this is my first red chilli pepper of the summer - things are very slow to ripen this year... these are a variety called long joes and can grow as long as a pencil but they tend to curl up in the process...
soon i will have to bring the chilli plants indoors; they make the most attractive houseplants and will continue to fruit and ripen until november... the only problem is i still have a heap of dried chillies from last summer...
so, i made another batch of my not-yet-famous rothko red soup using some of the aforementioned dried chillies and a sudden glut of ripening plum tomatoes (the green ones were used to make a chilli-spiced chutney) and then i decided to make a small batch of chilli marmalade. i added fourteen finely chopped dried chillies to the preserving pot and ended up with seven small jars of marmalade - so, that's two chillies per jar...
i have just tasted it... at first there seems nothing unusual, there is the very sweet tang of orange and then, as one bites into a slightly redder shred of marmalade, the chilli begins to bite - this will surely bring a ready-brek glow to the cooler autumn mornings, especially when spread onto some homemade chilli bread toast.... actually, i find chilli bread makes a boring cheese sandwich quite lively... i even made a fruitcake with chilli and ginger... anyone not partial to chillies is unlikely to warm to my style of cookery - ie, any cunning means to introduce a little chilli into a recipe...of course, all of this chilliness has nothing to do with art, except perhaps the mild reference to rothko...it has got slightly chillier hasn't it?.. brrrr... so summer is effectively over and one's thoughts turn to the approaching autumn, to the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness (to quote Keats).i have a little theory about one's preferences for a particular season - that is, if you were born in the summer months, you will appreciate autumn as it would have been about the period in your development when you became more visually aware of the external world beyond your mother. newborns can only focus to about 12-15 inches enabling close bonding with their mother, but after two or three months their visual acuity quickly develops close to that of an adult's, along with the development in colour perception.....here are some of the one hundred small abstract paintings on paper, aka the chromatids, chosen for their visual allusion to all things corroded, rusted, earthy and autumnal - my favourite time of year...these small abstract paintings are currently small art for sale page, but unframed alas..
XX
XXII [sold]
XXXVII
XXXIX
XCV [sold]
XCVI (sold)
XCVII
XCVIIIall eight small paintings at a glance....
...a little reminder, the current little art giveaway now closes on 1st october 2010; just register your interest by leaving a comment or if you prefer you can send an email (as with the previous art giveaway)... i'd really like to see more than ten names in the hat this time!here'a reminder of what you could win - they're only little textured paintings on postcards but it's the thought that counts, isn't it..?
[three postcard paintings]...i had a bit of a spike in visitors to my blog over the weekend - not sure if it is due to the art exhibition that i am currently showing some new work in...current exhibition: the 11th annual artworks exhibition at blackthorpe barn, open daily. 10am – 5pm, 11 September to 3 October 2010…...
on artworks and new paintings
the artworks 11th annual exhibition opened to the public at blackthorpe today... i am a new member of this professional group of thirty east anglian artists... and this year the environment and mankind’s impact on it is the linking theme of the exhibition...here are some snapshot photographs of my new paintings in the artworks exhibition, sadly, only taken with a mobile phone... two large lichenscapes and nine small mouldscapes... note the ancient flinty wall on which they hang...
lichenscape I and II, mixed media on canvasit doesn't quite look it, but this section of the barn wall is four metres wide; i had to contend with a power socket smack in the middle... thinking more about this access to electricity perhaps the idea of backlighting might be worth pursuing more rigorously as a creative diversion - that is, my work is seemingly very solid, slab-like and heavy ( a concept i quite like exploring within the relative lightness of a stretched canvas - but i had back in 2006 pursued some ideas around using painted skins. light effects and transparency...the artworks private view was very well attended with much work sold in the first couple of hours... it was very nice to see some ex-work colleagues but somewhat odd to see the ex-boss there too; i am sure they didn't recognise me as a past employee... here are three of my small mouldscapes on wood panels, all are 15cm x 15cm x 3cm...
mouldscape II, acrylic & composition gold leaf on wood panel
mouldscape VI, acrylic & composition gold leaf on wood panel
mouldscape IX, acrylic & composition gold leaf on wood panela new exhibition with some fresh, new work! although my artistic concerns remain pretty much within the environmental decomposition and decay mould...i will also be doing a painting demonstration during the exhibition - painting without brushes. i'll be working on some paintings whilst there and will be available to answer any questions on my painting methods, which includes not using regular brushes to create the myriad textures of rust, corrosion and mould...if you are in the area, please do go see this exhibition as there is much more to see, all of the artists exhibiting are highly regarded... it would be impossible to mention everybody, (and sorry, no images)...michael wiggins incredibly detailed pen & ink drawings are a visual delight, with their optical complexities, imaginary scenes reminiscent of mc escher & piranesi...lynn hutton has created some intriguing free-standing sculptural pieces using light, fused glass and embedded fragments of textiles to allude to identity & memory loss - i was reminded of radiographs and x-rays...eleonora knowland's 3d curved canvases reference the lie of the land and the wider curvature of the earth's surface in the subtle perceptual shifts of colour, light and atmosphere, whether experienced as sculptural paintings or painterly sculptures...valerie armstrong's prints are both playful and dream-like, with imaginary figures and scenes lush with vibrant colours and a cultural richness...the 11th annual artworks exhibition at blackthorpe barns, is open daily. 10am - 5pm, 11 September to 3 October 2010…...i also have some unique, one-off collagraph prints in the breaking ground exhibition at the harleston gallery, 28 august to 25 september 2010…...lastly, i have somewhat neglected the little art giveaway with all the preparation work and finishing off of things for the artworks exhibition - it is not forgotten, but the deadline to win three small postcard paintings will now be extended to 1st october 2010 - to be in with a chance of receiving some free art just visit this blog post......
meet the brushes
from the artist's personal collection of not so fine paintbrushes, used and abused...
[a very worn out paint brush]
[an artist's paint brush showing signs of heavy use]
[another brush, held together by some wire]
[two paint-covered brushes in front of a painting]
[a very worn out brush]
[a brush in fair to good condition, in front of a painting]
[a paintbrush with a stray hair]
[a paint-speckled paint brush]
[another paint brush]
[a very useless paint paint brush, kept purely for its comical value]...wasting time whilst watching paint dry... actually, i will be doing an artist demonstration at the artworks exhibition, where i will use brushes and other methods to create textured surfaces in painting......last chance to see… rebirth at the Art 1821 gallery – the exhibition runs until 8 september 2010…current exhibition… i have some collagraph prints in the breaking ground exhibition at the harleston gallery, 28 august to 25 september 2010…coming up: the 11th annual artworks exhibition 11 September to 3 October 2010…