I've recently relocated my studio and art practice from London to a much bigger space in Shropshire (but fear not, I'm still popping back down to the Capital on a monthly basis, to get my fix of arty partying and the glorious pollution – this fresh country air is just confusing my lungs), and have been spending the greater part of the last month working on renovations to the house and outbuildings, so apologise for the gap since my last post.
As a result of the renovations, and the current lack of a functioning studio, I've not had much in the way of time or space to produce any new artwork – and therefore not much to post about. But today I was making travel plans with the art journalist, Holly Howe, for our trip to next year's Venice Biennale (every two years Holly, myself, and a small group of art insiders schlep our glad rags over to Venice for the craziness, and parties of the Biennale's opening week) when I remembered an old accounts book that I had found in the streets on my 2015 visit to Venice, when I was over there, taking part in the Rob Pruitt's Art Flea Market, pop-up event. That year, when I returned home to London, I brought the book back with me, and used it as a sketchbook in which I made some fast and playful charcoal and acrylic sketches/paintings.
I'm not sure why I thought of painting
this creature, with its cactus horns, but it probably triggered the
thought of the bunny-eared figure below - which now I look at it,
reminds me of a kinda steroidal version of the rabbit character from
the film Donnie
Darko.
As you might already know from some of my previous work, I have a fondness for scrawling on old books and printed text.
As a creative exercise I like to set aside time to produce a certain amount of drawings, executed without much in the way of forethought, just to see what it throws up. Some of them work, and many of them don't – but either way, it's a good way of getting the creative juices flowing, and of maintaining the enjoyment of one's art practice. So here's a few examples of these loose paintings and charcoal sketches.
