hello blackbird

Artist Statement

2010-03-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

I said id post this last time i was on here to here it is

My work stems from an interest in scientific illustration, the workings of classification and the way their information is portrayed such as taxonomy, typology and topography to name a few.There is an underlying yearning for understanding, but due to having dyslexia, I can only take my research from a shallow and mostly visual level. This feeling is what I want to portray to the viewer. Although creating a seemingly scientific illustration, I have removed all information so the visual language of labelling becomes abstraction, combining to produce a purely aesthetic image.Creating a pseudo scientific collection, I aim to rick the viewer into reading the images in a way to retrieve information, but then to realise that that is impossible and finally take them on an aesthetic level.

Here is some of my recent work aswell to break up the text.

i wanted to bring the idea of collection into the work and i was inspired by Richard Barnes' photographs of taxidermy exhibitions in storage to enclose my drawings in simple boxes.

Exhibition!?

2010-03-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

so i have to put on an exhibition for my course, and me and a friend had requested to put up our work in this little gallery/coffee shop in the northern quater. i heard back from them and they are only interested in my work, as they feel Jennys work wouldnt suit there space.
now im putting on a SOLO SHOW! im shitting myself. iv got a huge feeling no one will come!! the time slot also starts during the easter break so thats not going to help matters. all in all i think my head is going to explode!
heres a link to Grindsmith, the gallery im going to be in http://grindsmith.com/

last of the birds??!!??!!?

2010-02-28T15:17:00.001-08:00

probably not, but this is the last of the ones i did before moving onto larger greater things

also watching Bill Baileys bird watching bonanza, its maybe the best show ever.

scans

2010-02-28T12:54:00.000-08:00

just got back from the library where i scanned some of my work from my sketchbooks. alot more mammals rather than just birds. the past few weeks iv been looking for a place to exhibit as its compulsory for my course. pretty scary asking people to look at my work in a gallery enviroment. i hope it goes well. im going to write my artist statement tomorow to go with my work, if i do il post it.

something old

2010-02-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

this is a painting a did for my girlfriend last year. i really like it so im going to post it. its oil on lining paper

where did that year go?

2010-02-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

so its been almost a year since i last posted. im really terrible at this. im mostly blameing my lack of scanner, but i could easily over come that by going to the library, ahh well. iv got some images of drawings i made at the begining of the project im doing at the moment so im going to stick them up.
suprisingly they are mostly birds.... but my work is focusing on scientific illustration and how removing information can change how they are read and maybe be taken on their aestetic merits. i really need to sit down and try and verbalise what im doing, but i find that thats the hardest part of making work. iv also tried to experiment with mark making, hoping to bring some pattern into the simplicity of the illustrations iv been looking at. iv got a mind map on my wall. i may take a picture of that and put it here so hopefully anyone looking at this will understand it abit better.

Steve Kim

2009-04-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

not alot of art has happened because of easter with family but now everythings calmed down iv been chilling and browsing the sites (juxtapoz, designyoutrust, fffound). I came across Steve Kim and although i do like his work, it was more his artist statement that i was interested in:

"Although I wish I could say otherwise, my paintings typically begin with an unpretentious, but slightly embarrassing,"Hey, that's neat. That looks fun to paint". If I'm lucky I'll have my camera with me, but more often than not it's something duly noted and set aside.

It is with this attitude that I pick out photos to paint from. I browse the ever-expanding collection of pictures I've taken and when one catches my eye—for whatever reason at all—I go ahead and paint it. I don't particularly revel in my use of photography. I am not mediating between its role in the arts or painting specifically. I use it because it's practical, and alternatives do not exactly abound. Luckily, I like photography and post processing, so I happen to know enough to discern how it might influence my painting for better or worse."

it hit a note with as i feel that thats how i do my work but there doesnt seem to be a place for this in art, atleast this is what my tutors tell me, forcing meaning into my work. this really doesnt help my work, as i get over whelmed and think to much and my work stagnates n becomes to contrived. its nice to see someone being successful who feels similarly to me.

http://www.stevekim.net/index.html

The Birds!

2009-04-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

drawing birds is so easy, all you have to do its get the kind of right, and no one will question it which is a nice change from portraiture. so i drew a few birds with a soluble pen i got earlier then started to destroy them with water, with varying results. on normal cartridge paper and greese proof paper, i ended up with two massive blobs. i had got some canvas paper earlier aswel so i gave that a go and it worked well. i recon it must be that its sealed or something. here are the results. awful pics, il scan em at some point. yey 3 posts.

The begining

2009-04-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

So iv found my work is really slow at the moment and i decided a blog would help me get my ideas down in one place hopefully get me moving again.Im new to blogging so im not really sure what to do so any help or input from anyone who happens upon this would very much aprieciated.
Im Pete and i live in Manchester where i studying a degree in fine art painting at Manchester Met.
I think il leave it there for now but im going to post again very soon. Heres one of the only pieces iv actaully been happy with recently.

p.s sorry for the rubbish quality pic