JUEVES, EL UNO DE JULIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
I've just been sorting out my box of oil paints, to see which ones to store (you can't travel with oil-paints because they're flammable ... I found that out the hard way at LAX in 2003) and I found this very small and very old tube of Windsor & Newton cadmium scarlet. It was given to me by Rob McLeod in about 2002 and there was a point where I was mixing a brush-hair-worth of it through every colour I used to paint with. It gave the colours a beautiful smoky, hazy quality to them, which was needed for the paintings I was painting around 2004 - 2006 that had primarily white, neutral backdrops.
I've bought newer tubes of this exact brand and colour, for exorbitant amounts of money, but none of them have matched the pigment quality of this tiny tube.
Thanks Rob!

MIERCOLES, EL TRIENTE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
ANOTHER WORK I'M MISSING LOOKING AT: Helm Ruifrok's The Virgin and St Anne (after Da Vinci), (1999, conte on paper, acquired 1999). We always have this hanging in our bedroom, except for it's brief stint in a friends lounge while we were overseas in 2008.

MARTES, EL VEINTINUEVE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Now that we're unofficially in transit, I'm really starting to miss the 'familiar' things that we used to look at everyday, notably many of our artworks. One of the works I seem to be missing the most is a set of glazed ceramic tiles by Scott McFarlane that used hang on an adjacent wall to the stove in our kitchen. While cooking, these works would keep me company and I'd be drawn into their individual symbolism.
Jo and I selected these particular works one night after dinner and several beers with Scott. I'm really pleased with our selection as it seems to balance symbols of abstraction, parochial New Zealand, Western art history and contentious contemporary events and paranoia.

LUNES, EL VEINTIOCHO DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
The image below arrived in my inbox last week - a nice surprise to see one of my Whiteworld drawings framed up and hanging on the wall at my friend's house in the Wairarapa. The drawing is a profile of Joseph Merrick, aka 'The Elephant Man' (you need to scroll about 3/4th's down the page and he's in the left-hand column).
He's probably one of the original '27 Club' although he wasn't a musician, but an amazing model-maker and a Freak-Show curiosity.
I do like the casio-tone on the floor - Obviously a photographer has taken this image.

DOMINGO, EL VEINTISIETE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ

The past year here in Whanganui so far has been a cyclic year. By that I mean my work has picked up on older aspects of my practice, including specific compositions used in the past and a rejigging and re-interpretation of symbolism. When this happens, the progression in my work feels like it's slowing down, but the intricacy of the reassessing of symbolism is very rewarding at the time of drawing and painting.
The cycles seem to be in three-year spells, the weird thing is that I find myself rummaging through all my sketchbooks, dating back to 1995 and redrawing images into my most recent sketchbook without realising it, so I guess that's the main reason for the re-infection of older ideas. I guess you never totally empty out a vein that you're mining at the time, so you go back to it, reinvestigate, mine a bit more.
Serendipity also seems to play a big part too, as in the image below for instance. I've drawn over the etching below to give it new life and to try out some new compositional ideas that I've been using in recent retablos. The original etching, titled Faith Waste was copied from a drawing of the same titled from 2004, now in a private collection in Wellington (scroll down about 3/4's of the page to view). Recently, when sending some works to a gallery, I found some of the test prints of the etching in a folder, so I decided to draw on them. One of the results is shown below.

SABATO, EL VEINTISEIS DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Just a reminder that the Creative Hawke's Bay Invitational Exhibition is finishing this Sunday at the Hastings City Art Gallery. Below is a detail on one of the works I have in the exhibition, Rectángulo De Tiempos Del Final (2009, Oil on wood and a leaf; scrimshaw and nails, 325mm x 770mm x 90mm).
The half head/half skull is a classic I've been using a lot recently, a pertinent symbol of mortality, copied from a very small German bone carving I saw at the Met in NYC. Since then, I've found many images of the half and half kind, some of the best are 19th century Italian wax sculptures, used as medical guide, I believe. The dodo is also a great symbol for mortality, first used at artschool in a set of drawings in 1997. I started reusing the dodo in my paintings in 2003. He's holding a bank note in his beak and is standing on Charlemagne's chalice.

VIERNES, EL VEINTICINCO DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
I am attempting (in vane, I might add at the moment) to photograph the majority of pages out of my 'resource books'. As we're leaving the bulk of our book collection in storage, I think I'll feel a bit lost without all those beautiful art tomes to leaf through. Although the majority of the books I'm photographing seem to be about Spanish Baroque painting and Mexican folk art, one of my most coveted books is 'Fra Angelico: The San Marco Frescoes' by Paolo Morachiello. I had to buy a hardback copy of this edition after visiting the cloisters at San Marco Chapel in Florence. A truely magnificent place that taught me alot about composition, pictorial space; colour and line.
Below is a couple of double page spreads of The Mocking of Christ by Fra Angelico. It has to be my favourite fresco ever - the disembodied hands and head, whipping and spitting at Christ is truely abstract in its concept. Throughout the book, are full scale detail reproductions of indivdual frescoes, making it the prefect resource book.
*yikes! I just checked out the book on Amazon and it's USD$695.00! I'm glad I bought it when I did*

JUEVES, EL VEINTICUATRO DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Friends of ours are selling their villa in Wellington and we checked out the photos of their abode. Like my penchant for looking through New Zealand House and Garden to see what art is hanging on the walls of the featured houses, I got a buzz seeing a few of my works on the walls on the website house-listing. Along with my work, there is a James Robinson woodcut, a Saskia Leek vinyl painting, Paul Maseyk bottles, Leigh Mitchell-Anyon photographs and a Simon Kaan print.

MIERCOLES, EL VEINTITRES DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
In an effort to make our move a bit more seamless, I've painted a couple of smaller versions of paintings I really like (that I've painted) to take over with me. They are tending to be direct scaled copies at present (as below: a copy of 'Half & Half, in stock at Mark Hutchins Gallery, Wellington), but of course things change subtly when scaled either up or down, so I've had to assess them, not only on their own merits as autonomous works, but also whether they have something of what the first work had, which of course is a dilemma as then you have to work out what it was about the original painting that you really liked.
I think this one is OK and I like it on a smaller scale, but I might make a few minor adjustments for my own sanity. I've given this one a different title though - between learning and reading up recently on the US constitution and assessing this painting compositionally, I thought the title 'Checks and Balances' would suit it. The scales are a good 'in' to the symbolism, but I couldn't bring myself to painting a blind-fold on the figure's face.

MARTES, EL VEINTIDOS DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
JAMES CASWELL TELLS IT LIKE IT IS: I received this email update the other day:

"...It's my belief that in a world of evaporating value...
ancient objects will forever maintain an importance.
Being genuine expressions of extinct cultural practices
and reflecting spiritual beliefs long disappeared,
they're products of vanished artistic traditions
whose significance will never diminish.

Though we're awash in contemporary ignorance and
venality they exist in a realm secure from our
near-sighted and narrow-minded modern society.
Drowning in mega-tons of worthless junk destined for
the dumpster, we're challenged to find anything that
truly expresses who we are and what we believe..."

This is one of Jim's harder-line commentaries, yet they are still words that resonate strongly with me as he's talking directly to my context and time. Rather than have a cry about it, isn't it better to realise that these are true words and, as purveyors of culture, work harder to make better images? When I read this email, it reminded me of a Smithsonian lecture by Dave Hickey about the evils of Creationism - ideas that he's been kicking around for a while, soon be be released in a new publication.
Anyway, below is an example of one of James' new listings on his website.

LUNES, EL VEINTIUNO DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Happy Winter Solstice! I've just finished a copy of a print I made in 2004 called 'Pictish Adam and Eve'. The print (left) was an etching but only made it to an edition of 5 as the 'creve bites' (I believe that's what they are called) weakened the etched lines and many of them collapsed, making for a very ugly print of missing lines, mottled tones and embossing rather than ink lines. This was caused by me using a needle to scribe the lines and having too many lines close together, weakening the 'proud' areas of the plate.
Someone was very interested in acquiring this image, but since the last print of the edition was sold in 2006, I decided to redraw the 'print' for them (right). I'm happy how it came out and I like the idea of a drawing mimicking a print rather than the other way around (a stigma that burdens printmaking). Even though I was constantly sharpening my pencil every 4 or 5 lines, I couldn't get the incredibly fine detail that is seen on the etching. I'd be happy to make single etching prints just to get the fine lines.
To accentuate the etching-look of the drawing, I added toned lines around the frame of the print to show where the edge of the plate is and also random lines and marks on the backdrop of the image to mimic the nuances of the original plate tone.

DOMINGO, EL VEINTE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Here's Matthew in front of Caravaggio's The Inspiration' and 'Marytrdom of St Matthew' at the San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, 2008. I got into the habit of walking into whatever looked like a church, to see what treasures it held. This one was one of the best surprises.
The paintings are lit by a simple lighting system that is activated by depositing a euro coin. I kind of prefered it in the dark as it probably gave a more of the impression of the figure coming out of the darkness / cavity deep in the picture plane. Frank Stella loves these paintings and uses them to illustrate his ideas of Working Space in his lecture series available in book format now.
It was, of course, hats off in the sacred space.

SABATO, EL DIECINUEVE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
CARAVAGGIO WAS FILLED FULL OF LEAD: Scientists discover Caravaggio's bones. Info here.

VIERNES, EL DIECIOCHO DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Opening Friday night in Wellington is Peter Ireland's exhibition, Return of the Native - Imagining Katherine Mansfield at Gilberd Marriott Gallery (1st floor, 37 Courtenay Place). The exhibition features 12 paintings relating to the influences on and of Mansfield in New Zealand and her displacement from her birthplace.
The works will be online on Peter's website midday Friday.

JUEVES, EL DIECISIETE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
A 'hidden' work. A retablo about Johnny Cash. Hidden, as it's a work that has and will never be exhibited.

MIERCOLES, EL DIESEIS DE JUNIO, VEINTE
GETTING GASSED- Thomas Kinkade, who I've posted on before here has been arrested on an alleged DUI felony. Here's the brilliant 'Endorized' image I posted earlier.

MARTES, EL QUINCE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
A new retablo, just completed. It's a monochrome and reversed version of this retablo I completed late last year. In the fashion of my last few posts, I guess the Christ figure should be called 'El Cristo del Gran Sello de los Estados Unidos de América', as the Christ figure is crucified on the partial remains of the obverse of the Great Seal. I've used the symbol on the reverse of The Great Seal many times, so I thought it would be good to tackle the more known symbol on the front. You can see past versions I tried here and here.
This painting is very much about moving overseas, as have been the last several works I've completed over the past month. Also, I've just about completed a work titled 'Checks and Balances'.

LUNES, EL CATORCE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
I've just discovered that there's a copy of El Cristo Negro de Esquipulas at St Elizabeth Parish in Oakland, California; about a half an hour BART ride from where we'll be living when we arrive in the USA. It will be great to see this copy until we get to travel to Guatemala to see El Cristo Negro in the Basilica de Esquipulas.

BELOW: Parishioners reverently lift the Black Christ, shrouded in
incense, into its permanent setting at St. Elizabeth Church
(photo by Jose Luis Aguirre)

DOMINGO, EL TRECE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Quiro Catano was the sculptor who carved the original Senor de Esquipulas in 1595. The inscription says 'In this illustrious city, the master of the colony, Quirio Catano, sculptor of the miraculous Black Christ of Esquipulas. For the eternal memory we give tribute: the committee of the fourth centenary with its headquarters in Esquipulas and to revisit'

SABATO, EL DOCE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DIEZ
Here is another version of El Cristo Negro, this one titled El Senor de Esquipulas, Esquipulas being the specific town in Guatemala where El Cristo Negro first appeared.
The script below the image says something to the effect of 'V.R. of the Miraculous Image of the Senor de Esquipulas who is venerated in the School of Santa Cruz of Queretaro'. The school or college of Santa Cruz (Saint Cross) of Queretaro was the first college established in Mexico to train priests and missionaries. The 'V.R.' at the start of the script is most likely a Latin abbreviation for 'Votum Ricevute' or 'Reciept' as many of the early Italian ex-votos often had the abbreviation G.R. (Grazie Ricevute) or V.F.G.A. (Votum Fecit Gratiam Accepit) which mean thanks for the graces or favours received or the votive gift done (and) the mercy has been received.
This particular retablo is available for purchase from Colonial Arts in San Francisco. If you're keen on the work, make sure you mention my name to James!