God Being Killed

Lots done recently! My new great challenge is a new painting in a new cabinet. My original target was to make this in time for the Salon Art Prize, the deadline at the end of August but it will be very difficult to make the deadline. I've made most of the cabinet, but lo! First the results of my last project.

Here is 'God Being Killed By Theists And Atheists', oil on MDF panel, 300x450mm.

The full nature of the painting and its concept is related in an earlier post. It shows religion on the left side, the glaring face of Pope Innocent X and atheists on the right, represented as Darwinian monkeys. Both play chess. Bishop and simian monoliths facing each other. In the centre on the horizon is a crucifix, peace, divinity and holy understanding above such discussions, but at the same time a grave, and death, depending on your viewpoint, and so the painting shows holiness and unholiness, life and death in one image.

Here is the painting in the frame.

The frame is rather top heavy, so I should have put the attachments for hanging higher up. Apart from that it's rather tough for a plaster frame.

Here is a closeup of the scene with the lugubrious figures. Those are air dried clay. The rest is plaster or epoxy clay. The vines are polymorph plastic and the lot is painted in acrylics with metallic finish.

Welsh Tiger

Hi folks! Here's the painting I was talking about; Tiger Moving Nowhere At All, oil on panel 56x32cm.

I painted it with the theme of "Moving" for the Tabernacle Competition held by MOMA Wales. Today I took the trip to Machynlleth to drop it off.

The day was too long and too hot. It took about an hour to pack it, and I had to make (bend) a handle from aluminium tubing so that I could carry the heavy work to the railway station (interesting note; young people these days say train station. Is it just me that uses the former? I'd like to think so. I'd like to be as Victorian as possible or even Edwardian, even better!)

Here it is framed. It's very heavy.

As ever on these Machynlleth days I left the house at about 9 and came back at about 5. It's a long trip, mostly sitting on trains, or waiting on platforms. I always get a headache (which, last year I considered to be "depression" after a certain person told me that another certain person had a headache and that the doctor told him it was depression, and then later antidepressants made it go away, I've not knowingly experienced depression, and thought that the miserable day last year was a taster, but it turns out it was dehydration and motion sickness because I had the same headache when I went on a subsequent train trip during happy times). The air was hot and viscous and there were tiny flying insects about, perhaps due to recently headline grabbing floods, although the rain as predicted did not occur, as I predicted (because the BBC weather is often wrong, even more so when it matters, knowing the weather is so pointless, except for extreme professions like fisherman or gardener).

I arrived, dropped off the painting and strolled up the Owain Glyndwr walk to the bench where I ate my cheddar and grape sandwiches (tip; grapes are ideal for this, the best sandwich has a sweet fruit component like tomatoes, kiwi fruit or grape, a creamy component like cream cheese or mayonnaise, and a meat or fish part) and continued the walk for a few minutes before I had to catch the train back. There were few attractive single looking females on the train or on other eye catchable places. The train was mostly empty anyway. I began drawing hinge designs and then stared at the clouds.

In Shrewsbury, waiting for the change, I walked three times around "the block" in an attempt to exorcise the feelings of being a crushed ping-pong ball which didn't really work. The air remained jellific and I put on sunglasses due to reflected sun although I knew that this would hinder any eye communication, should it occur. The last train was one of cloud stares again, but these were good and I thought I even saw a baby Kelvin Helmholtz. In Crewe I bought some more hinges (which come in packets of three, when I need four, hmm) and a brass rod which can be a cane for my steam-punk outfit.

I limped home, drank and ate. Tried to console two friends and hopefully succeeded. I typed to my long term pen-pal...

"Tired of imaginary conversations with imaginary people. On the other hand, these emotions only exist to populate the planet. Is that even a worthy cause!!? I count myself lucky in my ability to rationalise my emotions. No matter what the world throws, those that can use logic to successfully ignore their feelings might be unhappy inside sometimes, or happy inside sometimes, but generally are blessed because they can intelligently choose what to do and why, not have their genes and/or neurology and/or whims choose for them."

This year I've felt more at peace than ever. More blessed. More grateful to the universe and the people I know. I've encountered lots of gifted people, and the most gifted seem to self-destruct via apathy, negativity and giving up early. I'll never do that. I'd be bitterly disappointed not to have my painting selected. I'd be overjoyed to win. But either option wouldn't hold back any future actions. Prize money would certainly improve my art though! I've got a big list of "hopes" to buy when I can afford it, from a CD by such and such a band, to an iPad, to a house, a studio and a concert grand piano!

The M.O.M.A. Wales exhibition, whether I'm in it or not, runs from the 16th of July to the 1st of September. Machynlleth is such a nice town that it's worth a visit.