Exploring surfaces

At the moment Tuesday is my painting day, the day when I can forget about everything that needs doing for A-side B-side, forget about life's stresses and actually focus on the thing I love doing the most!  Precious Tuesdays...

I am currently working on a series of studies, I started them as an experiment, purely as a way of exploring new ways of applying paint - without the pressure of thinking they had to be completed for an exhibition or even to show anyone at all.  I began by using image references but quickly stopped using them in favour of painting more intuitively.  I've found this really helpful, rather than continuously looking at an image to check whether lines are correct or colours are right, I've simply been choosing to mix colours because they feel right.  As the painting progresses I allow the paint and marks to dictate what should come next, whether I should wait for a layer to dry and apply a glaze, whether there needs to be a rough surface with texture, and whether that should be left to dry to apply yet another glaze.

All the time throughout the process I think about the concept and ideas which inspired this series of studies, but I don't feel bound to it, and I've noticed that this way other themes and avenues to explore have arisen.  Painting this way has felt quite liberating so far, and I feel that at last I am allowing the paint to work its own magic and relinquishing my control a little.  Paint is a magical medium with endless possibilities, it sounds strange - but for me, taking the time to explore it and simply experiment with it feels as though I am paying it more respect.

Some of the studies seem to be nearing completion, and I am now considering putting them forward for an exhibition although this was never my initial intention! Perhaps the things that turn out best happen accidentally....

Some pics below are snippets from my current painting studies:

Man with a Blue Scarf

A friend gave me a book about Lucian Freud a while ago, and I finally got round to reading it recently. I found it fascinating and a very inspiring read, so I thought I would share afew quotes here:

(All of the quotes are from 'Man with a Blue Scarf' by Martin Gayford'  the book describes Gayford's experience of posing for Lucian Freud, recollecting conversations they had whilst he painted his portrait)

Girl with a kitten

 

'In 1954 Freud wrote that 'the picture in order to move us must never merely remind us of life, but must acquire a life of its own, precisely in order to reflect life'

'As far as I'm concerned the paint is the person.  I want it to work for me just as flesh does'

'I always thought that an artist's was the hardest life of all.'  Its rigour - not always apparent to an outside observer - is that an artist has to navigate forward into the unknown guided only by an internal sense of direction, keep up a set of standards which are imposed entirely from within, meanwhile maintaining faith that the task he or she has set him or herself is worth struggling constantly to achieve.  This is all contrary to the notion of bohemian disorder' 

'for Freud quality in art is inextricably bound up with emotional honesty and truthfulness'

 The Painters Mother

The book describes how Freud radically changed his painting style in his 30s, starting to paint 'with broad, loose strokes of the brush rather than tight, meticulous surface detail', this meant that he alienated some of his earlier supporters.  It was fascinating to find out that his work was not appreciated or accepted until much later, he had virtually no income throughout his 40s and 50s.  

I have been going through a big transformation of my own work which has meant I have barely shown anything new for a long time.  I've also left behind the security blanket of using humour, and what became a recognised formula of image and text on canvas.  Stepping into the unknown has been massively daunting for me, so I found it very inspiring to read about how Lucian Freud pursued a big change in direction and lost followers in the process.  Plus the fact that he went on to develop his painting for years and years with such strong dedication and work ethic, without earning a penny from it.

I often romanticise about the day when I can paint 6 days per week! but like most artists I have always had to work alongside my practice to support myself, because painting has never paid the bills.  Even though painting full time is my ultimate goal in life I don't think I would have the courage to stop doing paid work until I had some sort of financial security - for fear of ending up homeless!  Lucian Freud's bravery and rigorous work ethic despite all the odds has left a remarkable legacy and wonderful collection of paintings for the world to enjoy.  

I have heard negative things about Freud, for example he rarely showed any affection to his children because he was constantly painting.  However I find his story and his paintings very powerful and moving, and as a painter myself 'Man with a Blue Scarf' was an amazing book to read.

 Reflection (Self portrait)

'I Wish' - A new print collaboration

I have recently collaborated with the amazing screenprinter Mark Perronett of Atom Printing, to produce a brand new limited edition print. 

For a long time I have been thinking about producing a print using a mixture of screenprinting and giclee, however I have been slightly nervous about screenprinting errors! So it was brill when Mark suggested the collaboration when he came to look at mine and Twinkle Troughton's Mini Retrospective show last summer.

I made the original painting in 2011: 'I Wish' is a heartfelt statement about all the things I want my artwork to be, whilst at the same time acknowledging the impossibility and naivety of that. It's another motto or action statement akin to my ‘PaintStuff’ piece.  

We decided to emphasize the text, by screenprinting a layer of varnish over just the words on the giclee print.  It's a very subtle effect and shows when you look at it from different angles, so it isn't visible on the image below.  I am more than pleased with the result, the edition was launched at the opening night of our 'Dreaming of a Black & White Christmas' exhibition at A-side B-side Gallery.

 

'I Wish' is a limited edition of 15

43.5 x 94cms

Giclee on German Etching with screenprinted varnish

£115

If you are interested in purchasing one of these prints please email me at tinseledwards@hotmail.co.uk

Painting workshop at Quintin Kynaston School

In November I was really pleased to be invited to come and work with the year 11 pupils at Quintin Kynaston School in St John's Wood.  I created a day workshop based on a series I made in 2006: '30 Paintings in 30 Days'; pupils kept 7 day diaries, collecting images and snippets of text for the duration.  We used these diaries as the starting point for a series of 7 paintings which would be a kind of self portrait, a visual record of thoughts, feelings and inspirations experienced over the 7 days.  

It seems like ages ago since I painted '30 Paintings in 30 Days' and my work has changed alot in 6 years, at the time I was interested in showing the mundane and everyday things in life as an essential part of the art making process.  I wanted it to be a spontaneous visual description of those 30 days, which tied in to my interest in making work which was immediate, honest and direct.  At the workshop I encouraged the pupils to do the same with their 7 day diaries,  the exercise was a way of exploring the theme of identity in response to my painting.

I absolutely loved running the workshop, the pupils really responded to the idea and had worked hard creating their 7 day diaries the previous week.  They made a really good start to the first of their seven paintings.  I was really touched when some of the students asked to come back afterschool to do an extra lesson working on their paintings.  I was even more touched when I looked through some of their sketchbooks to see they had created versions of some of my other paintings too!

Things like this are far more rewarding than selling a painting at an exhibition, perhaps one of the ultimate goals for any artist is for their work to inspire or make a difference in some way, and for me it was so wonderful being able to see the response of the pupils and experience this first hand.

Studies for housing series

I'm currently working on some studies for the housing series,  I'm still not quite sure how I want these to look but I'm starting to visualize quite large pieces.  I like the mark making in this most recent piece and I feel that this could be explored and developed further on a larger scale.  

After alot of deliberation about whether to put text on these I've decided against it, using text was always my 'formula', and a really simple way to be direct about the points I was making in my work.  However I think a poignant title can be just as powerful, in a subtle and perhaps more effective way.

 

I love Charming Baker's paintings, and his titles are really effective in adding further dimension to each piece.  When I look at a painting by him and then read the title, I start to visualize something else and reflect on alot more than just the image I am looking at.

Charming Baker: 
'My Weakness is Invariably Stronger Than I Am' 
Oil on Linen 2010

Charming Baker: 
'Just Because Everything is Different Doesn't Mean Anything Has Changed' 
Oil on Linen 2012

The rents just keep on rising...

I made a piece of work about the issues surrounding the housing rental market in London afew years ago, but with the situation now far worse, recently I've been feeling the need to make another series of paintings about this subject.

I've been reading several articles and reports with the aim of gathering information and figures relating to the private rental market and how the prices compare to average incomes.

'Private rents rose at an average annual equivalent of 7% across London in 2011'

'The rate of inflation on London private rents is 1.8 times greater than the rate of inflation on the average London wage'

'In contrast to the rises in rents, average London wages have fallen for a number of key worker professions'

Quotes from a document produced by the charity Shelter: London Rent watch: Rent inflation and Affordability in London's private rental market

Alongside the research I'm doing, I am also collecting images taken of actual adverts in estate agents windows.  These will eventually form the basis of this new series of paintings.

 

£599 per week for this?! So you would need to be earning far more than the average salary to afford 2.6k in rent aswell as bills and other monthly outgoings... 

and you wouldn't even be living in a nice home!

 This 'stunning two bedroom apartment' doesn't look worth £327 per week to me...

'Gorgeous one bed flat' ?! £319 per week!

I've started working on some studies for the paintings, I'm not sure how I will paint them eventually so for now I'm experimenting, researching and collecting adverts from estate agents windows - which in this climate are not in short supply!

I'd looked at afew different artists work, George Shaw, some Lucian Freud amongst others.  A friend suggested I look at Walter Sickert's interiors, I really like his paintings but hadn't considered looking at them for this series.

I thought the painting titled 'Jack the Rippers Bedroom' could almost be one of those adverts!  Its just missing a price tag of £450 per week....

 'Ennui' Walter Sickert 1914

'The Camden Town Murder' (ironically this piece was previously titled 'What shall we do to pay the rent'!) Walter Sickert 1908

'Jack the Rippers Bedroom' Walter Sickert 1908

Exhibition at Nunhead Cemetry for Open House Weekend - Plus some other news

This weekend I will be exhibiting three new paintings for the first time at the restored Anglican chapel in Nunhead Cemetary in Brockley, South London.

Diamond Decades is an exhibition celebrating the Queens Jubilee, curated by Jolanta Jagiello.  There are 16 artists involved: Jill Rock, Sally Buchanan, Lorenzo Belenguer, Mike Hoath, Jolanta Jagiello, Elisabetta Chojak-Mysko, Jo Nicholson Smith, Twinkle Troughton, Ana Moradian, Anna Whyatt, Will Parker, Derek Miles, Ahmed Faroqui, Abilene and Mary Pritchard.

'Nunhead is a magnificent Victorian cemetry with gothic chapel and ruined lodge.  One of London's Wildest and most overgrown cemetries, a square mile of inner city forest, unique in London - 50 acres of wilderness complete with bats, owls, foxes and squirrels.'
Open House London

22nd/23rd September is Open House weekend, where hundreds of venues across London open their doors to visitors.  I'm delighted to be taking part in the Diamond Decades exhibition, and showing work in this unique and fascinating historical setting.

Nunhead Cemtetry
Linden Grove 
London
SE153LW
22nd-23rd September
11am - 5pm
www.fonc.org.uk

Stepney Green Design Collection

The wonderful Katie Antoniou is curating a very interesting project for VIVO London :The Stepney Green Design Collection was commissioned to coincide with the launch of VIVO's new housing development.  Katie has selected works from ten creative people living in East London, read more about all of the participating artists on her blog London Plinth

Myself and Twinkle Troughton were invited to create a collaborative piece for the project, we have been busy working on this over the last couple of weeks.  The Stepney Green Design Collection will be launched in the next few weeks, more info, pics of the piece and details of the launch to follow soon.

Exhibition in Vienna 2013

In June next year, Twinkle and I will be exhibiting at the Michaela Stock Galerie in Vienna! They approached us after seeing our Mini Retrospective duo show at A-side B-side Gallery this summer.  We are both delighted to have been given this opportunity, I can't wait to take our exhibition to a brand new city! with a vibrant art scene and rich in history and culture.  Dates and info to follow soon!