A Catch Up With the World Outside Uni

As well working for Uni towards my degree, I still receive the occasional commission, one long on going one has been one for a Manchester United team in eleven individual portraits, not a bad commission for such an avid football fan. Unless that is you support Manchester City, Hmm.
Started in March as an individual painting,

                                                

                                                                  Robin Van Persie

                  Raphael da Silva, Nemanja Vidic, David de Gea, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra.

It was this painting that began a collection, I found myself painting in any spare time that I had, the next lots came in batches. the back line, then the forwards were painted after,.

                                                These two, Luis Nani & Antonio Valencia
                                                       (apologies for the poor cropping)

                                             Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs

Even though I was pleased with the outcome of each peice, I was more pleased with the evolution I could see happening, they were getting slightly better with each one that was completed with the Scholes and Giggs paintings backed onto red to highlight their personal 'legend' status within Manchester United folklore. 

As a sports fan it was a nice project to undertake, by the end I was happy to see the back of Manchester united in my work for a while as proud as seeing a full series of paintings together actually made me.

I also jumped on the 'Breaking Bad' band wagon, became an obsessive, gorged on 5 series as quickly as I possibly could then felt like it was only right to go on and paint something related, so taking on the Gaudi inspiration I felt a need for colour and just went for it. the result... 

Aaron Paul & Bryan Cranston as Jesse & Walter from Breaking Bad

Trying new things is fun and exciting when they pay off, and colour is still a fairly new aspect to my work, though striving to find meaning to put into my work is now an important factor, just doing something I like doing is still satisfying.

One last piece to show, is a reproduction of a painting I did during the summer before I became a student, a Clint Eastwood from the film Dirty Harry, the second time around I wanted to go bigger and use colours I felt represented the era the film was set in, the seventies, to me.

The browns and creams suited the era I was attempting capture perfectly I felt, and nicely in balance with such a bold back ground colour that does not take away from the actual image, works nicely sat on the purple 'work wall' in my kitchen too.

This was a commission with a difference, it was in trade for another kind of art that also set up the opportunity for a collaboration of a different kind. Tattooing.

The painting was an anniversary gift for the Husband of a friend of mine who happens to be tattooist.

Between the two of us we came up with a design I was happy with and then Jenny Bottomley (of The Tattooed Teapot in Manchester) did all the hard work I was left with this.

I love it, collaborative artistic design that I will have forever.

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.