Resonance

Hi, I thought I would post a few images from my current show. This is especially for those who cant make it to Edinburgh for one reason or another. The show looks good. Well spaced, with lots of light, and this current collection will not be seen again in its entirety. The show finishes on the 12th of October and I really recommend you take a gander.

http://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/Open+Eye/Angus+McEwan/

Is that a watercolour?

Shadow boxer- Cuba, watercolour on collage, UF- 59 x 46cm

the start of shadow boxer

Yes!

Occasionally standing in front of my paintings I am confronted by that question. Even standing peering at the image, I am surprised and delighted that the viewer cant quite ascertain how its been produced. Perfect! I wouldn't want to produce an image that can be easily picked apart.

The two images at the top reveal how i build up the surface before adding drawing, then watercolour.

Its a long and laborious job, with lots of tiny brushes, but the effect is worth it! Well, I have to believe that, or I wouldn't be able to justify the pain and long hours at the easel to myself .

I shan't reveal anymore than that.

Something Different

"Cool Breeze", watercolour on collage, 80 x 104cm, 2010.

This exhibition offers something different to my usual fare, although I hope, still recognizable as being from my hand.

I have been experimenting with building up the surface of my painting with watercolour papers, tissue, mulberry, hemp etc, (to create a textured surface) on which I am using watercolour. It, of course, creates its own set of problems, but I believe the end result is worth the extra hassle. I have also started to use figures in my work. Not much of a revelation I know, but something I have been wanting to do for some time. I must say, both of these introductions have offered something new to my work which, I hope, will be welcomed by all who see the show.

http://openeyegallery.co.uk/Open+Eye/Angus+McEwan/

Resonance

New Show

The Open Eye Gallery

34 Abercromby Place

Edinburgh EH3 6QE

Friday 24th September - Tuesday 12th October 2010

Angus McEwan, RSW ARWS



Resonance 2010
As I brush past old walls, doors & alleyways, I imagine sounds of past lives, like whispers in the wind, The walls resonate in my imagination; music, crying, weeping, celebrations, singing, bullets zipping, shouting, laughter, etc, all woven into the fabric of the buildings, untouched by a restorer’s hand.

Human lives lived and lost, a narrative unfolds as I wander with my senses heightened. History is absorbed and reflected by the walls around me. Resonating, past lives speak to me through the textural marks on the surfaces, as I carefully observe and transcribe. It is my duty to pass on their stories. Conjecture, interpretation or even embellishment, sometimes when a painting is bereft of human presence the piece speaks volumes about human lives and their struggles. The occasional human figure in a painting allows us to empathise on an emotional level with their predicament or surroundings, our imagination is thus engaged. Through my paintings I try to imbue some of the characteristics of each object/surface, while reflecting upon the scene in front of me. If I am partially successful I will have left the viewer with the impression of more than just textured surfaces, perhaps on the odd occasion familiar sounds and smells may be triggered. Maybe a memory of something or somewhere personal may be triggered by the image. Your participation and imagination, as viewer, is a vitally important component for the story to take flight.

Saatchi Disclaimer

I received a phone call tonight from someone (C?) claiming to be from the Saatchi gallery with the claim that I was being outed as a particularly nasty character in the chatroom (Gouki?). I havent been on the Saatchi website for a considerable amount of time (12 to 18months) and my address etc has been posted in the chatroom. I am particularly annoyed as my reputation as an artist is clearly being undermined by a user called Z (I can supply the full name).

I cant get into the chatroom to verify this and I also tried to delete myself from the Saatchi website (with no luck) as i do not want to have any association with any part of this nonsense.

If anyone can help I would really appreciate it.
cheers

Queens Gallery show update

I thought I would post some images of the exhibition for those who cant make the show for one reason or another. There are 36 pieces of which a sixth have sold so far. Not panicking yet, as there are number of people still to visit and a few mulling over a sale, so hopefully the bottom line will alter with time.

Over all I am fairly pleased with the way the pieces interact, and the general idea behind the show works quite well. There are plenty of opportunities to see the connections between quite a number of pieces. Whether these are all obvious on the first glance I'm not sure, but they are there so look closer. The drawings and sketches are there to support the work, but a number of people think they stand up on their own right. I just wouldn't feel completely comfortable about putting them on the wall as items in their own right but if buyers do, then fine.

I hope you can manage down to see the exhibition, as I think the work stand closer scrutiny. I shall let you be the judge.

Hanging of Queens Gallery show

Example of the new framing.


Preparing the room.

Well its 2 days to go till my Queens Gallery show opens. Worried? Well perhaps more than normal. Not because the work lacks something. On the contrary, I am more than pleased with how the show is looking (although only at the initial hanging phase), and very pleased with the new framing. A very well done to Hugh Goring again.

Its just this economical climate that has put the chills up me! The work is very reasonably priced and I have made sure there is a huge range in sizes this time with the emphasis on slightly smaller and therefore more affordable. In this day and age its terrible that a compromise has to occur between work that will be comfortable to the viewer and therefore more saleable, and work that is more difficult to live with. Obviously the quality on show has to be up to standard, but the mere fact that an image may not appeal, actually enters into my thinking cant be a good thing. I most definitely try not to let it influence me, but it does nag away at the back of your head eating away at your decision making. All, is self doubt and natural.

If you can make it on saturday I will be more than pleased to see you. The work looks fine on the internet but getting up close and really scrutinising it is much more satisfying.

Wish me luck!

Insights

Angus McEwan RSW ARWS
Insights

Private view- Saturday 26th September 11am -2pm
The exhibition continues until Saturday 17th October

The Queens Gallery,
160 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DU
Tel:01382 220600
Email: info@queensgallery.co.uk

Work is for sale on receipt of this invitation and can be viewed on and purchased from the website
http://www.queensgallery.co.uk/


Artist statement

When putting together an exhibition for the purposes of selling in a gallery, there are a few self imposed “rules” which I normally adhere to. Call it convention, if you will. Keeping apart a number of works which appear similar, because they have been developed around a subject or theme is one. Not showing preparatory sketches, drawings, collages, false dawns, blind alleys etc, would be another.

You, the viewer, are being offered the rare opportunity see where ideas take off and change direction as new possibilities reveal themselves to me. Working in this manner, ideas flow continuously and there is never enough time to explore every facet. Some good ideas are never pursued and some are when they shouldn’t be, but that’s what keeps things interesting. That is also why the drawing, sketch, Maquette, is an essential part of the working process of an artist.

By omitting certain pieces from an exhibition, the idea or thread contained within a body of work can sometimes be missed or miss construed. It was my intention to allow the viewer an intended “Insight” into some of my preparatory ideas, sketches, etc as support for the main paintings. It is hoped that a little bit of the “hidden” workings will be revealed in the process.

An interesting aside to showing these support works is the fact that they can be viewed for the first time as works in their own right. There is often energy and vitality within a sketch or drawing that can be missing from the more polished variety. It is the carefree rather than careless mark that can imbue liveliness and simplicity that may be sacrificed in the making of the larger studio paintings.

If nothing else hopefully you go away with a little bit more of an “Insight” into the process involved in creating a work of Art.

Queens show looming!

" The stone speaks", watercolour,

" Vying for attention", watercolour

"Billbord altarpiece", Watercolour

Well my new show is almost ready. Do I know how it will look? In a word, No! I can only hope that it hangs together. The title of the show will be- "Insights". The basic premise of the show is to have a rare opportunity to see sketches, drawings, and collages alongside the finished item.

Some have more working drawings than others, some have none. Some are drawings in their own right and some are finished works without support material. I am hoping for around 35 pieces and rage from tiny to quite large for a watercolour (3' x 4').

As you can see the three paintings above all relate to each other. The first is my original idea for the billboard Maddona theme. The second explore the billboard as a collage of ripped poster then painted with watercolour. The last piece amalgamates the two elements together to create the large painting. Hopefully when hung together the theme of the show will work. Will it look ok? mmmm! your guess is as good as mines, ie I have no idea. I can only live in hope, again!!!

Who doesnt work from figures?

Strike a pose, graphite on paper

Art to wear, colour pencil on paper

Dutch shawl, neocolour on paper

Most of you who know my work, know that I tend not to include figures that often. Primarily because it doesn't always fit in with the subject matter I'm dealing with. It doesn't however mean I don't like to work with the figure but it tends to be a separate thing altogether. Recently we had a day at college where the lecturers worked with the figure without students. It was an excellent and productive day and allowed us to gain a little insight into the pitfalls of being a student. After all it has been a long time for most of us.

Here are a few pieces from that day. The first piece took 10 minutes, working with two models using line. The second and third pieces were 30 minutes in length and allowed me an opportunity to develop the images a little further. The second piece was produced with coloured pencil and the third made use of watercolour crayons (neocolour) which I am really enjoying at the moment. Anywhoo, I teach life drawing a lot, so this keeps me on my toes!

Eh! I'm still alive!

OK, Its been a while. I have been working quite hard actually, and just finished teaching on Tuesday for a while at least. Well the most significant piece of news, I believe, is my nomination to the Royal watercolour Society, London. So I am at the moment now an ARWS as well as an RSW (confused?). This will now involve me in being a lot more active in showing down in the Bankside Gallery, London.

I also met Prince Charles in Holyrood earlier this month in conjunction with the RSW. I managed to chat to him for a while about watercolour which was very insightful.

At the moment I am busy working towards my next show which will be in the Queens Gallery, Dundee on the 26th September 2009. The show will be entitled "Insights" and will include drawings, collages, sketches and finished pieces. I wanted to show some of my support work which normally never sees the light of day. Anywhoo, I will be back..........honest!

Curiosities Book

A small piece in the press an Journal, Scotland

I have put the "Curiosities" Catalogue (A4 book) on eBay in the "buy now" category if anyone would like to purchase one they could use pay pal. It means if I have some in the studio it could be winging its way to you ASAP, if not it takes about 3 or 4 days for photobox to produce it and send to me. Either way its probably a more convenient way to purchase the catalogue.



Here is the URL for the eBay page:



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Angus-McEwan-Curiosities-Art-Book_W0QQitemZ130265412549QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item130265412549&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Drawing near

...............the show in the Open Eye Gallery that is. I am still trying to finish the last and probably largest piece for the exhibition. I have less than a week, but I think it will be enough. Although I always seem to need a day or so more than I think, to complete a painting, so It could still be touch and go. Oh the excitement, or is that fear? I am not sure, perhaps both.

Fear that this credit crunch thingy will have drained the enthusiasm as well as the pockets of those who may have been interested in purchasing some of my latest work. On the plus side I have a lot of small paintings for sale. But, that has been niggling away at me as well. Will I have enough to fill the gallery without it looking avant garde. Will my nerve hold? mmmmm!

I have also produced a "catalogue" for the show. It is, perhaps, more of a little book (A4) than a traditional catalogue. I decided to go for the really nice looking but expensive option this time. The books are produced on line through photobox and cost roughly £20 each. I am going to sell them at cost to anyone who wants one. I just need the name and address of each person that is interested and I can produce them as and when I need to. It therefore gets rid of the, where do I stash my 500 catalogue, syndrome? It also looks pretty nice.

RSW

"All roads lead to Rome", watercolour on paper, 2008

A few of you may have noticed the RSW after my name. It refers to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours. I was elected in 1995 and have been an active participant in the life of the society, elected twice to council (now on my second stint) and have helped to hang numerous annual exhibitions. I have also had the honour of being Exhibition convener twice (basically in charge of the hang in the gallery) and thoroughly recommend viewing our annual exhibition, (if you can), it is a lot less traditional than most watercolour societies.





The reason for the inclusion on the blog is that the RSW website has been updated and I thought you may be interested in having a look at it:





http://www.rsw.org.uk/index.php

"Box of Curiosities", watercolour on paper, 2008

The theme behind my next one man show in the Open Eye centres around my collection of objects, which collectively, are what I would like to call "curiosities" . Here is the small blurb which is going to be used in conjunction with the work:

“Curiosities”
Angus McEwan RSW

Open Eye Gallery
2008

Over 300 years ago the foundation of Natural History as a science relied heavily on its partnership with art. Voyages of discovery were undertaken by scientists and artists in a symbiotic relationship to discover and collect “curiosities” of the natural world. This urge to travel and to discover has been a particular theme explored by many artists from many generations. The birth of photography and the development of scientific progress have changed the artist’s role from observer and recorder of the Natural world to that of opinionated commentator. Watching on the sidelines passively to proactively participating in and shaping society.

The role of the artist has been liberated from the bonds of representation and yet many like me find the greatest satisfaction in recording accurately and having an opinion. Perhaps, the best of both worlds.

I travel because I enjoy the “buzz” of discovering something new for myself. I don’t go to any place with a preconceived idea of what I will see or more importantly use. I try to let my natural curiosity guide me to whatever I find interesting at that particular point in time. I collect anything that appeals to me on my journeys and through time have amassed quite a number of curiosities of my own. These in conjunction with drawings, paintings and photography, have very often ended up as images which contain numerous elements of my journeys. Many of my paintings reflect my natural desire to record and observe, others reflect my opinions and points of view sometimes they contain both.

The paintings themselves through the creative process become curiosities in their own right.

New Door pics for Edinburgh

Ancient Venetian door, watercolour on paper, 2008

As promissed the drip process of allowing you to see a few images from the October Edinburgh show continues.

Some of these pieces are so new they havent been framed yet, therefore the reason why there are no sizes next to the picture. The subject matter in a few of the pieces are still along the same theme of doors, windows, tromp l'oiel, but there may also be a few surprises thrown in (if I can finish them in time).

Long forgotten, watercolour on paper, 2008

Venice, Los Angeles and Rome are the inspiration for the new series. The image below (under siege) is so new I finished it last week. My work is so labour intensive that it can take quite a long time to do each piece, and I work on 5 or 6 at once to give me a variety. Even the smallest can take up to three full days (thats why I dont pay attention to how long the bigger pieces take otherwise I would check myself into a clinic to see why I do this to myself)! Anyway I hope you enjoy the work.

Under siege, watercolour on paper, 2008

self portrait photo

Just came across "Brushspace". Another website for artists to showcase their work. I think the layout is quite nice and its very easy to use. I had a couple of glitches with downloading but apart from that it was a doddle. Thought I would share the website with you:

http://www.brushspace.com/

Another piece!

"Illuminated window", watercolour on paper 2008

As i said a few days ago I would occasionally deliver a "sneak" view of some of the work going into the Open eye Gallery, Edinburgh in October. Well here is the next installment.





This painting is also a watercolour produced on the smooth Kahdi paper. I bought two pieces to try out. I loved the size and the irregular/deckled edge makes it look more like a scraping from a wall than a well executed modern offering. The paper, as I said on the last post was rather heavily sized for my liking, ( each layer would quite easily disturb the layer underneath making it difficult to produce smooth transitional layers) but i found a way around it.

The image itself will be of no great surprise to those who have been following my work. This piece is taken from my recent trip to Venice, Italy. I t shows a window slowly being revealed as the sun moves across the sky towards its zenith. Its the colour, texture, shapes and shadows that appeal to me in particular with this painting.

A wee sneak preview

The Fading American dream, watercolour on paper, 64 x 77cm

Well I keep trying to keep up with this blogging effort but sadly real life keeps pulling me back.





I have been working fairly hard for my show on October 18Th 2008, at the Open Eye gallery, Edinburgh. I thought I would drip feed you with some pieces from the show.

This painting is rather personal to me. The title refers to my parents experience of living in the States for the past 24 years. In May this year my father died in California, leaving my mother and brother to continue living and working in Los Angeles. He will be sadly missed as any parent would be, his "new life" living in Californian has now faded and subsequently changed for my mother.

The painting itself shows a child's windmill, with its bright garish colours. On the right hand side is a billboard with faded posters, some relating to the era of by gone days when going to the Americas was preferential for many families from Scotland during the Highland clearances.

There isn't any collage on this piece, its all painted on smooth Kadhi watercolour paper (over sized a little, which made it difficult to work with) with sennelier and old Holland watercolours.

Le Quattro Stagioni Di Vivaldi

Vivaldi's Four Seasons

While in Venice last month I attended a concert of Vivaldi's four seasons. The musicians were in period costume and although I went as a reluctant observer, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The setting was also very interesting, the main hall of the Scuola Grande Di San Teodoro designed by Baldassarre Longhena. I primarily went along to draw and found myself swept along by the energy and excitement generated by the Venetian vituoso's. The faster they played the faster I drew, when the music was quieter and slower I drew accordingly.I did about 9 sketches whilst they played, catching the movement of each musician as they played wasn't easy and therefore each sketch is a summation of a period in time rather than a frozen moment like a photograph. Here is a small selection from the concert.