New work

This piece is a combination of rubber stamps, pen an d ink which is then water coloured. It is 35 cm x 12 cms on illustration board. The title is ' Do I have to hand you everything on a plate?'. The original is available for sale for £160, or a hand signed, hand finished print for the princely sum of £35.

Due to the limitations of my scanner some of the detail on the extreme right has been left out. It is 34 cms x 17 cms on illustration board. The meaning is quite clear, where we often mistake the mundane and ordinary for miracles of supernatural origin. That is partly wishful thinking I am sure! We all long for evidence that there is more to life and our existence that we know, we long for validation.  The original is £200, and the signed, hand finished print is £40.

The next five pieces are tiny little works 7cms x 8.5 cms on illustration board. This one is titled 'Clowns are such a cliche', and is rubber stamps, pen and ink , watercolours. The original is £45

7cms x 8.5 cms on illustration board. The title is 'Don't ask me to explain'. £45 for the original.

 'Just one (little) screw'. When I was 14 , I was accosted by a flasher on the way to school, he kept repeating those words. Innocent little me thought he was referring to his bicycle parts, and was asking for help! Mixed media on illustration board. 7cms x8.5 cms. £45

'The moon looks lonely'. When I was small I was obsessed by the fact that I could see the moon's features, to me it was a person. It bothered me that it was floating around all alone for all eternity. i had a tendency to project my feelings onto people and objects that surrounded me. 7cms x 8.5cms on illustration board. £45 for the original.

'Ovum', This piece relates to a discussion I had once about gender, fertility and procreation. No matter how we progress as a race, there are fundamental things we just can't change. 7cms x 8.5cms on illustration board. £45 for the original.

These pieces show another side to my work. As much as I enjoy the intricate, convoluted pages of my sketchbooks, I do like to express thoughts, ideas and memories in a more immediate way. Ideas that stand alone rather than be part of something else. I do have a lot of these , although they tend to go quickly!

Moleskine update

The Royal wedding and all the strange circus that goes along with it.

Eve tempting Adam with an apple, not having much else to offer him.

the inspiration quote comes from David Hockney, i think it is genius! You have to meet inspiration half way.

This page is not yet finished and I will talk about it once it reveals itself to me.

I'm not sure adding captions with explanatory texts is doing what I hoped it would. It seems to me that by offering an explanation the images are shrinking, and the meaning is becoming limited and not a little trite. The words I add are really just a very small part of what I put into the picture, I hold a lot back because the images are at times deeply intimate and overly revealing (to my eyes at least!). I hope I am leaving enough room to allow the viewer to see something else, something more. sadly, people don't have the time or inclination to engage in lengthy debates these days.

Moleskine updates

The completed version from the previous post. There is an eternal struggle from a mother's point of view , between the strong maternal urge to hold onto, protect and smother your child and the pressure to loosen the apron strings and prepare your child to go out into the big bad world.  The hardest thing to achieve is a healthy balance.

This is a mother who by normal standards has failed. Her idea of good mothering is to retain parts of her loved ones in a macabre, frightening way. The sex of the central figure is usually female simply because it is what I know. A lot of these attributes would apply to the male sex but I am not an authority on male feelings. I would appreciate some input on this subject.

No matter how we live our lives it always ends the same. No matter how wealthy, how powerful we are, it can't save us from the ultimate fate.

Moleskine pages

There are people who think they haveGod given rights to guide everyone to their truth. Those who resist are seen as ungreatful, stubborn and stupid. A lot of people are taken in by these seemingly authoratative beings and are seduced by their assuredness. I tend to view them with utmost suspicion, I  look gift horses in the mouth and conform to all assorted cliches. I just find it hard to believe that someone gives you something for nothing, if they do, it is probably sub-standard  anyway! Maybe I am too much of a cynic.

God  craps on our fantasies . He does that by allowing us to dream, imagine, and get carried away by our wants and needs. He then reads them in the toilet and has a good laugh. We pretend to be OK with it.

This one is a bit complicated, so I will only address part of it. The part about being owned by our genes. We all like to think we are unique and original but the sad scientific facts tell us otherwise. And an instrumental is a step lower than a song.

This one again deals with being consumed by those we love even more than by those we don't. Being human is so much harder than being pure animal. We are aware of so much but can control so little. The cosmic joke is on us! It is not quite finished but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Moleskine pages, new ones!

 Continuing the people watching theme, I include the women who feel they have nothing to offer but their physical bodies. Usually ending up with a host of children who pay a high price. These women are pretty easy to spot, But I never get used to it. they always make me feel sad.

then you get the people who get through life acting helpless and clueless hoping someone else will pick up their shit and clear up their mess. When two of this type come together, disaster ensues. It is a good idea to steer clear of this type as they are takers and give nothing in return.

Moleskine update, a few new pages

 A few new pages from my current Moleskine. I have been studying human personality traits, and how we humans adopt certain behaviours without being aware of them. Like those who have a deep seated need to be heroes and are constantly on the lookout for unfortunates to save.

 Then there are those who know they are black sheep and rather than improve their own conduct, look to persuade others to join them down the wrong path. There are plenty of willing 'victims' who are happy to be led astray.

We have those with a controlling nature where they feel the need to be in charge of everything and everyone. They believe that the world can't function without their input. Sometimes I sit back and people watch, at times motives and urges are burningly obvious to the onlooker, At others they are better disguised. In all cases they are compelling. They provide the grist to my mill, long may we continue!

An occasional dose of culture, Alex Mazhari

Alex Mazhari is a young artist, a recent graduate of Brighton University and a in my humble opinion a very talented artist.Alex has a brand new blog where you can see more of his brilliance!
http://alexmazhari.blogspot.com/