Category Archives: art

Change Machine

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An image that I should leave untitled, it was another outburst of maniacal distortions, not a chance to have a thought before hand, but I am always tempted as my mood changes and I see the effect the title might have on the viewer. Preferably at a live art show, its always the best to see them in person. This piece is 20 years old at least.

‘Entropy’, 24″ X 24″, oil on canvas, 2003. I also named it ‘Stuffed in a Box’, when I was feeling more confined spatially. And Change Machine. Entropy: Within a closed system, like a box, or the universe, entropy will increase. Entropy being the measurement of disorder. It is the second law of thermodynamics. All we can do is slow it down for ourselves locally by putting in energy, like painting pictures and such. I don’t know what you do. Maybe making shelter for everyone, something like that.

The background here is composed of a part of a branch of a tree in a drawing in the book called Entropy, The Art of Graham Houston….I tiled and squared it repeatedly until this appeared, something always appears.

We are all living inside a change machine, and the rate of change is increasing.

Joe Forte’s New York

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These are a few of the books I designed for a friend and fellow painter, Joe Forte. These 3 are part of the series for drawings and paintings of New York over the decades he spent living on the street and drawing the city. Click on a cover to see a preview of the book. They are all available from Amazon in hardcover or paperback.

Joe Forte’s New York, Volume 1

There are 57 ink drawings by Joe Forte of Greenwich Village and its environs.

$99.00

Joe Forte’s New York Volume 2

Another 57 drawings of the streets of New York from the view of living on those same streets.

$99.00

Joe Forte’s New York, Greenwich Village and Soho Watercolors

Original watercolors from the New York series by Joe Forte.

$99.00

Burden

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Burden

‘Burden’, 48″ X 60″, oil on canvas, 1994.

I remember it well, so long ago now, at a typical physical art show, you can see the painting in person. The title is on the wall, sometimes. A friend whispered in my ear, “just number them”. I see now the wisdom in that statement. You shouldn’t need anything really. The presence of the physical painting should make you hear it without me saying anything. If I have done it correctly.

Am I a burden to you? Or are you a burden on me?

Self Pity

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‘Self Pity’, 42″ X 42″, oil on canvas, 1995. This painting is lost in space somewhere. These are such a stark contrast to the Domesticated works where you could see I was no longer interested in impressing you with my painterly skills. In the distant past, all you would see is the painting and the title. Even the title I gave it should be irrelevant, your see what you see.

This is the original attempt to paint this emotional outburst. It is oils on wood. I gave this piece to a friend in 1987 or something like that. I always felt my head/brain were being squashed into odd shapes, still do, the medication just helps me sleep on a regular basis. The mania remains.

My second book

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This is the cover I designed for the book. I made these through Amazon's books and Kindle.

This link will take you to the e-book on Amazon.

A fellow painter of large pieces said to me I should make a record of some kind, a gathering of little images and ideas created from the large ones. Maybe stitched or glued together.

As I have many large paintings, and a great deal of other work, the idea of having something small I could hold in my hand was very enticing. As much for others as it was for me to see what I got up to from my death bed.

Domesticated VI

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‘Domesticated VI’, 24″ X 32″, oil on panel, 1996.

This one does have a title its ‘do as I say!’,

I was using a palette knife and a brush for these. I would mix new dried blood colour for doing each line drawing on the blank panel. I had a little mirror hanging on the same wall, and would usually start with a sketch right on the wall. It was covered with little red doodles of my face and attempted body distortions.

I am trying to make the image with as few brushstrokes as possible.

The Book Of Trees

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Part of it anyway. I should frame these, they are better protected, even if bulkier to move around. These are out of the light so that’s a protection too.

I should make a page of text to go opposite each drawing, not an explanation, something like a doodle only with words.

They are all 8″ X 10″. Pencils on paper. If I were to frame them it should be at least a 16″ X 20″ frame, or larger. I find it draws attention into the subject better if you can occupy more of the viewers vision.

Framing the Unnecessary.

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Temporarily adding the unnecessary to the entropy wall.

It is clearly a large painting, more than half the size of that sculpture.

‘The Unnecessarily Erotic Amoebas of Port Elgin’, watercolour, 21″ X 30″, framed its 28″ X 36″, $25,000.00 US

One of my favourite frame jobs. This one is 28″ X 36″ overall. I made the wooden part with ebony, more for its weight than anything, I painted it black anyway. The inner frame is of gold filled copper bars, not plated, I think there is 6 or 7 ounces of gold that you could recover, but its a secret thing to hang on your wall you see, who would know why you paid $25,000.00 US for this unknown artists work.

The Invisible Viruses of the Subconscious.

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‘The semitransparent Ostriches of Enceledus’, 5″ X 7″, pen on paper. It could be either, what were you thinking the last time you made a drawing of something? My favourite work is when I’m not thinking, which only happens alone, no cameras recording anything, then it would not be meditation. And for many artists that is the case. Preparing and making content for a page in order to attract interest to sell the work disrupts the work itself. Perhaps not so much for the younger generation which seems permanently on camera. For myself, I would have to set up cameras running all the time and learn how to ignore the fact they are there. I have tried over the many years of this blog, but its still the same effect. When I start a drawing or painting, I am not thinking about you, or anyone or anything else. When a camera is set up to record, that’s all I can think of, the cameras there, how should I sit or hold the brush for you to see what’s happening, so I am no longer creating the art, I’m creating a version of it for others to see. They don’t happen with the purpose of making money, however they are for sale, and I do need money to live and create more oddities.

How to draw a picture.

How to draw a picture.
I seem to have difficulty thinking about the process of recording work as it happens. I am rarely thinking about the broadcast nature of it all now. For my website to work properly, lots of traffic, I should be posting regularly. It does work to a degree, but not really for selling art at the price it should be. For that, how they happen is private.