THREE'S COMPANY

I seem to design everything in sets of three, and even divide many of my paintings into three compositional elements. The paintings in this pic are currently spending the month apart for the first time: The two on the left - RIOT POLICE , and GREEN FIGHTER-JET - are currently on show in the art space below COFFEE LOUNGE, Navigation Street, Birmingham, and the one on the right - ARCHIPELAGO - is currently on show at ZELLIG, Digbeth, Birmingham, as part of the UNITED COLOURS OF BIRMINGHAM exhibition.

( See http://unitedcoloursofbirmingham.blogspot.com/ ).

BOX OF FLAGS - 1

My flags, originally, were intended to either stand alone as individual entities, or go together as a formation ( see below ), fitting together like LEGO bricks. Depending on the arranger's mood and sense of equilibrium, the set could look different each time. However, a friend pointed out that I needn't be restricted to just these formats...

BOX OF FLAGS - 2

...that instead they could be stacked like this, and stand in the middle of the floor.

BOX OF FLAGS - 3

I like it. The swatch effect at the side reminds me of DNA slides. Which of course, also goes with the idea of tribalism, territory and allegiance. 

BOX OF FLAGS - 4

'GREEN FIGHTER-JET' - Getting started

Being a fan of Futurism, and its obsession with vigorousness, conflict, and of existing purely in the moment, what better homage than a jet smashing through the sound-barrier? Lot's of lovely straight lines and sharp angles...

'GREEN FIGHTER-JET' - Colouring in

If you look closely, you can see my original drawing, under the roll of tape.

'GREEN FIGHTER-JET' - White lines

'GREEN FIGHTER-JET' - Green is good

Almost finished - just mixing the right shades of green.

'GREEN FIGHTER-JET' - Completed

Acrylic on 1m sq. canvas



GREEK MOOD FLAG - Intro

Throughout my work, I have been trying to reduce landscapes into the sparest constituent parts possible, so that ultimately, simply evoking a MOOD should put you right there. I am also a big fan of flags, and find it fascinating how a few blocks of colour can represent an entire nation. Somewhere in between the two ideas, I came up with the idea of a MOOD FLAG. In the modern world, people are more individualistic than ever. So why not declare yourself a 'territory'? And going further still, maybe a flag should represent your personality? So the idea is to create a 'snapshot', containing colours corresponding to your personality, background, and mood, capturing the essence of you in just one statement. This flag represents me, when I am in Greece, during the late summer.