that wasn't enough to be getting on with the NG have had a rehang up on the top level and there was a plethora of interesting work on display...Loved the Michael Craig Martin wall pieces, sadly under whelmed by the large John Schueler painting and  fallen madly and deeply in love with Joan Eardley 's painting all over again! It really does help to see visual art in the flesh, looking at reproductions is all very well but there is no substitute for the real thing.

Joan Eardley

Detail

So far so good. Getting organised for  the first Scottish Borders art fair taking place at Springwood Park in Kelso on 22-23rd March.
I am also taking part in the Crossing Borders Spring exhibition at  Coldstream Gallery from 11th March-26th April and another exhibition on the cards for the summer. To the studio I must go!
In the meantime I've included some images from our climbing and walking days in January.

Beautiful frost formations on the car sun roof!

Making shapes on the way back from bouldering in Northumberland

Cheviots

Driving home

Red sky in the morning 

Lastly some small studies on card and a painting I'm working on at the moment....and if you are reading these blogs I just want to say thank you!

50x50cm Oil on canvas