Something about what the hell Cathal has been up to.

January 12, 2017

I've had a Christmas and hope whatever you had went well. ( Hopefully lots better than I felt at times)

I've kicked of a year of portraiture way back in the month of mumble-mumble-ber, and I have wearied of gazing at my own face.( Unbelievable but true) So I'm now drawing faces/heads of people I haven't met and calling the series, ' People I haven't met' . ( By meet I mean in the meatspace not the cyber net space.)

Here are some visuals of what I've scrawled so far.

1 hourish self portrait on cartridge paper.

Baron Harkonnen from David Lynch's Dune , unfinished.

30  minute self portrait in ink. — 30 minute self portrait in ink.

I might work some of these into paintings or I might not. The real goal is just to get better at drawing. I have already noticed my line work is improving. I'm still not happy with my accuracy levels. I'm not aiming for hyper realism here, just an accurate representation of the photos I'm working from. I have a way to go and look forward to looking back next January at where I've got to.

Something uncomfortably numb

December 10, 2016

Well that was probably the coldest I've been in a while. My thoughts are with those less fortunate that me and have to be out in those temperatures over night.

The cold meant my fingers were numb, so my work was pretty basic. I'll have too come up with a heating plan as I can't paint in those temperatures.

Although the work looks like I've regressed, I'm trying to push my envelope and these are faltering steps in that direction. I'm starting to feel my ideas about these images push in a direction, that involves, social media, glitch ( revealing the truth of digital image like the impressionists did with their painterly style) ideas of simulacrum, identity, artificial intelligence and self generating imagery. Lots in there so the battle is to just keep painting the images without forcing these ideas into them. As someone much wiser than me once said in paraphrase " Creation and analysis are two different modes"

So I'll keep creating and let the ideas and thoughts weed themselves out.

Below are some studies that I've just started, but as I said the cold weather made my fingers numb and sapped my concentration. So I'm not happy with the work.

Until next time art lookers. Same Cathal channel, probably at a different time.

Something chilly

November 28, 2016

It's that time of year when the deathtrap, cave of paint becomes glacial. Brain has lost track of my toes and my fingers have just comeback online.

I made paint appear on canvas , see below.

Ive seen all I've seen, 26 cm x26 cm, oil on deep edge canvas

burnt intentions, 26 cm x 26 cm ,oil on deep edge canvas

generations tear us apart, oil on deep edge canvas, 122cm x76cm

Something about teeth and faces

November 15, 2016

I've had an odd week. Due to life gremlins everything has taken twice as long as it should've done. On another note, my usually dependable teeth have decided to revolt. My teeth according to the dentist are great, except for that pesky upper right wisdom tooth that has started to decay. Wisdom tooth pain ain't clever.

Enough about my oral complications. I made these things happen today.

generation chiaroscuro, oil on canvas, 9" x 9"