Friday 14 December 2018

Watership Toned-Down


As a counter balance to criticisms aimed at the remake of Watership Down being toned-down and not dark enough (and to jump on a bandwagon) here's my 'If They Were Bunnies' print, now for sale on Artfinder for the first time.


Admittedly I've not seen the supposedly sanitised re-make but I doubt that it'll have the impact of Martin Rosen’s brutal and graphic 1978 animated adaptation. I'd probably need a TV for that. So come on TV programme commissioners, it is Christmas - mildly traumatic children's television is what it's all about.

Thursday 13 December 2018

Mini Oil Sketch Winners


For the past few months I've been working on a series of mini oil paintings (many of them merely playful sketches in oil paint). Similar to my Taster Menu series, which I originally created for a pop-up event at the A PlusA gallery during opening week of the 2015 Venice Biennale, these pieces are painted on plywood and designed to be displayed directly on the wall - with a small hole in the back to accommodate a hanging nail or screw.


During this time I've also been running a competition on social media for people to be able to win three of the pieces. The winners of the competition were drawn out of three hats by the art journalist and editor of Avenir Magazine, Holly Howe, on the final day of this year's RCA Secret exhibition (in which I was exhibiting three postcard-sized oil paintings). So without further ado I'd like to say congratulations to the three winners of my mini oil painting giveaway competition - @Onthelowlow (on Twitter), @CennerHice (on Instagram) & Sara Metcalfe (on Facebook).

Wednesday 12 December 2018

RCA Secret 2018 Reveal


Apologies for my rather tardy approach to blogging these days. The final day of this year's RCA Secret (and hence the day that the identities of the artists behind the secret postcard-sized artworks was revealed) was almost a week ago, so I've been at liberty to reveal which of the three works in the show were mine for some time now. So here we go -


For anyone who still doesn't know what the RCA Secret is, it's a fundraising exhibition of original postcard-sized artworks by internationally acclaimed artists, illustrators and designers plus up-and-coming graduates and students from the Royal College of Art (I'm quoting from the RCA's website here).


As one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the College year, RCA Secret not only directly helps the next generation of artists and designers pursue their studies and supports students at a formative time in their careers, but also gives you a chance to get your hands on original works of art for a small donation. The Secret? Each postcard is signed only on the back, so supporters don’t know the identity of the artists until they have made their donation.

Previous contributors have included:
David Bowie, Tracey Emin, Norman Foster,Zandra Rhodes, Yinka Shonibare, Manolo Blahnik, Paul Smith, Mike Leigh, Sir James Dyson, Anish Kapoor, Yinka Shonibare, Paula Rego, Grayson Perry, John Squire and many many more well known names.


As a footnote I'd like to mention my biggest RCA Secret regret: I once won a London Time Out magazine / RCA Secret competition and was given the prize option of having an original, signed painting by David Bowie or a signed print by Marc Quinn. I chose the print (slumps over laptop keyboard with face in hands)...