Work in progress - 90 x 120 cm, oil on canvas

I can’t say definitely that I’m there yet. As I sit on my comfy studio sofa (many thanks Lia!), I contemplate the day’s work. There is something starting to take shape, a tantalising more complete definition. Extend this here, darken that there, bring this colour in there and viola, there is the final painting. Ah, but some hours, perhaps days or even a week or two to go yet.

“When do I know when a painting is finished?”, I’ve often been asked. It might seem like a silly question, but often the way I work, there is no preliminary sketch or reference materials that I’m working from. It all comes out of my imagination and what is already there on the canvas waiting to be discovered. It is certainly not a new way to work. Even many non artists have laid on the grass and gazed at the clouds in the sky and imagined animals, faces or whatever. As a boy, I used to do it a lot with friends. We all took delight in trying to identify the visual fantasy of the other. It was sometimes very surprising how differently some one else saw the same thing. I still take pleasure in this when people discover something in my own work that I haven’t seen.

Artistically, I’m not alone in this method of visual inspiration.  Everybody is familiar with the results of Dalí’s paranoic critical method, whereby one thing becomes another if you look at it in a different way. Even Leonardo Da Vinci was fond of the day dreamer’s gaze, or the thousand mile stare.

“It is in my opinion not useless if you pause in the realisation of pictorial forms and look at the spots on the wall, at the ashes of the hearth, at the clouds, or in the gutter: on careful observation, you will make wonderful discoveries there, which the genius of the painter can turn to good account in the composition of human and animal battles, landscapes, monsters, devils and other fantastic things which you can use to your advantage. These confused things awaken the genius to new inventions, although one must have learnt well how to do all the parts, especially the limbs of the animals and the forms of the landscape, its plants, and its stones.”
From Leonardo Da Vinci’s treatise on painting.

So here I am staring at my painting, filling in the gaps, or rather, it is filling in the gaps for me. But then I come back to myself, sitting on the couch, taking a deep breath I quit my repose and walk to the palette and brushes. Now its time to fill the gaps with a brush and paint.

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Earlier that week I managed to persuade Norman Dziegel, the proud owner of my Gelbe Spiral painting to loan it to me, so I could take it to Hamburg for scanning. I packaged it up for the journey along with two other paintings. Meeting up with Dennis we drove out to Scan Discounter. Hidden on the ground floor of a house in the suburbs is the largest scanner I’ve ever seen. They tell me that they can scan up to 2 and half meters in length at 300 DPI. That makes for very large files, and you’d better have enough RAM on your computer to open and modify them. (drooling while dreaming…)

With the scans done in no time, we were off to Dennis’ apartment in the Caroline Quarter of Hamburg, the not so famous sister of the Schanzen Quater. Both are like a mini versions of Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Neukölln in Berlin. But it wasn’t the distractions of Hamburg street life that interested us. There was painting to be done!

Dennis and I have on a number of occasions have had joint painting sessions, over the internet. While it is interesting to have a bit of virtual company, to share the same space is far more productive. I am always curious to look over other’s shoulders and to see how they work. Its a great chance to trade tips on technique and talk paint.

Along with my paintings that I’d brought to Hamburg to scan, were two small collaboration pieces that we had started on, last January when Dennis was in Berlin for our Fantastic Visions exhibition. We set about finishing the two off. However, Dennis is much quicker than I and finished his, while I have not yet. I’ve included some photos below.

A tale of two spirals

Gelbe Spiral on loan from Norman Dziegel alongside the blue. I had both scanned so I can make high quality prints.

Dennis' studio wall

Dennis' studio wall

Dennis busy painting

Putting on the final touches

The finished work

Dennis' painting

My twin painting

I'm a bit slower than Dennis, and so it's not finished yet.

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Dennis Konstantin painting in his studio

Today I was painting with Dennis Konstantin while he was in his studio in Hamburg and I in mine in Berlin. What began as just a Skype chat moved onto a dual painting session when Dennis picked up his brush and started to work. So, of course rather than just talk about paint, I also continued with my latest work on the easel.

We both continued to occasionally talk when not fully focused on our paintings. What was interesting, was at times glancing back at the computer screen and seeing that the other was doing the same thing, such as sitting and contemplating their painting. It was also an interesting insight into each others studio habits, and how much time is actually spent putting brush to canvas as verses contemplating the next move. It is rather assuring to see that others are also given over to the same foibles.

It would be a wonderful thing if Skype could do multiple video conferencing, then we could have more people involved from all over the world. It’s a nice thought, since painting is usually a very solitary practice. But there are occasions we do all end up in the same physical space. And I certainly look forward to that.

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For the past year I’ve had my studio here in the Atelierhaus Mengerzeile. And the time has come again for our Tag der Offene Ateliers (open studio day).

So I’ll be here with my studio open for all and sundry to visit, so you can see what I’m up to and what new artwork is on my easels. Yes, multiple easels, five. After last month I finally have all of my London studio materials here in Berlin. Many thanks to Paul Barnett, Daniel Worth and Pierre Sievers for helping me out with unloading and carrying my things up to the fourth floor!

The studio is looking decidedly full at the moment with all of the boxes that I need to unpack, sort and then store. So there is a bit of preparation before the open studio day.

The photo I’ve included with this post is the Atelierhaus Mengerzeile in the Communist East German times, and is a view from the West to the East across the No-Man’s-Land where they were later to erect the wall. So there is a little history attached to the building. On display will also be a photo exhibition of the building and the wall during this time.

Hope you can make it to visit my studio.

Saturday 3rd of October 2009
3pm – 10pm

Atelierhaus Mengerzeile
Mengerzeile 1-3
12435 Berlin
Germany

atelierhaus-mengerzeile.de

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270° view of my Mengerzeile Studio.

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The underpainting has been done in casein. Casein paint is derived from milk, and is a fast-drying, water-soluble medium used by artists. Casein paint has been used since ancient Egyptian times as a form of tempera paint, and is still used today.

A short explanation of the painting subject: 

Sophia, a feminine figure, analogous to the human soul but also simultaneously one of the Feminine aspects of God and the Bride of Christ. The Sophia resides in all of us as the Divine Spark. In Gnostic tradition, the term Sophia (Σoφíα, Greek for "wisdom" refers to the final and lowest emanation of God.

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While there I also had the chance to catch up with Luigi La Speranza and Peter Gric. We met Michael Sheer, the director of Galerie 10 while visiting Amanda's exhibition.

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