This painting will soon be available at the Doorway Gallery in Dublin
80x80cm oil on canvas
Yey! It’s hard to underestimate the important of this day in my family. Growing up with my dad he went to some extreme measures to give the day it’s due respect. And it seems my generation are just as bad.
Have a good Pancake Tuesday.
the open door 40x40cm oil on canvas
So today is the day. I’ve reached my spring deadline!
20 paintings for the London Affordable Art Fair in March (tick) 14 for a joint show in at the Killarney Art Gallery at Easter (tick) and a small number spread across galleries in Ireland (tick).
The work is done now but I have a little touching up to do, lots of varnishing and then sorting and shipping.
It’s fantastic of course but I am, as usual, racked with the worry of whether or not they’re any good or good enough.
But these doubts are familiar by now. This is where I have to take my courage in my hands, take a leap of faith and let them go!
Scary monsters!
I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.
Watch this on full screen. Talk about scaring the bejeesus out of you!
hurly whirly birds 80x80cm oil on canvas
You know that thing that people sometimes ask? “Who would you most like to have dinner with?” People often answer with folks like Morgan freeman or Pelie or Martin Luther king?
Well, I came across this video from the Sartorialist on a lunch he held for his fashion icons in Florence. Now I’m fully aware that I wouldn’t be invited and even if I was I’d stick out like a sore thumb but, in the spirtit of that “who’d you like to have lunch with” game, I wouldn’t mind joining joining these guys for lunch.
The Sartorialist: Lunch for 25 from The Sartorialist on Vimeo.
By the way, The Sartorialist is a guy who is a fashion photographer/people watcher/artist. I’ve bloged an amazing video about him here before and this video is full of his usual style.
Shabby Chic 60x60cm oil on canvas
You may be aware of the discussion currently going on between Damien Hirst and David Hockey. David Hockey recently said that Art is about craft and Poetry. That art school was about teaching the craft, but that it can’t teach poetry.
In the past Hirst has used his assistants or students to do the actual work of his paintings. As in the case of his dot paintings they’re not painted by him at all but bear his name all the same.
So in essence we could argue that Hirst’s dot paintings are his idea, his poetry if you like, but someone else’s craft. Hockney and others are asking the question if you don’t have the craft, ie. if you can’t paint, sculpt, draw etc. Then are you an artist?
Questions for the small hours with a good glass a whiskey me thinks.
Anyway, all this by way of preamble. I visited Oliver Sears gallery on Monday to see Joseph Walsh‘s exhibit. We’ve seen beautifully crafted pieces of furniture that transcend the furniture/art divide. These pieces however were on a different level.
To my mind this is poetry and craft.
Enigmum Chair
Barely 31, The Irish Craftsman Joseph Walsh has become one of the most sought after names in furniture, his distinctive free flowing style and sinuous curvilinear forms makes his work highly coveted by collectors and museums alike.” Bespoke person, Financial Times
Enignum Table
His wood pieces move like the wind, bend like paper, mold like clay and have the strength of bone. Yatzer
and my favourite piece
Enignum shelf
Poetry and craft indeed.
Leaving Home from Chris Kunnert on Vimeo.
