Fringe Weekly Blogs

Silence and visual noise

When you paint a picture it doesn’t help to overthink the meaning of everything. Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, as the song goes. That’s become a sort of corny motto for me while I tr...

I wanna be a dog

When I was a boy there were three things you were expected to say: I wanna be a fireman, I wanna be a pilot, I wanna be a soldier. The fact that I said it also, meant that I was average. I’ve...

Dreams and Ambitions

If desperate times call for desperate measures then surely the opposite applies. Glorious times call for glorious measures. Why wallow in misery when you can take a chance on something new? Y...

Attitude free not attitude freak

Once upon a time there was a painting, unlike any other painting before it. It took itself very seriously, perhaps a little too much so, which also made it shy and reserved. Once upon a time ther...

Is there any reason to go on holiday?

The fact that opposites attract is based on the terrible assumption that the grass is always greener on the other side. That’s the full expression. So, to put you in the picture: you’re sitting o...

I may complicate your life with my simplicity

When life gives you lemonade don’t be fooled by its sweetness, it’s just a front. Rather, go back to source and find the lemons. Lemons may not be as sweet, but at least they’re healthy and hon...

It’s neither a thesis nor an antithesis

Art and writing are such good friends, and such bad enemies, that it’s almost too much of a risk to write anything in the frame after what Basquiat and Cy Twombly gave us. The challenge is to kee...

Make art not war over art

What’s with that shirt Charlie Brown wears every day of his comic life? A yellow shirt is bad enough, but around his stomach it has a zig zag that makes him look even more chubby than he really i...

Benefits of looking back

Creating a picture is not like landscaping a garden. Unless you’re painting a picture of a garden. The imagination can compensate for all sorts of shortfalls in real life. I guess, that’s why mak...

If you think you understand reality, dream on

My new work is about the right to dream and the right to imagine. Charlie Brown wears a heart on the outside, and Snoopy understands the internal workings of it. Our friends should know the diffe...

Fart about art

Once upon a time I was a party animal. Well more of a lapdog than a wolf. I sort of fell apart when the party peaked, but I was party animal nevertheless. Then my conscience got the better of me ...

I’ll name my price

On the outside looking in is not a place I always want to be. I sometimes want to be on the inside looking out. But where is the inside and who decides? It’s not as though the gallery always has ...

Hot for green

The colour of money is not always green. But it is green in American comic books that sort of set the standard for what goes on in pop art. This was before pop art took inspiration from Japanese ...

Art tribes will hang together

Serendipity is one of the most trusted brands, um, worldwide. By its very definition, serendipity brings us closer together. There have in all probability been thousands of businesses, books and ...

Amy’s shopping list

Regarding Dobby, my all-time favorite elf from the Harry Potter movies, I thought, “right what do I have in common with Dobby that makes me see a kindred spirit when he arrives on the scene?” We’...