Hopes, Fears, Opportunities

I have been asked to share my hopes, fears and opportunities for the coming year and beyond.
So, here goes.
My hopes and what I wish to achieve this year and after graduation.
First, I'd like to graduate with my desired mark, that is the main aim for this year, after graduation I am hoping to go on and do some teacher training, but I'm still not sure of the specifics.
That was the aim two years ago when I joined the course to be fair but the closer it gets the more important it has become.
Beyond that the hope is to actually go on and teach, possibly at high school level, and continuing to practise and develop my own work around that.
my career choices have been swayed by wanting to secure a happy future for my young family and being a Dad my children are proud off. this was the incentive for joining the course in the first place.

My Fears and what is worrying me about this year, and beyond graduation
I don't have any real fears beyond failing the course, I am confident that I will see it through, but whether I will achieve my desired mark is another thing, that is really my only worry.
throughout the duration of our course we have been repeatedly told, we will get the mark we deserve, so I decided I was going to deserve the mark I want, that way if I don't achieve my desired target, I cant point the finger anywhere but at myself.
So I have approached this year with a new more determined than ever attitude and renewed vigour.
That's pretty much all of it, in way of fears other than the usual snakes and clowns thing anyway.

Opportunities and which events have good potential for me this year, I am of the thinking that every day carries potential it just depends on what you do with the day.
I recently made the mistake of non holding, networking and contacting practitioners as something of major importance as I want to go on and teach and not Illustrate as a career, well full time nine to five anyway.
Within days of coming to that assumption I was proved wrong when I received much assistance, advice and inspiration from practitioners I had contacted and those I had spoken to already.
This led me to realise.
Opportunities rise all the time and as long as I see them when they do I can make the most of them and I suppose that will happen by keeping an open mind.

Well that is my thoughts on fears, hopes and opportunities.

Akse p19, Graffiti vs Vandalism

There is a danger of this post turning into a rant.
On a recent research expedition into the back streets and 'trendy' Northern Quarter of Manchester
I came across a portrait on the electricity substation on Tib Street.
The portrait was of Walter White, the main protagonist from the television series Breaking Bad.
The Artist is Akse p19, a spray can artist working out of Manchester, who working with 'out house project' a team working toward creating street art in and around the Northern Quarter are of Manchester City Centre.
The Out House Project support and are sponsored by local businesses in the Northern Quarter also.

http://outhousemcr.thecolouringbox.co.uk/

Anyway my main point... that after the time, work, effort, money and talent that went into the portrait, it was vandalised.

                       

There was some opposition to the piece as it depicted Walter White, a fictional bumbling drug dealer,

it was said to 'glorify' crime and 'rub people who have battles substance abuser's nose in it'.

It was seeing the art work in the latter state that the I realised graffiti is not vandalism, vandalism is something else and I was stood looking at the perfect example of how the two are different.

Before the content of the piece is even taken into consideration the skill and aesthetics of the work are immediately apparent.

Even if you didn't agree with what it was 'saying' why would you want to spoil something that looks so good? I could not get my head around the fact, people had a problem with it as it 'condoned crime' then those same people cheered when it was criminally damaged and left looking like the back of a toilet door in a pub. 

After mulling it over decided to try and find the answers, and so this is going to be the topic of my dissertation. 

Is Graffiti, Vandalism? (or along those lines) its a working title.

The irony.

A Round Up Since Last Time I Blogged

Apologies for the extensive delay in blogging! it has been down to a mixture of being busy with commission work, other uni work, family life and I must admit a certain amount of procrastination.

In the early part of the summer I stumbled across a Japanese artist, Riusuke Fukahori, who paints three dimensional fish built up by layers of resin.
This stood out for me as I had experimented a couple of times during my course with sculpture,
(well shaping things from florist foam anyway) but after seeing this, the intricacy of the process and the skill of the actual painting I think I will leave it to the experts from now on!

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/01/riusuke-fukahori-paints-three-dimensional-goldfish-embedded-in-layers-of-resin/

                                      

Between working and chasing kids around this Summer I did manage to find some time to do some painting.

After years of working in black and white with the occasional cameo by one of the primary colours, I decided now was the time to blow the dust of my colour wheel and see what i could do.

I also let go of my anally retentive attitude towards painting and let myself be a little fluid and rough with my work. 

The results were quite a pleasant surprise and received some very nice feedback amongst the general public... these are the best of what I did over the time.

I also bought and began practising with an airbrush, Its a bit more difficult than I first thought but once I have figured out the process and played with it a little more the outcomes will be more exciting!

I have also set up a page on facebook for my own artwork, which was something I have meant to do for a long time, I finally got around to it and I have to admit it feels good to have another platform for my art work to be seen on. There is a link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Stenson-Portraits/488031267911608?ref=hl

Apologies for the poor camera work! 

Things in the third year of my course, have started at full pelt, there is no time to waste, so my time management has had to be addressed, I even bought a diary!

so after having a little word with myself, it is the time to completely knuckle down and immerse myself in my work completely and with minimal distractions, to the extreme I gave my Playstation away.

Unfortunately though, nobody was as eager to take my children, so Im stuck with them. >ahem<

Finally, since being back at Uni in Sept, the College put me in touch with a graduate of the course from the year I started, this 'guru' or mentor, Chris Howker is a professional Illustrator and has offered some great advice and has made me question the relevance of my work and the direction in which it is going since I contacted him, emphasising the importance of evolving and trying new things.

Below is a link to Chris' site, It is definantly worth a look!...so look!.

http://www.howks.co.uk/