new website

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.

Tricolores and dirty hands (eventually)

[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.

radio head

[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

Yessssss!

[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]

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

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.

No painting today

[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

[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

[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.

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.

The return of...

I have just returned from a trip to Japan. Pleasure, not business.

Whilst travelling around I secreted my 'I Think of You and I Smile' cards in places where they may or may not be found, with the idea that they might brighten the day of the finder.

I have a feeling this furtive style of distribution could become a habit...

If you have found one of my enigmatic calling cards, and are reading this, feel free to leave a comment or get in touch.

WPx

Wednesday painting will take place tomorrow, on Thursday. Normal werking hours will resume next week.

A.W.O.L.

[WEDNSEDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2010]

The Wednesday Painter has gone A.W.O.L.

meanwhile, in the spare bedroom...

[WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2009]
It is raining, and then stopping, then raining again. And there are builders with big machines moving hardcore out the front. Rather than drag the behemoth 'SMILE' canvas down the stairs, out the front door, round to the garage and up the ladder, I took the bold decision of werking on it in the spare bedroom, where it presently resides.

I werked and werked with chalk, fingers and dry-brush; then stopped and lay on the makeshift bed to get some perspective; then werked; then ate lunch; then bashed away on my spanish guitar; then scrawled some lyrics to a prospective new Miss Pain song entitled "The Last of the Great French Lovers"; then werked some more with titanium white oil paint, blending it out.

For a time it seemed I was going too far with the spread of the white neon glow, but the photos I took suggest it is working. I stopped at around 5pm, called it a day and left an instructional note to any visitors.

Confessions of a Wednesday Painter - the movie

Back in March, I mentioned, in passing, a lo-fi video I had made. The video was a mock-serious/tongue-in-cheek introduction to "the artist" and his werk. I sent it in as part of my submission for a BBC/Charles Saatchi-is-looking-for-an-artist-to-patronise TV show. I wasn't shortlisted. I suppose they didn't get it.

The video contains shaky footage of a tour around my "studio", showing werks in progress and the general filth and disarray of my working space, intercut with some finished paintings, with an ultra-deadpan monologue over the top.

It is a fine piece of werk...
[WARNING CONTAINS STROBOSCOPIC IMAGES]


"School Of Saatchi" the TV show airs tonight, 9pm, BBC2.

Lesson learned

[WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER 2009]
I estimate I was in the studio for just over an hour today...

I picked some wild mushrooms yesterday, I am 99% sure they were edible (I'd eaten a bit of one the night before with no ill effects). My dinner and glass of wine did not sit well with me. Had some odd shifting-vision and a terrible gut-ache. Got panicked that I'd poisoned myself. Spent most of the day researching mushrooms on the internet, to check for sure if they were okay. I am still not sure. Though I am certain they were not deadly poisonous, at least.

If I don't make another post, you do not need to wonder why. In the meantime I am looking out for signs of jaundice and kidney infection...

The Painter's Void

[WEDNESDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2009]
The date is 09.09.09. The world did not end at nine minutes and nine seconds past nine this morning. I was on the internet, so I would have seen something. What is wrong is that my lower-back pain is nagging again and I have an ulcer on the tip of my tongue which catches on all these jagged things called teeth that fill my cake-hole. It is not conducive to a good days werk.

Top-secret painting number 3 is now finished and signed. It sits in the house ready to be wrapped and to go to its new home.


Another void is left in its wake: The Painters Void. I liken it to writer’s block, only it’s the emptiness and deflation you feel having finished a piece, rather than the anxiety at embarking on a new venture. I have no problems embarking on new werks. In fact I constantly have to stop myself.

There have been positive reports filtering through about top-secret paintings 1 and 2. It seems they were well received. Phew. I am hoping for a hat-trick.

‘Home Sweet Home’ has taken up residence on the easel. I have been tackling the orangey-red neon that is yet to meet my standards.


It still does not meet my standards.

I have at least composed a rough post about Les Beatles for the L’Amour Electronique blog.

I feel like going home.

HARD ROCK / Pelted with apples

[WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL 2009]
Remember no.1? I am werking on the “rock-face”. I have concluded that it needs more physicality. I am not yet decided whether to go down the karstic limestone route.

10.30am: I just took a break, and spent some time composing a minor-key ditty about being pelted with apples. There is a bridge and a chorus, and a pleasing crescendo. I am yet to come up with some kind of verse.

11.07am: There is still a real chill in the air, despite the glorious sunshine outside. Trying desperately to keep my hands warm, it’s hampering my progress a little. I may have to put the heater on at this rate.

I have taken the “rock-face” as far as I can in one sitting. It already has more presence, but looks too cartoon-y, and not nearly enough HARD ROCK.


What to do next? SPQR: White Light / Purple Neon.

1.30pm: lunch

I’d be lying if I said I only took a short lunch break. And I find it pretty hard to lie to myself. I got sucked in to the internet and the pull of painting was not strong enough to drag me back. Procrastination over and caffeine-d up, I’m back. It is nearly 3 o’clock.

It definitely wasn’t the best idea to drink a big cup of coffee before embarking on some painting that requires a steady hand.

Cobalt Blue and Cobalt Violet: purple glow fades to black...

one step behind the zeitgeist

[WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 2009]
I wasted some time this morning making a secret lo-fi video. That probably sounds more dodgy than it actually was. As you can imagine, my camera work is about as professional as my photography, so the results will undoubtedly be ropey as hell.

It was mainly just some shots of this hole I call a studio, with some deadpan commentary over the top. How’s that for a pitch?

There has been slow progress on this canvas – I’m working on a “lean” layer. This entails quite a bit of delicate brushwork, blending edges to make them glow. It is painstaking, but necessary, work. And it threatens to drive me over the edge.

The high contrast of these stripes is messing with my peripheral vision. Need to keep taking eye breaks or I’ll give myself a migraine. And the turps fumes aren’t helping much either.

The Pod of i has got me painting to MGMT – I fear I’m always one step behind the zeitgeist. It’s good painting music though, so I’ll get back to it.

And relax……………………….. I have completed that arduous “lean” layer with a few last strokes of Permanent Geranium colour. I’ll have a cup of tea to celebrate.

Green neon painting is far more relaxing. Aaah, the psychology of colour.

The black hit of space

[WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2009]
After a couple of (essential) phone calls, I made it to the coalface by twenty-past-nine.

If anything, this blog has at least made me keen and punctual – if only so that I can report my clocking-in without any sense of guilt.

I could be lying of course. But you’ll just have to take my word for it. I’m a good catholic boy, I don’t tell fibs.

At present, I am valiantly fending off a shitty cold which has been lurking since last Thursday. Current symptoms include that horrid burning catarrh sensation you get in your nose; my brain has apparently been replaced by cotton wool; and my taste buds have deserted me (which somewhat marred pancake day).

No doubt it will erupt into something really nasty as soon as the weekend (and my birthday) arrives…

I just spent my tea break composing an overwrought dirge on the piano. I find my fingers and ears are always drawn to the lower keys, seeking out those deep, dark, leaden tones.

Then I wasted a fruitless hour searching for something elusive on the internet - Procrastination by any other name.

I should probably have some lunch now, so I can have a long uninterrupted stretch of activity this afternoon.

------------------------LUNCH BREAK------------------------

…Eeek, I just typed that ellipsis and the computer started emitting a high-pitched whine, as if it had had enough. I am aware that in composing prose I am all too easily tempted into using this tool to string together disparate trains of thought.

Perhaps I should keep an ellipsis count…

Then again, perhaps it would make my writing too considered…

Having this stinking cold allows me to at least feed my trio of minor addictions: Olbas oil, Halls extra strong, and Ribena. Indeed, if I could smell anything, I’ve no doubt I would smell like a giant menthol. And it’s merely a matter of time before my teeth fall out from all the sugar.

Eureka! I’ve just discovered that Ivory Black gives a deep and almost impenetrable black – the kind of black you find in the shadows of a Francis Bacon painting.

Goodbye Lamp Black…

I spend the remainder of the afternoon over-painting black spaces, to render them deeper and darker – a thoroughly therapeutic exercise.

Electronics for Dummies

Last Thursday I opened up our old Sequential Circuits Six-Trak and re-installed the factory patches. I also cleaned 20-odd years of grime off the contacts of the buttons - It works a lot better now.

After that, I opened up an old radio and had fun conjuring free-jazz electronic noise out of the circuit board with my bare hands.
TIP: DO NOT TRY THIS WITH ANYTHING THAT IS PLUGGED INTO THE MAINS !!!!