July 2015

An orange Post It means?

Guard Hut Camera with photo inside.

21st: Well it is good news. "The man from Delmonte says Yes!" Have been selected again to be a part of the annual Sasol New Signatures competition. That's 5 years on the bounce. I have to admit that the day before I had entered I had decided that I wasn't going to. I was just too unprepared for what I had wanted to do. I had needed to get together all sorts of things. Unfortunately events of the past week had meant that I had totally lost focus. But I woke the next morning with a slightly different mind set, a new plan and just got on with it. It was tight but I managed to get everything together. Although what I had ended up doing was not what I had set out to do, I still reckon it turned out ok.

Inside the Guard Hut Camera

20th: And so it is Sasol New Signatures time again. My entry is a guard hut which I turned into  a camera.I used the hut/camera to take photographs. The resultant photographs were then mounted within the hut. Simples really. I find out tomorrow 10 AM. If I am selected it will be five years on the trot which would be rather fabulous.

I think I worked out one of the reasons why one of my works did not get selected for last years comp. Weight! I forgot to read the little section regarding weight. Entries must be 100kg's or less. So I reckon that the judges took one look at my installation and went no effing way is this thing below 100kg's.

April 2015

There is nothing worse than looking like a complete amature in front of your peers. And so this was the case when I went to photograph Janus and Dennis from the alternative print workshop with Chantal. Usually I can get the exposure right within a couple of shots. But no, not this time. In no particular order the following all happened. Underexposure, paper ripping, Chantal been blown over and yet more underexposure's. I have to admit that I came close to saying, "stuff this, I am going down the pub". But finally the stars came into alignment and I finally had a picture that I was happy with.

Pics of Janus and Dennis to be shot with Chantal

Taking a pic with Chantal

Duds, misfires and an ok print

The last year or so has been a a year of exploring and discovering new things. With Janus and Dennis from the Alternative Print Workshop I have been exploring Cyano Types and Van Dyke Browns. A trip to the UK brought about an opportunity to get an introduction to to the photogravure process with Peter Moseley. There was a lot to take in but the two day workshop left me wondering, 'where have you been all my life'. The process gives beautiful results and I am hoping that it is not too much longer before I can start doing more prints.

March 2015

Plan Chest for Nando from Nando's

Yip February has been and gone. The last couple of months have been months of working to pay the bills. Orders for plan chests came flooding in. There are still more on the books, but I have given myself a couple of weeks to focus on my photography

The plan chest in the picture above was delivered to the offices of Chickenland, to a guy called Nando! I thought it was a wind up but I can assure you that it was not.

Dali Version 1

Dali Version 1 - Detail

Had some great news from the Candice Berman Gallery yesterday. They sold one of my Dali's. So "Milky Bars are on me"

January 2015

Here is a peek at what is being planned for later in the year. At the moment Janus (from the alternative print workshop) and I are still busy working out all the details. This is going to be something new for me. I am quite used to giving walkabouts which tend to last only an hour or so, but having to keep it going for a day while teaching a class, hmmmm, I am sure that it will be ok.

So you don't believe in Santa? The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny? Well I got news for you I am here to tell you that they are all real. Very very real. Yes they drive around in an old Toyota and they do get a bit lost, but I have proof of their existence and it is sitting in my hallway. And what gifts did they bring? Paper, rolls and rolls of paper, and not any old paper but photographic paper. More paper than I know what to do with. So what now? Well I guess pack it away for the moment. Things are a wee bit busy on the work front. I am just going to have to do my best to ignore that it is all there. The cool thing now  is that I don't have to worry about how I am going to get hold of my next lot of paper. So thank you Derick and Janus from the alternative print workshop for a really most unexpected but wonderful gift. I am most especially looking forward to experimenting with the fibre based paper. Thank you.

October 2014

And so with a little over a week to go to the opening of my show, My Family and Other Cameras  things are getting critical. At least progress is happening with the completion of PUG II. Going to be popping in to the Alternative Print Workshop  to go and do some Van Dyke Brown prints of my pinhole images. Did a test run a couple of weeks ago and the results were very promising.

September 2014

Three Forgotten Beauties

And so yes I have missed the whole of August. News that I have failed to pass on? Well I have kept up my good run of getting into Sasol New Signatures. Think that it is four years on the trot now. Was actually at the grand opening last night. Thankfully this year there was no 'you got be fffing kidding' moment with the winner. What we did learn though is that if you want to find out a bit more about the artist, asking them about their art on stage might be such a good idea. Of course this is just my bias, but when people start to waffle on about some new age mumbo jumbo, then I head for the hills. I liked Elizabeth's rational up to a point but then it was no no no please stop.

'Three Forgotten Beauties' - detail.

The pictures above are of my entry 'Three Forgotten Beauties'. 

July 2014

23rd July: drumdedum dum de dum dah dum with that rather laboured trumpting I am glad to announce that for this years Sasol New Signatures I managed to gain the thumbs up from the judges. Well ok one of my works did, the other not. Which is ok, I am cool with that. To be honest my second piece still needs a bit of work on it to sort it out so it was no disappointment that it didn't get through for the final show.

21st July: Wow so a couple of months have almost flown. Had a hectic time in the UK before rushing headlong into trying to organise for this years Sasol New Signatures. I am not so confident of getting in. Part of the problem was that I was still in the process of working out what to do. I had put up an installation which I wasn't to sure of how to get the best out of it. Stick ot twist or just completely loose the plot knowing that the deadline was coming, rushing at me faster than a well oiled eel sliding down a teflon coated ski ramp. Scccchhhhlaaaaap. So yes I am left with the old I should have, could have, didn't do that scenario and we wait. It's just two days to go now before I hear anything.