If you feel like a heart-warming documentary about artists with disabilities or mental illness then add this one to your list:
painting
My First Decent Painting – Tribute to Jim Morrison
Probably in Jim’s case the JD would be empty.
This was an assignment when I was training to be an illustrator, and we could choose who to base the illustration on. I was obsessed with The Doors, and reading Aldous Huxley’s Doors of Perception at the time (Iwas about 19 or 20).
Audio Poem: Connotations Unravelled
I have uploaded some old recordings of mine to YouTube.
This one is for all the young aspiring artists who are getting a hard time from their parents, not explicitly, but just in the little connotations in the things they say from time to time. The idea of this poem was to unravel and amplify these connotations as much as possible:
I will post some more of the tracks soon.
Documentary Recommendation: Alberto Giacometti – The surrealist, the Expressionist, the Artist.
Recent Experiments in Style and Technique
Pensive Face
Oil on Oil Painting Paper
210/275mm
With this technique I am attempting to minimalise detail, and use the graphic power of intense lighting in black and white. It is very inspired by the expressions on Byzantine mosaic portraits. Also you will notice the enlarged eyes and the closeness to the eyebrows.
Left hand #1
Acrylic on Panel
160/225mm
This is my first try at using a palette knife. I did end up using a little brush work as well. The idea is that it will be easier on my rheumatism, and strain the hand less than using a brush. Also, it should allow me to incorporate a more expressionistic style. My left hand was the obvious subject matter.
Why Practise Meditation? Kazuaki Tanahashi
One of his multi-coloured circle paintings:
A portrait of Lucian Freud by those whose portraits he painted
The Art of Loui Jover
I’m currently researching artists who utilise found materials, and also have a minimal approach, and was pleased to come across Loui Jover’s work:
The Art of Eternity – The Glory of Byzantium Documentary
I am currently very inspired by the “emotional realism” of Byzantium Mosaics and paintings:
Geometric Abstract Painting in Repurposed Frame
There are many old picture frames, which in their day would have been expensive, but which, over time succumbed to scratch marks and dents. The trouble is that you can’t really restore most of them, and you can’t just paint over them, as they have a shiny varnish which the paint won’t stick to.
I purchased a rotary power tool with sanding bits especially to get into all the difficult areas where my rheumatoid hands don’t want to go. My idea was basically to give these frames a whole bunch of dents while sanding the varnish off, and to then make a DIY crackle effect to give the frames an “antique chic” look.
The undercoat of this frame was black, which, once dry, I painted PVA glue onto, and straight away applied white acrylic which I had previously mixed with some cornstarch to give it a slightly coarse texture. I took a few snapshots with my phone to give you all a glimpse at how it turned out:
GD Bates 