Paintingmatters

One for the diary. Private view for 'The Sadler Gift', the ex VC of Leeds University considered an 'art visonary in the North of England' Tuesday 6th Sept. 6pm. All Welcome. 'The Sadler Gift' 100 years ago this September, Sir Michael Sadler came to the University of Leeds as its new Vice Chancellor. Sadler, a visionary educationalist and major collector of British modernist art, stayed at Leeds until 1923. He was pivotal in shaping the artistic world in Leeds during his time there, by his involvement in the Leeds Art Club, the Leeds Art Gallery and in helping found the Leeds Art Collections Fund. Upon leaving in 1923, he left the University a substantial gift of paintings, drawings, prints and textiles. 100 years later, the Sadler Gift still represents the core of the University Art Collection. Certainly, Sadler's collection set the direction for the University Art Collection, with its focus on British modernism. To mark the centenary of Sadler's a

I want to congratulate the students from Leeds College of Art for their exhibition  Tacit Knowledge part of Free Range 2011.  Also to thank them for visiting me in my studio and for reviewing my practice for my pending exhibition, A Fakes Progress , to be held in Belfast in September.  Also many Thanks to Lewis Paul for joining in and discussing his current project, Tweed Canoe . 

Watch+Listen - Hammer Museum

Amy Sillman, U.S. of Alice the Goon 2008 Mary Heilmann Blood on the Tracks 2005 The following information is from the linked website and is a direct quotation.  'Oranges and Sardines: Conversations on Abstract Painting with Mark Grotjahn, Wade Guyton, Mary Heilmann, Amy Sillman, Charline von Heyl, and Christopher Wool The title for the exhibition is borrowed from American poet Frank O’Hara’s poem  Why I Am Not a Painter , which reflects on the elusiveness of the creative process, often resulting in a finished work that bears no resemblance to its initial inspiration. Oranges and Sardines  hopes to offer manifold examples of abstraction’s inventive potential and will suggest varied reasons why it remains vital and essential to contemporary art. Similarly, the works of the six artists who have developed the exhibition may be viewed with more complex appreciation and more insightful understanding. Oranges and Sardines  will be accompanied by a catalogue that will include a

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBz8uzJEJxI

'Why do artists continue to paint ? Does painting have an intrinsic value ?' These questions were the  focus of the debate held at the ICA in November 2010 i n 'the lead up to Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2010 at the ICA'. Bruce McLean, Vanessa Jackson, Margarita Gluzberg and Mark Leckey took part in this discussion, considering the current state of painting. Chaired by ICA curator David Thorp. see ICA website.  The comments made by Mark Leckey in relation to his trouble with painting I consider p ertinent  he states his desire of 'not just wanting to look at paintings but wanting to be in them'. Some of the artists that are mentioned within this discussion I have also added links to.  Christopher Wool (  Born 1955. Lives and works in New York City) http://wool735.com/cw/images/ Kerry James Marshall  (born in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama)  Kerry James Marshall: On Museums | Art21 "Exclusive"  http://youtu.be/G5mIklsZl5s

The exhibition, Painting at the Edge of the World held at Walker Art Centre  in Minneapolis, 10 February – 6 May 2001. [1] The Associate curator of visual Arts, Douglas Fogle was the organiser and curator. Painting at the Edge of the World was conceived as a two-fold project, placing equal emphasis on the exhibited paintings and the catalogue of essays. Fogle was also responsible for editing the catalogue; it has the feel and weight of a small telephone directory. Fogle predictably acknowledges the old troupes of paintings painful death [2] but it is Bois’ paraphrased [3] conclusion from Painting: The task of mourning , that Fogle takes up the positive affirmation that ’If some painting is still to come, if painters are still to come, they will not come from where you expect them to’. [4] In his own essay The Trouble with Painting, Fogle addresses, ‘the ontology of painting, the very nature of it’s being.’ [5] He considers a philosophical repositioning of painting, and as

It was not until the millennium that painting exhibitions became prevalent or of significant complexity. Exhibition reviews rely heavily on the availability of the exhibition catalogue, which according to Mary Kelly ‘gives particular permanence to temporary events, [and] an authenticity in the form of historical testimony’. [1] The survey catalogue provides a permanent record of the works selected along with the official and authoritve view and curatorial commentary, detailing which paintings were considered important at a given time and worthy of presentation to the public. The choice of survey exhibitions and their exhibition catalogues as a process legitimised of review and analysis is that they provide an extant  ‘proper’ record of painting; they have overtime become a legitimised ‘authoritve’ source of reference particularly when an established art institution commissions and/or produces it. The catalogue also provides a resource for historic reference as a document from which

'M exhibition proudly presents the best of an eclectic, vibrant group of young artists who are revealing their new work in a showcase at the centre of Leeds. Sheltered under the never-before used space of railway arches, their practices range from intricate paintings to controversial, conceptual sculptures.  This fusion of various artists exploring new ideas, with materials ranging from pencil and paint to human blood and cremated remains, offers a unique and exciting collaboration of today's latest contemporaries. ' I just wanted to say how fantastic the P.V was of the 2nd year exihibtion WELL done, it was heaving. Also really great to see how the work has progressed from the start of the new year.Thank to every one that turned up for the Wednesday crits at the gallery even when fully aware of the cold conditions! link to M catalogue below. http://www.m-exhibition.co.uk/catalogue.html

I have been requested to advise on how to varnish an oil painting. It's important to make absolutly sure that the painting is dry. ( The 'experts' recomend 6 months but it really depends on the conditions and the layers / thinkness of the paint. )  It's important to use the right kind of brush and to keep one just for this job. see link. http://painting.about.com/od/artsupplies/ig/Intro-to-Art-Paint-Brushes/Brush-VarnishNew.htm Varnish is more than simply a layer to protect your painting from pollution in the atmosphere and abrasion. It will also bring out the colors to the brilliance they had when you applied them. 1.             Ensure your painting is completely dry. Allow several months for an oil painting to dry properly. Depending on the thickness of the paint, this could be up to nine months. 2.             Clean the painting so it's free from dust, dirt, and grease. Lay the painting flat, then dampen a bit of cotton wool with clean water

http://channel.tate.org.uk/tateshots-blog/2011/02/10/tateshots-callum-innes-studio-visit/

 The two alternative 'traditional' surfaces for oil painting are linen and canvas. For canvas you  can use either acrylic primer for a white surface (or what ever colour you desire) or an animal size. (You can also get size non animal size. I will get some of this in for when Richard does his master class on support/structure making for painting. I will post the date as soon as it's arranged. Primer brushes,  Canvas pliers, These really do need to be tried out/demonstrated to make sense of. Just thought it would be worth showing you how beautiful linen is when it is sized with R.Skin, such a great colour. Any way this post is to pre-empt Richard's master class and remind me to make sure we have all the materials /equipment that we need.

 I love all of these images, the two coloured ones were taken in artists studios, both are from group exhibition catalogue covers in the 1980s. The top image is Gillian Aryes and the bottom Frank Auerbach with his painting 'Vincent Terrace 1982-84' the title reveals that this painting took him two years to complete. You can almost smell the really oily dank paint and the turpentine its fabulous that the blistered paint work on the walls echo the painting.  Someone said they hated oil paint....(as they were trying to wash it off under the tap!) if you don't know how to clean it up it can be a nightmare. I love oil paint but only my own so I will be posting up some cleaning tips how very exciting!. The black and white image is of a performance by Janine Antoni 'Loving care', I think it's a great painting.