Author’s Note: Every Saturday, I share my art practice over the past 7 days. I'm fascinated by artistic practice – it's not just about creating art but the entire process. From influences and ideas to materials and skills, each artist's unique approach shapes their work, making it more than just a finished piece. Just imagine having a weekly update from your favourite living artist. How cool would that be? (I’m not saying I’m your favourite living artist, but if Jean Dubuffet had a weekly blog, I’d read it! Or if Sophie Von Hellerman had a Substack, I’d pay to read it.)
If this piece is too long for email, you can read it here in Substack. Or download the app.
Speaking of Sophie Von Hellerman
You know when you see a painting, and it takes your breath away? Do you stare at it for ages in awe? Well, that happened to me when I saw one of her paintings at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK.
I’m sure you’ll agree: it’s a beautiful, ethereal piece. The sheer scale of it inspired me to go bigger with my work. You don’t have to be afraid to paint on a larger scale, something I have embraced of late.
Since I first saw her art in Margate, I’ve followed her on Instagram. Every new post truly inspires and uplifts me. I loved seeing her artwork on the wall of her staircase and also on a table of hers. Truly great artists just want to paint on everything!
Check out her beautiful artwork on Instagram here.
The Stats
Substack (Thanks a million to my 1 paid Subscriber, you’ve stuck with me when others left, you know who you are!).
There’s more reach and more engagement since the previous week, but no increase in followers. I’m still enjoying the process, it’s only been a couple of weeks, so I’ll keep posting reels because I’m a reeeeel bad man. If you’d like to check out my reels and follow me there, please do!
No studio time this week, sadly
I had Tuesday planned for my afternoon 90-minute sesh, but my baby had a sickness bug, which then got passed on to my wife, and we were all off sick on Monday and Tuesday of this week. We’re all on the mend now, so it’s all good.
This coming Wednesday: I will have from 3:00pm - 5:30pm at the studio. I’ll be starting a new piece.
Exhibitions in the pipeline
1. Trespasso
I’ve got two dates in mind for TRESPASSO, or 20th July or 17th August 2024. I’m just checking with the venue. A reminder to those who may not have seen this, I’ve been exploring Trespasso as a concept for an art series as a way to foster real, deep human connection through silence and eye contact.
The venue is unusual, but why not show art in unusual spaces? It doesn’t just have to be in galleries. I’d like to make use of the cooking facilities to have some live cooking going too.
My initial notes for the event:
I was thinking of having a bit of local focus, it’ll be a great community and cultural event for the town.
- SLART and Paul Eardley local artists
- The Food Space - Local commercial kitchen space
- The Pick Up Point - Chef, Josh West
- Local Beer Company - Hop Kettle and Tap Brew
- Local DJ - DJ Dust
- Local Ice Cream - Ray's (Based in the venue)2. Art Fair in Brussels (November 2024)
This is the art fair at www.art3f.fr/en/bruxelles, my curator invited me to come along, she will be there selling my art (with a commission fee of course) and that will give me the freedom to enjoy the event :-). I am sure she will transport the art there as well, I need to check this, one should never assume.
I will take my wife and daughter along for a weekend trip. My wife isn’t into art but my daughter is still small enough not to have a choice whether to view it or not LOL. I’d like for her to be into art, but what will be, will be.
Chat GPT views and analyses my painting!
I was in awe sharing this the other day, others didn’t seem to be as amazed as I was. Ok sure, it won’t replace a human art critic who can feel the art, but it gave a good description and analysis. Decide for yourself and comment below.
This is the artwork GPT analysed.
Mills messes with The Best
(Mills Baker) and chat about all things AI, Substack, New Orleans, design, and whether he believes in God. A highly engaging chat that I recommend you check out below. Mills Baker, Head of Design at Substack, and Chris Best, CEO, are both deeply involved in the platform. It's especially great to see Mills in person; he is an intelligent, engaging and funny individual with whom I often interact inside Substack Notes, its own ‘social media’ platform.
Working at Substack?
Well, I had the crazy idea to ask Substack CEO
for a job. (He probably didn’t see it, I didn’t get a reply).
I figured that there was no harm in asking. I’ve got nothing to lose. I’d rather work a day job that had some meaning that would contribute to the improvement of Substack.
I’ll just leave it to the wind, let’s see what happens.
If you feel like it, restack my Note below:
Thank you for joining me in my art practice for this week.
Best wishes,
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