crackle...etc etc

the studio is full of pieces in differing stages of work.
Bad paint flaked off a large panel and there was some swearing and scraping. New primer turned out to be a solvent based paint and is a reminder that spectacles should be worn when buying paint, even when the can is among others of the acrylic persuasion.
The image of crackled paint is something I did... its not actually old.
Household enamel paint is horrid stuff. I'm not perturbed by the solvent....it's due to consistency and stickyness and its unique ability to hold a static charge and flick off the brush and land in places its not wanted.
On the conceptual front there has been steady progress and ideas keep turning up and knocking on the door. Who knows where they come from? Right now I dont care, as long as they keep coming.
Its going well.
I quite like the look of the Diana Dors 1949 Type 175 S Delahaye going on the block soon. I am tempted. It would look quite lovely if it were covered in paisley design....Its such a beautiful car... Lady Sandra would just love it...I can see her in it, her blonde hair blowing in the wind....

lots of white

it takes time to layer on enough paint to approximate the kind of build up found on indoor surfaces that takes years and constant abuse. Old enamel paint used to drip and dribble and leave marks and then eventually dry to a glassy finish which cracked or splintered and chipped to reveal ghastly older colours beneath.
This is all part of the concept I am working on for my exhibition.
Imagine arriving in a different culture and trying to explain yourself. Even if you get the language right, you struggle to convey ideas because there are many small obstacles like words having subtle differences and accents which have all kinds of meaning inside them.
If you come from a different culture, even simple things dont necessarily hold the same meaning or value. The ability to use a verbal shorthand is lost because the whole construct of understanding is based on very different values and historical knowledge.
My work deals with the issues and obstacles of telling my history story. Every time I am in a situation where I need to explain or tell about who I am, I figuratively unpack all the boxes I travelled with. Sometimes the stories follow a different order and different things are emphasised and there are subtle differences in meaning from one occasion to the next. The configuration changes although the essential truth of it all remains the same...but the constant reconstruction of the larger story allows the nature of it to change.
My works revolve around this "telling of history story"
To show this I am working in and on boxes...painting objects which will go into boxes, painting onto actual boxes and special boxes which have been purpose built to show many ideas, but the panels obstruct each other. Other works will be built from collections of loose bits, rather like a quilt. (no...not a quilt!!) There will be repetition of imagery and sly trompe l'oeil trickery to add a confusing element.
Right now I am in the process of making and preparing the various objects and surfaces onto which I want to paint. The want to look old and used and I am going back to my recent career as scenic artist in film and TV to use techniques of breakdown and aging which will make everything look used and well travelled.
It is taking some time... be patient....Hoarknockle is trying his level best.

last wolf howling and a jangle

Give it one last howl I say. Got the varnish coat on to protect the painting. After buying rather an expensive special artists varnish, I found it gave a rather dirty and smudgy finish... not at all what I had hoped from an expensive bottle of "special" varnish. It left my work looking as if someone had spilled a cup of tea on it. Not the kind of professional finish I strive for.
Ended up giving it the well proven polyurethane floor varnish with satin finish. It brings out amazing depth and clarity in a piece...even small brush strokes wake up and play.
As a final flourish I decided to give the banner at the top a small bit of fake flaking and cracking. No reason other than I wanted to give it something, a goodbye gift from me. Might be too subtle for people to notice as being fakery, but then that is also the whole idea behind the trickery, isn't it?
Also did all the boring stuff like screw in the hardware for hanging, so pedestrian after having fun. It gets worse...now I have a small list of administrative details to take care of... backing up files, tidying up and making sure I have my stuff all neat and tidy and up to date. I should get Gorefinch from the neighbours to send his niece over to be my filing clerk. If only to see how she drives Hoarknockle to distraction. Gratuitous distraction.
Lady Sandra is perfuming the manor with delightful baking scents. I imagine there will be something delicious with tea today. (apart from herself!) Tis the season to be jolly!
There is a generous layer of snow outside and I should get the carriage and horses out for a jingle jangle down to the village.
Alert the stables, Hoarknockle!
Aaaaaaaaah yes...

cold water

I thought to post the obvious in a note on the painting. In a style befitting the litigious obsession of the average north american consumer who has to be warned against any and every possible threat, many miles or hours ahead of time. Even the most obvious dangers require shouted warnings to discourage any possible chance of accident. Ever.
I wonder when the mountains are going to be painted with health warnings? I shall let this remain here, rather than pursue the rich vein of irony and stupidity that it offers.
In this painting which recounts the adventures of a married couple into the wilds of northern Canada. They shunned the warm safety of suburban life and the comforts of retirement age, to leap into the unknown wilderness where wolves and other WILD and DANGEROUS creatures have no hazard labels. Neither do the rivers or cliffs. Irresponsible!
I enjoyed the focus of fussing with the demands of a small patch of paint masquerading as something else.
Only part still to do is the hummingbird.

delivery

After a soothing drive north I am back to take down the little yellow chair and deliver it to the museum where the "Chairity" auction will be held.

Its been one of those pieces that took on a life of its own and grew organically. Lady Sandra suggested the little note about the fake chair at a time I was a little stumped about where the picture wanted to go. Her suggestion was pitch perfect and is one of my favourite parts of the painting.

I enjoyed playing with the contrast in real flaking paint vis-a-vis the painted fake flaking paint.(green flaking bits below are fake. The upper section with the word "Cheer" is an actual layer of paint glued to the canvas) The wooden frame panels on either side of the chair are painted wood. The paint layered onto the chair is just less than a centimeter thick. (between quarter and half an inch to medieval stalwarts)

Hoarknockle is grumbling because he has to tidy and clean the studio.

The painting is not stretched on a frame... so will be exhibited as a free hanging piece. Whoever buys it will be left to decide how they want to display it. I imagine a glass and stainless steel case filled with inert gas will be the best way, lit with low intensity light to increase archival preservation. I think I saw an buyer from the Louvre in town the other day. (He had a beret on and carried a baguette under his arm as he strolled along smoking a Gauloise, listening to accordion music on his iPod...a dead giveaway!)

Aviation art is next. Some images to be made of the Harvard trainer.

I have a team of engineers bringing a complete aircraft into my studio for preliminary drawings. They will all be wearing velvet slippers to minimise vibration. I won't have any vibration spoiling my collection of wines in the cellar.

Its tea time, I believe!

Warning: May be fake!

Alluding to the wonderful warnings posted on paper coffee cups, "Contents may be hot!" The complete and utter obsession with being safe from litigation by making the most obvious statements: a world focussed on sub mediocrity.

Hoarknockle would receive a tube of paint launched from my hand if he were to alert me to the fact that my tea might be slightly warmer than tepid.

"Awesome!"... such a nondescript and meaningless critique so thoughtlessly tossed out by well meaning people. Life reduced to small gobbets of undigested pabulum. The everyday, interpersonal version of "Warning contents may be hot!"

In this painting I attempt to play the trompe l'oeil card, several in fact, one on top of the other. Somehow all the cards are fake. Except, some of the flaking paint is real. A Ponzi scheme in paint.

Oh Dear! Look! ... the large view doesn't indicate where the little warning is, because the little warning note was painted after the larger view was photographed. Should I offer a warning about that?

WARNING: PAINTING MAY NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL EVENTS OR CURRENT STATUS.

It is evolving and developing. Such an unsettling situation for people who need warnings on coffee cups.

Thank goodness for Spode bone china, smoked duck breast on toast and Kolinsky sable brushes!

I have called for Hoarknockle to bring the Maybach around for an afternoon drive to soothe my frayed sensibilities.

Where is Peter Sellers when one needs him.......

yellow chair

Lady Sandra and I spent an evening discussing the work last night. Some fine Pouilly Fume on hand helped to lighten the tone somewhat. She suggested I not overdo the Beuys references and that some other elements might help the ideas along. Duly noted.

The upper part of the work is a piece of dry paint upon which I did some bad sign writing. The paint is initially done onto a sheet of plastic and then pulled free...the paint is thick enough to support itself... like a skin of latex. This was cracked and broken up somewhat before I glued it to the canvas.

To further play with the idea of fakery, I am going to be doing some trompe l'oeil trickery which will pretend to be more cracked and flaking paint. Some flakes of paint will be pencil lines only, obvious attempted fraud.

The little yellow chair has been loaded mercilessly with thick slatherings of yellow paint.

Makes me think of Devonshire clotted cream... maybe Hoarknockle should be despatched to whip me up some scones with cream and strawberry jam. This instant!