Art Log Spring 2004

**Spring 2004**
01/04/2004 I did most of the reworking of ARC MARTYDOM - OLIVER TWIST. This is the least promising of the three old works. Primed some odd bits of hardboard I found with my stored paintings. I want to begin a new series of Wing Works as well as continue with the "Alternative Portraits"
02/04/2004 Not an especially creative day! I spent some of it preparing panels for painting on and some of it working on my web site. The latter is long over due (much more still needs to be done - ditto my web journal site). I am still working on a series of crayon portraits - incorporating a multitude of other imagery.
03/04/2004 Spent over four hours working on my web site after work in the art shop. Nothing else was done.
04/04/2004 Spent another four hours fiddling with my web site. Again nothing else of a creative nature was done! As it was Sunday I spent the afternoon outside in the garden.
05/04/2004 I have started the drawing stage of a number of works, mostly small in scale: WING - SERMON ON THE MOUNT (a surreal Manfred Wing work), CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW (symbols within ascending organic blocks), PORTRAIT OF WINDMILL HILL (an experimental portrayal of a hill near my old home - which I have painted a number of times before) and two versions of PETAL PORTRAIT (beginnings of a series of portraits using a combination of petal shapes and symbols). All the drawing was done in thin charcoal with WINDMILL HILL subsequently redefined in oil.
06/04/2004 Should have been painting today but I had a day out with my wife, June. Spent some of the time writing an essay in my head! All based around a new development of the Ionist Art Group entitled Advanced Art Research - Information Exchange.
07/04/2004 Redefined, in acrylic paint, the lines of CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW. Later on I did the drawing stage of an oil on chipboard painting (oil primed) entitled PORTRAIT OF A PERSON WHO SPOKE IN A DREAM. In essence the work comprises of overlapping horizontal and vertical stratified blocks.
08/04/2004 Redefined the lines of both versions of PETAL PORTRAIT. Reworking both in the process I then started redrawing the lines of Manfred Wing's new work: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Making many additions in the process.
09/04/2004 I finished the redrawing of WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. This only took an hour or two. I then spent most of Good Friday in the garden - sunny day but cold wind! When I come in I started making additions to the finished drawing!
11/04/2004 Literally ten minutes drawing - working on WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT then I went out in the garden.
12/04/2004 Easter Monday: I have now finished the acrylic drawing stage of WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. However, most of the day was spent in other activities.
13/04/2004 I painted in PORTRAIT OF A PERSON WHO SPOKE IN A DREAM. The background is predominantly yellow and brown over a yellow wash with pronounced cross hatching. The figure area is yellow and orange. I do not normally use paint as fluid as this - this was an interesting exercise. No painting tomorrow as I am looking after the art shop.
15/04/2004 Finished PORTRAIT OF A PERSON WHO SPOKE IN A DREAM. I added symbol variations to the horizontal and vertical blocks - based on eye and mouth shapes respectively. Added further signs and shape arrangements to other locations. All these were affected or infiltrated by the heavy cross hatching of the background. I had a lot on my mind today which may have had an effect on my work.
16/04/2004 Painted in PORTRAIT OF WINDMILL HILL. It is a conventional but emotional portrayal of a local area of interest with subtle colour and less subtle shape sequences overlaid. The hill has very distinct paths made by the army running down it which formed the basis for the interacting horizontal sequences moving across the picture. Very late in the day I started painting in CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW.
19/04/2004 Painted in all the colour areas of CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW. Thematic (characterisation) symbols and further background lines remain to be added. Started to paint in one of the versions of PETAL PORTRAIT.
20/04/2004 Finished painting in all the colour areas of PETAL PORTRAIT. Started painting in the second version of PETAL PORTRAIT. I need to do another, more definitive, version. Closer to my original idea, both in terms of design and colour.
21/04/2004 Spent a large portion of the morning, very belatedly, composing portfolios and other promotional material to send to galleries. Later on: I finished painting in the colour areas of the second PETAL PORTRAIT and then partially repainted the first. I started painting in Manfred's work: WING SERMON ON THE MOUNT. This is very loosely based on a work completed in 1976. I sketched in two further "Petal Portraits" in charcoal. These are slightly larger in scale.
22/04/2004 Belatedly started work on the Free Painters and Sculptors Newsletter which I am currently editing. Painting WING:SERMON ON THE MOUNT. The original version was in shades of grey, this version has a strange colour scheme which I am uncertain about.
23/04/2004 Put the finishing touches to the Free Painters and Sculptors Newsletter - scanning and importing images to illustrate the text etc. Finished WING:SERMON ON THE MOUNT on the basis that I will have to paint in further details in due course and possibly repaint some sections.
26/04/2004 Spent most of the day adding many more details to WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. These are based on existing images but develop or vary them in a surreal way.
27/04/2004 Worked again on WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT - I have almost finished it. I also worked on CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW and both "Petal Portraits".
28/04/2004 Finished WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Redefined the lines, in acrylic paint, of the the two PETAL HEAD pictures. Continued working on CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW.
29/04/2004 Finished CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW by adding symbols and shapes to the grids. The work is essentially an ascending sequence of organic shapes and I have added totemic images which influence the choice of symbols. The latter are spontaneous visualisations of aspects of the sitter's character. I did a little preliminary work on some very small boards. One will be a LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT based on a drawing I completed earlier in the year.
30/04/2004 Not a particularly productive day! Which is a shame because I probably will not be able to do any more work until Wednesday because of other commitments (including, it has to be said, a day in the garden on Bank Holiday Monday!). I was a bit restless today and I started a lot of small works: I did the charcoal drawing (later redefined in acrylic medium) of a work entitled LANDSCAPE ACROSS TIES and the charcoal drawing (later redefined in acrylic paint and medium) of work entitled LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT - The former comprises only the basic structures (neck ties!) while latter includes all the imagery. Later on I did some more charcoal sketches for oils - these will need the drawing redefined at a later date: HIDDEN LANDSCAPE, HIDDEN TREE (both very small pictures) and LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE. I then wanted to draw in the main structures for two large oils which I primed on Wednesday but run out of time!
03/05/2004 Spent the first part of the morning getting the FPS newsletters ready for mailing - then I went out into the garden!
05/05/2004 I meant to return to painting today but suddenly decided to clean and tidy my studio - first time since August 2003! (or was that 2002!!). This took all day. I am out tomorrow but plan to clean and tidy my library on Friday. I am responsible for my two rooms - my wife, June, does the remainder of the house! This will probably mean no painting until Monday.
10/05/2004 I have been offered a showing of my work in Andover Museum. I decided to finish LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT - even though I had to do it in acrylic rather than oil. I also redid the drawing, in acrylic, of the two small works: HIDDEN LANDSCAPE & HIDDEN TREE. In the afternoon I did a small acrylic painting (not quite finished) on acrylic cotton like material glued to plastic backing. Provisionally called PORTRAIT BEHIND A STILL LIFE.
11/05/2004 Redid the drawing, again in acrylic, of LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE. Prepared and delivered 8 works for an exhibition in Andover Museum. The show opens on Saturday.
12/05/2004 I am in a very pronounced multi-stylistic mood at the moment and I started a large number of works today (to go with all the others I started previously!). All the preparatory drawing is done in charcoal or charcoal pencil - for some reason I have stopped working entirely with a brush. I started a series of extreme landscape based improvisations under the generic name of "Polyscenic Inventions". I started 2 today: POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO THE ONE-A-CLOCK NEWS and POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO RADIO THREE. I also started a large linear developmental work (using image sequences in strands) entitled: MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH; another of the complex sequential landscapes called THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS and I worked on a diptych named CAT TRYING TO CATCH A FLY.
13/05/2004 Started yet more new works (still using charcoal/charcoal pencil for the initial drawing). One was a grid format developmental work where the imagery will change and evolve across adjoining squares. This is untitled at the moment but will probably just be called ESSAY. I also started a new "Old" Wing work entitled AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. This is based on a painting I did in 1976. However, it will not be an exact copy by any means as the dimensions of the panel are different. I continued refining: MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH and THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. I was hoping to start a portrait commission this week but I am not sure if I can manage it now.
14/05/2004 I finished the drawing stage of WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. I also finished tweaking the drawing of the other works I started this week. I did a bit more work on CAT TRYING TO CATCH A FLY.
15/05/2004 Spent the evening preparing work for a Free Painters & Sculptors group at the Cottons Atrium in London. This is actually a proposed touring show with the paintings used again in other venues.
16/05/2004 Went to London to deliver my work for the FPS exhibition.
17/05/2004 I did the drawing stage of two portrait commissions. My portrait technique at the moment comprises of a preliminary drawing phase, usually using charcoal, which is redrawn in thin oil paint and then followed by a quick painting using thick or very slightly thinned paint. Final details are added when this is dry. I get an exact likeness and define the shadows and all the main elements of the image during the second phase.
18/05/2004 I worked on LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE and LANDSCAPE OF TIES today. I added all the thematic imagery - first in charcoal pencil and then in acrylic paint/medium. Effectively these works only need "colouring" in plus textural and other superficial details added.
19/05/2004 I worked on HIDDEN TREE and HIDDEN LANDSCAPE today. I painted in the main colour areas and started to add thematic details. I was going to use ordinary oils but decided to use the water soluble oils which have a smoother texture straight from the tube.
20/05/2004 Finished HIDDEN TREE and HIDDEN LANDSCAPE.
21/05/2004 Worked on, and almost finished, LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE. However, it was not a particularly productive day.
22/05/2004 Looked after the art shop, as I do every Saturday, but managed to finish off LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE in the evening. I am behind with multifarious gardening jobs so there will not be any art work done tomorrow!
24/05/2004 Started and, more or less, finished the painting of LANDSCAPE OF TIES - while listening to the First Test between England and New Zealand on the radio.
25/05/2004 Not a full day. I spent a few moments first thing tweaking LANDSCAPE OF TIES. I then turned to working on PETAL PORTRAIT (VERSION ONE). I added symbols which are based on facial features but are also influenced by the petal shape structures holding them and allude to the character of a lady I know.
26/05/2004 An unexpectedly disrupted day. I finished PETAL PORTRAIT but I did not manage anything else. There will be no work tomorrow as I have other committments.
28/05/2004 Not a full day again. Although I did start working on PETAL PORTRAIT (VERSION TWO). Like the first version, I filled in the petal shape structures with symbols based on facial features - again they react to "events" in the background paint layer and the dynamics of the structures themselves. However, they do not contain any conscious references to a real person. I will attempt to finish this work on Sunday morning.
30/05/2004 Sunday morning: I finished PETAL PORTRAIT (VERSION TWO) - fiddled with the computer for a few minutes then went out into the garden.
31/05/2004 Bank Holiday Monday: Spent part of the morning working on my IONOSCOPE Bulletin. This is a newsletter to include with portfolios I send to galleries. I may have mentioned this before but my New Year Resolution was to be more pro-active in terms of approaching galleries for shows. It is now close to the middle of the year and I still haven't sent any off! I had a busy schedule of shows in 2002 but last year I concentrated on exploring some of the stylistic new directions which I have long been thinking about. There are many more avenues to explore but I will really have to get a little more enthusiastic about exhibiting again. If I had an independent income I would never bother at all - it is the exploration and, to a lesser extent, experimentation (the two are very distinct) which interests me.
01/06/2004 Redefined, in water thinned Artisan paint, the charcoal lines of the two cat portraits. I hope to complete these works this week. I managed to finish the first issue of the IONOSCOPE in the evening - after putting it off for about five years!
02/06/2004 Painted in, relatively casually, a first layer of thinned paint on both of the Cat Portraits. I will have to add details with thicker paint when this is dry. A new procedure for me as I normally only uset one layer of paint straight from the tube.
03/06/2004 Redefined, in water/linseed oil thinned Artisan paint the lines of two "Polyscenic Inventions".
04/06/2004 Redefined the drawing of WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. Unfortunately, I had to go out and I was fifteen minutes away from completing this stage of the work. I have a busy weekend before me so this will have to be my first job on Monday morning.
07/06/2004 Finished the redrawing of WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. Also redefined the lines of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. Started and almost finished the redrawing of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.
08/06/2004 Worked on both versions of the Cat Portrait: adding details and overpainting. Finished the redrawing of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.
09/06/2004 Worked again on both Cat Portraits and also started painting in both of the "Polyscenic Inventions". I also printed out some new portfolios - Am I going to send some off at last?! I will probably leave it a week or two for the ink to dry!!!
10/06/2004 Painted in all the colour areas of the two "Polyscenic Inventions", namely: POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO THE ONE-A-CLOCK NEWS and POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO RADIO THREE. These are very tongue in cheek titles for none too serious works.
11/06/2004 I had to go out, totally unexpectedly, so work was badly disrupted. I, more or less, finished the two Cat Portraits in the latter part of the afternoon.
13/06/2004 Sunday: I spent a few minutes painting, a few minutes (belatedly) on paperwork and a lot of minutes in the garden. Like everything else in my life I am behind with essential jobs in the latter so I may have a few days off from painting next week to catch up - so I had better finish off some paintings this week! I returned to the HIDDEN TREE and reworked the lower area. I then put a border round the PETAL HEAD portraits - one of which is more of a "Bubble Head"! - plus a border round WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS and finally a border round THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.
14/06/2004 Like Friday, today was unexpectedly disrupted. However, I did finish the Cat Portraits. I also started work on MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH. I will continue with this tomorrow, although I have to go out in the middle part of the day so I am not sure how much progress will be made.
15/06/2004 Limited time to paint today. I continued painting in the main structures of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.
16/06/2004 Painted in all the main colour areas of PETAL HEAD and BUBBLE HEAD (PETAL HEAD 2)
17/06/2004 Painted in the background area of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. Also worked again on MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.
18/06/2004 I, unexpectedly, had to work in the art shop today so no proper work done. I am in the shop tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday and then for a large part of the remaining week my wife and I are transforming the garden - I am not sure what into!
19/06/2004 Totally by accident (the ceiling collapsed in the hall and I had to rush home to clear it up), I had time to do a couple of hours painting today. I continued working on MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH. I am not sure about the colour scheme.
20/06/2004 Finished off painting in all the colour areas of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH then disappeared out into the garden. I am still not sure about the colour scheme.
23/06/2004 Despite very bad weather I spent the day working in the garden - I am an assiduous collector of plants. In consequence very little painting was done - this is destined to be a very unproductive week! I did start drawing in (with thinned oil paint) the thematic material of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.
24/06/2004 I spent most of the day in the garden. However, I did continue working on THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS for a few hours in the morning.
25/06/2004 Out in the morning but painted all afternoon: still working on THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. It has a rather informal development with a spontaneous approach to elaborating the thematic material. Consequently, and unusually, a lot of reworking was required. Art shop tomorrow and (I expect) gardening on Sunday but the rest of the week (I hope) should be dedicated to art.
27/06/2004 Sunday: a few minutes painting before going out side. A lovely day!
28/06/2004 Finished off the preliminary drawing and then started to paint in the thematic area of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.
29/06/2004 I have carried on painting in THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. I still haven't finished it but, hopefully, will do so tomorrow.
30/06/2004 Continued with THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS but still haven't finished it - perhaps tomorrow!

Spring 2004

01/04/2004

I did most of the reworking of ARC MARTYDOM - OLIVER TWIST. This is the least promising of the three old works.
Primed some odd bits of hardboard I found with my stored paintings. I want to begin a new series of Wing Works as well as continue with the "Alternative Portraits"

02/04/2004

Not an especially creative day! I spent some of it preparing panels for painting on and some of it working on my web site. The latter is long over due (much more still needs to be done - ditto my web journal site).
I am still working on a series of crayon portraits - incorporating a multitude of other imagery.

03/04/2004

Spent over four hours working on my web site after work in the art shop. Nothing else was done.

04/04/2004

Spent another four hours fiddling with my web site. Again nothing else of a creative nature was done! As it was Sunday I spent the afternoon outside in the garden.

05/04/2004

I have started the drawing stage of a number of works, mostly small in scale: WING - SERMON ON THE MOUNT (a surreal Manfred Wing work), CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW (symbols within ascending organic blocks), PORTRAIT OF WINDMILL HILL (an experimental portrayal of a hill near my old home - which I have painted a number of times before) and two versions of PETAL PORTRAIT (beginnings of a series of portraits using a combination of petal shapes and symbols). All the drawing was done in thin charcoal with WINDMILL HILL subsequently redefined in oil.

06/04/2004

Should have been painting today but I had a day out with my wife, June. Spent some of the time writing an essay in my head! All based around a new development of the Ionist Art Group entitled Advanced Art Research - Information Exchange.

07/04/2004

Redefined, in acrylic paint, the lines of CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW.
Later on I did the drawing stage of an oil on chipboard painting (oil primed) entitled PORTRAIT OF A PERSON WHO SPOKE IN A DREAM. In essence the work comprises of overlapping horizontal and vertical stratified blocks.

08/04/2004

Redefined the lines of both versions of PETAL PORTRAIT. Reworking both in the process
I then started redrawing the lines of Manfred Wing's new work: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Making many additions in the process.

09/04/2004

I finished the redrawing of WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. This only took an hour or two. I then spent most of Good Friday in the garden - sunny day but cold wind!
When I come in I started making additions to the finished drawing!

11/04/2004

Literally ten minutes drawing - working on WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT then I went out in the garden.

12/04/2004

Easter Monday: I have now finished the acrylic drawing stage of WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. However, most of the day was spent in other activities.

13/04/2004

I painted in PORTRAIT OF A PERSON WHO SPOKE IN A DREAM. The background is predominantly yellow and brown over a yellow wash with pronounced cross hatching. The figure area is yellow and orange. I do not normally use paint as fluid as this - this was an interesting exercise.
No painting tomorrow as I am looking after the art shop.

15/04/2004

Finished PORTRAIT OF A PERSON WHO SPOKE IN A DREAM. I added symbol variations to the horizontal and vertical blocks - based on eye and mouth shapes respectively. Added further signs and shape arrangements to other locations. All these were affected or infiltrated by the heavy cross hatching of the background.
I had a lot on my mind today which may have had an effect on my work.

16/04/2004

Painted in PORTRAIT OF WINDMILL HILL. It is a conventional but emotional portrayal of a local area of interest with subtle colour and less subtle shape sequences overlaid. The hill has very distinct paths made by the army running down it which formed the basis for the interacting horizontal sequences moving across the picture.
Very late in the day I started painting in CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW.

19/04/2004

Painted in all the colour areas of CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW. Thematic (characterisation) symbols and further background lines remain to be added.
Started to paint in one of the versions of PETAL PORTRAIT.

20/04/2004

Finished painting in all the colour areas of PETAL PORTRAIT.
Started painting in the second version of PETAL PORTRAIT.
I need to do another, more definitive, version. Closer to my original idea, both in terms of design and colour.

21/04/2004

Spent a large portion of the morning, very belatedly, composing portfolios and other promotional material to send to galleries.
Later on: I finished painting in the colour areas of the second PETAL PORTRAIT and then partially repainted the first.
I started painting in Manfred's work: WING SERMON ON THE MOUNT. This is very loosely based on a work completed in 1976.
I sketched in two further "Petal Portraits" in charcoal. These are slightly larger in scale.

22/04/2004

Belatedly started work on the Free Painters and Sculptors Newsletter which I am currently editing.
Painting WING:SERMON ON THE MOUNT. The original version was in shades of grey, this version has a strange colour scheme which I am uncertain about.

23/04/2004

Put the finishing touches to the Free Painters and Sculptors Newsletter - scanning and importing images to illustrate the text etc.
Finished WING:SERMON ON THE MOUNT on the basis that I will have to paint in further details in due course and possibly repaint some sections.

26/04/2004

Spent most of the day adding many more details to WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT. These are based on existing images but develop or vary them in a surreal way.

27/04/2004

Worked again on WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT - I have almost finished it.
I also worked on CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW and both "Petal Portraits".

28/04/2004

Finished WING: SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
Redefined the lines, in acrylic paint, of the the two PETAL HEAD pictures.
Continued working on CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW.

29/04/2004

Finished CLARE BEFORE A WINDOW by adding symbols and shapes to the grids. The work is essentially an ascending sequence of organic shapes and I have added totemic images which influence the choice of symbols. The latter are spontaneous visualisations of aspects of the sitter's character.
I did a little preliminary work on some very small boards. One will be a LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT based on a drawing I completed earlier in the year.

30/04/2004

Not a particularly productive day! Which is a shame because I probably will not be able to do any more work until Wednesday because of other commitments (including, it has to be said, a day in the garden on Bank Holiday Monday!).
I was a bit restless today and I started a lot of small works: I did the charcoal drawing (later redefined in acrylic medium) of a work entitled LANDSCAPE ACROSS TIES and the charcoal drawing (later redefined in acrylic paint and medium) of work entitled LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT - The former comprises only the basic structures (neck ties!) while latter includes all the imagery. Later on I did some more charcoal sketches for oils - these will need the drawing redefined at a later date: HIDDEN LANDSCAPE, HIDDEN TREE (both very small pictures) and LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE.
I then wanted to draw in the main structures for two large oils which I primed on Wednesday but run out of time!

03/05/2004

Spent the first part of the morning getting the FPS newsletters ready for mailing - then I went out into the garden!

05/05/2004

I meant to return to painting today but suddenly decided to clean and tidy my studio - first time since August 2003! (or was that 2002!!). This took all day.
I am out tomorrow but plan to clean and tidy my library on Friday. I am responsible for my two rooms - my wife, June, does the remainder of the house! This will probably mean no painting until Monday.

10/05/2004

I have been offered a showing of my work in Andover Museum. I decided to finish LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT - even though I had to do it in acrylic rather than oil.
I also redid the drawing, in acrylic, of the two small works: HIDDEN LANDSCAPE & HIDDEN TREE.
In the afternoon I did a small acrylic painting (not quite finished) on acrylic cotton like material glued to plastic backing. Provisionally called PORTRAIT BEHIND A STILL LIFE.

11/05/2004

Redid the drawing, again in acrylic, of LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE.
Prepared and delivered 8 works for an exhibition in Andover Museum. The show opens on Saturday.

12/05/2004

I am in a very pronounced multi-stylistic mood at the moment and I started a large number of works today (to go with all the others I started previously!). All the preparatory drawing is done in charcoal or charcoal pencil - for some reason I have stopped working entirely with a brush.
I started a series of extreme landscape based improvisations under the generic name of "Polyscenic Inventions". I started 2 today: POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO THE ONE-A-CLOCK NEWS and POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO RADIO THREE.
I also started a large linear developmental work (using image sequences in strands) entitled: MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH; another of the complex sequential landscapes called THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS and I worked on a diptych named CAT TRYING TO CATCH A FLY.

13/05/2004

Started yet more new works (still using charcoal/charcoal pencil for the initial drawing). One was a grid format developmental work where the imagery will change and evolve across adjoining squares. This is untitled at the moment but will probably just be called ESSAY.
I also started a new "Old" Wing work entitled AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. This is based on a painting I did in 1976. However, it will not be an exact copy by any means as the dimensions of the panel are different.
I continued refining: MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH and THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.
I was hoping to start a portrait commission this week but I am not sure if I can manage it now.

14/05/2004

I finished the drawing stage of WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. I also finished tweaking the drawing of the other works I started this week.
I did a bit more work on CAT TRYING TO CATCH A FLY.

15/05/2004

Spent the evening preparing work for a Free Painters & Sculptors group at the Cottons Atrium in London. This is actually a proposed touring show with the paintings used again in other venues.

16/05/2004

Went to London to deliver my work for the FPS exhibition.

17/05/2004

I did the drawing stage of two portrait commissions. My portrait technique at the moment comprises of a preliminary drawing phase, usually using charcoal, which is redrawn in thin oil paint and then followed by a quick painting using thick or very slightly thinned paint. Final details are added when this is dry. I get an exact likeness and define the shadows and all the main elements of the image during the second phase.

18/05/2004

I worked on LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE and LANDSCAPE OF TIES today. I added all the thematic imagery - first in charcoal pencil and then in acrylic paint/medium. Effectively these works only need "colouring" in plus textural and other superficial details added.

19/05/2004

I worked on HIDDEN TREE and HIDDEN LANDSCAPE today. I painted in the main colour areas and started to add thematic details. I was going to use ordinary oils but decided to use the water soluble oils which have a smoother texture straight from the tube.

20/05/2004

Finished HIDDEN TREE and HIDDEN LANDSCAPE.

21/05/2004

Worked on, and almost finished, LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE. However, it was not a particularly productive day.

22/05/2004

Looked after the art shop, as I do every Saturday, but managed to finish off LANDSCAPE ACROSS FIVE PEOPLE in the evening. I am behind with multifarious gardening jobs so there will not be any art work done tomorrow!

24/05/2004

Started and, more or less, finished the painting of LANDSCAPE OF TIES - while listening to the First Test between England and New Zealand on the radio.

25/05/2004

Not a full day. I spent a few moments first thing tweaking LANDSCAPE OF TIES.
I then turned to working on PETAL PORTRAIT (VERSION ONE). I added symbols which are based on facial features but are also influenced by the petal shape structures holding them and allude to the character of a lady I know.

26/05/2004

An unexpectedly disrupted day. I finished PETAL PORTRAIT but I did not manage anything else. There will be no work tomorrow as I have other committments.

28/05/2004

Not a full day again. Although I did start working on PETAL PORTRAIT (VERSION TWO). Like the first version, I filled in the petal shape structures with symbols based on facial features - again they react to "events" in the background paint layer and the dynamics of the structures themselves. However, they do not contain any conscious references to a real person. I will attempt to finish this work on Sunday morning.

30/05/2004

Sunday morning: I finished PETAL PORTRAIT (VERSION TWO) - fiddled with the computer for a few minutes then went out into the garden.

31/05/2004

Bank Holiday Monday: Spent part of the morning working on my IONOSCOPE Bulletin. This is a newsletter to include with portfolios I send to galleries. I may have mentioned this before but my New Year Resolution was to be more pro-active in terms of approaching galleries for shows. It is now close to the middle of the year and I still haven't sent any off! I had a busy schedule of shows in 2002 but last year I concentrated on exploring some of the stylistic new directions which I have long been thinking about. There are many more avenues to explore but I will really have to get a little more enthusiastic about exhibiting again. If I had an independent income I would never bother at all - it is the exploration and, to a lesser extent, experimentation (the two are very distinct) which interests me.

01/06/2004

Redefined, in water thinned Artisan paint, the charcoal lines of the two cat portraits. I hope to complete these works this week.

I managed to finish the first issue of the IONOSCOPE in the evening - after putting it off for about five years!

02/06/2004

Painted in, relatively casually, a first layer of thinned paint on both of the Cat Portraits. I will have to add details with thicker paint when this is dry. A new procedure for me as I normally only uset one layer of paint straight from the tube.

03/06/2004

Redefined, in water/linseed oil thinned Artisan paint the lines of two "Polyscenic Inventions".

04/06/2004

Redefined the drawing of WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS. Unfortunately, I had to go out and I was fifteen minutes away from completing this stage of the work. I have a busy weekend before me so this will have to be my first job on Monday morning.

07/06/2004

Finished the redrawing of WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS.

Also redefined the lines of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.

Started and almost finished the redrawing of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.

08/06/2004

Worked on both versions of the Cat Portrait: adding details and overpainting.

Finished the redrawing of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.

09/06/2004

Worked again on both Cat Portraits and also started painting in both of the "Polyscenic Inventions".
I also printed out some new portfolios - Am I going to send some off at last?! I will probably leave it a week or two for the ink to dry!!!

10/06/2004

Painted in all the colour areas of the two "Polyscenic Inventions", namely: POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO THE ONE-A-CLOCK NEWS and POLYSCENIC INVENTION COMPOSED WHILE LISTENING TO RADIO THREE. These are very tongue in cheek titles for none too serious works.

11/06/2004

I had to go out, totally unexpectedly, so work was badly disrupted. I, more or less, finished the two Cat Portraits in the latter part of the afternoon.

13/06/2004

Sunday: I spent a few minutes painting, a few minutes (belatedly) on paperwork and a lot of minutes in the garden. Like everything else in my life I am behind with essential jobs in the latter so I may have a few days off from painting next week to catch up - so I had better finish off some paintings this week!
I returned to the HIDDEN TREE and reworked the lower area. I then put a border round the PETAL HEAD portraits - one of which is more of a "Bubble Head"! - plus a border round WING: AN IMPROBABLE ATLAS and finally a border round THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.

14/06/2004

Like Friday, today was unexpectedly disrupted. However, I did finish the Cat Portraits.
I also started work on MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH. I will continue with this tomorrow, although I have to go out in the middle part of the day so I am not sure how much progress will be made.

15/06/2004

Limited time to paint today. I continued painting in the main structures of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.

16/06/2004

Painted in all the main colour areas of PETAL HEAD and BUBBLE HEAD (PETAL HEAD 2)

17/06/2004

Painted in the background area of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.
Also worked again on MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH.

18/06/2004

I, unexpectedly, had to work in the art shop today so no proper work done. I am in the shop tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday and then for a large part of the remaining week my wife and I are transforming the garden - I am not sure what into!

19/06/2004

Totally by accident (the ceiling collapsed in the hall and I had to rush home to clear it up), I had time to do a couple of hours painting today. I continued working on MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH. I am not sure about the colour scheme.

20/06/2004

Finished off painting in all the colour areas of MASS TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE LANDSCAPE OF MY YOUTH then disappeared out into the garden. I am still not sure about the colour scheme.

23/06/2004

Despite very bad weather I spent the day working in the garden - I am an assiduous collector of plants. In consequence very little painting was done - this is destined to be a very unproductive week! I did start drawing in (with thinned oil paint) the thematic material of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.

24/06/2004

I spent most of the day in the garden. However, I did continue working on THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS for a few hours in the morning.

25/06/2004

Out in the morning but painted all afternoon: still working on THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. It has a rather informal development with a spontaneous approach to elaborating the thematic material. Consequently, and unusually, a lot of reworking was required.
Art shop tomorrow and (I expect) gardening on Sunday but the rest of the week (I hope) should be dedicated to art.

27/06/2004

Sunday: a few minutes painting before going out side. A lovely day!

28/06/2004

Finished off the preliminary drawing and then started to paint in the thematic area of THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS.

29/06/2004

I have carried on painting in THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS. I still haven't finished it but, hopefully, will do so tomorrow.

30/06/2004

Continued with THE LANDSCAPE WHICH THOUGHT IT WAS AN ARMCHAIR - VISUALISATION OF PRIMAL BIO-DYNAMICS but still haven't finished it - perhaps tomorrow!