Lies, Flying Cobras and 80's discos.

Im not dreaming much. I dont think there is enough going on with my life at the moment to warrant any considerable about of dream time. It seems ive hit a dry spell in my creativity...that or the fact i have about 15 ideas i want to do, i dont know which direction im facing. Love really is no excuse for bad art, so why do i want to get loved up so much? Why do i feel the need to share feelings with someone else? I should have realized that it isnt going to work as relationships never work for me, i ruin everything i touch - circa House S06e7.

Euuuurgh no motivation, no new direction.

Oh, and for those who didnt guess, the theme of this post is melancholy.

xxx<3

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Organic qualities, Egyptian paranoia and Fitzsimmons.

After trying out several ways of staining and marking canvas, i found some interesting approaches that brought with them some good and interesting results. However, some i felt turned out very forced and far to stark. The first ink blot style tests i did seemed far too bright and looked forced and totally not what i wanted. After seeing them i decided to loose the colour and just focus on the shapes. When i was taught to paint, i was always told never to use colours straight from the tube, always mix. So for the second set of ink blot style tests i did, i used paint simply mixed with water to make it more like ink instead of using just paint. I feel the second set of tests worked out really well and are a far more organic looking set of works, apposed to looking forced.

xxx<3

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Arcimboldo, Original concepts and The holy spirit.

Recently i have been trying out loads of different ideas in terms of staining canvas, mark making and colour. When at home the other week, i realised that after not driving for nearly 2 months, the experience of driving was rather different than it usually was. I was looking for spaces, i was looking more at what other people did so i could move accordingly. When i used to drive everyday, i dont remember doing this, it all just flowed into one, spaces became open and i took them, nothing had to be thought about. I think alot of it come from racing. When racing you need to be aware of yourself and the others around you, you have to be spatially aware and know your limits in terms of space. It takes some time, but when over taking someone, you just know that space is big enough, its not going to diminish, im having it. I feel its the same with driving, but it just takes some getting used to after 2 months of inactivity.

So, irrespective of media or medium, i am still looking at space in my work, closing bits off with mark making, but potentially opening others up with the spaces they create, which is just what i was looking at, at the start. I thought of other examples of this, like sand, water, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, foods that look like people, external objects that look like people or things.

Images from :- http://z.about.com/d/arthistory/1/0/j/Y/gaml1007_16.jpg

http://www.free-background-wallpaper.com/images/Wallpapers1280/Beach-Wallpaper/Sand-Dunes-Soft.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNegfUfccKYdogV82Dgp-JNvoMWDDA71OLNhxD6nFj1sJrKHgH7HjHfcwJUkt30rojlUvU7NADed0553sJBxirQpKzid_Q8Fw-r2bhfHR3mtC0kr_a977ZVlUvSqAaq0Ek4JeB-xRyxY6/s400/faces+in+places.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnUkNIchnG06F0_Hmr5NiAI8JfsZtR1tFak5ZttG9ZgwFPzkc9BftRwVcRNFu2KxwFL5NWnl70l9NL9pN08cy8C26cU8P4zbKsNo88JrbsC798eYkbpaFCEdDrUlzs-3gaBJKYrDgvdDq/s200/jesus_toast.jpg

Image i took myself in Greece 2008.

xxx<3

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Gabrielle, Time lapse and Open bodies of water.

It has been some time since i last updated my blog. I could have sworn that i updated it a couple of days ago...

Things have been super boring really of recent, nothing has really got me excited. I did however get a new tattoo which i cant stop staring at, i fucking love her. Gabrielle is her name. 4 and a half hours none stop, but it was totally worth it. My favorite addition to my collection without a doubt.

Ive been looking at ways of staining canvas for this food project and have done lots of little tests and different ways of staining, but no real progress in terms of producing anything significant. I really like the way Clyfford Still applied his paint, in an impasto way so that depending on which way look at it, the tones were effected by the light. I see this the same way in bodies of water, and even sand - i think these 2 things could be good to look into - looking at the tonal differences in sand and water.

More on this to come.

xxx<3

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Fallout 3, Scripture and Spring water.

Recently ive been hearing a lot about Fallout 3 : The Game Of The Year Edition. Dont get me wrong, i dont mind hearing about it, it deserves all the attention it is getting. Fallout 3 has to be at least in my top 3 or 4 best games ever played, its phenomenal. Anyway, im not here to talk of the game, im here to talk about one of the opening bit of the game when you essentially begin your quest. Your father is a scientist who's goal it is to bring fresh water to a war ravaged Washington DC after the future 2077 nuclear holocaust. As a baby he reads to you his wife's (your mother) favorite scripture from the bible which is from the book of Revelations 21:6.

"Revelations 21:6

It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life."

I think its a really beautiful piece of text as is most of what little i have read from the bible. Ive always loved scripture, biblical and old text, theres something about the way people used to write and speak that really excites me. I always like coming across dictionary definitions of words where they have the break down into ancient Greek or French - i like to know where our language and writing style came from - and also where it seems to have gone recently. One i was looking at yesterday was Parthenogenesis which comes from the Greek "Parthenos" - "Virgin" & "Genesis" -"Creation". Parthenogenesis is a type of A sexual reproduction where the female doesnt need the male to fertilize the egg, but is able to do it on her on producing only females - this has been found in sharks, birds, reptiles, plants - but never humans...yet...

I think its something to think about really, is our role as males on this planet limited? Will we be needed come a 2077 nuclear war?

xxx<3

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Cillit Bang, Bicycle chain and Morphological analysis.

In a lecture yesterday, i got introduced to something called Morphological Analysis, which is a problem solving technique which aims to explore all the possible solutions to a problem. We had to do one for the project we had, relating it to what we were doing. This was mine, relating to what surface i would paint on, my medium to paint with and the way to apply the paint - i really this, i think it fits in well with the chance and randomisation aspect of things that im looking at. I think using the method and medium section and finding some way of randomising the combinations is a good way to continue with experimentations with the staining and marking i am doing currently.

When thinking of what medium i could use for the diagram, i thought about stain remover - currently i am staining or marking canvas with paint and other mediums - but what about staining, with the purpose of trying to remove it again? Could be something to look into - this leads me into something i got asked about the other day in a crit - i was asked why i was using paint to stain the canvas - the reason i am using paint is because it is irrelevant almost what medium i use as it isnt about that, its more about colour, the marks being made and the staining - it is also the reason why canvas is not integral to my work as its more about the process and the way the work came about - other than the material or medium used. I think for now, i am going to continue working on a small scale until i figure out what i want to do in terms of process and use of medium. An idea i had was using bicycle chain coated in oil and draping it over canvas to stain it. I also liked the use of manipulative verbs - i feel this is something i can use as well. Using different actions and ways of applying paint/medium in my work.

"My painting does not come from the easel. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting."

"I continue to get further away from the usual painter's tools such as easel, palette, brushes, etc. I prefer sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass or other foreign matter added."

Quotes from Wikipedia:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock

The way that Jackson Pollock worked is similar to the way ive been working recently - using unstreached canvas on the floor - using sticks, syringes and the simple act of pouring to create my work - i want almost to stray away from the usual painters tools and step into a realm of different means of applying paint.

More of this to come.

xxx<3

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Eavesdropping, Egypt and Hazelnut Americanos.

Went out last night with some friends and i over heard someone say something which, at first struck me as rather concerning, but overall rather romantic.

"If i wake up tomorrow and ive been sick, passed out and dont remember anything. I'll remember you."

Now, it also sounded rather alarming to me at first, but i kind of like it. Its rather beautiful in a way, makes me want to be in love. Not gonna lie, i am a hopeless romantic, i do like almost exaggerated expressions of love and declarations of love.

I saw an advert on the side of a bus today when flyering for a club night my friends organise, it was about traveling and visiting Egypt. The slogan said something like:-

"The stones talked to me....Egypt - where it all began"

Something like that.

I really really want to go to Egypt, it looks like such an amazing place - that and im well into ancient Egyptian mythology and stuff. They have a webiste devoted to the traveling and experience of Egypt - there is even a LoveEgyptClub (yes i joined) how sweet is that?

In other news, Starbucks have new red Christmas cups in now - really like the look of them. They also have new gingerbread and deep cherry flavor syrup that you can buy - not sure about them, but i think i might have to opt for a gingerbread Americano next time i go rather than my regular hazelnut.

xxx<3

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I love you, but i dont know how to tell you....

Video from: -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsZXlKYlnU

Esser - I Love You - From his 2009 album - Braveface.

xxx<3

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Wild Beasts, Affairs with windmills and Spanish drug lords

I dont think there is much focus or aim in this post, more a general get together of whats been happening.
A while back one Sunday evening i was forced to watch John Tucker Must Die - 2006 film starring Jesse Metcalfe - and one of the girls described John Tucker as being so beautiful he was like "A statue wrapped in a painting". That made me almost like the film as that sounds pretty interesting to me. I mean, i hate the whole cliche of art being just about painting, just about drawing, just about portraits - landscapes blah blah blah, but i think the coming together of 2 ideals or stereotypes to make one unforeseen new element is rather interesting. I think its much like what im trying to do now - working with colour - staining canvas etc has been done before - nothing new here - but im trying to introduce other elements to my work like gravity, chance and randomisation, and this is what i think sets it apart from the regular.
I kind of had a thought the other day about life - i was doodling in my notebook and started drawing like just lines up and down and then it turned into what looked like the lines from a heart rate monitor - and it made me think that, that is a visual, digital representation of life - which i think as an artist is what im doing also - trying to represent life for other people - showing what i feel through my life.

It seems as much as i dont really think about it all the time, im always being influenced by the world around me - usually in the form of dreams. As i mentioned in a previous post about dreaming, our mind takes things you have seen or experienced that day and compares them to other similar things you have felt or experienced, causing you to potentially dream about things you see just before you go to bed or that day. Seeing as i am basing a portion of my work on dreaming, then i am always being influenced by what i see and what emotions i feel - interesting.

I met a girl...

Im not getting my hopes up just yet - love is no excuse for bad art...

Image from:- http://www.vetspecs.com/products/PM4%20Screen-.jpg

xxx<3

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