As a result of the renovations, and the current lack of a functioning studio, I've not had much in the way of time or space to produce any new artwork – and therefore not much to write about. But today I was making travel plans with the art journalist, Holly Howe, for our trip to next year's Venice Biennale (every two years Holly, myself, and a small group of art insiders schlep over to Venice for the craziness, and parties of the Biennale's opening week) when I remembered an old accounts book that I had found in the streets on my 2015 visit to Venice, when I was over there, taking part in the Rob Pruitt's Art Flea Market, pop-up event. That year, when I returned home to London, I brought the book back with me, and used it as a sketchbook in which I made some fast and playful charcoal and acrylic sketches/paintings. As you might already know from some of my previous work, I have a fondness for scrawling on old books and printed text.
As a creative exercise I like to set aside time to produce a certain amount of drawings, executed without much in the way of forethought, just to see what it throws up. Some of them work, and many of them don't – but either way, it's a good way of getting the creative juices flowing, and of maintaining the enjoyment of one's art practice. So here's a few examples of these loose paintings and charcoal sketches.
I'm not sure why I thought of painting this creature, with its cactus horns, but it probably triggered the thought of the bunny-eared figure below - which now I look at it, reminds me of a kinda steroidal version of the rabbit character from the film Donnie Darko.
To see more of my scrawlings from this found object check out my Oodles of Doodles blog – which I've also been neglecting for far too long.
