lifes journey

The area between the airport and the city centre, although only 20 minutes by metro was, on my last trip in 2001, an unknown part of town however, had I thought to venture there I would have found little more than vacant plots and building site, now however the area has been dedicated to the provision of space, space for the people, space for the sky, and space for the buildings, it is the buildings that are spectacle being in themselves massive sculptures that sit quietly in their own space. Space is so important to the visual, when arranging ornaments or hanging an exhibition each object has its own space, above, beside, below and infront, each space is specified by the very power of the object, of course, where hanging an exhibition to its fullest impact it is only they with an intimate knowledge of each piece of work that can assess its rightful place for maximum impact; this has been achieved most beautifully in 'downtown Orestad (there is a line through the O like the phoneti...

I have, what is now a natural and accepted hightened level of vigilance, borne of military training I am able to scan an entire area within seconds and capture pretty much everything, at one time this was a serious problem that controlled my life to a point where it dissallowed any level of enjoyment, now, where observation is part and parcel of my work and pleasure it is an advantage. One part of any town or city that is generally ignored by the average Joe in the street are the rooves, the sole purpose for being out in the street being either as a route between point A and B and back again, anything above the level of the window displays, unseen and deemed generally as unimportant, for me this is not the case, as modernism, renovation, advertising and corporate logos tend to alter and change even our oldest streets and houses the upper levels and rooves retain the buildings history, most notably in its tiles gutters and chimneys. Although I was seeking new directions and inspirations...

I enjoy this part of the process totally, except where two canvases become stuck together!! it is the final piece where the light becomes balanced across the entire image and ties it all together. I use an acrylic gloss medium, not only in the final glaze but as a mixing medium throughout to make for deeper and richer colour

After the spontaneous decision to go to Copenhagen, the early days were a frantic race to ensure that all went smoothly, within the hour to go, flight, hotel, train, all booked up without either having, or knowing if I could get a passport in time, while waiting and praying I was able to ponder over my itinary knowing that such a short period in the city could only be useful if all was planned prior to departure; my fears passed as the passport arrived well in time which was more than can be said for the trains as I spent half the night in dark and deserted rail stations waiting for a 4am connection. The night before departure was one of little sleep such was my excitement of the journey, with my bags my overnight journey to Manchester Airport was therefore extremely tiring having got little or no sleep prior to the 11 pm departure. a four hour wait at Preston and a four hour wait at the airport therefore guarenteed a sleep filled flight, not a chance I arrived in Copenhagen around 1p...

These last few days before my Copenhagen trip, yes, my first trip outside of this country for around 9 years though my first busmans holiday, this is a whole new experience. In the past a trip abroad had meant another step in my lifes goal, to find myself, now however it is an entirely new ball game, my trip has specific goals without purpose, a field trip of exploration, at the most I would hope to come home with a renewed vigour though secretly I would love to find an inner button that once switched will signify a furtherance of knowledge, a benchmark and new beginnings. The decision to go was as spontaneous as a trip could be, unusually for me I dived straight in at the deep end, with full knowledge that I had no passport and ignorant of whether or not I could even get a passport in time for my intended departure date and time, flight booked, hotel booked, train seat reserved, taxi booked and a list of 15 or so Copenhagen Galleries to choose from, all within an hour and a half, the ...

The advent of the website (http://www.charlesart-studio8live.co.uk/ ) heralds the end of the beginning as it were. From an internet perspective the past two years or so has been, not so much dedicated to establishing a web presence but the laying down of the proverbial foundations, it was not until the website was launched and the streaming video and exterior links became active and centralised, it was only at that moment when the physical and functional reality of my design came to light, Mike, the man who translated my creative thoughts into a technological mastery (for me a mystery!!) did an absolutely wonderful job and deserves full credit for without someone to marry the two disciplines together it would never have seen the light of day. With my trip to Copenhagen now only days away I depart a happy man now knowing that I have something tangible by way of a website address to leave with the gallery curators that I hope to meet on my travels around the city. In addition to the bo...

now down to a matter of weeks before the September Show virtually all jobs have been completed, other than the dreaded admin and marketing of course, all works for the show are finalised, some with Malcolm at the framers, some framed and hanging at home and some all packed up and ready to go. The small boards that have caused me much concern, in particular with the dimensions of each piece, are now finished and ready to go, not quite the originally intended 10 will be going as the number that will fit comfortably into the venue is only seven. A Sneak preview of the seven finalists; The finalised pieces are 10 x 23 cm on a raw canvas primed with gesso on a board support, Painted in acrylic paint I have mixed an acrylic gloss medium to enhance the depth of colour and overall feel of the image.