Recent works

A couple of paintings I've recently done for a recent commission I have undertaken;

Aldgate East Tube, Rain

Aldgate East Tube, Gherkin Building

And a couple a little closer to home;

Mancunian Way, near Oxford Road

High Street Northern Quarter (Bluu Bar)

I also recently took part in an Art Market back in Huddersfield, which allowed me a couple of pieces to be displayed in the Huddersfield Art Gallery. Here's one;

Norman Bar, Leeds

Riot & Protest

It's been a while so I thought it was time for an update. My work at Uni at the moment is based upon the idea of riots, protests, disorder, and revolt. It started from my interest in football Ultras, and has morphed away from the theme of football.

In tandem with my paintings, I have also been making a couple of flags that I hope to display soon.

Here's some of the paintings;

Manchester Riots 1

Manchester Riots 2

Paris Riots sketch

Paris May 1968, Canvas

Valeria Sykes Prize.

The other day I received the brilliant new that I was successful in my application for the Valeria Sykes prize. The exhibition will run for at least 3 months, and will represent the work of up and coming northern artists, between the ages of 23-35.
I only really applied on a whim as I only got into the age bracket by a matter of days.
I went to the gallery in harrogate where my work will be shown, and was taken-a-back about how posh it was.

Here's more info about the exhibition.

http://www.newlights.org.uk/prize

Watercolour.

The following sketches are just a few simple pencil drawings worked on top with charcoal pencils, ink, and watercolours. The picture of my housemate was not him doing a sexy pose, no matter how Titanic-esque it looks.

View from above Printworks

View from flat-mates window

Jonny, flatmate

Experimentation, thunder clouds

New Sketches.

Man

Living room window

View from flat-mates window

In Didsbury park

Man at bar

View from flat-mates window, again

Mess in bedroom

The football I know...

So, the past 2 weeks or so I've been working hard (ish) for my big hand in today. I had a re-sit as I missed one of my assessments last year, however it's given me something to do this summer.
I was again focusing on football and flag work, but attempting to move away from vague football commentaries and more toward my personal relationship with attending games.
I experimented with the use of fabric dye, that can be ironed from newsprint, onto certain fabrics.
Here's a flag I made. 

The wording is something I wrote myself, and the image has been added to with paint and ink.

The football I know is all but dead, all that remains is in my head.

Fabric experimentation

I've just been experimenting with the use of fabric dye. Found some stuff that you can paint onto news print and then transfer onto certain fabrics with an iron.
For this first go I worked from a paper cutting from a while back, with an image of the French general strikes riot in Paris, 1968. I drew the background with ink, transferred it, and then cut out and sewed on the rioter. Here's the outcome.

Summer sketching

With a re-sit coming up I've mainly been focusing on getting my work together for that. Thought I'd update this as it's been a while, here's some small sketches I've done as practice/experimentation.

Across the Pennines

Television.

Window view, Egerton Road

Crossword

Suited man

Paris riots, 1968

More to follow.

Ink Drawings

.Just a few ink drawings. Never used ink before, But I thought I'd give it a bash.

Huddersfield indoor market 1

Huddersfield indoor market 2

Wakefield kirkgate station

I'm pretty pleased with them as a first attempt. I like the depth it can give, but reckon I need a lot more practice before I feel comfortable. Also, I reckon the splash of colour helped a lot.

Revolutions don't stop for tea breaks...

Finished this a few weeks back as part of my final term of 2nd year. It was a passing comment between myself and a mate about the apathy of our nation. The lettering is in a fabric that resembles a table cloth., and the general colour scheme partially reflects the colours of the Union Jack, though not much navy blue. Sorry about the picture quality, it's a bit fuzzy.

Hazy memories

Pint Glasses

Sorting through my folder I found this. Not my usual sort of thing, but I like it which is surprising. The mother commented that she couldn't tell which way up it should be. In fact, it was a picture taken accidentally when drunk, and is of empty pint glasses on a pub table.

more new work

With my work being in a Yorkshire themed show in the not too distant future, i felt it necessary to do some more work from Yorkshire. Here's a few from Leeds-

Up Call Lane, Leeds

Boar Lane, Leeds

Down Call Lane, Leeds

Leeds City Markets

Sheepscar Interchange, Leeds

Never mind the bollocks...here's Billy Childish

Really like this guys work and poems, take a look.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/video/2009/sep/02/billy-childish-artist-punk-poet

"A broken heart is good for art"

Just finished applying the final touches of this flag, and am pleased with the final outcome. Was advised by my tutor to branch out from the topic of football, something which I find harder to do than one may imagine. So, i just used this sentence, something personal perhaps, but also true.

Here's the final outcome, sorry about the angle, there's no-where else to hang it so the back yard had to do.

Finished flag

Here's the finished article of the flag i started a while back. For explanation of the quote scroll a few posts down.

It's hung upside as a sign of protest.

Further experimentation

Couple more new pieces, trying to break out of my comfort zone. Both done from photos I took in Glasgow.

From Pub window, Glasgow

Pre-game, Celtic.

Canvases

For the first time in a long while I've worked on canvas. There were a number of reasons I avoided doing so, one being paper was much cheaper to work on; a true Yorkshireman. Secondly, I suppose I just got used to paper, the paint is pushed around much easier, so I got well practised at working on that medium. Whenever I switched to board or canvas in the past I found the process a lot more methodical, waiting for the paint to dry, and using much more paint to get the same effect. With paper, I often used my fingers, painting like a nursery child, pushing the paint about the page quickly, adjusting as I go if I saw fit.

However, a couple of weeks back my tutor basically told me I needed to work on canvas to be taken seriously and professionally ( I held my tongue and resisted mentioning previous sales on paper) so reluctantly I set to it.

Working again from the subject of football, here are a couple of the first canvases I did. The first is small, probably little over than a foot and a half, square.
With the second one I threw myself in at the deep end. It's much bigger, at a guess about 4 foot x 4 foot.

Bayern Munich, flare.

Eintracht Frankfurt fans.

View from Warrington Bank Quay

View from Warrington Bank Quay

My latest piece, from a photo taken on a football journey. We changed at Warrington Bank Quay, and here's the view from the platform.

Flag for Uni work

I'm part way through a flag to be displayed as part of my Uni work. Its hand made, and has taken me far longer than it should have.
The quote on it is explained a few posts down.
It still needs to be painted on and decorated and ties added to the corners, but here's the progress so far

At the moment, it feels a little un-balanced, partly 'cos its spontaneous and liable to human error, and partly 'cos while making it in my bedroom I didn't get the chance to see the whole flag.
When I paint on it, I reckon I should be able to salvage it.

poem on flag

Free yourself from the done thing,
liberate your vocal chords, hear us sing
Stand proud and break your shackles
The world is ours for the taking.

Another Glasgow street scene

Here's yet another Glasgow street scene. Done from a pretty uninspiring photo on a hazy and hungover Sunday morning.

I think it's Sauchiehall Street... but my Glasgow geography isn't the best.


Cardiff
To continue to bang on about how there's far more to football than the game itself... this weekend Ipswich played Cardiff City away. The evening to follow was one of the most surreal of my life, as of all the pubs in Cardiff city centre, we managed to walk into the one full of a certain, infamous, Cardiff firm.
It was quite the eye opener, and I'm sure if it wasn't for the fact I was drunk and very tired I would have been shitting myself.
Doubt anything like that will happen to me again, but such is the pleasures of following football.

Football work.

At the moment, I'm basing my work around football, and attending football. In addition to the flags I have started to make (pictures to follow), I'm trying to keep hold of the traditional idea of drawing and painting.Here's some pictures I've done over the last term, working from photos of Ultra's groups I have come across online. Click the pictures to view them larger (I think!).

AS Nancy Lorraine

Borussia Monchengladbach

Aberdeen red Ultras