blackfisharts ABOUT my art

I am infatuated with 'place', a sense of place and our place within it and that art is a collision of the intellect and the visceral.  Abstraction excites me.  The struggle, in painting, continues to align concept/vision with ability, the technical aspects. This is why I work every day. The mornings are for computer work, admin, tidying (maybe), sorting, research and reading/writing. Working daily, on various projects and ideas I paint in the afternoons, across media including oil, acrylic, pastel and watermedia. Looking back on the last year, the struggle to abstraction continues. You can see abstractions in other artworks i do including artist books, asemic, prints, ipad drawings, photography and drawing.  1. search the label on this blog.  2. (check out the last 12 days of ' looking back' (label).

  Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 12 - chemigram. 2024 i discovered chemigrams and played (a lot) ... love what comes from process based art play. (wikipedia) Process. A chemigram is made by  painting with chemicals on photographic paper  and lies within the general domain of experimentation in the visual arts. It requires the use of materials from silver halide-based photography (light-sensitive paper, developer, and fixer), but it is not a photograph.

  Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 11 - artist books. I create books using photography, abstraction, altered books, books holding creative exercises, ICM, chemigrams and more on various projects. i also hold occasional (winter) workshops on creating artist books.

  Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 10 - IPAD i love using the ipad to create images - inspired by Hockney and Warhol and abstraction.

Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 7 -collage & stitching

Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 6 -asemic

Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 5 - drawing

  Dedicated to #13 ..so, New Year reflections - 13 days of looking back on 13 projects over the last year Day 3 - monoprinting

This was my second trip to Boat Harbour , an idyllic spot to regenerate and fill up my cup again. It is also a time to mark yet another birthday and take the opportunity to go on another #getaway for a few days. Vince came to visit which is unsual as he needs to be dragged away from home and his business.  We spent a lovely day of beach walks, lunch right on the beachfront and the afternoon was spent watching US elections for Trump take the Whitehouse for a second term. lunch at  Seekers Bar & Cafe   beautiful ocean, quaint book exchange & drawings en plein air For art photographs of my time at BOat Harbour go to fyneimages note to self: explore  further afield ,still close by, next time.

  Is your passion a problem ? I am talking about your life's passion. It was a problem for me, for decades, while i worked in a career that paid the bills - but i always sought out 'that other thing' I felt I wanted to do. In my spare time and holidays I photographed, played with digital enhancements, did collage, calligraphy and wrote poetry. Sometimes with some success that was measured in being published and works purchased by private collectors. These days I am following my passion. I spend all day (and evenings) doing stuff - stuff i love - painting, collage, assemblage, photography, book making, slow stitching and writing. I am never bored, I quite like my boss, I enjoy going to work and I don't want to take days off or go out to gatherings, get togethers and coffee mornings. I feel so fortunate. What is your passion ? Do you do the things you love or are you in the process of re-discovering your passions. Perhaps we need to go back to our childhood to re-di...

I am inspired by so many artists .... this i think reflects the diversity that permeates through much of what i do.  So how does this come about ? A large part of my arts practice includes reading, research and seeking out artists of interest. First ... current artists of interest include : Matisse - love the flat shapes and colour Rothko - love the colour, transparency and abstraction Jasper Johns - love his encaustics, ways of working and Cy Twombly - love his mark making and sculptures Andy Warhol - love his use of bright, flat colour his subject matter David Hockney - love his paintings and use of technology in creating art Brett Whiteley - sensuous drawing in exploring space from the model into the landscape Jeff Koons - love his mind - I watch many a talk with him ... here is one. and a documentary here . Tacita Dean - love her work & ideas, writings and her mind. Lovely works here. an interview here William Kentridge - what is not to love about his work and...

i had completely forgotten but was woken with a kiss and a 'happy Valentine's Day love' ... so nice. And then i was into my day ! - dental appointment, picked up some veggies to plant, a load of washing, and 3 hours in the studio painting. and it seems i have to get ready for dinner too .... how nice, feeling that fortunate feeling i get every day. dinner where? its a surprise ! ... we shall see so ... for Valentine's Day i remembered all the hearts i was stitching over time (and a little mosaic) ... here they are ... HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL - i hope you too enjoy the fortunate in your day, time, space. 

I have been looking back in my journals for the past year assessing where to now. There is also a pile of paintings, drawings, cloth etc that are 'finished' which i am going through. This article was prompted by finding/looking at these two paintings (below) - They are so similar, created months apart! I am quite struck by the similarities .... intuitive shapes, marks, values and to a small extent, colour. And the similarity in the final outcome. (acrylic and paintstick). Musing, below, on looking forward, these pieces and the materials i use - plus a little bonus video of the lovely #Snowcone at the bottom of the post. A few projects and ideas for projects have been bouncing around for a couple of years (notes, researching deeper, ideas, drawings, mark making, photos, art of others etc). I paint every day, collage may be daily for a week or so each month, textiles is slow stitching at night and intermittent dyeing, painting cloth etc. Last year i started using my Ipad...