has been for sale for some time, as you have seen. The maintenance and ongoing development to keep our non-profit and idealistic platform for contemporary art running and safe from hackers etc. costs money that is no longer there. Because of small investments that are necessary now and the running costs, we will have to shut down with a heavy heart at the beginning of summer on June 21.
"The Broken Queen", 2015, acrylic, ink, white pastel on MDF, 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches.)
A butterfly (a female of the species Danaus plexippus, the Monarch Butterfly) appears to the viewer as though in a fragmented mirror, the graceful and complex pattern of the wings broken into facets and isolated pieces.
The panel is first prepared with white latex enamel, then a rough surface of black acrylic and plaster dust, then sanded to allow the light undercoat to show through the distressed black layer. Onto this, in black ink and thinned white acrylic, a pattern of angular fragments -- some displaying bits of the butterfly's wings -- is created, using fine hatchwork to provide tone.
"A Handful of Moments", 2015, acrylic on fiberboard, 16 x 16 inches (40 x 40 cm).
A ghostly chain passes through a man's hands, flowing like water between his fingers. The mysterious object seems to respond to the touch, yet is still somehow unreal, remote -- untouchable.
The panel is sealed with layers of white acrylic enamel, then coated with black acrylic and roughly sanded. Over this distressed surface the image of the figure is painted in monochrome with white and Payne's gray, warmed only slightly by tiny additions of ochre at highlights. The ribbon is painted with a fine lettering brush, using acrylic paint thinned with water.
"The Family Ghost", 2015, acrylic on fiberboard (with traces of charcoal sketch still visible in places), 45 x 60 cm.
Every family has its ghosts.
This painting relies on only Payne's Gray and Titanium White, the monochrome effect emphasizing the sense that the figure is not quite real, transparent to his background.
The learn more about this work, visit its page on Saatchi Art: http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-The-Family-Ghost/343864/2689206/view#
"Applause", 2015, pen and ink with collage on fiberboard, 12 inches wide by 16 inches tall (30 x 40 cm).
This piece is about performance and the response to performance. As a visual artist, my need for feedback is no different from that of a musician or a stand-up comedian -- we are all exposing ourselves to public view and criticism, and we all hope for applause.
(The music, by the way, is from Mozart, the Clarinet Concerto in A Major, which I played in a previous stage in my life.)
For more about this artwork, visit its page at Saatchi Art: http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Drawing-Applause/343864/2676812/view
"Rest", 2015, acrylic on fiberboard, 16 x 16 inches (40 x 40 cm).
One of a series of monochrome images focusing on the model's hands and posture to communicate an emotional state. Color is limited to one dark color (in this case a mixture of chromium oxide green, burnt umber, and Payne's gray) and one white, and only one brush is used throughout (in this case a 7mm round synthetic bristle brush.)
For more about this artwork, visit its page on Saatchi Art at: http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Rest/343864/2665227/view
"Stand", 2015, acrylic with traces of charcoal on fiberboard, 16 x 16 inches (40 x 40 cm).
The word "stand" can have several meanings: as a noun it can mean an ethical or political position; as a verb it can imply resistance or rebellion, or it can simply refer to the act of remaining in place. This painting leaves itself open to any of those interpretations.
In this painting I relied on only a single dark color (a mixture of burnt umber and Payne's gray) and white. Subtleties of tone and shading are all achieved within that extremely limited palette.
For more about this artwork, visit its page at Saatchi Art: http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Stand/343864/2662801/view
"The Centaur's Shirt", 2015, acrylic, cut paper and metal button on fiberboard, 16 x 16 inches (40 x 40 cm).
The title comes from the Greek myth describing the death of Herakles (Hercules).
Cut paper, including slices of book pages, are layered with acrylic in black, blue, yellow and white and sanded down, then a pattern of fine lines in thinned acrylic is used to create a flowing shape like fabric, threaded into and around the paper forms. A small gold and black metal button suggests the sun, or perhaps an eye.
The area of black in the lower left was built up by successive layers of red, blue-gray, orange, yellow, iron-oxide red, and dark gray, each layer scraped with a wire brush when dry, before receiving the next layer, to create a matte blue-black surface contrasting with the pale forms in the rest of the painting.
To see more about this artwork, visit its page at Saatchi Art: http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-The-Centaur-s-Shirt/343864/2655735/view
"The First to Speak", 2015, acrylic and paper on wood, 18 x 24 inches (45 x 60 cm).
This piece illustrates the basic conflict between the rational, structured, side of the human indentity and the wild, disorganized, side. Out of this struggle comes our need to communicate, and the words we use to do it.
The plywood panel is gessoed and sealed, then painted with a rough collision of dark, cool blues, apple green, and a dark, muddy red. Different thicknesses of paper, in shades of dark gray-green, brown, white, and beige are cut into a variety of shapes -- some geometric, some organic -- and layered with more thinned paint, then sanded to allow suggestions of the underlying surfaces to ghost through. The final layer is sanded smooth and finished with a light coat of UV-protectant varnish.
"Breathe", 2015, acrylic on fiberboard, 16 x 16 inches (40 x 40 cm).
A figure teeters against a blue sky, standing at a precarious angle, in an awkward and uncomfortable pose. The person in the image could be a child, but might also be an adult -- even the gender is unclear. The pose appears restrictive and uncomfortable, but the discomfort is self-imposed, part of an interaction taking place between the figure in the image and the spectator, while the wide-open sky defies any suggestion of enclosure or restraint.
The painting relies on only two colors, Payne's Gray and Titanium White -- again demonstrating a sense of restriction -- while the invisible horizon and the skewed viewpoint contribute both a sense of unresolved conflict and of free movement in space, the impression of freedom reinforced by the loose, flexible brushwork and visible traces of a rough charcoal preliminary sketch.
"The Rose of Strange Places", 2015, acrylic on fiberboard, 24 inches wide by 30 inches tall (60 x 75 cm).
A fantastic landscape of crystalline structures, folded space, and filigree clouds is dominated by a single rose, the one stable object in the chaos. There is an atmosphere of alchemy and transformation.
Acrylic paint and plaster dust are layered with broad curves of cut paper in natural brown and moss green, then sanded. This process is repeated to create a complex and ambiguous surface. On this surface -- and re-establishing its flatness -- are filigree patterns in white, off-white, gray and green, suggesting clouds.
