Day: April 21, 2017

I have asked a great deal of myself in the art I am painting for my degree show which must be hung on 22 May. I have been inspired by what Picasso said as he exhibited Guernica. He declared ‘art was not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war against brutality and darkness’. I would add that it is an instrument against Indifference also. Inspired by seeing Guernica and the art Of Francis Bacon and Leon Golub, I dared to paint what concerns me in our world; Wars! seemingly being fought without regard for the innocents who get in the way and without seriously trying to settle our differences peacefully on our tiny planet; Abandonment of the most vulnerable in our society to difficult lives and untold suffering; And not taking care of our environment – soon it could be too late.

Somehow we individuals have to cope with all this and still live our lives. I don’t have the answers but maybe Chuang Tzu does;

He who rules men lives in confusion;
He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.
Yao therefore desired
Neither to influence others
Nor to be influenced by them.
The way to get clear of confusion
And free of sorrow
Is to live with Tao
In the land of the great Void.

If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty.
He would not be shouting, and not angry.

If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you.

The straight tree is the first to be cut down,
The spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.
If you wish to improve your wisdom
And shame the ignorant,
To cultivate your character
And outshine others;
A light will shine around you
As if you had swallowed the sun and the moon:
You will not avoid calamity.

A wise man has said:
“He who is content with himself
Has done a worthless work.
Achievement is the beginning of failure.
Fame is beginning of disgrace.”

Who can free himself from achievement
And from fame, descend and be lost
Amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen,
He will go about like Life itself
With no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction.
To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power.
He achieves nothi00ng, has no reputation.
Since he judges no one
No one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:
His boat is empty. -Chuang Tzu

I have painted a Triptych of an empty boat. It is still a work in progress and I am seeking a final image in inspiration from Luc Tuymans and Dali from the subconscious. So far my Triptych looks like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The numbers of young men and women sleeping rough on the streets of our major cities have been increasing rapidly. Someone on a TV documentary on the problem said that we are just one paycheque away from the streets. I a world where social services look to help those in need – can this really be true? Many of those sleeping rough do seem to have mental health issues – It just seems possible to fall out of the system and once out it looks very hard to get back in. I spoke with some of the homeless and it makes depressing listening. I was told by Jane that benefits for a single person are £150 a fortnight but a hostel place costs £22 a night. To get benefits yo have to attend meetings but if you don’t have a computer or an address you don’t get the letters.

Jimmy told me he had taken to the streets after his wife had died. On the streets he can get the cash for some food and the bevvies to blot everything out for a while.. I have watched beggars on the street. Some ask for cash others sit silently and the world seems to walk past.

 

 

 

The Governments of many countries have become alarmed at its scale of human trafficking and are looking to curb it with new legislation. Many propose the so-called Scandinavian Law that simply makes it illegal for someone to pay another human being for Sex. It has already been introduced in Sweden, France and Northern Ireland. A report by the UK’s Home Affairs Select Committee is expected to recommend that the law should be brought in for the rest of the UK  and it could happen very soon.

Will it make any difference to the lives of young women affected?

In 2015, I painted a landscape where I showed a crossroads depicting how difficult life can sometimes be. Just arriving at the crossroads is shown to be fraught with difficulty. Once there sometimes we face terrible dilemmas as to the best way to turn. The safest route is not always the clearest.

For my Degree Show I returned to this difficult topic and I felt I needed to address it directly with the introduction of human figures. My large Crossroads image is 110x110cm painted in oils on board.

I also focus on the women themselves with a portrait, trying to depict their vulnerability. The painting in oil on canvas is A1 size. It is still a work in progress at the time of this blog.