pale yellow goo

[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

[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

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

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

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.

[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

[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

[WEDNESDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2010]

Due to illness and the bank-holiday,

Wednesday Painter-ing is cancelled today.

weathering

[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

[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

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

[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

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

[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.