Research Matters

At times when I have produced a series of paintings I decide to change direction and start on a new project.  This project is inspired by this photo of my grandfather who served in World War I.  He is the one lying down on the left.  I have joined a seven week course at the Wolverhampton archives where I am trying to locate his whereabouts during the war.

Like a work of art this process is proving to be a lengthy one.  I have been using the microfiche to look through Express and Star newspapers from 1918, the end of the war and working my way backwords to try and find information.  There is so much information about the war I have only managed to look through six newpapers to date.  This reminded me of films where the character finds what they are looking for in about five minutes, but in the everday use of the internet we can find information quickly and easily so this has learnt me to slow down.

                                                      Remembrance (4)

I have found a document containing my grandad's medal roll,  this is after 5 weeks of looking.  I have also found his service records on Ancestry but have to wait till next Monday to gain access to them.  After I have collated all the information together I am hoping this will bring some inspiration for my next artwork.  I have always been interested in the military uniforms and camouflage patterns. This includes the dazzle camouflage.  I am looking forward to my next collection of artwork inspired by one of the most inspirational people I ever met.

Let Them Eat Cake

The work entitled Let them eat cake (22) is from the Let them eat cake series I am working on.  These artworks are based on Marie Antoinette's time spent at Le Petit Trianon which was her retreat away from the formalites of court life.  I have chosen to represent this time with how I imagined her stay there to be, filled with love of nature, blue skies and animals roaming free. The first three in the series were collages with a theme of nature.

                    

I then began to try and abstract some of the images I had found of Marie Antoinette, this includes the Plate 'paintings' I created by using broken china with a theme of nature and  highly decorative motifs.  These were formed into large squares and circles. 

                                     

                                              Let them eat cake (21)

For the Work Let them eat cake (22) I used buttons instead of plates to abstract my ideas further.

                                                  

                                            Let them eat cake (22)

I am now working on some paintings using vaious paints and collages of animals.  These are entitled 'Animals at Le Petit Trianon'

For more work based on the Let them eat cake series please visit my website www.whitetreestudiosandgallery.com

Cutting out

I have been away from the studio for a few days and have to say that I have been inspired.  I went to London to see Tracy Emin's show, Love is what you want.  And have to ask why she called it that?  She hasn't entitled it Love is what I want.

I have to say that I wanted to burst out laughing at some of the things she had written on her blankets, but it was so quiet I didn't think it was appropriate.  Because there is so much of her work on show it is hard to digest it all at once.  I really liked some of the mono prints and would like to try this technique out for myself.  The exhibition itself was thought provoking as well as being poignant at times.

After that Bev, Sarah and I went to the Tate modern and I have to say I was really surprised by the volume of people in there.  I have been on many occasions and have to say the Jackson Pollock is still my favourite.  We tried to get into the Anish Kapoor piece of work which is supposed to be interactive but has been cordoned off for some reason,  I wonder if the artist knows this as his intention is for the public to go inside the work.  This didn't put Bev off going inside for a sneaky peak though.

The real inspiration for me was the view when you leave the Tate Modern and met with my favourite view of all time..........

St. Paul's from the Millennium Bridge.  We decided to climb the to the top and I have to say that the views were spectacular although we only had 35 minutes to do it in which I don't recommend.  We all wanted to go to the Tate Britain but we had ran out of time so we are planning another trip soon.

Now to get on with some of my own artwork........

I heart Bilston

Milton Glaser was in the back of a yellow taxi in Manhattan when he experienced the “eureka” moment that would define his life.

It was 1977 and the American graphic designer had been asked to come up with a logo that would regenerate the fortunes of New York State. He pulled a red crayon from his pocket and began to sketch on the back of an envelope: first an “I”, then the simple outline of a heart, followed by two letters, “N” and “Y”.

Glaser’s doodle contained the germ of one of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time — so successful, in fact, that the torn envelope bearing his original idea is now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

                                 

This leads me indirectly to my idea for my next artworks.  I don't think for one minute there is an American home with a landscape from Wolverhampton or Bilston, yet homes all over the British Isles are furnished with the Manhattan skyline, the gridiron and the Brooklyn bridge etc...

So I've decided to photograph some landmarks from Wolverhampton and the surrounding area.

These photographs will make up the background for my images.  I want to use Milton's logo I heart NY but replace the NY with motifs of drawings of iconic imagery from the Staffordshire area.  For example horse brasses and pottery etc....I have used these images in my artwork Regimental which is shown in the previous blog.  Its so great to get out of the studio for a while as you can become very isolated.  It can also be a great conversation starter as people are interested in why you are photographing buildings and landmarks.

Please send me any suggestions for landmarks in the surrounding area to white.tree3@yahoo.co.uk

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My Studio space

How important is the studio space to an artist?  sometimes it can be detrimental to an artist to be locked within their studio for too long a time.  An artist needs inspiration and feedback to get the best results.  That's why I've decided to spend some time out of the studio with my sketchbook and camera to get some new ideas going.

I've spent the best part of four weeks in the studio producing 'Regimental' a kaleidoscopic painting based on Staffordshire, with images from canal boats, shire horses, etc... Now its time to get outside.

Here are some of the architectural features I have taken around the Chapel ash area of Wolverhampton for the arts festival we are holding in September.  These images are a start to collating information about the area.  It really is astounding the things you find when you start looking properly.

                                                      Detail of Cornice by Clarendon pub

              
                                                    Detail of Cornice by Dulux paint shop

I have looking at the history of the Chapel ash area and have already found that it used to be known for a healing spa and the home of an Olympic gold medalist.

Chris Brooke: Technical drawings.

           

I first met Chris at university where we were both studying fine art.  Chris is going to study for his MA at Wimbledon.

Chris Brooke’s contemporary fine art practice involves drawing, printing and 3-dimensional work. His means of practicing tend to coincide with one another, which depicts the relations between these different processes. Brooke’s ‘Variation of IV’ is four 3-Dimensional grids, formed from a basic grid structure. They are succinctly leant against the wall from a height emphasising the 3-Dimensions of the artwork. They show order; control and disparity from one another showing a finite way of how you can keep a set formality of a structure through varying its arrangement.

                           

                                               Blue Grid

                            

                                                Black Grid                      

Drawings and printing are equally important to Brooke’s practice as they accommodate further possibilities in his artwork. From the development of these drawings Brooke creates structural objects that demonstrate many ways of showing how the drawings can work by using materials such as rulers, clamps and other DIY tools. Using the function of the tools shows how they can converge to combine and form as one unity, yet distinctively showing the construction of the artwork.

Brooke has a profound interest in functionality of structures in everyday life. Simultaneously his focus is on the development of diagrams which show complex ideas through a simple narrative. These notions are clearly attentive in and throughout his practice