2017 ANNUAL REPORT / 1st QUARTER REVIEW

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JANUARY 2017: ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL REMIXES OF ABSTRACT PAINTINGS

Above: Stealth, as a Digital Vector Image ( with texture )

One of the obvious down-sides of creating a painted composition, is that once it's sold, the design is no longer in your hands. In the case of my work, it takes months to finely balance a piece ( it's a form of automatic composition, in that apart from a starting grid, everything is ad-libbed until the picture 'feels' finished ). On that journey, many interesting forms and motifs may evolve. In late 2016 / early 2017, I decided to painstakingly go about re-creating some of my recent paintings in digital 'vector' form. This allows me to do two things: 1 ) Significantly enlarge the composition without loss of quality or pixellation; 2 ) Deconstruct my artwork so that it can be remixed, recoloured and recomposed.

Below: The original Stealth and Encryption, Acrylic on Canvas, 40cm x 60cm

Below: Stealth, as Digital Vector Image ( with texture )

( For more examples of vector experiments, see the link to January 2017, here )

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FEBRUARY 2017: BLISS IN CONCRETE, Acrylic On Canvas, 60cm x 60cm

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MARCH 2017: Up-and-coming American folk singer SYDNEY ROBINSON uses 'WOMAN DISROBING' for her debut digital single artwork.

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DEBUT SONG FROM SYDNEY ROBINSON FEATURES ALEXI K'S 'WOMAN DISROBING' ARTWORK

Please take a moment to get your headphones and play the song, it's absolutely brilliant. 

Sydney is a folk singer from New York, and I'm honoured to be involved in her debut release.

SOUND AND VISION: GETTING INSPIRED

If you've seen my Twitter feed, you'll probably notice that I spend more time talking about music than I do about my own art. That's because, like a lot of creatives who work in a solitary environment, music is part of what inspires us and therefore somehow finds its way into what we actually produce.

A lot of abstract art is musical, and if you do abstraction for long enough, you might start to experience some form of synaesthesia, where a sound will trigger a sensation, and prompt you to use a certain colour or brush stroke. Kandinsky was a good example of a 'musical' painter, an artist who translates something intangible into imagery.

So of course, visiting a niche vinyl emporium, you get the best of both worlds. Effectively its an exhibition that's carefully curated; the cover art plus the music conveys the tastes and sensibilities of the owner. These non-generic stores are a very rare delight, and if you are a music enthusiast and have one in your town you should not only be a patron, you should let other people know about them - because they keep your town's musical heritage and culture alive.

Thanks to Nathan at Birmingham's Milque & Muhle.