If my life depended on regular blog posts i would currently be on my 73rd reincarnation, probably...

The tale of slippery observance - mixed media on canvas 120cm x 70cm 2022

So, friends, this is my first blog post in one and a half years, which is really quite woeful. I have been busy, but not that busy. There have been many changes to my life in this short space of time, not least another geographical change with a huge professional garnish to boot. I now mannifest in the sunshine city of Glasgow (great city/grey city) surrounded by invigorating mountainous vistas that i have had little chance to explore due to the 'plague'. I have started an MSc in Art Psychotherapy and I have put my 'real world' career as a social worker on 'hold/pause/trial'. Much of my recent artistic output has been directly influenced by the MSc pedagogy in addition to personal reflections gained from mandatory therapy (a course requirement/Bromley requirement). I have found myself gaining a much greater understanding of the psychodynamic quality of my art, with particular emphasis on sublimation and the infusion of vicarious trauma from 2 decades in social work.

The shadow of vicarious trauma - posca on double A5 split paper 2022

As my self-taught art making technique has evolved over the last 12 years, so has the time needed in creating my large mixed media pieces. The piece below probably took 150 hours in total (75 of which was mainly staring at the canvas, plotting the next movement/procrastinating/ruminating):

Ruminations of the mind's eye - mixed media on canvas 150cm x 100cm 2021

Whilst i aim to continue with big canvases, I have decided to dedicate some of my artistic efforts on working smaller, quicker and more productively. This is to prevent creative blockage and allow greater physical output. Ideas need to be expressed. So, many of the black and white drawings I have recently completed are 'process images'; directly related to a specific thought or reflection. I hope to complete one of these drawings each day for the forseeable future, obviously this is dependent on me retaining the use of my hands/eyes and capacity to imagine; i take nothing for granted at the ripe old age of 48 (and a half).!

Labile entropy - posca on A4 paper 2022