June '09 Update...

My apologies to those of you whom have been following my posts. I recieved your messages and have had to think about why I am blogging.

Esentially it is to record and share. A diary that is public.

I had some issue working out just how much does one share? Is it purely in relation to Art news and Painting Techniques or is more personal on a daily level a more personal version of the journey.

I have often shared my feelings about working and where the fuel for such a work may have come from but I often hold back when it comes to sharing the environment of that art making on a personal level. There is some context lost in that editing.

I have decided if the entries are worth doing for me, then they are worth writing fully on the emotional, spiritual and physical environment in which the series are taking place. Essentialy the story for me while making my art.

You know a lot happens in family life, any life, that greatly influences your thinking, patterns and ability to create. I want to read over this in time and be reminded of the context to which it was all taking place!

I shall use ‘tags’ (a new concept for me) to highlight areas of interest and ‘diary’ will be the tag for posts with personal detail. It may mean all of them, it may mean a few, I am not sure yet as this is the first! I hope you enjoy the broader version of my journey making art.

I wish I had fully documented the process of ‘Messages From the Soul’ Exhibition. I photographed and Catalogued the paintings but I do not have a comprehensive understanding of each one and how they came to be anymore. Like with any memory, it is made of bits that stay alive.There were often layers of completed work, under one another. Some of which I did photograph in its various stages and have found I really enjoy seeing that later. I keep a record in a hand made book, of all the colors used to make my works as they progress. I call it the Record Keeper. The color is swabbed ont the page, dated and named. Some entries (paintings) are not complete, as it is always a matter of training oneself into these extra acts associated with painting!

The blog itself takes up time that otherwise would be spent getting messy! I have had to find a way to bring it in to the hours I keep for art. Often, like now, I will take my Laptop into the studio and write from here. It helps to feel what I am writing about. In the lounge I would get distracted, pop off to fold some washing or straighten something out. It seemed good multi tasking at first but I found I was wrting about the events in my schedule and not as much about the soul of the work. So here goes and I hope you like it.