Confessions of a Wednesday Painter

orange and green

2012-02-22T21:26:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2012]
That was not the keen-as-mustard start I was hoping for today, but in the 2 hours I have been painting I've finally taken the plunge with the orange/green neon crossover.

Prior to that I found myself procrastinating on the internet - a common symptom when I am stuck with a painting and not sure how to tackle the next phase. During my searching I did pay another visit to the always pleasing Project Neon blog - one girl and a camera documenting the neon signs of New York city. I can't help but have pangs of jealousy at the richness and variety of neon in that great city, and it makes me yearn for more neon in Brighton and reminds me that I really should pay Mr Fishtail Neon another visit at his studio whilst the days are still short.

Back in the loft, I tickle and tease the green-meets-orange glow, until I have to put it aside. But what to do now? The blue 'morse-code' painting is wet, and I really need to get some paintings finished rather than commencing werk on canvases that will take months to complete. There is a small 'Path of Least Resistance' in white neon. It has sat on the shelf for months and months, but finally the day has come to be taken to task.

new website

2012-02-17T11:51:00.000Z

I've been a bit behind with my Wednesday Painter diary entries over the past few weeks, but it's all up-to-date now.

I have just launched a new website which I plan to have as a hub/repository for my various creative pursuits, you can visit it here: www.dominicbradnum.co.uk.

It's still in the construction stage at the moment, but I'm adding things whenever I have time.

bloody mess

2012-02-15T19:00:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2012]
The Wednesday Painter has a cold (must have been all that gargling dust and gravel). But there is painting to be done and only he can do it.

Enough talking in the third person. My head feels like cotton wool and my nose feels like it might explode with all the mucus.

In the morning I werk some more on 'Home Sweet Home'. I can see an end in sight, so I hang it in the house and sit and gaze and ponder and scrutinise.

The heart/green neon area obviously needs more werk, but the rest is looking good to my eyes.

At lunch time I slice through the top of my thumb cutting garlic. The blood just kept pumping out.

Recovered from my injury and all plastered up, I return to werk and give the blue neon morse code a good seeing to.

gargling dust and gravel

2012-02-08T21:24:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 08 FEBRUARY 2012]
The good news is that, with some distance, and in the daylight, 'Home Sweet Home' looks a lot better than I remember leaving it after last week's session.

This morning, following a spot of paid work and some wood chopping, I marked out another date painting to begin werk on at home over the weekend.

I am fed and watered and the proper werk begins at 13.06.

15.33 Slow progress on the next phase of orange neon glow. It doesn't help that it is freezing and my throat feels like I've been gargling dust and gravel... Time for some tea.

I soldiered on and finished the day at 19.25 a reasonably satisfied Wednesday Painter.

Two steps back

2012-02-01T20:12:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 01 FEBRUARY 2012]
When I re-commenced werk on 'Home Sweet Home' this afternoon I was happy with what was on the canvas. But then, the more I werked the worse it got. Do 'this' to rectify it, didn't work. Do 'that' to make it better, even worse. I almost resorted to scrubbing the whole thing out... Perhaps when I return next week it will look better than it does now. Or perhaps I will understand where I went wrong and just a bit of remedial werk will rectify the wasted time today.

It is so bloody cold in the garret, despite having the ineffectual heater at full blast. Slowly the chill creeps, from the feet up. I can't feel my toes and my legs are numb. Just a quick bit of werk on that building, using up a smear of left-over Cadmium Red paint in a few of the balconies. Done.

I sat and I looked...

2012-01-18T19:08:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 18 JANUARY 2012]
Such good intentions can only be broken: I was in the studio early enough, the 'Home Sweet Home' canvas was fixed on the easel, a cup of tea was made, and I sat on the stool and I looked.

Minutes passed, and I sat and I looked. I put some music on, and I sat and I looked. I switched on the computer, and I sat and I looked. I flicked through a book about neon, and I sat and I looked. I went back through my notebook of the past few years, and I sat and I looked. I found reference photos on the old computer, and I sat and I looked again. Then I came back to the house and made another cup of tea, and bashed away on an acoustic guitar for a bit. By now it was 11 o'clock. An idea: PING! Back to the studio I trot.

And the werk begins...

Is it right? Is it wrong? Is there a wrong when it can be painted over at any time? Plagued with doubt I retire for lunch.

My idea was to split the orange and green glow where the heart and border meet, bringing in some darkness, rather than making a murky mess by mixing the 2 colour palettes. I will leave it for now and werk on it a later date.

As the afternoon progresses I am werking simultaneously on the Orange neon and the green neon, I stop to pick up a brush. Now which one should I use...

By now most of the canvas area has had a fresh coat of paint applied - There is something incredibly sensual about silky smooth brush strokes in wet, glistening paint. Even green paint.

graft and contentment

2012-01-11T19:55:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 11 JANUARY 2012]
I have returned after 2 months away from the studio.

I was sat at the easel by 10am, I did some blue neon painting and was back in for a break by 10.30am. Yes, a mere 30 minutes of painting before a break. But 30 minutes of good painting...

On my return I continued with the blue neon morse-code, it was like I hadn't been away, until the RSI kicked in in my wrist. Alas, I am not match-fit at the moment, but happy with my work, I put the canvas aside.

'Home Sweet Home' is now propped up on the easel, and I have been searching in vain for some photographic inspiration to get the areas where green and orange neon meet looking right. Still searching.

I eat soup and a sandwich for my lunch (like Andy Warhol) and now it's back to the studio...

Considering I'm a bit out of practice, the afternoon session was highly productive. Little success with the green/orange neon glow diffusion, but good progress with the rest of the orange neon lettering.

I finish at 19.08 with my brushes cleaned and a general feeling of contentment at a good day's graft.

extra-curricular painting

2011-12-15T17:25:00.003Z

Whilst I've not been able to clock-in for Wednesday Painting over the last few weeks, I have found time to set up a temporary studio at home for a spot of remedial painting. Good job too, as I had to get this finished for our friends Paul and Sarah's wedding on the 3rd December.

here's a quick snap of the finished piece

(I'll post more photos when I have some time)

If you would like to commission a neon commemorative date painting for a wedding, birthday, anniversary or special day, please email iheartneon[at]gmail.com to discuss your requirements.

Wednesday Painting SUSPENDED

2011-11-16T12:59:00.000Z

ATTENTION: Wednesday Painting has been temporarily suspended.

Owing to the looming spectre of Christmas, I will be mostly playing the role of Santa's only-elf-in-the-workshop, making wooden jigsaws for all the children so that they may have broad smiles on their faces come Christmas day.

Normal service will resume on days when I have spare time to get into the studio, and I will also be doing extra remedial painting werk at home.

wet-on-wet

2011-11-09T21:36:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2011]
Today is Wednesday and I am dressed up in my finest painting outfit. I feel quite fresh considering it was a late night last night. If you had passed by, you would have seen me sketching out a new sea-scape on that large canvas. Then slurping down a night-cap of hot lemon and ginger tea with a tot of rum (poor man's hot whisky toddy?).

This morning I werked on the meeting of 2 contrasting neon colours: the bright green and the orange. It will need more werk when it is dry. Having focussed almost completely on 'Home Sweet Home' for the past 3 sessions, I have put it aside.

This afternoon I re-started werk on the blue neon morse-code. Laying on the paint nice and thick - rich and deep Phthalo Blue - until the canvas won't take any more wet-on-wet paint action.

And then I sit, and I wonder, and I think: what I can do now to fill another hour or so?

There is a large canvas begging to be started, and so I must oblige. Out comes the ink and the brush and to werk I go.

ten minus fifteen

2011-11-02T18:30:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 02 NOVEMBER 2011]
I award myself 10 points for being in the studio just after 9am and sanding down the primed canvas.

I then deduct 15 points for straying and checking my email and spending an hour on the computer. Procrastination is a time-sapping thing.

I must get on, I need to leave early today, and my precious few hours are dwindling as a sit here and type.

I made great progress with 'Home Sweet Home', painting intuitively (why can't it always be that way): first green neon and then the deeper, darker reds of the orange neon.

bright green neon lines

2011-10-26T20:11:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2011]
There is a break in the (torrential) rain. I must make a run for the studio. I shall return.

I have been a good Wednesday Painter and I have werked right the way through until lunch time. So I eat a huge plate of food and can't move for 40 minutes. Coffee will perk me up and get me back to the easel.

Back at the easel: I continued to paint bright green neon lines.

And then there was just enough time to put a first coat of primer on that big blank canvas.

Day of discipline

2011-10-19T19:47:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER 2011]
Today I am determined to get painting first, then do all the other crap during breaks later in the day. I'm going outside, I will, hopefully, be some time.

I return, with a few hours' orange neon painting under my belt, and a hunger in my tummy.

---SNIPPET OF INTERNAL MONOLOGUE---

- Discipline yourself Wednesday Painter, you can't sit here all afternoon supping tea watching the internet.
- Just let me finish my cup of tea and I'll be off.

---MONOLOGUE ENDS---

Another pass of the 'Home Sweet Home' canvas, making those neon letters bright white. So bright I gotta wear shades.

at 18.39 I clean up the brushes and switch off the lights.

The last hours were spent on green neon - fluid, easy painting - a pleasure.

Discipline is good.

Tricolores and dirty hands (eventually)

2011-10-12T23:21:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 12 OCTOBER 2011]
I curse the things I always leave until Wednesday morning to get done: today these included printing off directions to collect the 'Wish You Were Here' canvas from Manchester, with a convoluted road trip via here there and everywhere thrown in; emailing and phoning various people to meet/visit during the trip; constructing a CD cover for a belated birthday present; checking a L'Amour Electronique mix before it goes live; plus various other odd jobs. Consequently I greeted the studio just after midday.

And even then I didn't crack on with the neon painting. Instead I began some new Tricolore posters for the aforementioned L'Amour Electronique.

It is lunch time now. I need sustenance. Then the painting.

Or not. The time is 17:22, I have done precious little painting, except for adding some acid-y pale blue glow to the morse-code. I feel frustrated and listless. I have about an hour and 40 minutes left to do something worthwhile. Here I go...

18.10: I. GIVE. UP. But not before I've got my hands dirty blackening 12 sheets of A4 with indian ink, and painting another Tricolore. The black paper is for a mock-up of a proposal I'm waiting to hear back about. The Tricolore to add to the collection above.

pensioner chic

2011-10-05T20:03:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 05 OCTOBER 2011]
...And the Wednesday Painter hobbled into view, aided by a vintage NHS-issue walking-stick...

I came a cropper the other day and severely buggered up my ankle. It's looking a bit swollen and is all black and blue, but I can just about walk on it now, so it can't be broken, can it?

The worst thing is trying to get up the ladder into the studio, I've only done it once so far today. Looks like I may be stuck up there for some time when I go back. For now I am in the house, projecting and marking out new designs on canvas.

I'm now off to the studio for the afternoon shift...

Cooped up in the loft, the tension builds up, and I nearly go stir crazy. I realise I need a break from painting about every hour just to let me eyes adjust and the rest of me relax. It is intense werk this neon painting, but the blue morse-code is really beginning to glow.

rich, deep, velvety reds

2011-09-28T19:53:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2011]
Back to the Wednesday Painting then... I had yet more paid work to do first thing, then I cleaned my filthy bicycle, and then the usual email admin.

The creative werk did not begin until midday, and the painting not until 2pm. I've been putting together a submission for an exhibition: deadline 30 September. The details are secret, but it will involve 12 small canvases, laid out in sequence (as in this sketch).

I returned to 'Home Sweet Home', I find I can werk on the slightly wet layer of last week, though if left for a day or 2 longer, the canvas would have to be rested. Today I gave it some rich, deep, velvety reds and I brought in the surrounding blackness.

There's no place like home

2011-09-22T19:30:00.000+01:00

[THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2011]
The Wednesday Painter has been away. The Thursday Painter has stepped in for a day to get things started again. After a couple of hours' paid werk, he primed that big new canvas. He will take lunch and then begin the creative pursuits in earnest.

A productive afternoon followed, werking away on 'Home Sweet Home'.

radio head

2011-09-01T12:30:00.000+01:00

[THURSDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2011]
The time is 11.35am, I have been doing all manner of crap computer admin stuff this morning. I am going to paint now, as lord knows I've done precious little of that this summer. Here I go then...

Werking on 'Home Sweet Home', I took a break to make a brief appearance talking to Mark Radcliffe on 6music for 'The Chain' feature*. Managed to get a website plug in. Just logged on to find a spike of about 1,800 page views at just after 2pm. I should go on the radio more often!

Back to the painting now though...

It just wasn't happening, so I did some constructive prep-werk: A big, new, blank canvas awaits the return of the Wednesday Painter.

* Which I, er, sort of borrowed a bit for the L'Amour Electronique blog

Exhibition NO. 1: PAINT

2011-08-31T20:59:00.000+01:00

As mentioned previously, I have a painting in this forthcoming exhibition in Manchester

No. 1: Paint exhibition, 8 - 25 September 2011, BLANKSPACE, Manchester

Public Preview & live mural painting: Thursday 8 September, 6-9pm
Exhibition continues Friday 9 - Sunday 25 September 2011
BLANKSPACE, 43 Hulme Street, Manchester, M15 6AW
Free Entry to all Events

OPENING TIMES:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 1-7pm
Tuesday 1-9pm
Saturday & Sunday 11am-4pm

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Bartosz Beda | Dominic Bradnum | Jack Brindley | Cara Campbell | Neill Clements | Lisa Denyer | Jane Evans | Liz Gaunt | Alastair Gordon | Lesley Guy | Caroline Hall | Andrew Hardy | Melissa Henderson | Katarzyna Jablonska | Catherine Knight | Ladoza | Susan Laughton | Scott McCracken | Luci Metcalfe | Emily Musgrave | Georgina Parkins | Maggie Royle | Georgina Vinsun | Rebecca Wild

EXHIBITION SYNOPSIS:
"If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint". Edward Hopper

No.1: Paint is the first in an exciting series of medium-specific exhibitions to be held at BLANKSPACE. Celebrating the unique nature of paint, this exhibition will showcase work from 24 varied and distinctive emerging artists from throughout the UK.

Encompassing a wide variety of styles and forms, from impressionistic to abstract, sculpture to installation, the core subject of this diverse collection is: paint.

The selected artists individually push the fundamental boundaries of paint, investigating the numerous angles available within the selected art form.

"No.1: Paint is about artists exploring the medium of paint in different and innovative ways, with their ideas and concepts being communicated through purely visual means. The work we have selected encompasses everything from more traditional painting to sculptural pieces and installation work - all coming together to create a unique and exciting show."

Jamie Hyde, Curator

An ensemble of colour, texture, concept and vision, this exhibition showcases some of the most gifted talent from around the UK. No.1 Paint will captivate, stimulate and inspire the audience in the dynamic yet intimate environment of BLANKSPACE.

Struggle and Progress

2011-08-17T11:30:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 17 AUGUST 2011]
Is it good to be back at the easel? Ask me again at the end of the day.

It seems at some point over the past month I found some time to I werk on 'Home Sweet Home'. Unless the fairies have been in during my absence. This is what greeted me on my arrival.

I decided it was time the blue morse code painting was taken a step further. Now you would have thought that having spent the intervening weeks starting and finishing a painting in blue neon, that I would have my hand in. But it's not exactly been a joy. And it hasn't helped that the paint was still a bit wet when I started. I struggle on, as I do most weeks. Yes, it seems a modicum of success has not raised my game.

That's better! Progress has been made on 'Home Sweet Home': Painting was loose and free, no No.1 size brushes were dirtied in the process.

TORRENTIAL RAIN = hide indoors and drink some tea.

The rain has stopped, still got 40 minutes to do something worthwhile.

More werk on 'Home Sweet Home', and then I'm off home. The day has been mixed, mostly good, with some bad patches in the middle.

week off

2011-08-05T19:53:00.035+01:00

I did no painting last week. Instead I spent Tuesday travelling up to Manchester to deliver Wish You Were Here to the BlankSpace Gallery for a forthcoming exhibition titled 'No. 1: Paint'. We spent a whole 10 minutes in Manchester, deciding to make tracks when a gang of yoofs came by with their hoods up putting on their woolly gloves as if they were off to have a snowball fight. There were riots in Manchester and Salford that night. There were no reported snowball fights.

On Thursday Verity and I attended the WBS logo awards ceremony at the Design Council in London. We enjoyed a slap-up meal and ample wine, met some interesting people, and I came home with a 2nd prize for my re-rendering of their logo in blue neon after Barnett Newman.

Here is a portrait of the artist with the artwerk, after the awards and the ample wine and the slap-up meal and the interesting people.

more Notes To Self coverage

2011-08-01T19:40:00.000+01:00

I'd forgotten about this little preview.

Present Joys is a small publishing house based at the Lo & Behold gallery building. They took some sneak preview photos of the great wall of post-it notes after we'd finished installing the work and gone home.

presentjoys.com/news/notes_to_self/

WBS Logo Competition

2011-07-26T19:55:00.001+01:00

I've spent the past few weeks beavering away at that logo competition canvas. In the final stages I switched to oil paint. The acrylic was drying too quickly to allow for any blending, even with a slow drying medium.

I awoke early on the day the courier was booked to collect the canvas, and was compelled to put in one last hour getting the background to my satisfaction. Then away it went...

The project brief was to re-imagine the new Warwick Business School logo in the style of one of a list of artists. I chose Barnett Newman, re-rendering the logo in blue neon, with the letter 'b' extending to form the infamous 'Zip'.

The cup of filth

2011-07-06T19:54:00.001+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 06 JULY 2011]
More paid work this morning. It is midday, the clouds have opened and I'm just about ready to paint. Today will be all about the blue neon. I have some morse code craving my attentions, and I need practice so I can work on that competition canvas at home tomorrow.

Now the morse code is wet with rich Phthalo Blue paint, and I can't touch it for another 2 weeks. It is a good job I'm werking the competition canvas in acrylics - dry by the time I've cleaned my brush...

I'm not going to win any prizes for being the conscientious painter today, I faffed and I time wasted and I did a bit here and a bit there, and all the while in the back of my mind I knew that the real painting was going to take place tomorrow, at home, with the Thursday Painter at the helm.

Still, I have some progress to show for my hours here:

I made some more mess on the chintzy, twee canvas

I picked out the shadows and detail of the windows and balconies of the building, darkness spilling out of the cup of filth.

WBS logo: Day 1 and Day 2

2011-06-30T15:59:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 29 & THURSDAY 30 JUNE 2011]
The canvas finally arrived on Monday. By Wednesday morning I have marked out the regulation 480mm x 480mm square I have to contain my artwerk within, and the neon design is drawn out and ready. It is the most detailed and scaled down neon I have painted yet - I envisage painstaking hours of delicate painting ahead. I will be using acrylics for the first time in a long, long time (since 1995?), and these days I like to work big and bold, not small and delicate. But I have to shrug off this straitjacket as there is prize-money at stake.

Day 1: I had some paid work to finish in the morning, but from 1.30 to 9pm I was painting and resting and painting and resting and painting and resting until my eyes couldn't focus and my arm could barely hold up the brush.

At the end of day 1 I had painted in the fine detail of the white neon forms, and put in a preliminary coat of blue glow and the black background. It is a relief to not have any blank canvas showing.

Day 2: Werking with acrylics is at least allowing me to paint over and build up the layers a lot quicker than is usual with the oil paint, though this fine detail brush werk is threatening to drive me potty.

I pack up my brushes with a lot of ground-werk covered. Now at the stage where I can start adding detail to the glow and bring the blackness in from the void.

the wait

2011-06-22T19:37:00.002+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 22 JUNE 2011]
Today I await delivery of a canvas. The canvas has been supplied for me to re-produce a logo idea I submitted for a competition. The rules have been changed and the goal-posts have been moved since I entered my idea. But now that I've been short-listed as one of the finalists, I feel I should give it a shot. It will be good practice, and it gives me a deadline to work to. Plus: it would be nice to win the prize money!

No sign of it yet, so I shall return to my other canvases and show them some of my attentions: I gave the morse code neon a once over with some luscious Phthalo Blue...

Rather than twiddling my thumbs waiting, I decided to chase up that canvas: turns out it's being made to measure, and it won't be sent out before Friday. BALLS! That's one week less werk for me then.

More filth: this time directed at the new canvas with the chintzy wallpaper over it.

the lazy routine (and how to get out of it)

2011-06-15T20:31:00.002+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 15 JUNE 2011]
I seem to be falling into a rather lazy routine of late: waking around 9am, having a shower and a leisurely breakfast, checking my emails, drifting around on the internet. I think I've lulled myself into the idea that because I stay here later than I used to, I don't need to start as early as I once did. [internal voice: "But you could get even more painting done, you dummy!"]. The voice in my head speaks sense.

The Path of Least Resistance 3 (pink) is signed.

I threw a load of inky filth down the morse code rock face, it made a right bloody mess.

The idea was to make the rock face more scuzzy and stained, I was happy standing over the canvas at 16.36.

lost trees, rejections, sunshine, showers, ouzo

2011-06-08T20:01:00.003+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 08 JUNE 2011]
The men came and chopped down the tree. And all I was thinking was: "I hope the nesting birds have all flown".

That was the start. Then I received an exhibition rejection, which bought me down a peg or two. Then the rain came down. And somehow I've got to rouse myself to go and paint.

By 2pm I've had another rejection. "We'd like to encourage you to submit again for next year's competition". Maybe you'll be good enough by then... Balls! Someone really is determined to piss on my parade today.

Between rejections and cups of tea, I had time to just touch up a tiny area of the "rock face", and now I think it is done. Despite having at least 4 other canvases on the go, I feel a yearning, aching void, and the need to embark on something new. In a bid to counteract blank canvas syndrome I cover one in some pretty-pretty, chintzy fabric. And I know immediately that there are one or two philistines out there who would be happy to offer me money to hang it on their wall as it is.

Fuck 'em.

I will now take out my frustrations on said canvas.

Actually, all that "energy" was targeted at a different canvas. I painted blue skies and green, verdant trees, and I painted them with conviction. We lost some clouds in the process, and that can only be a good thing. And I felt a bit better about everything.

So much so that on a whim I left the blue "morse code" neon outside to contend with the elements - Sunshine and showers all afternoon.

The tally for the day:
2 x lost trees (they took another out in the process)
2 x rejections
1 or 2 pegs being taken down
Much cursing and swearing
1 x finished painting
1 x new painting
1 x wet painting
1 x blue sky made bluer
2 x clouds lost
4 x trees made fresher
2 x big swigs from the bottle of Ouzo
Many cups of tea and coffee
1 x strange twitch in my upper lip which began just a moment ago.

2011-06-02T19:38:00.001+01:00

[THURSDAY 02 JUNE 2011]
I shake my fist once again at the May bank holiday bonanza knocking my week out of kilter. It's not that I didn't enjoy my day off on Monday, but it does leave me a little off balance. I'm a sensitive artistic type you see.

[As with the previous post, I am writing this in retrospect, going by the photographic documentation from the day, and the brief intro I wrote above. Only 2 photos exist. Conclusions: I werked on Ne Travaillez Jamais during the afternoon, the following images were taken at 16.47]

Yessssss!

2011-05-25T19:32:00.012+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 25 MAY 2011]
A bit late starting today. We went to London to see the amazing lo-fi Gospel-DooWop-Garage-Soul Revue show of Chain & The Gang. Then, as is tradition, we very nearly missed the 1am train - made it after a sprint across Victoria Station (it was like the Louvre scene in Bande A Part, only nowhere near as fun or carefree). Today I have a severely stiff neck, from looking up at the high stage, and I feel a bit hazy round the edges. I will have a Berocca and a cup of tea and I will go and paint.

Later, I return to the house and conclude that the Pink Path of Least Resistance is finished.

I allow myself a small, celebratory, Napoleon Dynamite-style "YESSSSS!", as I head back out to the garret.

[details of the rest of the day are sketchy, there is no photographic documentation, there are no notes. I can surmise from the opening paragraph that I was in some discomfort and possibly dosed up on ibuprofen, and I most likely did some painting. That was my purpose after all]

a brave idea (that did not work)

2011-05-19T19:56:00.000+01:00

[THURSDAY 19 MAY 2011]
The return of the Thursday Painter. Sitting here faffing on the internet. He's thinking about what painting to tackle first, but mostly he's struggling to get out there and filling time with internet crap...

Journal Entry:
This morning I worked on some watercolour sketches. I don't do these very often and I'm not happy so far with the results. One of them is a draft for a competition, think I might need to have a few goes before I'm happy enough to submit it.

I didn't get much else done before lunch, but had a spurt of activity at 2.30pm, taking the old "rock face" in hand, I concluded it was time I got it finished. I added a bit of glow leaking out over the edges of the fault-line. And now the canvas resides temporarily in the house ready to have holes picked at my leisure.

At this point I had a brave idea, I've been mulling it over for a few days. But the time had come to seize the moment (I still had a practice run on a crappy old small canvas to check). My plan: to paint over the big square Unitation d'Habité painting with some yellow-y white, then scrape it all off with a plank of wood.

It didn't work. I cursed myself. I took to it with a rag and a bottle of white spirit, scrubbing hard to remove as much paint as I could. Still no joy.

I resorted to more white spirit, leaning the canvas at an angle and applying to the building. I used up a whole bottle of white spirit and soaked the rug in the stuff..

So now I've removed as much of the fuck-up as I can and I'm still not any happier with the painting than when I came in this morning. At least the "rock-face" looks better...

article about 'Notes To Self...' in OnOffice magazine

2011-05-16T15:14:00.001+01:00

There is an article on my post-it notes piece Notes To Self: Stolen Time, March 2000-August 2006 in the May 2011 issue of OnOffice magazine. You can read it online: go to www.onofficemagazine.com and click on the MAY 11 thumbnail to view.

press for Work/Work exhibiton + Notes To Self

2011-05-16T14:37:00.007+01:00

Here are a couple of press-clippings about the Work/Work exhibition, and my artwork Notes To Self: Stolen Time, March 2000-August 2006.

There was a preview about the exhibition in the 3-9 March issue of Le Cool London.

I also found a mention of Notes To Self at helpgov.wordpress.com in their 101 uses for a post-it note section:

"No. 3 – Filling those long empty hours at work

It was only searching ideas for 101 uses… that I became aware there’s a whole sub-culture of Post-it art.

Some of it wouldn’t fit at all into 101 uses…. Lots of cars covered in the things, models (human variety) ditto, a portrait of Jimi Hendrix made out of Post-it notes. And so on.

But suddenly one of the Twitterati alerted me to Work/Work – a group research exhibition investigating how artists balance their creative work with paid jobs. The exhibition ran from 3 – 11 March 2011 at the Lo & Behold Gallery in London.

Dominic Bradnum’s Notes To Self was prominent in the exhibition

an archival artwork made up of approximately 1,966 individual post-it note “artworks” created over a 6 year period, whilst in full-time employment

Now that’s interesting – 1,966 notes drawn while in full-time employment over six years. By my reckoning of the normal number of working days a year that must be an average of more than one a day.

Were they drawn in work time? With the employers’ precious stationery supplies? It would be indiscreet to ask but a photo on the Work/Work web site suggests some at least were produced between 9 and 5. I especially like some of his raw material for the bigger work. Note the Post-it reading “AAAAAAAH! ANNUAL REVIEW”. Never did three words tell a story more effectively. Seems like he wasn’t looking forward to his annual appraisal. We can all sympathise with that one."

Trust the artist. He knows...

2011-05-11T19:47:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 11 MAY 2011]
My first task was the final part of stage 2 on 'Ne Travaillez Jamais'. Perhaps the casual eye cannot see the subtle difference since the last photo... You must trust the artist. He knows...

Happy with my progress, I skipped down to the workshop to finish those record boxes. They look quite nice a sturdy, but I know that the only thing holding them together is glue + nails + hope.

I had time just before lunch to work on that troublesome little patch of the original 'rock face'. Much better.

Apres lunch, and not much time as I have to leave here by 4pm. I take on 'Home Sweet Home', a canvas that has been werked on, on and off, since April 2009. Recently I changed the font style, and wiped out a good few months' werk. Today I concentrated on the area where green and orange neon meet around the heart (not pictured), I also added some sporadic orange glow around the letters.

The Imposter

2011-05-05T19:45:00.000+01:00

[THURSDAY 05 MAY 2011]
The Thursday Painter returns again. Some say he is an imposter, a doppelgänger, an evil twin: Hell bent on undoing all the good work of his flip-side. He brings out the worst: the procrastination, the doubts, the lack of confidence...

Hang on a minute, those are all negative traits displayed here nearly every Wednesday.

It is 10.51am. I have still not started painting. I'm sitting here tip-tapping away on the computer, spouting nonsense that no-one will read.

So I went outside, but instead of heading to the studio I went down to the workshop and bashed together some bits of wood, which I hope will one day resemble a pair of record boxes to store part of my seven-inch collection.

Eventually I found myself in the garret, where I took on the second part of stage 2 on the words 'Ne Travaillez'. There was not time to werk on 'Jamais'.

Bad Morning. Good Afternoon.

2011-04-28T19:03:00.001+01:00

[THURSDAY 28 APRIL 2011]
It is Thursday, I feel out of synch. I have done next-to-nothing all morning. I am stuck again. I blame the bank holidays, messing up my weekly schedule. I blame the internet for being available. I blame myself for lack of confidence.

I WILL get on and paint... NOW.

By lunch time I had made some progress with my morse-code.

I werked on 'Ne Travaillez Jamais' again, taking on stage 2: The addition of a pale orange glow.

Jamais! Jamais! Jamais!

2011-04-20T19:03:00.001+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 20 APRIL 2011]
I made what I would class as a minor breakthrough: Just a touch of Cadmium Yellow brought the letter 'E' on the trial 'No/Yes' into lit-up neon territory.

Flushed with a feeling of success, I placed 'Ne Travaillez Jamais' on the easel, and began the slow process of making the words look like neon on a scuzzy, stained wall.

Of course, I had the foresight to detail the step-by-step process as I worked on 'No/Yes', so I just had to follow the instructions

What I am here for.

2011-04-13T20:40:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2011]
I was away in Berlin last week - hence, no postings. I return to find myself spoilt for choice, every canvas has had time to dry and is ready for werk. I began with 'Home Sweet Home': adding some lush, deep reds to fade out to the blackness.

After a leisurely lunch I'm finding it hard to motivate myself. But I must get out there and paint. I must. I must. I must. It is what I am here for, after all.

It was a slowwwwww afternoon. Touched up that new break in the rock-face on the pink "path of least resistance"

Messed up the blue morse code again, so I moved onto the continuing struggle with the red neon experimentation of 'No/Yes'. Still not managed to make it work.

Finally: I painted in the letters of 'Ne Travaillez Jamais' with white acrylic paint, just for something to do.

And now it is almost 8pm. 8pm equals home time.

video from Work/Work opening night

2011-03-31T16:46:00.000+01:00

Here is a film from the Work/Work & Black Weekend launch party.

Remedial werk

2011-03-30T19:20:00.001+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 30 MARCH 2011]
11.20am and I've not even made a move to go and paint. I am a bad bad boy.

I will make a cup of tea and migrate all my bits and pieces forthwith.

Everything in the studio is wet. I don't mean wet water, wet. I mean wet paint, wet. At least all the things I had considered working on today are.

Plan B. The pink "path of least resistance" returns from the temporary gallery in the house. I am satisfied with the glow, but the edges of the crack don't look concrete enough, and the crack itself looks more like a shallow hole than a deep void.

Time to tackle the crack then... It soon becomes evident that some demolition is in order. I take a deep breath and remove part of the rocky edge.

I will just need to cover it up now with darkness and glow. Next time...

After this minor, but successful, step. I find myself once again short of werk. Maybe it's time to finally take an old nemesis to task. I load up some reference photos and dig out 'Ne Travaillez Jamais' from behind a stack of canvases. I also prop the 'No/Yes' canvas on the easel, this will be my testing ground.

I make notes as I go, of each step of the painting process. Still have a lot to learn. But I conclude that the shadows I'd painted in on the main canvas are not necessary/pointless. I paint them out.

many shades of red

2011-03-23T19:00:00.001Z

[WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH 2011]
A glorious spring day. Which I choose to spend cooped up in a window-less space under the eaves.

9.30am - 1.00pm: I took on 'Home Sweet Home' working up the background in many shades of red, blending out to black. I also permitted myself a number of tea breaks to enjoy little moments of sunshine and fresh air.

In the afternoon I werk on my blue neon morse code message. And I werk and I werk.

The false start and the mistake

2011-03-16T18:54:00.002Z

[WEDNESDAY 16 MARCH 2011]
I had a false start: loaded up the brush with blue paint, put it to the canvas, smeared the paint around a bit. It was too wet to work on. Get back in your corner Morse Code painting.

That's thrown me. All my plans for the day down the drain. I wanted to continue with the blue neon...

Hung on the wall beside me is a large square canvas with a depiction of Le Corbusier's Marseille Unite d'Habitation. I look at it for a long time, until I'm brave enough to start removing the masking fluid.

Big mistake. It's lost all its impact and definition. Bugger.

Maybe if I stick some white over it and run it off with white spirit? Nope. Again? No. More? Still not. I pick out the shadows with some dark oil paint, getting better, but a long long way to go...

I'm not sure how I'm going to rectify this, but I will find a way. I turn to the 'Home Sweet Home' canvas and paint around the letters with the first proper layer of glow - Cadmium Red and Permanent Geranium.

Work/Work Exhibition FINAL DAY = Friday 03 March

2011-03-10T14:49:00.000Z

This Friday 3rd March is the FINAL DAY of the Work/Work exhibition.

The gallery is open 10am - 6pm.

Address: Lo & Behold gallery, 2b Swanfield Street, London, E2 7DS

nearest tube is Shoreditch High Street (overground).

The grand removal takes place on Saturday. It will be a sad event, returning them all to their box.

Notes To Self: Stolen Time, March 2000 - August 2006

2011-03-10T14:08:00.002Z

Notes To Self is an archival artwork made up of approximately 1,966 individual post-it note "artworks" created over a 6 year period, whilst in full-time employment.

The piece was first shown in Work/Work - a group research exhibition investigating how artists balance their creative work with paid jobs. The exhibition ran from the 3rd to the 11th of March 2011 at the Lo & Behold Gallery, Swanfield St, London, E2 7DS.

The Return of the Wednesday Painter

2011-03-09T19:59:00.001Z

[WEDNESDAY 09 MARCH 2011]
I have returned. Back after a couple of weeks off to deal with a huge archive of post-it notes. I need to get back to the easel pronto.

Clearly it has been a productive day. A productive day = no time for words, plenty of time painting. I will let the photo documentation do the talking.

Work/Work Exhibition opening night

2011-03-02T15:57:00.002Z

Work / Work - a group research exhibition

Work/Work is a research exhibition exploring how artists manage the balance between creative work and bill-paying second jobs; the work/work balance.

Opening Night: Thursday 3rd March, 6pm - 9pm
Lo & Behold Gallery, 2b Swanfield St, London, E2 7DS

Exhibition continues until Friday 11th March 2011
Opening times: 10am - 6pm

Exhibiting group

- Dominic Bradnum
- Pippa Koszerek
- Sam Curtis
- Olga Hoffman
- Sarah Matthews

- Exhibition by Avenir Projects.

opening night performances from

Drums of Death
(Greco-Roman)
Flora Yin-Wong
(Dazed Digital)

http://www.workworkexhibition.tumblr.com/

Installation of 1,966 post-it notes

2011-03-02T15:47:00.002Z

I've spent the past 2 days at the gallery installing my piece Notes To Self: Stolen Time, March 2000 - August 2006. The piece is made up of approximately 1,966 post-it note “artworks” created during full-time employment over a 6-year period.

The installation process took about 19 hours in all, and is documented on the work/work exhibition blog, today I feel like one great big ACHE.

Half of me feels like a proud father. The other half feels like I've created a monster...

Thank you to those who helped with installation, you know who you are.

No painting today

2011-02-23T19:33:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2011]

No painting today. Instead I have spent the day in preparation for putting up all those post-it notes next week. This essentially consisted of time-trials marking out the points for each post-it on the wall in the spare room. Actually I only timed the first one - half an hour - and then I didn't bother counting how many points I'd marked out. Durrrrr!

I marked out the points with little squares of adhesive note, just like I will do on the day.

At least I've had a bit of practice now and know exactly how I am going to do it. Still a bit apprehensive though.

I also had to work out what to do with the rogue 127mm post-its, in terms of spacing them between the others.

I can't believe I have been doing this all day. Though the ache in my wrists is a fair reminder.

I wish I had had time to paint today, but I was far too pre-occupied. There will be no painting next week either, so I should pay a quick visit to the studio before I leave so I can keep them in the back of my mind while I'm away.

the search and the signature

2011-02-16T19:53:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2011]
I am currently searching for magnets as a possible display solution for my post-it notes. It would be helpful if all the companies I have emailed would at least reply with an estimate of costs. Customer service just ain't what it used to be in these web-based times. I'm on the verge of finding their phone numbers and hassling them on the phone. I don't have much time.

Here I go to do a trial run of marking out the wall for post-it notes.

It took me 30 minutes to mark out the points for 256 notes. So I estimate it will probably take just over 4 hours of solid graft to mark out the full 2,025 points. That's not including rest breaks. Or mistakes.

I have to say my arms are sore after just half an hour... Oh! My!

I just spent a jolly half-hour talking to sales people at magnet suppliers, with varying degrees of helpfulness. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion it is not a viable idea due to the cost. ho hum!

LUNCH.

The ceremonial signing of the secret commemorative date plaque has taken place.

3.26pm: I have just finished painting in the new 'Home Sweet Home' letters. NEXT.

Still no news form the magnet makers. I have to get out and do some painting to take my mind off this preoccupation. I did some blue neon painting - the first layer of the morse code message. I had a load of paint left over so it was spent on a small canvas that's been kicking around of a kind of oscilloscope/heart monitor signal.

In between I made a valentines card for my beloved. No I didn't forget, we just decided to have valentines at the end of the week when we will actually see each other.

the trial

2011-02-09T19:11:00.001Z

[WEDNESDAY 09 FEBRUARY 2011]
And here we are: another Wednesday comes around. Since 9am I have been eschewing my painting duties in order to work out how in hell I'm going to put up these 1,966 post-it notes at the Work/Work exhibition. I have another spirit-level (one that is straight and level, rather than the hooky one I bought for a pittance off Amazon), and I now have it marked out and ready to go.

I made a trial run of 14 x 14 sticky orange notes. I envisage the real thing to be 20 x 26, in 4 blocks.

I should probably do a practice run each Wednesday from now on, so I'm prepared for the mammoth task when the day comes.

2.15 - 3.00pm: The "top secret commemorative date plaque" was finished and has just been shut away out of sight. I will check on it next week and if all is well it will be signed off and presented to the outside world.

I have an hour to kill before I need to pack up and start packing for the final Work/Work meeting in London. I could sit here faffing on the computer, but that would be defeatist. Bring on the next canvas...

Taking on a task that requires a steady hand, should not be ventured upon when the hands are far from steady. I think part of the problem was that the painting was still wet, so I had nothing to even rest against for support. No matter, I feel satisfied with another hour of painting under my belt.

Done for the day, and off to London.

Work/Work Exhibition

2011-02-09T12:38:00.006Z

As I've already mentioned a number of times in passing, I will be taking part in an exhibition in East London during March. I will be showing an archive of approximately 1,966 post-it note "artworks", created whilst in full-time employment between 2000 and 2006.

The opening night/private view is Thursday 3rd March, 6pm - 9pm.
The exhibition runs until Friday 11th March,
opening times 10am - 6pm.
Address: Lo & Behold gallery, 2b Swanfield Street, E2 7DS [map]

Work/Work is a research exhibition exploring how artists manage the balance between creative work and bill-paying second jobs; the work/work balance.

http://workworkexhibition.tumblr.com

...According to statistics*, only 6% of artists in and around international creative capitals London and New York make their living from their practice alone. So how do artists resist the stifling of creative impulses at work, maintain their practice in limited free time, and balance the need for income and time to create? What strategies do they employ to survive in the office? In what ways can employment distinct from creative practice provide source material and inspiration to artists?

Between November 2010 - March 2011, a temporary collective of artists will meet regularly to discuss the theme of the exhibition, and contribute research, thoughts and ideas to this blog. A collective essay will be edited from the findings, and an exhibition of art works developed throughout the process will open on 3rd March 2011.

*Abbing, Hans 2009

dot-dot-dot-dot / dot / dot-dash-dot-dot / dot-dash-dash-dot

2011-02-02T19:22:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 02 FEBRUARY 2011]

Menial computer tasks to do - CHECK
Internet distractions minimised - CHECK
Tea drunk - CHECK
Studio heater on - CHECK

I will now switch off the computer and I will put my shoes on and I will take the short walk outside, around the corner, up the ladder, and there to take my place on the other side of the wall I am currently facing...

The wall was physical, not metaphorical. The loft is just the other side.

Out comes the Cadmium Red, and I set to outlining the new-improved 'Home Sweet Home', it takes great concentration and a long time. As I painted in the areas around the last 2 letters, I found myself thinking like E.T. "Home! Ho-ooome!"

Enough of the japes. Next I tackle the morse-code dots and dashes, painting around them and filling in the crack with what will soon be a deep, dark void. I take a photo, it looks like some kind of craggy, barnicle-d whale opening its mouth just a crack to reveal some blue lights glowing from deep within. Strange.

the return of the painter's block (conquered)

2011-01-30T17:27:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY 2011]
Couldn't sleep last night, my mind was plagued by the logistics of mounting 1,966 post-it notes. It is definitely too early to be fretting over such things - the exhibition is at the start of March. I'll be a sleepless wreck by the end of February...

Enough faffing. I must go and paint. Or at least loiter in the studio away from this creative drain that is the computer.

I think I've hit painter's block again. I know this because I came in from the studio just after 12.00 and I'm still here at 13.24. And when I was out there before I didn't do anything except paint over 'Home Sweet Home' again, which isn't actually painting, even though it involves a brush and paint. I knew I shouldn't have prematurely added the 'Procrastination' label to this post.

In other news, I printed off some slides of morse code. Though I'm not at liberty to say what they spell.

ENOUGH! I'm turning off the computer.

Well, I'm pleased to say something did get done. First: the weekly touch-up of the secret date plaque, then: a bright idea. I had been intending to wait until it got dark to do some projections, but with lack of anything else to do, I went ahead whilst the light was fading.

I now have 2 canvases, sketched out with new neon motifs: The new improved 'Home Sweet Home' with a standardised neon font; and the "rockface no.2", with a morse code message painted into the crack.

All I needed was to have something new to get my teeth into. And now I'm eager to get back to werk next week.

Exhibition press for I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE

2011-01-29T16:16:00.000Z

I just found this little preview for 'I Think Of You And I Smile', from the Brighton Latest magazine.

Neon Painting: I Think Of You And I Smile

2011-01-29T15:55:00.002Z

I Think Of You And I Smile

2010

oil and mixed media on canvas

165cm x 118cm

A large scale canvas completed in July 2010, this was short-listed for the FringeMK painting prize, for which I submitted the following statement:

A poorly lit back-alley; a bleak and dour town. A stuttering, fluorescent glow draws you in: “I think of you and I smile”. Serene and pure white neon shimmers against a filthy, water-stained wall. A heartfelt and private reflection rendered in stark, clinical form; the plainly personal made unabashedly public.

The painting debuted at my first solo show, also titled 'I Think Of You And I Smile', at Blanch House, Brighton, Aug-Sep 2010.

And finally, two photos of the painting in-situ at the 'I Think Of You And I Smile' exhibition.

Destruction reigns: goodbye Home Sweet Home

2011-01-19T19:24:00.000Z

[WEDNESDAY 19 JANUARY 2011]
I decided to get an early night last night, with the intention of waking up early and getting all the menial background tasks done first thing so I could have a full day of painting at my disposal. The reality is that I woke up just before 9am, with a splitting headache. I am currently ploughing my way through an abridged list of menial tasks, so I must get on.

The things I do for my art. I have just spent a stupid amount of time taking 81 post-it notes from a book and sticking them on a monitor. I took a few photos, and then spent a load more time returning them, in order, to the note-book. This is just a fanciful thing I wanted to do for the Work/Work exhibition, it will in no way form, or inform, the "artwork", but I wanted to have some documentation of a part of the "artwork".

It is 11.52, and I have wasted enough time. The studio is calling me...

I did the customary once over of the secret date canvas, then flooded the crack in "the rock face" with more pink paint: Rose Madder, Titanium White, Permanent Geranium, Permanent Magenta. In a fit of bravery I hinted the spread of the glow onto the edges along the crack. Not sure if that was a good idea. I put it aside for another week or two.

I sat there waiting for the inspiration to come. It didn't. When inspiration deserts me, it is sometimes good to let destruction reign. Out comes the sandpaper, and then the white paint: goodbye 'Home Sweet Home'.

white light

2011-01-13T10:56:00.001Z

[WEDNESDAY 12 JANUARY 2011]
It is 10.56am, I have just spent some time preparing images for my presentation at the 'Work/Work' exhibition meeting tonight. I also produced a plan of how the post-it notes could be displayed in blocks of 150 (10 across x 15 down).

I didn't actually make it out to the studio until after lunch, giving myself about 2 hours to get any painting done. But the post-it note developments had to be done, it may not be painting, but it is another facet of my creative output.

I worked on the date plaque, building up another layer of the the subtle white glow. Afterwards I used the left over white paint to improve the cold glow of the white "path of least resistance".

Soon enough it was 4pm: time to clean up and change into my civvies and catch a train to London...

contemplation

2011-01-05T19:00:00.007Z

[WEDNESDAY 05 JANUARY 2011]
First day back at the easel after a lonnnnnng break. It would be nice to say it is easy to just settle back into it. But that would be a lie. Conversely it hasn't been the uphill struggle I was expecting, though I have probably been easing myself back in gently. Need to get my confidence back before I embark on proper painting, so I occupy myself with tinkering away at those more inconsequential tasks.

I have decide to flood the crack in the rock-face with pink neon glow, though at present it just looks like it's been painted over badly with magenta, and I need to wait for that to dry before I embark on the next layer.

There goes my my first bout of proper procrastinating of the year - thank you the internet. I snapped out of it and made a cup of tea, and trudged back out through the fine, icy rain. I then sat there listening to the music for probably about 15 minutes in this position:

I'd like to say I was deep in thought, but the truth is I was contemplating nothing more than this:

Time to call it a day, I reckon.

the new year message

2011-01-05T10:42:00.001Z

happy new year campers!
This blog has now been in existence for almost 2 years. Yes, two whole years of me spouting out my internal dialogue onto the screen. Two whole years of self-indulgently recording "the struggle". There have been good days and there have been not so good days. But it's helped me to not have all this swimming round my head.

I seem to have been a bit slack of late: December shoved my painting to the side in favour of various social and seasonal commitments. And then there was the snow. But it's the first week of January, and it feels good to be back (to paraphrase a certain fallen glam-rocker. I say fallen, I probably mean vilified!).

Current news is that I'm involved in an exhibition titled 'Work/Work', investigating the difficult balance of paid work and creative work, for the artist. The exhibition will take place in March in a sweet little gallery space in East London. I plan to show an archive of nearly 2000 post-it note "artworks". I will be presenting my plans/ideas to the group next Wednesday.

And so all that remains is for me to switch off the computer, take up my bag and skip round to the studio.
HI-HO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the afternoon shift

2010-12-08T19:22:00.001Z

[WEDNESDAY 08 DECEMBER 2010]
Just an afternoon shift today, I've been working this morning making the jigsaws for the kids and sending out old tat I've sold on eBay.

The afternoon shift consists of endless repeated layers of white glow added to the neon of the secret date plaque.

That is all I do, until 6.30pm. And then I head home.

snow, and an old sock on my hand

2010-12-01T19:09:00.052Z

[WEDNESDAY 01 DECEMBER 2010]
The first day of December and the snow came down. Gatwick airport is closed and I may be stuck here tonight. Might as well get some painting done then. Just as soon as I've cleared a path to the garret.

1 hour later: I'm settled with a cup of tea and the heater on. I spend some time with an old sock on my hand, rubbing grime off the neon numbers of the secret date plaque with the tip of my little finger and turpentine. Such remedial werk is time consuming yet essential. It is not glamorous.

Sat there with the snow coming down outside it is hard to concentrate, the icy wind blowing in from the North keeps catching the garage door and it creeps open to let in the cold. Lunch time comes and goes, hot food helps but leaves me feeling dozy.

I take a look through the more inconsequential small canvases on the shelf. I choose the white 'path of least resistance' and also take out 'SSHHH' as a colour guide...

Not quite finished, but certainly a little shimmy in the right direction.

16.00 hours. I leave early to catch a train, which takes 4 times as long to get home. Later trains on the same route are stranded over night, but I am at home with my wife and cat.

the taste of white spirit lingering on my tongue

2010-11-24T19:04:00.001Z

[WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2010]
With Christmas coming there are toys to be made, so that all the little boys and girls don't have sad faces on Christmas day. This means I've had extra payed work to do this morning in the workshop with Santa's elves.

But I'm ready to paint now...

My first task was to try and get that secret date plaque back on track. I masked out the numbers and commenced with throwing whatever I could find at it: white spirit; oil paint; ink; clean water; dirty water; anything. I poured and scraped and splattered it all on, then poured and scraped and wiped it off. The masking fluid didn't last long, but the result was pleasing, and I took it outside to dry in the low November sun.

I've had the taste of white spirit lingering on my tongue ever since. No amount of tea, water or cake can shift it. I do wonder what this does to my insides.

Satisfied with myself, I've begun the next phase of "the pink path of least resistance trickling through a crack in a rock face", or "the rock face" as I affectionately call it. I wonder will I ever be happy with it? But I must persevere or it will always be there, lurking in the corner. I've decided to knock the glow back a bit so the neon appears deeper in the crack.

As soon as I've done this, I have a brain-wave: Out comes the red-neon light I bought recently. I secrete it between the joists under a shed in the garden and take some photos of the intense glow emanating from the darkness. This will give me something to reference for my next attack on "the rock face".

NEXT! I take up my tools and set upon the large square canvas of Le Corbusier's Marseille blue-print for modern living. The tools I use: some antique Winton no.39 Terre Verte oil colour, and then a piece of charcoal rescued from the bonfire, which looks like some kind of monolithic totem when seen out of scale.

I work on the foliage and then I go home.

No paint today

2010-11-17T13:41:00.000Z

There will be no Wednesday Painter-ing today.

Instead I will be spending the afternoon at the hospital, and the evening at a meeting in London about an exhibition.

[The two are not related, and I'm hoping the latter makes up for the former.]

the most un-productive day

2010-11-10T19:25:00.004Z

[WEDNESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2010]
This morning I have been running a few internet errands. I will now make a cup of tea and be off to the studio...

I did a bit of secret testing for an idea I have involving a strobe light. Call me enigmatic, but I don't want to say any more at this stage.

So after I'd stamped a stroboscopic light-show onto my poor retinae, I unpacked my new neon bulbs and made some reference photos for 'Ne Travaillez Jamais'.

Then I actually did some painting: After the white neon on black success of last week, I pulled out a white neon 'path of least resistance' and gave it a werking over. I left it at lunch time. It needs more werk.

I returned after lunch and faffed around for a while. Nothing was getting done, I transferred the neon photos to the old Mac for reference purposes. Everything I am werking on is either wet or stuck. I leave early and go and take some photos of some old junk I plan to put on eBay. It was the most un-productive day in quite a while.

a corner turned

2010-11-03T19:35:00.002Z

[WEDNESDAY 03 NOVEMBER 2010]
Just doing some computering before I head out into the crisp sunny morn... And I'm off.

I faffed for a bit with the secret date plaque, then made some more mess on "Rock face" number 2. Then I had to do a bit of payed work for an hour. By which time it was time for lunch. After which I can't resist checking my emails, even though I know it will end in yet another bout of procrastination.

This afternoon I will do some proper painting.

Progress was slow: a flurry of activity on the pink neon path (trickling down through the crack in the old "rock face"), but then I was stuck. I threw some more oily muck down the latest "rock face" just to try and unlock the creative forces. No joy.

Cup of tea and a bit of tinkering with an old amplifier...

Around 4.30pm there was a change. I decided to have a mess with SSSHH. This white neon in blackness has been evading me for too long. Time to take it in hand. I found a neon photo on the computer: White neon with a green tint in the glow. Recipe: Titanium White + a touch of Emerald Green + a smidgen of Prussian Blue (Lamp Black to darken).

Success! I leave the studio with a spring in my step and a corner turned.

OXIDE OF CHROMIUM

2010-10-27T19:42:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 27 OCTOBER 2010]
I have spent this morning doing some (payed) werk, and also catching up on a few emails and things. It is now 10.43am and I will go and make a cup of tea and head on out to the studio...

It is now 10.53am and I am still on this infernal computer. I really, honestly, am going now.

First task: I paint in some sky and find a vintage tube of Oxide of Chromium to give to the trees

Post-lunch: Another fun-filled time painting and pouring on "rock face" number 2.

Later: I was merrily werking away, intending to bring the neon glow on the secret date plaque back to a whiter shade (it's looking decidedly yellow). But too much paint, and we're losing the background. I blend it out good and hard. Still no joy. Emergency procedures: flood a load of white spirit down the surface.

And then I have to go and fuck it up completely. I was rubbing it back, but the white has spread everywhere, the background is getting lost under a haze of white, which is growing and growing. fuckfuckfuck.

Looks like we're back to scratch. I add some green and black to get rid of the white, but I have a feeling I'll be starting again on this from the ground up next week...

artex and papered cracks

2010-10-20T19:03:00.000+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2010]
09:07 hours. I am turning off the computer and heading for the garret. Hmm, judging by the icy air that greets me, we seem to have skipped autumn and cut straight to winter.

I put the heater on to take the edge off the cold. But then go outside anyway. The second "rock face" canvas ends up clad in tissue paper to cover the cracks and add some more texture and wrinkles. Then I take a break and get a lift to a well-known hobby & craft superstore to buy some canvas. Proper heavy duty canvas, not like that flimsy, light weave stuff I've been putting up with. 5 metres of canvas: I have plans to build some more large stretchers.

Back at the studio: the latest commemorative date plaque gets a load of chalk added to the neon glow. I do the usual blending and brushing and go in for a second layer. But something is wrong. I take to it with some water: kill or cure. It looks even worse, then it looks better. phew.

And next: "Rock face" no.2 has been drying in the crisp air and sun. In it comes, and I crack open an old jar of artex. Yes, you heard me, artex. Brush it over the the thick, plastered and papered areas. And it's time for lunch.

After lunch I make some progress with the other "rock face". I stand back and look at the fresh, deep pink neon glow. I will leave that one to dry for now.

Must keep up the momentum... "Rock face" 2 is now under a layer of stone-y oil paint, I picked out the cracks and everything.

The big square canvas goes back up on the wall. Another frenzied attack on the sky: leftover grey paint; dirty water; more oil paint; more water; rub it back; white acrylic, watered down... all of it dripping down the surface. I turn it on its side and run more filthy water down. Then flip it round and do the same the other way. It ends up hanging at an angle, all manner of watery mess trickling slowly down the canvas.

the business end of my brush

2010-10-13T19:35:00.001+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 13 OCTOBER 2010]
Hi-Ho! And off to werk I go...

I've spent the morning jumping from canvas to canvas, doing a bit here, a bit there. Werking on things that haven't seen the light of day for months and months, and everything remains in a half-finished state. These are just two of the paintings that have seen the business end of my brush:

I'm starting to think I need a new project to really get my teeth into.

This new "rock face" could be that project. Looks like there'll be quite a bit of werk prep-ing the ground before the neon is added.

So I sat there, contemplating my next move. Gazing round the studio... As if in a trance I approached the large square canvas on the wall, applied a little oil paint (Coeruleum Blue and Burnt Sienna) to areas at the foot of the picture plane. Then out comes the ink and a frenzy of activity; then on goes my pint glass of water...

next: thinned-down Cobalt Blue and White, more water, more paint; then the dregs of everything I've thrown at it, that has collected in the trays underneath, that goes back down too. I have paint on my hands and paint splashed across my face, and the feeling is good.

I have another go: water; charcoal; brush it around; scrape some old flake white paint across with a palette knife to suggest a cloud; and, of course, more filthy run-off water... I sit back and take it in: a good start.

And to finish off for the day: a little more werk on the orange neon glowing 'NO'.

I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE exhibition photos

2010-10-07T17:33:00.000+01:00

On the final day of my exhibition, Verity and I snuck in early to photograph my paintings in situ.
[see previous post for a short video tour of the exhibition]

plastered

2010-10-06T11:40:00.001+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 06 OCTOBER 2010]
I just spent an hour tidying the mess I left behind last week. Chucked out a load of old palettes, rags, and detritus that's been building up on the studio floor. It is more organised, even if it doesn't look it.

And now, a bit of chalky whiteness on the latest secret painting. Fixative spray, then leave the loft and the fumes...

I was looking for some plaster-of-paris, but instead I came across a big tin full of old tubes of oil paint. Bonus! It's okay, I found the plaster-of-paris shortly after. Mixed it up and slathered it onto the canvas I began last week. I already have ideas for the neon that will emanate from the crevice, but for now I must wait for the plaster to dry.

After an extended lunch (curse you internet!), I pay the top secret painting some more attention. White oil paint to build up the glow, I patch up the areas that need a little extra, then go over the parts that have become a bit dirty from all that chalking earlier on.

And finally, some more werk at the old "rock face" (or "The Path of Least Resistance 3 (pink)" as it should probably be known). And then I finish early, I have a gig to go to...

I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE exhibition tour

2010-10-03T16:55:00.000+01:00

For those who were unable to make it along, here is a short video tour of my exhibition.

pale yellow goo

2010-09-29T12:44:00.003+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2010]
After taking down my exhibition on Monday, I had to catch up with a couple of hours' work. So I am late to the studio. I will stay later today to make up for lost time.

Painting begins after lunch...

I've been werking at the "rock face", gradually building up the pink neon glow again. I don't do pink much, so it's a case of trying to remember the best mixes of paint, and in the right order. I set it aside to dry.

The current top secret painting is still wet. So I begin work on a new canvas. A merry hour is spent ripping up bits of cardboard and gluing them to the surface. I plan to build up a new rock face in relief, with neon glowing out from a pitch dark crevice.

Sometime earlier this year I began a large square canvas watercoloured with Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. Today this canvas made a re-appearance on the wall. Out came the masking fluid... and now it oozes down the surface coating the building in pale yellow goo.

I finish the day with a bit of a clear out. I find some old canvases my friend Sarah gave me, rip off the old canvas and now I have four small square stretchers to make use of. I also remove some of the other crap that lurks in the corners of the loft, so that I might have some extra space to store things and to swing the proverbial cat.

getting back in the swing

2010-09-22T11:03:00.001+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2010]
I had a week off last week to spend with my beloved. But I'm back and there is painting to be done. It's incredible that even after just one week off, it takes me a bit of time to get back into the swing. There have been tentative steps this morning, tickling the white glow of the current top-secret painting.

Everything stops. A rare miniature anteater strolls across the top of the canvas.

Post-lunch lull: found my way upstairs, and have been at the computer for 24 minutes. Procrastination is a terrible thing. I only came to check the time of sunset (so I don't turn into a pumpkin). Must. Drag. Myself. Away.

Back in the studio. I werk some more on the pink neon path that trickles through the darkness in the crack in the rock face. And then a little more experimentation on the big bad 'NO'.

I finish the day with an attempt to make the sinister crow look more realistic. Better. But not completely satisfied. I suspect it is destined to always be just a preparatory sketch. Poor, maligned crow.

EXHIBITION: FINAL WEEK

2010-09-22T11:02:00.005+01:00

We have entered the final week of my exhibition of neon paintings at Blanch House. Owing to an administrative error (not mine) the exhibition will finish a few days earlier than advertised. The final day will be Sunday 26th September. There will be an informal end-of-show drinks do to celebrate this Sunday between 5pm and 7pm. So if you haven't yet seen the exhibition, or you fancy another look, this is your very very very last chance.

Here are the details, one more time:
I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE
neon paintings by Dominic Bradnum
8th August - 26th September 2010
open 7 days a week, from midday.
Blanch House, 17 Atlingworth Street, Brighton, BN2 1PL [map]

THE PROPOSITION

2010-09-21T23:09:00.002+01:00

I received this email the other day marked:
Kind Attn: Dominic Bradnum / Ref: Assistant Artist - Artwork from Images / India
I just had to share it.

"Dear Dominic ,

Greetings from India.

I would like to introduce myself as xxxxx xxxxxx from xxxxxxxx, India.
I am an artist making paintings in Oil on Canvas and Acrylic. I can
also provide services in water color on paper, pastels on paper,
ceramics, sculptures, wood, textiles, rugs, metal handicrafts,
embroidery, and reliefs from designs/images as per your instruction.

I specialize in making art from images.

I am in no way infringing, copying, or competing with you as you are
a renowned and a well off artists and I am just an artist making my
livelihood out of it in a far off country thousand of kilometers away
from your country. Moreover, I will be working for you in making more
paintings/art which you can offer to your customers and sell more
and become the best and most sought after artist of your region
and add more creativity and variety in your offering, or in case of
time restraints.

To make you 100% sure of the quality work, I will be sending images of
the painting/artwork during different stages of its making so that any
difference in detailing, accuracy or color scheme could be worked out.
Any inputs from your side or me is properly communicated to give you
the best work. I assure you of hassle free working given an opportunity.

Kindly note I would like to work for you similarly as OLD MASTERS of
Yesteryears like Picasso, Van Gogh, etc. had assistant, the
only difference being they had studio assistant artists and I will be
your outsourced assistant. In this technology advanced world I can work
through images sent by you over Internet and e-mail or may be you
sending postcards and me making paintings out of it.

Further to it, I do understand you may have your own style which
may or may not suit my offering to you.

I assure you of good returns out of this association. Since you are
in the field of art, we can work as long term partners wherein I can
supply you with High Quality paintings / artworks from Images at very
competitive prices.

Sincerely look forward to hearing from your side.

Kind Regards,
xxxxx xxxxxx"

An intriguing proposition. Now I would hardly call myself a "a renowned and a well off artists [sic]", and I'm dubious that Van Gogh and Picasso had studio assistants, but it's intriguing nonetheless. I just need to put aside my pride in my work and my copyright hang-ups, and I could be flooding the market with a load of knock-off fakes/cover-versions of my paintings "at competitive prices". Maybe I could out-source all of my werk and create a whole army of Wednesday Painters, with copy-cat blogs - Wednesday Painter-ism, a whole new art movement.

I'll sleep on it.

CAUTION: WET PAINT

2010-09-10T14:42:00.003+01:00

As you may have noticed I've been sprucing up the blog with a lick of fresh paint. I've also updated the gallery, and added a more comprehensive selection of my neon paintings.

I feel a bit happier inviting people round now.

Stop. Start. Stop. Start.

2010-09-08T10:07:00.007+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2010]
8.30am start. I have a date with a top-secret painting. I have one day to make the neon glow. One day to produce what usually takes a few weeks of Wednesday Painting sessions...

Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stand back and look. Lay down and regard. Back to the easel. KEEP. ADDING. MORE. WHITE. GLOW. There is only so much paint you can add. And still it is not right. I can't see how I'm going to get this finished today.

4pm. Still working on the white neon. Still struggling to bring it to a satisfactory state of glow. It is not something that should be rushed.

I return after a tea break and conclude that I should mess with it no longer. It will not be ready, it will have to wait. Instead I begin making a card for my beloved. And just after 5pm, I pack up and leave the garret.

a bit of a spring in my step

2010-09-02T12:40:00.005+01:00

[THURSDAY 02 SEPTEMBER 2010]
Yesterday's post was a bit of a lie. I did get some painting done, but only for a couple of hours in the evening. Most of it consisted of running paint and thinners down the canvas: the results were pleasingly fragile and beautiful.

Today consisted of more of the same, with a bit of toothbrush splattering thrown in. I left the canvas with the look of a well worn, patinated copper plaque and a bit of a spring in my step. Next week I turn my attention to the neon.

no paint today

2010-09-01T15:05:00.002+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2010]

Due to illness and the bank-holiday,

Wednesday Painter-ing is cancelled today.

weathering

2010-08-25T11:32:00.011+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 25 AUGUST 2010]
Step 1: paint in neon numbers.
Step 2: more verdigris coloured oil paint

Then the rain came. I propped the secret canvas outside for a brief spell of weathering, and retired inside for lunch.

While the secret canvas is getting wet. I turn my attention to the old "rock face": I am starting from scratch on the neon, so I begin by laying down a base coat of pink along the edges of the new serpentine line that trickles down the canvas. Done.

Next! Perhaps I'll try tackling a bit more of the red neon on green background. I need to experiment on 'No/Yes' before I can apply it to 'Ne Travaillez Jamais'. Cadmium Red and Permanent Geranium around the letters, then Cadmium Yellow with Titanium White to fill the letters in. And blend.

After contemplating my next move, I add a smidgen of white to the mix of Cadmium Red and Permanent Geranium on my palette. This is painted over the red glow and blended out again.

the application of various layers of filth, liquids and spirits

2010-08-18T09:21:00.009+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 18 AUGUST 2010]
Small canvas. Projection. Draw outlines in pencil. Paint in with white acrylic. Mask areas with masking fluid. Leftover Permanent Geranium and Titanium White paint. Leftover Cadmium Red and Cadmium Yellow paint diluted with turpentine.

After much exertion I finally manage to open a pot of mixed up grey-green and paint it thickly over the top. (I made such a big thing out of that fact, but I never even took a photograph of the result...)

Wildlife watch: Look! There's a green woodpecker strolling round the field picking at insects.

Back in the loft, The Wednesday Painter throws some filthy inky, oily water down the small canvas...

The canvas is rubbed down to allow the application of a verdigris mix of Emerald Green and Prussian Blue with Titanium White...

Some time later: more ink flows down the surface, and then we're outside for a sprinkle with the hose...

The masking fluid is rubbed away (most of it had disintegrated, anyway, during the application of various layers of filth, liquids and spirits).

The canvas is left horizontal, a pool of grubby water, oil and ink glinting under the fluorescent strip light.

I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE private view

2010-08-13T12:54:00.008+01:00

Thanks everyone who came to the opening night of my exhibition, and if you couldn't make it along, there's still plenty of time to go and have a look - exhibition runs until 30th September.

Here are a few photos.

an empty nest

2010-08-11T09:39:00.007+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 11 AUGUST 2010]
I am greeted by an empty nest. Each and every painting I have invested so much love and attention to has gone. They are out there now, in the big bad world. Hanging on the wall at Blanch House.

I am left with a handful of half-finished canvases. The ones that I've neglected and ignored, the one's that I've fallen out of love with. A motley bunch they are too...

I dig out the "rock-face". I've been thinking about what to do with it over the past couple of days. A bold decision had to be made. Out comes the sandpaper, and I set to work sanding down the meandering pink neon line to a smooth, flat surface.

I paint the pink out with white acrylic and take three attempts to draw in a new path of least resistance.

The neon will still be pink, but the line will stagger more than before as it traces its way through the blackness.

I have made a small canvas for a new secret painting. I prime it and chuck a load of filthy, oily black water and ink and God-knows-what over it.

Now, brushes are the main tools-of-the-artist, and I don't look after them nearly as well as I should. They are in desperate need of a deep clean: a bowl of warm water with washing-up liquid and a bowl of clean water to rinse. I end up with a sore on my hand where I've been pressing the brushes to work the soap into them. Ow!

Exhibition press for I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE

2010-08-07T16:41:00.006+01:00

I've had a couple of features in the local press about my exhibition...

Following my interview the other day, The Argus have devoted half a page in today's edition

Meanwhile, The Source have given me a good write up: Mat Barker has compared my paintings to Jenny Holzer and Gerhard Richter, and I can't argue with that!

[apologies for the poor quality scans]

Julian Clary isn't here

2010-08-04T10:24:00.015+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 04 AUGUST 2010]
It is already 10.25 and no painting has been done yet. The morning has been spent sending emails and reminders about my exhibition.

I was here on Monday afternoon, shirking payed work and painting. I was happy with what I left on Monday evening. I have a feeling one of the neon drips might need a little more werk, but aside from that I'm almost ready for Sunday. I don't think I've ever been this organised for an exhibition... It makes me feel a little uneasy.

It has just started tipping down with rain, which means my plan to move paintings in from the loft, and others out to the loft, has been scuppered. I also just realised I have black paint all over my hands, which is probably now on half the washing I've just brought in. Oops. I then got a phone call from someone asking to speak to Julian Clary. For some reason this doesn't surprise me...

12.51: I've just come off the phone from an interview with a girl called Nione (pronounced Neon - what are the chances?) from The Argus (turns out it was her wanting to speak with Mr. Clary) - they will be doing a feature on my exhibition in Saturday's edition.

I have signed all the finished paintings, and I've signed 'SMILE' too, each has been moved into the empty extension, photographed, and now awaits further orders.

I have moved all the paintings into the extension, and blocked off the doorway to avoid the cat rubbing against the wet paint. I will be back tomorrow evening to wrap them up ready for the big move on Friday.

I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE exhibition

2010-07-29T10:16:00.006+01:00

I THINK OF YOU AND I SMILE
neon light paintings by Dominic Bradnum

Sunday 8th August - Thursday 30th September
(Opening night: Sunday 8th August, 5pm)

Blanch House, 17 Atlingworth St,
Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 1PL

Dominic Bradnum’s paintings are emblazoned with lit-up slogans and abstract neon forms in vivid, saturated colours. He paints in high-contrast with fluid, sensual brush-strokes, setting these shimmering lights within the darkest voids or against ruined and decaying surfaces.

Throughout August and September, Dominic Bradnum exhibits his paintings of neon lights within the chic and retro stylings of Blanch House.

in/out

2010-07-29T10:14:00.007+01:00

[THURSDAY 29 JULY 2010]
Today I will werk on the blue drip. There has been some saggage overnight. I pull out all the staples at each end and pull the canvas taut and re-staple. That's better...

I spend a lot of time werking away at the background - too much red, not enough darkness... too much blackness, not enough red. I add some Phthalo Blue at the edge of the neon glow, then blend it out into the black...

I take the painting outside to view in the daylight, then back up into the loft for more werk. Then back outside, then up the ladder again... repeat a few times...

I leave it looking like this:

the afternoon shift

2010-07-29T10:12:00.003+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 28 JULY 2010]
Just an afternoon session today - There was payed work to be done in the morning.

Progress is good, but then I always seem to be more productive of an afternoon. I de-sag the purple drip canvas, and once more I have a taut surface to paint onto. I werk on both the drip paintings and 'Love is Amour...'. But for the last few hours the purple drip painting is the focus of my attention. More Yellow, then knock it back into darkness. And more darkness. And more darkness.

21.00: I take it out to view it in the half-light. I'm satisfied, so I call it a day.

whoop

2010-07-22T13:32:00.006+01:00

[THURSDAY 22 JULY 2010]
Lunch time: Things have been going well this morning. There have been moments when I have almost whooped with joy. I have been werking on 'LOVE IS AMOUR IN FRENCH'. As things stand it is looking good. Just a bit more werk on the deep red neon areas...

14.45. Down tools. 'LOVE IS AMOUR IN FRENCH' is taken out for daylight inspection. I hang it on the wall in the lounge. It glows down on me.

I have a cup of tea to celebrate.

Back in the loft, two options: Blue Drip or Purple Drip. The purple one is looking a bit saggy in the canvas department. Curse you fine-weave canvas! Following my success with the blue neon this morning, I opt for the blue drip. And by the time I am done it has taken on a whole new glow. Just a bit of darkness at the fade. I'll need to darken the background a touch next time. I step back in the half-light...

...And Wednesday Painter saw that it was good.

background painter

2010-07-21T09:57:00.007+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 21 JULY 2010]
We begin today's session with some time on the web, compiling a list of people to invite to my exhibition. It is arduous, and it is keeping me from painting. It gets me down.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
This morning was wholly unproductive. All tense and frustrated, I was.

A change of tac' for the afternoon: Instead of doing close-up, detailed work, I switched to messy, physical background painting. The purple drip, the blue drip and 'Love Is Amour...' all received my attention. And at 8.30pm I cleaned the brushes and my grubby mitts and I left the loft.

Wish You Were Here - Southend-on-Sea

2010-07-19T11:51:00.003+01:00

Here are some photos of my work at Artside 2010: Wish You Were Here in Southend-on-Sea. The exhibition continues until this Friday, my work is on show at Tomassi's, 7-9 High Street.

Don't I look handy with a hammer?

that bird has flown

2010-07-14T08:54:00.011+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 14 JULY 2010]
I feel like a baby bird I have nursed and nourished has just fledged the nest... Such is the void left when a painting I have focussed all my attentions and energies on is finally finished and taken out into the real world. After the blood, sweat and curses, and all the physical exertion: it is just gone. I have spoken of 'the void' before. This is it.

But I have other canvases to werk on. Canvases that have been neglected in my rush to finish 'Wish You Were Here'.

Having spent the past few sessions werking al fresco I returned to the loft to disarray. Now almost everything is back in its rightful place, I squeeze some Permanent Magenta oil paint onto the palette, with the intention of adding some immediate glow to the 'purple drip' painting. I have a blank. Was it painted straight on, unmixed? Did I add some white? Or mix it with another colour?

So I'm back on the computer, looking at photos of 'SPQR' and 'Commemorative Date Plaque: 05.09.09'. Then back through old Wednesday Painter posts. Bingo!

On Wednesday 12 August 2009, I wrote:

"Number 2 is up on the easel now. First I over-painted the white neon characters; then some Permanent Magenta mixed with Titanium White for the intense, immediate glow around the characters."

Permanent Magenta and Titanium White. Permanent Magenta and Titanium White. Permanent Magenta and Titanium White. Permanent Magenta and Titanium White. Permanent Magenta and Titanium White. Permanent Magenta and Titanium White.

And in the afternoon, I turn my attentions to injecting some bright blue glow on the blue neon drip.

Wish it would dry

2010-07-08T23:04:00.002+01:00

[THURSDAY 08 JULY 2010]
All day, werking away on Wish you Were Here. At 19.03 I signed it.

Werk continued until 21.05.

And then I brought it inside and set up a fan to try desperately to dry it a bit. Tomorrow it travels to Southend-on-Sea.

Wish You Were Here Exhibition, Southend-on-Sea

2010-07-08T18:24:00.000+01:00

2 of my paintings have been selected for exhibition at
ARTSIDE 2010: Wish You Were Here
10 - 23 July 2010
various venues and events on and around the High Street in Southend-on-Sea

My work is on show at
Tomassi's, 7-9 High Street, Southend, Essex, SS1 1JE [map]

ARTSIDE 2010 is the first edition of an annual project supported and funded by Southend-on-Sea Town Centre Partnership. ARTSIDE transforms the centre of the town into a pulsating art platform, and includes art exhibitions and events taking place on and around the Southend High Street from 10-23 July 2010.

In case you are unable to make it along, these are the paintings I am exhibiting:

artistic license versus stone-cold reality

2010-07-07T09:01:00.011+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 07 JULY 2010]
I was here again on Monday, skiving off paid work to do a bit more werk on 'Wish You Were Here'.

Here's how it looks this morning, just a little more attention and I'll be happy with it. I just hope I don't go and fuck it up now!

It looks like rain. Which is a pain. It means I am probably going to have to drag the great hulk of a canvas back up into the loft and werk on it there. I've been enjoying werking outside, especially as it has been so hot of late.

You find me at the end of my lunch break. I wanted to make the letters more fuzzy and fizzy. I am not sure if that was the right thing to do... I've set up a fan to try and dry the paint a bit quicker. It doesn't seem to be working.

16.19: Things are looking better: I have all but blotted out any suggestion of the supporting cross-beam that had been threatening to spoil the neon glow. A triumph of artistic license over stone-cold reality. It's got to look good and make an impact, and that supporting structure was not helping the cause.

18.20: I am done for the day. In comes the painting, on goes the fan, away go the paints and brushes and spirits. Just got to hope the white has dried a bit for tomorrow so I can finish it off.

Oh! Wednesday Painter, what have you done?

2010-06-30T14:35:00.006+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 30 JUNE 2010]
I've been putting in some extra shifts. I was here on Monday werking away on 'Wish You Were Here'. The reason: it has been selected for exhibition in Southend-on-Sea. Next week!

I have a lot to do, still struggling to make this neon glow work against the seascape. I have taken to werking on it outside. It's been so hot in the loft, plus it tends to dry quicker out in the air, and I can prop it up in the sun during breaks, to speed up the drying process a little more.

It is hot. I werk up close on the orange-y glow... Then some Cadmium Red to bring it out into the surrounding darker reds. Got to make sure it doesn't get too opake...
After lunch: I use some chalk pastel to make suggest the spill of the glow onto the beach.

It doesn't quite do it for me.

I add some black ink to the neon's supporting structure. WRONG! Got to knock it back, but it's all too wet, every bit of paint I add smudges the black and makes a mess...

I turn my attentions to the beach: paint and pastels, charcoal, sand, water. Oh! Wednesday Painter, what have you done?

critical mass

2010-06-24T09:03:00.005+01:00

[THURSDAY 24 JUNE 2010]
A bonus day of painting for me. Except half way through the morning I realise I've reached some kind of critical mass: All the canvases I am werking on are at a stage where I need to let them dry/cure/sit for at least a week before I continue.

I spent a good deal of time spreading more paint on the purple drip painting. First Lemon Yellow paint, then blotting it out with black. All this werk is making the canvas more and more slack. It billows like a sail when you hit it at certain points. There is too much distinction between the purple neon glow and the fucked up background. I apply some Ultramarine to the outer glow, werk it in with the purple, and out into the blackness. Not satisfied, but better.

A cup of tea, then I'm back. But what to do now? 'Love is Amour..' has been temporarily retired to the corner. The blue drip is drying. All other canvases are trapped behind wet ones. All I have is this great big 'Wish You Were Here' and it's staring me right in the face. the glow is wet, but the letters are crying out for more paint - cadmium yellow and titanium white - these things take longer than you would expect, painstakingly colouring in between the lines, werking right up close, brush held at an unwieldy height. It gives me cramp and makes my head swim.
I need a break. I need some lunch. I come back and conclude that the werk I can do here today is done.

Knock it back

2010-06-23T09:25:00.005+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 23 JUNE 2010]

I seem to have been neglecting my duties in keeping up-to-date with this blog. I cannot recall the events that occurred on this day. All I have are photos, and the title I gave this post: 'Knock it back', which suggests I spent a lot of time knocking back the backgrounds of various canvases with black paint and darkness...

What went on? Here are the photos:

[notice the various studio detritus: a picture of Brigitte Bardot, a crucifix, my trusty little projector, an old telephone...]

the colour of dairy milk wrappers

2010-06-16T11:20:00.007+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 16 JUNE 2010]
Hmmm, not a great start. Woke up late, dragged myself outside. Came back in. And now I am procrastinating here on the internet. IT. MUST. STOP. NOW.

So I werked. 2 hours, deep purple paint the colour of dairy milk wrappers, a phosphorescent drip running down the canvas.

Then lunch. Longer than I should have taken. GOT. TO. GET. OUT. But this crap on telly is too compelling. Another cup of tea...

Back in the loft, what to werk on now? 'Love is Amour...': werk on it now whilst it's still slightly wet, pink highlights around the deep red glow. And then the blue highlights, blending out to magenta, fading out to black.

How come I always get on a roll in the afternoon? Just got some time to highlight the blue drip. And then time runs out.

There is no wrong.

2010-06-09T10:14:00.010+01:00

[WEDNESDAY 09 JUNE 2010]
10.15am: I have been searching for things to do in London this Friday. It was not procrastination. It was important research. And now I will make some coffee and head for the studio...

Didn't quite make it out the door. There was perfect light in the extension to photograph '...SMILE' - bright, but a little overcast. I lugged the mammoth canvas down the ladder and propped it up against the wall, went to fetch a camera and returned to blinding sunshine. Aarrggh! Come back clouds I need you!

I waited around drinking coffee and setting up for a good shot. Finally some cloud cover allowed me to snap away.

Then my attention was distracted by a shrew running across the floor. It stopped to munch on a dead insect, and ran off when I got close. Spent about ten minutes trying to catch the little fellow so I could let him loose in the garden. Failed. I don't fancy his chances now that the cat has acquired some hunting skills.

Finally went out to get on with some werk, did a spot of colour mix testing, then one of those giant European hornets came buzzing in. At which point I buzzed off, turning all the lights off in the hope it would go elsewhere.

Consequently not much painting has been done thus far. Though I did paint some Permanent Geranium around the word 'AMOUR'. I will do more after lunch.

The afternoon shift was far more productive: Much of my attention was focussed on the meeting of the blue and deep red glow on 'Love is Amour in French'. Something seems to have changed in my painting style. Where before I would systematically werk up a whole layer of colour following the shape of the word/form, I found myself adding paint selectively, and more discriminately, to small areas of glow. Perhaps, in part, because I was using a specific image as reference?

At some point I slapped a load of Lemon Yellow across the dark void of the canvas, something I probably wouldn't have dared do before this new found confidence reared its head.

Something is watching:

I reigned myself in on 'Love is Amour...' must let it dry a bit before I can werk on it again. I turned to the purple neon drip: more Lemon Yellow, got to build up the paint - I took the decision not to add a final white layer when priming, and it feels like werking on raw canvas - it just sucks up the pigment. Another rash move: tipping a whole load of water down the surface. Confidence rains down in bucket loads and there is no wrong.