'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 57'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 57'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
31st July 2012

"fortitudo et pertinacia" preparatory 2

"fortitudo et pertinacia" preparatory 2
conte and chalk on paper
50 x 32 cm
30th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 24'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 24'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
29th July 2012

London 2012 - the critical mass game 'Divide your fools for the coin'

London 2012 - the critical mass game 'Divide your fools for the coin'
conte and chalk on paper
40 x 30 cm
28th July 2012

'And he was Gary Cooper. And she was Princess Leia. And they were Paulo and Francesca in the dole office that dull morning.'

'And he was Gary Cooper. And she was Princess Leia. And they were Paulo and Francesca in the dole office that dull morning.'

conte and chalk on paper

40 x 30 cm

27th July 2012

'When the whey falls way to the metal and the bread devours the corn'

'When the whey falls way to the metal and the bread devours the corn'
conte and chalk on paper
40 x 30 cm
26th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 26'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 26'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
25th July 2012

'Rest with their children, idealists and fools'

'Rest with their children, idealists and fools'
conte and chalk on paper
40 x 30 cm
24th July 2012

'There's a big, black dog in the corner of the room that was the engine'

'There's a big, black dog in the corner of the room that was the engine'
conte and chalk on paper
40 x 30 cm
23rd July 2012

'And me and monkey do spastic varnish drink dance'

'And me and monkey do spastic varnish drink dance'

conte and chalk on paper

40 x 30 cm

22nd July 2012

Man with a plan

The end is approaching of my four year Dante project; the final part, Paradiso, should have its paintings drying within the next few weeks ready for the October exhibition in London. I’ve often turned to the writing of others for inspiration in my painting. Sometimes it’s clear, as with the Divine Comedy paintings or my occasional references to the poetry of Baudelaire. Sometimes it’ll be as simple as a lost lyric in the middle of song from some distant decade; I won’t be doing it again.
I’ve been working on a piece of my own writing for nearly twenty years. No publisher in their optimistically profitable mind would touch its profligate selfishness and lunacy. It’s very personal and generally autobiographical. But as in the best of all autobiographies it’s generally more fiction than fact. Actually it’s a completely bitter cocktail of lies, justifications, vindicated vendetta and saintly indulgences.
From this point I’ll be working further on the visual interpretation of it through my drawing a day blog – look under the ‘Madmen and English Dogs’ tag. The drawings serve as the starting point for proposed paintings and clearly there will always be more drawings than paintings as I’ve already put together about a hundred of them.
For my own records I’ll be keeping the drawings; the Madmen and English Dogs project is as much a personal project as an exhibitive one. I’ll be releasing small print runs of them though.
That’s the plan. Fewer, hopefully stronger, paintings - linked to my writing through my drawings and sharing a common theme of my fucked-up interpretation of what life and art’s about. Not particularly “innovative”, “transgressive” or very likely to “challenge the viewer’s preconceptions”  but it will be an honest journey.
The destination will be the same as ever - worms and dirt. I hope it’ll interest a few of you out there, and with the internet technologies to show it off there’s no ticket price to pay. Don’t worry if you don’t like it – there are plenty of other faster, slicker, bigger and more expensive buses out there.

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 36'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 36'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
21st July 2012

'And we all wish to be thought well of. Don't we?'

'And we all wish to be thought well of. Don't we?'
conte and chalk on paper
40 x 30 cm
20th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 35'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 35'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
19th July 2012

'friends I've never met (Ana Pazuzu)'

'friends I've never met (Ana Pazuzu)'
conte and chalk on newsprint
12 x 25 cm
18th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 34'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 34'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
17th July 2012

"Odette's dream – simply easy out of reach. As out of reach as she's out of touch with her unpresidential lifestyle."

"Odette's dream – simply easy out of reach. As out of reach as she's out of touch with her unpresidential lifestyle."
conte and chalk on paper
30 x 40 cm
16th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 65'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 65'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
15th July 2012

"Between keep the hope up - bonus ballshit and 'another chance to see'"

"Between keep the hope up - bonus ballshit and 'another chance to see'"
conte and chalk on paper
30 x 40 cm
14th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 27'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 27'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
13th July 2012

"And I was in my self-indulgent, sadomasochistic element."

"And I was in my self-indulgent, sadomasochistic element."
conte and chalk on paper
30 x 40 cm
12th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 52'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 52'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
11th July 2012

"famous once - small victory (1)"

"famous once - small victory (1)"
conte on paper
9 x 9 cm
10th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 29'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 29'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
9th July 2012

"seven, seven - seven years on"

"seven, seven - seven years on"
conte and chalk on paper
120 x 140 cm
8th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 30'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 30'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
7th July 2012

"famous once - small victory (3)"

"famous once - small victory (3)"
conte on paper
9 x 9 cm
6th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 31'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 31'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
5th July 2012

'a sort of self realisation of self delusion'

'a sort of self realisation of self delusion'
conte and chalk on paper
40 x 30 cm
4th July 2012

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 32'

'twenty four hours in the life of a madman 32'
conte and chalk on paper
20 x 30 cm
3rd July 2012

"Is there any moment more common and sweet?"

"Is there any moment more common and sweet?"
conte and chalk on paper
30 x 40 cm
2nd July 2012

"fortitudo et pertinacia" preparatory 3

"fortitudo et pertinacia" preparatory 3
conte and chalk on paper
25 x 42 cm
1st July 2012