Hello and welcome to 2021, what has it got in store? Time to find out.
I will start by sharing this commissioned painting:
Temple Bar, Dublin. 2020
120cm x 80cm
Created with handcut stencils, spray paint on canvas.
The client has a special part in their hearts for Dublin and were married a short distance outside of the city and this painting depicts the famous Temple Bar area in the centre of the city. I was lucky to be able to visit Dublin at the start of 2020, before everything got locked down to capture the photograph that would be the reference for this painting. Yes, this is a painting. I have always said that looking at my works on a screen do not do them the same justice as experiencing them in person.
The subject matter that I describe as "Urban Landscape" paintings is what I would create on the regular after leaving art college in 2006. I stopped doing them around 10 years ago until 4 years ago when I painted one showing a street in Sorrento. It is nice to jump back from time to time to paint like this. I would use my camera to capture a vibe, a feeling of the city that would be my subject, from Glasgow to Rome. It was the perfect to develop my skills of cutting stencils, and this painting was created using 7 layers of intricate and detailed hand cut stencils. So back when people would ask me what I use to create paintings and I would say stencils, their immediate reaction would be "Oh, like Banksy!" I think it is safe to say that this is nothing like Banksy.
The pandemic has thrown so much in the air and continues to do so. The routine of getting to the studio has needed to be adapted and I'm doing what is necessary to get things done. But what the lockdowns and restrictions have given me is time with my ultimate work in progress, my kids. It hasn't all been easy but I am thankful that I am able to spend so much time with them and still be able to get to the studio. It is currently all go in the studio with preparing for some outdoor activity so please stay tuned to this space but also keep up to date tjrough my Instagram as well.