fishes in my brain

a quick pic this morning...

acrylic on canvas paper - 18cm x 23cm

HOT PANTS!!

yes, folks, that's right. for a limited time only, while stocks last, for any purchases until the end of may, i shall bestow upon you your very own pair of RIGHTEOUS HOTPANTS! absolutely free! available in three of the most awesome colours your mind could fathom, gauranteed to show maximum sexy leg, and yes, worn and signed artisically by myself, these will be a must-have for this summer. don't be a loser! check this!!!

THAT'S RIGHT BABY, SEXY ALL OVER YOUR BRAIN TIME!!!

HOLY SHIT, MY EYEBALLS, I'VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY AWESOME COLOURS!

~~~

in other news, my sister and i have been making handy little pouches for....holding things.



sewing machine.

an untended garden and an unfairwell

on paper 15cm x 21cm

on card 12.5cm x 25cm

and progress on two new pics;

Ray Caesar and a way of life

"Take all the compliments and criticisms and put it in a bag with a screaming cat …go to a river….take the cat out and cuddle it and throw the bag in the river. Start work …work…finish work!. If you are afraid to do something artistically that’s a good enough reason to try it. Make what you love as that’s the best way to know if someone else will love it. Forget what it “means” …it’s all about how it “feels”..Don’t do it as a career …do it in your spare time and make sure all your time is spare….make sure you get enough fibre."

wise words from an interview with Ray Caeser, see the rest here on Coates and Scarry, with some pictures of his amazing work. love that second last line.

I was in Way Of Life yesterday, a quirky new vintage and craft store in Glaslough. Most likely through the influence of my two sisters, of the temporarily homeless dirty fabulous, i've developed a bit of taste for the more eccentric side of antique. there's lots of cool stuff in here.




a few too many stuffed animals, for my liking, but i do love the sight of a kingfisher.



i want all of these hats.


this is pretty damn horrible, but too crazy not to share. (i've generally got bountiful compassion for all our animal brethren, but i'm starting think this would be a great look for the bloody ignorant runt of a dog across the road that never shuts the fuck up, day or night...) seriously though, an actual armadillo..... messed up....



Haven't been finishing too many pictures recently, what with markets and fairs and trying to sell my wares. The DCU fair went well, thanks to people who came. There was nearly 500 euro raised for Youth Release Ireland. Oh, and i made an awesome swap with the lovely Saralific, on behalf of an aforementioned sibling (though i totally could have kept it for myself...);


lastly, here's one i started today. sometimes feels like there's nothing to be done that doesn't leave all this rubbish and waste pilling up all around. more crap fills up my room than i know what to do with. and i don't even buy things! it gets suffocating.


that dog is driving me CRAZY!!!

pretty pretty pictures

slightly hung over but caffeinated enough to function, there's little else to be doing on a sunday afternoon but look at lovely pictures. i happened upon leBasse Projects this morning. lots of brilliant artists, a handful i'd never seen before. particularly like andrew hem;



check out his brilliant gallery.
and while you're at it, linda kim, kevin earl taylor and yoskay yamamoto;


feel inspired to get my oils out. if my brain starts functioning later i might give my site a well needed overhaul....i can't honestly see that happening today though...

More framey goodness

i've become slightly obsessed now with charity shop bargains. everything in the studio is getting framed. now i just have to figure how to get all this stuff to the next few craft markets...there'll be a good range of things from 1e to 50e.



oh, and people seem to like the little individual card prints, so will have a bunch of them on hand.


also started some new drawings this morning, but i think this might be my second post today, so i'll not flood webspace anymore....you ever get the feeling if you applied your efforts to something useful one might actually make a decent living...

"thats when you make sumthin outta nuthin"

finally finished my little boxed set.





with these sort of things i tend to get stuck at a point on how to finish it. i always forget that the best way is to just do it, whereby "it" tends to work itself out.

so, the box is made from a single sheet off the side of a larger cardboard packaging box (the same kind i use for a lot of paintings and drawings), neatly cut (quite proud with how neatly cut) to shape and covered with black packing paper. for the illustration, i just used a random off-cut amongst one of my many piles of random offcuts (you can always find a use for any size or shape of paper!), and the image i hadn't even planned, a quick ink drawing, my brain had little say in the matter. but i quite like it. i might do a series of similar drawings. they'd make nice book marks.

the books and prints are all printed on recycled or carbon neutral papers and hand bound. i'm trying to suss out more environmentally friendly ways of printing. at the minute its just regular old epson ink and printer. their vague 2050 "vision" doesn't exactly inspire confidence. or trust. printing suggestions are welcomed.

for those who didn't see it last night, check out villagers performance on jools holland. great stuff.

DCU Fair and Shebeen Chic Crafty Market

I've been framing lots of drawings and prints and paintings for the upcoming DCU craft fair 12-4 on the 21st of April. Lots of good studenty priced pieces. The event is in aid of Youth Release Ireland, and there'll be food and games to be had too, so if you're in the area, pop down.

I should hopefully also have a stall in the Crafty Market in Shebeen Chic, George's Street on 2nd of May.

Off to London for a few days, so should be coming back with lots of inspiration. In the meantime here's some inspiring sounds and visuals from the most handsome and talented shane mckenna;

Moving Lights in D from Shane Mc Kenna on Vimeo.

"To experiment with processed video footage as an animated score I performed this short piece myself in twenty separate takes on both classical guitar and electric bass. Each track was recorded listening to playback from the previous track only to allow some interaction between parts but a free feeling overall. I stayed within the key of Dmaj to tie the layers together while following the visual rhythms gave a sense of pulse at certain points. Playing along with D maj or B min scales will sound tasty if you have an instrument handy or just follow the visuals with any notes or sounds, why not? "

Summer studio

multi-tasking in a sunny garden...








went to see laura marling in the academy at the weekend. brilliant gig. she is most certainly one of my favourite vocalists around at the minute. some lovely new songs. personal highlight may have been goodbye england, covered in snow. love it.


the support acts were quite good too, boy and bear, bit of an australian fleet foxes. and this girl who's name i missed and i can't find online anywhere who she might have been. anyone know?

and one just for me...

acrylic on card, 12.5cm x 24.5cm (5 x 9 inches)

between blankets and clouds

for the week what it is...


acrylic on card, 12.5cm x 24.5cm (5 x 9 inches)

Markets and music

i'll be setting up shop at a fundraising fair in DCU on Wednesday 21st of April from 12-4pm in aid of Youth Release Ireland.

"Youth Release is a youth and educational focused organisation which aims to build a youth centre for street children. This centre will be run by a full time youth worker which the project will employ. The money raised will be used to buy land, employ builders and supply centre with educational and materials which aid holistic development. The aim of the organisation is to allow children to develop through the provision of education, art, sport, music and play. There will be a child school sponsorship program linked to the organisation in order for children to enter the education system in local schools."

some new ones i'm working on that i should have finished for it;




who wouldv'e thought drawing stacks of hundreds of sheets of paper might get tedious.....


yesterday's sunniness inspired me to do a bit of gardening. so i planted some peas that have been growing nicely in the window sill, put up a wire frame for support and with a good roomy plastic covering to keep them safe. i do believe peas are the awesomest of veg to grow.



and lastly takcom's lovely video for AU's new release;

Ida Walked Away from takcom™ on Vimeo.

a few randomers

some recent non painted things. pen drawings, the middle two are photoshoped and the last one is lying in dirty paint water. they were all done with a thought of "bouts" in mind. i'm not sure i'm allowed to talk about that yet....






many thanks to crafty market people. it was a quiet enough market day on sunday, but still great fun and met lots of nice people.

and here's a little snippet of a project that's forming with a handful of folks bit by bit.