Living Painter

Facebook friends

2012-01-15T16:12:00.003+01:00

This is a personal project which started out as an exercise and which has taken on a life of it's own.

I decided to paint portraits of the many people that I call friends on facebook.

Why?

Although I don't add to my friends list very often I have over 600. I don't know all of them very well though I'm careful, as you should be, about accepting friend requests.

In an effort to become more aware of the people I call friends I decided to paint the portraits of a random selection who come up on my radar most often and then spread outwards. The other reason is because I have found that painting from a photo is incredibly hard by comparison with painting from the living model. Why? No idea, though other people have proposed theories. So this is also an exercise. A challenge and effort to overcome a sort of visual handicap.

Here are some of the paintings in oil which I've produced so far. There are others but I'm not ready to show them all.

There are larger versions on my website. http://www.tjbyrne.com

Paris Galleries - Dorothy Polley

2012-01-14T22:05:00.015+01:00

I met with Dorothy Polley in October of 2011 and she was the first gallerist of this series whom I interviewed.

When I started writing about Paris galleries I wanted the first gallery to be purely french and run by a french person and I'm glad that I made that decision.

However on writing up the interview with Dorothy I realised she is very much French and an important part of Paris. Although she is originally American she has made a huge impact here. Not just in art but in many other areas too. Significant impact. So it's with pleasure that I introduce the second in the series of interviews with french galleries based in Paris.

Q. Hello Dorothy, for my first question I’d like to know, when you came to Paris, did you plan to open an art gallery?

A. No, I didn’t plan on anything. I just came here to live. I started as a language teacher. Paris was very different then. I set up a huge organisation for language teachers, almost by accident. Then In 1986 I set up a language school which I sold in 2006. We had very big contracts with International and French companies. During all this time I was involved in music and theatre had many friends in that world. Naturally, through my language school I made a lot of contacts in the world of business. In 2006 a Japanese company offered to buy the language school and I said yes. In the same year, I set up the art gallery and invited all the people I knew from International companies and contacts in the french administrative system to attend the art vernissages and other events. It took 6 months from the original decision to the opening of the first exhibition but it was a huge success right from the beginning. I’ve been running this gallery for 5 years now but I can’t compare it to the art scene when I first arrived here in Paris because I was totally involved in establishing the language school which had 80 teachers. All my outside interests were in music and theatre.

Q. And why did you choose to open in Bastille?

A. This was originally my family home so I already had the space and now it’s the gallery.

Q. What about motivation?

A. I don’t know why I did it. I was just following my inspiration. It’s best to follow your desire because you waste a lot of time and energy by trying to understand everything before you take action. The people I worked with during the first exhibitions were of great help. They were art students and they helped with the hanging. I also worked with another gallery to find the artists and we shared the space. So the first exhibitions were a great success and when I opened the doors for the first time it was full. We had a great first response. It was very encouraging.

Q. Do you get a lot of help from associations that help galleries to set up?

A. No but I think that they exist. You see, this is a company but recently I have begun to investigate the advantages of setting up an association and benefiting from the help which associations receive.

Q. What is the advantage of being a gallery in Paris?

A. The advantage is that if companies buy work over a period of years they get the money back. That’s a big advantage for the companies. There’s no advantage for this gallery but it’s great for the collectors.

Q. Why isn’t Paris an incredible hotbed for collecting art? It seems like everything is in place for it to happen.

A. I don't know the answer to that. We discuss it often. Everyone discusses it and no one understands why. When I began, it was often passers by who bought art, just because they liked it. However over the last couple of years people seem to be a lot less willing to simply buy art without a direct reason. I do a lot of communication, probably a lot more than other galleries of my size. I’ve sold over a thousand pieces of art over the last 5 years. It’s certain that one of the things which make a big difference to an exhibitions success is the theme. Some shows bring in thousands of visitors.

Q. How do you choose work.

A. The sense of meaning in a work & the discourse surrounding it inspires me to show it. Because, having been an english teacher I like words and the meaning in the work gives it a great deal of value to me. The poetry in the work is very important. I like to mix media in the shows too. There are sculptors, paintings, photos, all at the same time. Media can be abstract or figurative.

Q. Do you have many friends who are gallerists?

A. Yes, I like to work with a lot of galleries. I share artists with galleries and share information as much as possible. That’s very important.

Q. Is it still good to be in Paris?

A. I think a lot of things have changed. There are more ateliers open. People can walk around artists studios and see art in an unstructured manner and many come to see art fairs such as FIAC. Collectors have begun to come to Paris in waves rather than as a steady stream. There are a number of art fairs each year. All of which effect the galleries. I’ve taken part in some but a gallery is better for artists. A lot of people who don’t know a lot about art but who are eager to collect feel compelled to go to big brand galleries which show established names. That’s not the way to start collecting. There is a lot to learn about the process and there is no quick fix. It’s an intellectual as well as emotional/visual process.

Q. Pricing, how do you pick a price for the art?

A. Well that depends on a lot of things. It depends on the work, on the artist. The artist and I will discuss that. If I think the price is right I’ll agree with the artist or advise them. Artists don’t realise that they have to have a range of prices. So that people can begin to collect them if they can’t afford a larger piece. People collect not just because of an individual piece but also because they like how the artist thinks.

Q. What’s your favorite part of running an art gallery?

A. Unwrapping the art. Discovering a new artist and seeing the work in real life because often you have just seen the pieces on the internet and the real thing is a completely different experience.

Q. What do you like least?

A. Being in the gallery every single day. You want to treat people as you would like to be treated yourself so you give each visitor your best and it can be exhausting. You can’t leave that to someone else.

Q. How do you find people to invite to exhibitions?

A. I have a long list of guests built up over the years.

Q. Do you collect art yourself.

A. Not really. I do have art but I don’t consider myself to be a collector.

Q. How much money do you need to have to open a gallery?

A. I don’t think that’s the right question. I think that you have to be in the right circles to open a gallery. It can be very expensive either way. Paying assistants. Putting up posters. Organising receptions. Contacting journalists. Creating communications in different magazines. So it’s very expensive but if you are in the right circles, with people who collect, it’s possible to make it work. Then there is the keeping everything clean and you have to create a book for each artist and each show.

Q. Would you not feel comfortable promoting the same artists all the time, over the years.

A. No I like to promote a core group but I also like to add to them all the time. I am very loyal to the artists that I like but the stimulation of the new is very important. The artists like it too.

Dorothy Polly

Painting by Matthew Grabelsky
Title: A weight on his mind

Painting by Eric Turlot

Video clip from the show: Paris-Texas:

Texas artist Ealy Mays : http://youtu.be/h4PkS2xiYuE

French artist Eric Turlot: http://youtu.be/ynb8yCnpVF8

Dorothy’s Gallery
http://dorothysgallery.com/art/
27, rue KellerParis, 11e
ouverture du mercredi au samedi de 13h à 19h
mardi et dimanche de 16h à 19h
Métro : Bastille
Tel: 01 43 57 08 51
email:dorothysgallery@gmail.com

------------------------------------

For lovers of Surrealist Art:

In March 2012, in Dorothy's Gallery, there will be an exhibition called Héritages Surréalistes. Its vernissage is on March 30th 2012. It will be an international surrealist exhibition with artists from 7 different countries. There is a well rounded group with two friends and collegues of André Breton: the Portuguese surrealist Isabel Meyrelles and the recently deceased French surrealist Anne Ethuin, wife of the poet Edouard Jaguer ( a member of the “Main à plume” surrealist group during the French Resistence ). With the sculptors, there are fourteen artists in total.

The exhibition is a collaborative effort between Dorothy's Gallery, Liba Waring Stambollion and Santiago Rebeiro, who is the curator and the founder of the show (which has already taken place in Portugal). It is a show which is showcased and partially funded by Bissaya Barreto.

Paris Galleries-Mariska Hammoudi

2011-11-13T14:15:00.007+01:00

Paris Gallery interviews:

Mariska Hammoudi is the owner of a gallery in the 16eme arrondissement of Paris. It's a very unusual gallery but like most is run by a person passionate about the arts. Ms Hammoudi is a graduate of the Beaux Arts. Her facination is with the history of arts and her passion is to promote and develop her gallery and diffuse an awareness of her artists among the world of collectors. She only exhibits figurative art and has a facination for the renaissance though she appreciates many other forms of representational style.

In france, art collectors are referred to as Les Amateurs d'art. The term comes from a french magazine of the same name and although the magazine ceased after the death of Michel Boutin, the director in the early 1990's, the term is still used today for those who search for and collect the work of artists in France. So don't be confused if you hear the expression being used to describe you.

So what makes this gallery different to others? It's quiet simply the very personal nature of it. You won't find this gallery behind a shop window or see signs directing you to it. You have to know of it. To have been introduced or invited to attend. Her gallery is in her apartment and effectively all of the space within, has been dedicated to the exhibition of works of art. This is a sacrifice in a city where space is at a premium but as Ms Hamoudi says, the art on the walls is the art which she chooses to live with.

The process of choosing an artist is also very personal. To exhibit in her space a fusion between the gallerist and the artist must take place. Together they dicuss each others lives and interests and slowly come to a conclusion resulting in a theme for the exhibiton. It is a mutual conclusion and in the case of the current exhibition which is by Yoomi Ha, a Korean artist and the first non french and autodidact artist to have exhibited here, the theme is secrets.

When you look around the room you wonder how these images could refer to secrets in the life of this young gallerist but she assures me that there are elements in each piece which profoundly remind her of events in her life and the world around her. When discussing the subject she mentioned that to French people and Europeans in general, secrets are something worth learning and even hunting for but most especially they are worth keeping.

What is the future for this gallery? Her intention is to enlarge it but to never have a gallery which has a shop window or which doesn't look like a persons home. Her reasons are simple and I agree with them. Typcially a gallery is an artificial impersonal, sterile space, often with high ceilings and very strong lighting. They can alienate visitors who often cannot imagine the works on display, ever fitting into their home. Here though you can see how, even a large painting (and there are sev eral among her private collection) can easily become a part of the living experience of a typical home, even on the scale of an average Paris apartment.

So how does an Amateur des Arts visit this space if it does not have a typical shop window? To visit a vernissage requires an invitation or to go with someone who has one. Alternately you may visit at any other time by making an appointment. She is happy to show interested people around the space and discuss the works on show. The current exhibition ends 16 décembre 2011.

To visit the gallery website: http://www.galeriemariskahammoudi.com/ and to arrange an appointment simply email contact@galeriemariskahammoudi.com

Willies Wine Bar

2011-11-13T13:57:00.003+01:00

After the vernissage at the gallery of Yin Atelier on the left bank of Paris in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Myself, Jenny Page, Alex Novak and our wine expert, Olivier enjoyed a glass of wine and delicious meal at Willies Wine Bar on rue des Petites-Champs. Thanks to Alex for being such a great host.

The bar is full of custom designed posters. Each one painted by an artist who visited the bar at some stage. They have great taste in artists as all the images are really inspiring.
The posters can be collected by guests of the restaurant and seem to be very popular.

Fra Angelico at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre, Paris.

2011-11-05T06:00:00.017+01:00

This week I had the pleasure of visiting the musée Jacquemart-André. It's my favorite art museum in Paris. There is a permanent exhibition which spans many genres and there is the curated exhibition. This time, it is of the late Gothic or early Renaissance paintings of Fra Angelico. As his name suggests, the works are truely angelic, especially when compared to other artists at this time.

A detail from the crowning of the Virgin.

Here is a short summery of his history:
Born in 1395. From the age of 17 he was already recognised as an illuminator/illustrator of books, so he could read as well as paint. He became a friar in a Dominican order based in Tuscany. In 1436 he moved to the nearby town of Florence which was the centre of artistic activity at the time. It was here that he came under the influience of the Medici family. He had an enormous effect on the world of art in Italy at the time and died in Rome in 1455. In 1982 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II and is now recognised as the patron saint of artists.

Fra Angelico was a bookmark in history. Things changed at this time for artists and culture in general. We came out of the middle ages and science began to emerge as a wave of questioning and intellectual freedom swept Europe and a wealthy merchant class encouraged the patronage of the arts.

They did this to encourage commerce within the trading centres where they lived. Huge amounts of money were offered to artists and artisans at the time to permanently enrich cities such as Florence in order to attract other traders and their clients. Much like Paris, to this day, Florence continues to be enriched by the heritage which those merchants left behind. Today, Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates is in the process of creating a similar heritage which will enrich future generations.

What changed in art at the time of Fra Angelico was the manner and medium of representing religious images. Oil paint was migrating from Northern Europe to Italy and replacing the more labour intensive and restrictive media of egg tempera. Not only could artists work with more freedom but they could represent light, through colour, in a richer manner.

Something else happened at this time . Artists began to draw in a more realistic manner. It was, as some suggest, the use of mirrors and lens which brought this about. However, not directly because these were the closely guarded secrets of the Dutch artists and would not become known in Italy for some time.

The fact that some Dutch artists had been using these methods and Italian patrons had begun collecting their art, raised the bar, on expectations for the quality of the art, which they commissioned. Eventully the secrets of the use of lens and mirrors would arrive in Italy too.

Before that, a greater emphasis on the ability to draw and represent concepts in a beautiful and realistic manner grew out of the aspirations created by Dutch art. Scientific methods began to be used. Understanding of perspective were further developed by artists and utilized in their works. New chemistry arrived and techniques which allowed paintings to last a very long time were employed.

Fra Angelico was a master of this. His pure mind, ability to create beautiful compositions as well as his understanding of the painting media, allowed him to make a mark which still communicates to us today. His works are dramatically different to those of his fellow artists and the way he has represented people, saints and angels as well as his marvelous compositions, symbology, use of colour and gold are even now, inspiring to all artists and collectors.

The exhibition is well worth visiting and is beautifully curated, as usual, in the musée Jacquemart-Andre.

As a side note, for Irish visitors, there are three panels from the Irish, National Gallery of Art, in the Paris exhibition.

Salon du Patrimoine

2011-11-03T22:03:00.007+01:00

Last night (November 3rd) I had the pleasure to attend the Vernissage of the Salon du Patrimoine, in the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

If you are interested in french culture, quality craftsmanship, painting (in the craft sense), art restoration, restoration of buildings, or just want to get a real sense of how enormously motivated the french are to preserve their historical roots, then visit the Salon du Patrimoine. It's a blend of high tech and traditional crafts, usually blending seamlessly together in ways that are very surprising.

The salon takes place annually in the Carrousel du Louvre, just beside the upturned pyramid. The dates this year, are from the 3 - 6th of November.
99 rue de Rivoli
75039 Paris 75001
tel:+33 (0)1 43 16 47 47

You will meet extremely helpful and friendly french people with exacting knowledge of their specialisation. A picture tells a thousand words so here are a few to give you an idea of what it's like.

My paints supplier from Germany is there :)

Quality oozes out of everything.
Very impresive reproduction carpentry everywhere although that's not the issue here. They are displaying handmade, individually designed, objet d'art and jewellery boxs.

The school where I studied Trompe L'Oeil and faux effects are there. They are based in Montmarte. Stand K1, if you are visiting. Say hi to Thimy or Pierre, for me.

ArtAids - Curatorial Grant

2011-10-10T22:11:00.001+02:00

H+F CURATORIAL GRANT 2012

The "H+F Curatorial Grant 2012" is an ambitious and original initiative which allows the FRAC Nord–Pas de Calais (Dunkirk/France) in close partnership with the private collector Han Nefkens (H+F Collection), to give young international curators the opportunity to participate in the development of exhibition projects based on the collection.

This grant which was launched in 2007 offers emerging art coordinators and curators a unique infrastructure and environment with free access to a research and documentation centre as well as to one of the best French collections of contemporary art. The FRAC acts as the first intermediary for these future professionals of contemporary art by helping them to develop and implement their projects.

Han Nefkens (H+F Collection) and Hilde Teerlinck (Director of the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais) will select the new candidate. The selected person will become part of the FRAC’s team as an assistant curator, coordinating local, national and international exhibition-projects. The grantee selected for the period of 12 months will also be responsible for the coordination of ArtAids projects wich focus on creating awareness about HIV/Aids and tackling the stigma connected with it.

See http://www.artaids.com

She / he will receive in exchange a grant for 12 months (2012) that will help finance her/his living and travel expenses. An excellent knowledge of Dutch and English is required, knowledge of French would be helpful. The candidate will have to install her/himself in Dunkirk for the mentioned period.

This project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Han Nefkens (journalist, writer and art collector), which enables the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais to reinforce the development of a strong and active policy of patronage around its activity.
Please send your application containing a recent CV (including a photograph), a exhibition project based on the collection of the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais (max 1 A4) and an motivation letter before October 17th, 2011 to:

FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais : Hilde Teerlinck, 930 avenue de Rosendaël, 59240 Dunkerque (France)
Tel. 03 28 65 84 20
http://www.fracnpdc.fr
project@fracnpdc.fr

Wall Street Protestors

2011-10-07T11:15:00.003+02:00

This is my reply to an artist who dismissed the actions of the Wall Street Protestors. You can read her comment below:

by sandy mcneal October 6, 2011 at 9:49 pm :

Fuck off you bunch of miserable slackers! You give the appearnce that all artists are a host of mooching sucks who could never make it in the real world. Use all the quotes you want, the reality is that you have no concept of reality and I wouldn’t associate myself nor my art with an effort like yours. It’s time the play-date party got a reality check and quit living off your parent’s dime or the government dole!

My reply:

This is a vital event in the life of the flailing American social and political body, which was virtually dead intil this point.

An electric shock treatment. An injection of adrenalin. A sudden waking up and switching off of the media lie. An eyes wide open, consciousness of the manipulation which tells us, it is patriotic to do nothing, to not question, to lie to ourselves.

Wakefullness. Learning to resist. Choosing. Refusing to comply with fulcrums of financial muscle who exercise no social consciousness.

If a corporation is a person, what kind of person are they? What kind of person rises to the top of such a being! With such people in such positions, no other environment, other than this, could or can exist. It will always repeat itself as long as thinly veiled psychopaths are rewarded with authority. Others will envy them, climb to the top, repeat the cycle.

Corporation must come to an end or be reborn, with a new structure, new desires, goals and obligations.

If it is a person, it should be a person you would welcome into your own home. Not someone you would tolerate as long as they are separated by walls and a fence.

Employees should not be obliged to have split personalities, to go to work. They should not feel repulsed by the structure within which they work and which they keep alive.

Success should not be doomed to create misery from the very start. But now, no other ultimate outcome is possible, when it is populated by an army of people trained from birth to make profit over people, over environment, over peace.

Change!

x

Paris Design Flea Market, Puces du Design, October 6-9

2011-09-27T10:35:00.004+02:00

Dates: October 6th to 9th
Location: Place des Vins de France, in Bercy Village
Metro: Cour Saint-Emilion. Line 14

The theme for this years Paris Design Flea Market, are the years, 50's to 90's.
Access is free to the general public and it starts on Thursday afternoon, the 6th of October.

You'll find, design objects, art, decoration and furniture, from the rare to the inexpensive, fabulous icons of design in this once a year event which recreates the ambiance of a flea market but with class and chic.

It isn't a really well know event but I've stumbled upon it a couple of times while in Paris and it's really well worth the visit. Good fun even if you aren't a collector of design objects. This time it take place in Bercy village, close to the Parc de Bercy, so a picnic is a possiblility. You can stroll through, the relatively new, streets and discover classics of international and french furniture and design objects.

It's a very pleasant way to pass a day or two exploring and meeting french people of a certain class and taste. The designs are usually the very best and most iconic items.

The address is Place des Vins de France, in Bercy Village.

Google map here

The nearest metro is Cour Saint-Emilion. Metro line 14.

Degas at the Royal Academy London

2011-09-07T11:35:00.001+02:00

The exhibition of Degas ballet drawings and paintings is receiving great promotion all over the world. It opens on the 17th of September, in London.

As an artist, Degas didn't paint the traditional historical subjects of his peers. Instead, like many other 'new' artists of his time, he painted daily life. This is one of the reasons his art is grouped among the impressionists, despite his focus on realism.

Being independently wealthy he created what he wanted to. Studied what he wanted and with his impressive social connections he travelled easily in many different levels of society. He also collected other artists works and was constantly learning. He was a truely involved artist.

Thanks to his independence we have a very unique and honest window into the past, which shocked contemporary Paris. The reasons were so typical of the time and we can see through him, his life and art, how different the status of 'woman' has changed and balanced.

Apart from the obvious skill and majesty in his work, I think that this is one of the main reasons for art collectors facination with him and their love of his drawings.

Degas is a great example of how the lives of artists are a particular kind of window in the human world and that of nature. It is said that we see history through the eyes of the victor but here we see history through the eyes of the creator.

He is mounted on a social dias but rejects the conventions that placed him there. Armed with his artists eyes and desire to create. Taking full advantage of the opportunities his status presented, he created. He was ahead of his time but with his feet firmly stuck on the ground and his works create a crack in the lens of the dogma which recorded his world.

Through this view finder we can begin to piece together the dynamism which held together his society and which led to ours. We can see in more than one way, how radically different our society is from the past while also experiencing great art, unshackling us from the conventions of our own world.

There is information on the upcoming exhibition in London here.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/degas/about-the-exhibition

Updates & the art of drawing

2011-09-04T10:38:00.000+02:00

Right now, I'm snowed under with projects and organisation. There is a remarkable amount of planning and preparation involved in being an artist. In order to have the free time to actually work in the future, you have to plan now. So that's what I'm doing at the moment.

However, when I'm finished with, or at least, have gotten the majority of the things which I have to, organised and complete, I plan on treating myself to a trip to a couple of exhibitions. Here's one that looks extremely interesting and it promises to be in a calm location.

There is an exhibition of drawings by Rembrandt in the Institut Néerlandais, 121 rue de Lille, Paris. It's on show till the 2nd of October 2011. It's a show worth seeing. Here is a link to more information.
http://www.thestar.com/article/1048001--rembrandt-close-and-personal

If I were in London right now, I'd be planning to visit the show of drawings by Degas, at the Royal Academy. His drawings of ballet dancers are showing there until the 17th of September. Well worth a visit.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/8738567/Degas-the-ascetic-with-an-eye-for-the-ladies.html

Both artists found their ability to express rooted in their marvelous and distinctive drawings. So many great artists can be recognised by their hand when they draw and a signature is almost unnecessary. Despite the fact that Rembrandt had up to 50 students and all worked closely together, the style of drawing is so different between them despite the fact that the students were learning exactly the same methods etc. The artists expressed their creative energy using the humble medium of drawing, in very different manners. Each one drawing out something unique from themselves in the process.

American Executive based in Ireland ?

2011-08-30T17:09:00.004+02:00

Hello
I just got back from a very nice visit to Ireland. I'll be posting photos etc later but for this moment, for all my American readers, here is some news, hot off the presses.

Tom
--------------------------------------

The American Chamber of Commerce US Executive Circle has announced the establishment of the US Executive Circle in Ireland - a network for US executives working and living in Ireland.

The Circle is a multi-dimensional community designed to help American executives:

* engage with business circles
* get established within the community personally and professionally
* strengthen personal ties with the U.S. Embassy

The Circle is open to U.S. citizens working at a senior level in Ireland among firms associated with the American Chamber of Commerce.

If you are a U.S. citizen and/or if you have colleagues who are U.S. executives at your firm and are interested in finding out more about the Circle, please contact;

Mr Brian Cotter
American Chamber of Commerce Ireland
Tel: 01 661 6201

Vespas and mopeds

2011-08-24T12:23:00.002+02:00

If you are a classic Vespa or moped fan, an artist friend of mine has just started selling prints of his paintings of these classic, two wheeled, dream machines.

Check them out here: http://scooterprints.com/category/vespa-on-canvas

Ireland

2011-08-23T22:34:00.001+02:00

Looking forward to going to Ireland. I'll be there till the 31st of August. It's been a busy month but didn't feel long.

Life Drawing, model vivant, 24th August 2011.

2011-08-22T12:58:00.001+02:00

Life Drawing-August 24th
On Wednesday, there is a session of life drawing in Paris 3éme. Bertrand will pose from 2pm-5pm.

We can take 15 people comfortably. The apartment is a very comfortable and elegant space but there are limited seating arangements so if you have a folding chair, please bring it.

Please, RSVP 'only' if you are certain to attend.

email: tj@tjbyrne.com

The door code will be provided,
after you RSVP.

When: 3rd session -
14th August 5-8pm.

Where:
9 Rue du Prevot, 75004 Paris.
The apartment is on the second floor, at the corner of Rue St Antoine, right opposite the exit for metro St. Paul. Press the bell marked 'Runciman'.

Come early, to be sure to be on time. Please RSVP.

Bring your own drawing materials and if you have one - a folding seat. Watercolours are fine but be prepared to leave things neatly after you. No spray fixative inside the apartment, thank you.

Cost: Shared cost of the model (60 for 3 hours divided by the number of artists) plus EU10 donation for the facilities.

The maximum cost will be EU15 per person.

Life Drawing-August 21st

2011-08-20T09:15:00.004+02:00

Tomorrow evening (Sunday 21st of August) there is a session of life drawing in Paris 3éme.
Emily will pose from 2pm-5pm.

We can take 15 people comfortably. The apartment is a very comfortable and elegant space but there are limited seating arangements so if you have a folding chair, please bring it.

Please, RSVP 'only' if you are certain to attend.

email: tj@tjbyrne.com

The door code will be provided,
after you RSVP.

When: 3rd session -
14th August 5-8pm.

Where:
9 Rue du Prevot, 75004 Paris.
The apartment is on the second floor, at the corner of Rue St Antoine, right opposite the exit for metro St. Paul. Press the bell marked 'Runciman'.

Come early, to be sure to be on time. Please RSVP.

Bring your own drawing materials and if you have one - a folding seat. Watercolours are fine but be prepared to leave things neatly after you. No spray fixative inside the apartment, thank you.

Cost: Shared cost of the model (60 for 3 hours divided by the number of artists) plus EU10 donation for the facilities.

The maximum cost will be EU15 per person.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Google Images search

2011-08-20T09:01:00.005+02:00

I discovered an amazing thing recently. Using Google image search you can find websites which have your images on them. Simply go to google images http://www.google.com/imghp

In the place where you would normally search for an image using words, simply click on an image (which you have saved to your desktop) and drag it onto the camera icon.

It will search for your images online and amazingly, it really works.

Unfortunately I found a number of sites which were using my images without offering a link back to me. No one was trying to sell them but they were being offered, for free, as desktop wallpaper. That's a bit upsetting so I've written to the sites to negotiate either a linkback which promotes my art or compensation in payment for the use of the images. They use the art to promote their site and encourage visitors and they ahve advertising on their site which they earn money from.

Unless they agree I'm going to have to put great big copyright marks on all my art. I'll ahve to ask their server to disable their site too. I'd prefer not to but that's the way it goes.

Some recent drawings

2011-08-20T08:49:00.003+02:00

These drawings were done in the last couple of weeks. I'll be posting more later. They are on cartridge paper, 180g, using pencil or compressed charcoal. All were done in Paris, in the apartment at 9 rue du Prevot, 75003.

Thanks to the models. They have been great and to the other people who attended the model vivant sessions because they make the ambiance of creation.

Paris model vivant

2011-08-13T15:48:00.004+02:00

Tomorrow evening (Sunday 14th of August) there is a session of life drawing in Paris 4éme with one of the cities best male life drawing models.

Bertrand will pose from 5pm-8pm. There's a good group already booked but we have room for a couple of others.

This Sunday the times are different to accomodate the model who is coming directly from his holidays to model for us. It means that Sunday is not a broken day for most of us and gives more time earlier in the day.

We can take 15 people comfortably. The apartment is a very comfortable and elegant space but there are limited seating arangements so if you have a folding chair, please bring it.
Please, RSVP 'only' if you are certain to attend.

email: tj@tjbyrne.com

The door code will be provided,
after you RSVP.

When: 3rd session -
14th August 5-8pm.

Where:
9 Rue du Prevot, 75004 Paris.
The apartment is on the second floor, at the corner of Rue St Antoine, right opposite the exit for metro St. Paul. Press the bell marked 'Runciman'.

Come early, to be sure to be on time. Please RSVP.

Bring your own drawing materials and if you have one - a folding seat. Watercolours are fine but be prepared to leave things neatly after you. No spray fixative inside the apartment, thank you.

Cost: Shared cost of the model (60 for 3 hours divided by the number of artists) plus EU10 donation for the facilities.

The maximum cost will be EU15 per person.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Tom

Teaching art in October

2011-08-08T13:29:00.006+02:00

I'll be teaching art to adults in a private school, in Bastille, from October. It's in a building designed by Gustave Eiffel. There is fantastic light. A good ambiance and plenty of space.

Here's the poster and if you would like to sign up, send me your details by email. tj@tjbyrne.com with the subject marked, October art school.

There will be no messages taken at the phone number until September.

Back to life drawing

2011-08-07T21:59:00.010+02:00

There is life drawing in a Paris apartment for the next month. Today was the first session and there will be two per week from the second week of August. Our thanks go to our hostess who so kindly invited us to draw in her home.

The location is right beside Saint Paul, so easy to get to and the light is very good, with large floor to ceiling windows.
Our model, as ever, was excellent and everyone worked to their own particular standard and level of interest. It ended in a very good ambiance. Everyone who booked for the session turned up, so thanks very much to everyone for that.

I can't resist posting a photo of some of them at work. It's a low res picture, so only the artists will recognise themselves.

Some sketches from today.

Teaching street sketching

2011-08-06T09:26:00.006+02:00

Yesterday was the second day that I've taught street sketching and it was great. In the morning, the weather was extremely dramatic, so we were very lucky to have clear skies and brilliant views for the afternoon.

I taught a range of things, from perspective drawing to tonal perspective to blind drawing. They were just introductions of course but everyone got the basics and their drawing method changed. I was amazed by the leap forward that most of them made. Even more amazed that they didn't always recognise the progress themselves :)

Here's a building we drew where everyone is looking for perspective but in a very different way to the method of using vanishing points etc.

Basic explanation of perspective drawing. Horizon line and vanishing point. The simplicity of this seemed to amaze everyone and everyone got it. One person did a cats eye view of the scene. Their perspective was very different to everyone elses but just as accurate.

Perspective created by tonal values rather than line.

Perspective in a cafe. Exactly the same thing happens here as in the other drawings. The horizon line and vanishing point are just guides and there is nothing technical in the process of the drawing.

After the class, I unwound in le Baron Rouge, sketching the people there.

Alps 2011

2011-08-03T08:54:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, we returned from a week in the Alps. They are known for snow and sking and very few people go there in the spring and summer. So it's very peaceful.

It's active with hikers walking up mountains and cyclists emulating the heros of the tour de France. So most are very peaceful sorts seeking the solitude and fresh air of the countryside

It's a very spectacular place with amazing things to see and do. The people are especially friendly. It's an ideal for artists, with amazing views, powerful energies, tall peaks, rivers and grazing land full of goats and cattle. The architecture is very fine too. I would have liked to spend more time drawing and painting. It would be worth it. Next time.

Here are some drawings from the trip.

Some rocks in the river which runs through Allemonte.

A view from the river to the opposite bank.

A study of water around a rock.

A sketch of my wife.

A study of some flower petals.

Proménade Plante

2011-07-09T09:17:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I was teaching techniques of drawing & perspective to artists on the Proménade Plante in Paris. It was a great day and thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks to those that attended the sessions.

Picnic weekend

2011-07-04T15:32:00.000+02:00

Here are a few sketches from the walk, along the Marne, last Saturday. We had a pretty nice day. Enjoyed a great picnic, talked a lot, walked a lot and saw a lot of new things.

Thanks to everyone who came. I didn't have my camera with me unfortunately.

We did more walking than drawing but it was really good. Nice picnic and great company. Most of our drawing was done along the Marne, near the chocolate factory.

There is another sketch from Sunday (the top one) at the Parc des Buttes. It was another picnic but this one was a birthday celebration.

Walking and drawing-the forest and Village of Noisiel

2011-06-30T11:43:00.000+02:00

To take advantage of the good weather this weekend. Get some exercise. Do some drawing. Have a picnic and see some sights.

This Saturday, 2nd of June I'm inviting a few artist friends (10 in all) to go walking and picnicing outside of Paris, to end with a cinema in plein air.

16h - Meet at Noisiel train station, RER(A) line from Paris.

16h.15 - We walk through the forest (see Google map)

17h - We arrive at cemetery beside park with nice views and a lake. Here we draw for a half hour or have picnic.

17h.30 - We walk towards chocolate factory. (Beautiful old building with amazing history) on an island in a river (see map). Draw the building, the village or the river. More picnic perhaps.

19h - Walk along river and find other spots to draw. There is a lake. The village. Chateau, etc.

22h.30 - The Cinema in plein air. It's a bit late but the cinema is right beside the train station so getting back is no problem. The film is the premier of Habemus Papam.

This is really a walk with art opportunities thrown in.

Lunar Eclipse - Paris Picnic

2011-06-14T15:17:00.000+02:00

This Wednesday, June 15th, Captain Bob is organising a Lunar Eclipse-picnic on the Pont des Arts.

The pont Des arts is between the Louvre museum & the bibliotheque Mazarine.

Some friends will meet there at 9pm. The moon will be in Total Eclipse when it rises around 10:10 pm. It will start to rise as an ominous dark red. The eclipse will move from Total Eclipse to Partial Eclipse at 11 pm and from Partial Eclipse to Penumbral Eclipse at midnight. Basically the moon will start off dark red and become lighter and brighter as it rises in the sky.
Things to know

WHAT: Everyone brings food and drinks to share.

WHERE: Pont des Arts in the center of Paris. We'll gather around a bench between the middle of the bridge and the Left Bank side. Nearest metros: Pont Neuf and Louvre-Rivoli.

WHEN: Wednesday June 15, 9:00 PM - 12 midnight

WHY: Share one of the most memorable sights in Paris with some of the nicest people around.

WHO: You and your friends.

HOW to find us: Keep your eyes out for a small white telescope on tripod if the sky is clear. Check in by cell phone if you can't find us: 0614 17 37 97.
There's a THEME: Strawberries and Roses and Katherine Converse's 70th birthday!!!

PUZZLER: Why does lunar eclipse last so much longer than a solar eclipse?
ANSWER: Because the earth is much bigger than the moon so it casts a larger shadow that takes the moon 100 minutes to pass through, while the moon's shadow on the earth is tiny and only covers a given location for a few minutes.

RSVP:
Please send email if you're planning to join the picnic.
CONTACT ADDRESS: Send your RSVP to Captain Bob.
If you get an AOL error message from bobmohl2@aol.com, send mail to bobmohl@gmail.com

Parc Monceau and Starbucks

2011-06-10T13:46:00.001+02:00

I've started sketching Paris people again & stretching myself, drawing more landscapes too. It's a lovely city to be doing that kind of thing in, when the sun shines. Thanks to Paris Sketchers, a group of artists who draw together or more often inspire one another, to go out and draw the streets of Paris.

The girls were in Starbucks on the Boulevard des Capucines, where I enjoyed a hot chocolate yesterday. The other is in the parc Monceau. A lovely garden, hidden away off boulevard Haussemann. Here's a link to some information about the park.

Water from a vase - March 31

2011-06-01T10:22:00.000+02:00

Last evening I was invited to a private drawing session with a small group of french artists in Paris. That's really nice. It's rare to get an invite like that.

This is the last drawing I produced from the 2 hour session. So what's so special about this? The drawing was done in 20 minutes and the models, particularly Bertrand, had to hold the same very challenging position for that period, without moving. Bravo the models!

The other thing, is the line quality. I've always felt that there is no real limit to the amount we can do and see in a short period of time but everyone seems to work from the basis of low expectations. There was an artist there encouraging everyone, making comments on work etc. He wasn't a teacher. He was saying that the arm knows what to draw and just to move the entire thing and the drawing will just come out. I agree with that, though I don't think it's easy to comprehend with the logical mind and it requires a certain amount of surrender to achieve.

The mind comprehends a great deal very quickly and it's only when we really try to analyse too much that it slows down. It's perfectly capable of communicating from eye to hand without any need for understanding, experience with perspective, internal narrative etc. In fact the stiller the mind the better the process. It pours out of the hand like water from a vase.

Some of my earliest drawings, from the age of 11, were like this. They shocked me at the time and I tried and tried to be like that all the time but it took me years of hard work and learning to realise that all the knowledge and experience, might just, be getting in the way.

Stages of the portrait

2011-05-24T00:03:00.001+02:00

I'm painting using a very old method here. The portrait started with a Grisalle (black and white) using acrylic rather than oils to make the process move faster. You can paint in an almost photographic manner in black and white. That wasn't my intention here.

The next step is to apply the oils with a layer of sepia colour over the black and white work. I chose umber mixed with ochre jaune and a touch of cadmium red. It was a dominant tone in the composition and worked with the skin colours. As soon as the sepia is added the painting begins to look alive. The colour and the values of the black and white work make it look very dynamic. It's an illusion that only the artist will experience because of the amount of time they spend in front of the work. There is a lot more to do.

Straight away I began working in the background colour which effects how you see everything. Then the highlights in the skin are particularly important. The mid tones are basicly the sepia. Using cadmium rouge and blue with a touch of cadmium yellow for the cheeks and shadow areas (a touch more blue there). The griselle still shows through and gives all the colours a value and the shapes a dimension.

A few days later and many layers of colour have begun to add up to the completed painting. I corrected a few elements in the composition. The underpainting seems to have completely disappeared but if you look closely you can see areas where the colour receives it's value from the work beneath.

A close up of the portrait. The sunlight makes the wet paint reflective so it's not exactly as you see it here. It will be a few weeks before it is completly dry.

Latest portrait

2011-05-23T17:49:00.000+02:00

I'll be posting more information about this painting and the stages involved in creating it. It's a commission for a family in Paris.

Back from Ireland

2011-05-16T22:09:00.000+02:00

Hi
I just got back from Ireland yesterday. It was a nice few days visiting some of my family and seeing Dublin. I think my wife is happiest there but she couldn't come with me this time. I also visited the GOAL ball, charity event in the Burlington hotel, where I donated a piece of art for public auction.

So I've finished up the the ile Saint Louis gallery and am back to doing my own paintings, thank goodness. It's been a while and I've been missing it very much. The gallery experience was very good for learning about marketing and the hard work that goes into promotion and setting up shows. There's a lot to any business involved in the arts, when it is done well but this was particularly demanding as I was doing everything myself.

It's very good to be out of there now and planning my own working exhibitions and events. I'm still working with other artists and promoting people that I believe in.

I'm organising drawing with the human model in a large atelier in the 6th of Paris and that is proving popular with very interesting and intelligent people attending. It averages between 16 and 26 people per session. The models are fantastic. Super professional.

There's information about that here on my site:
http://www.tjbyrne.com/newslettersubscr.html

If you are interested and have any questions, feel free to post them here.

Des Femmes - Exposition & Vernissage

2011-04-26T21:42:00.000+02:00

Laura Stevens is an English artist and photographer. She lives in Paris but travels all over the world on photographic assignments.

Laurence Dugas-Fermon. A french actress, model and photographic artist whose images are simply breathtaking.

Julie Coustarot, an employee of the "Maison Europeene de la photographie" in Paris. She studied 'history of art', then gained a degree in photography in Lyon.

The next exhibition promises to be very impressive. It's next Tuesday 3rd of May in Paris. There are 3 artists, two French and one English, all women, they bring their considerable creative talents together for the first time in the Greenlane Gallery. It seems to me that their art communicates poetic, romantic, dark & mysterious aspects of the human spirit.
Their exhibition consists of photography and video installations.
It's titled "Des Femmes" and runs from the 2nd to the 8th May.

The vernissage/opening is on Tuesday, 3rd of May. 18.30h - 20h

I'll introduce you if you turn up.

The address is, the Greenlane Gallery, Paris.
29 rue des deux ponts, ile Saint Louis, 75004, Paris, France

Metro: Pont Marie / Saint-Paul

Recent portrait

2011-03-22T07:04:00.000+01:00

During the renovations it's been a breath of fresh air to have the gallery closed for the last couple of weeks.

The creative juices are flowing and I'm focused on my own work. I'm organising life drawing in a much larger venue and considering teaching painting and drawing methods.

Here's a commission I had this week. It's a spiritual guru from the USA and apparently this will be presented to him this coming Thursday 24th of March.

I had only a week to do it so I worked in a new medium which replaces acrylic. It's slower drying, made from soja, so there is no petroleum base. Naturally I was working from a photo so it's the way he appears there and I don't know the man. The colour and the energy of the piece are pretty good and I think he'll be happy with it. I do like it. The original has a nice glow and the colours are spectacular. Impossible to capture in a photo.

It always blows me away after I've completed a portrait. The fact that he's a spiritual person made a difference to the way I painted him.

Joined at the hip

2011-03-13T17:07:00.000+01:00

I was playing around with some drawings and came up with this.
It's just interesting, n'est pas?
They are two seperate drawings done at the same time, of the same model.
& they join one another perfectly in terms of perspective etc.

Salon du Dessin, Paris 2011

2011-03-13T17:01:00.000+01:00

Interested in drawing as an art form?

There is a salon of drawings in Paris from March 30th. It's a big exhibition with a lot of art collectors, galleries and dealers attending.

If you would like to join me and a group of other artists and collectors, just send me an email and I'll add you to the mailing list with all the details of time and place.

email: tj@tjbyrne.com

Or you can just go on your own. Here's the website of the Salon.
http://www.salondudessin.com

New Venue-Life Drawing in Paris 2011

2011-03-12T16:18:00.000+01:00

I've been hosting life drawing on the ile saint Louis, 75004 Paris for more than a year and have a very loyal and talented group of artists who draw the model with me but the space we've been using is too small to continue there.

So it's time to bite the bullet and move to a larger venue.

The new location is in the 6eme of Paris, near the Pont Alexandre III. It's in a very large artists atelier which is owned by a friend of mine.

The model this week is excellent, Laurence, a female model that I've worked with many times before. The sessions are each friday, from 2pm - 5pm.

To be included with those, invited to attend, please sign up to the life drawing newsletter. You'll receive an invite, once a week, with all the details, including which model, price and what equipment etc.

This is the new venue.

See you there :)

Paris 75006

Snobbery, my subconscious says............

2010-09-08T03:17:00.000+02:00

Good morning, I woke up with this thought and unless I write it down, I'll toss and turn all night. So I apologise in advance for inflicting it upon you. If you think that you suffer from snobbery, this may offend your sensibilities and I request that you turn back now and read no more.

My subconscious says:

Snobbery is born of: Ignorance, ineptitude & isolation.

i.i.i

Ignorance of the people or philosophy which is disdained.

Ineptitude towards the culture.

Isolation from the culture.

In effect a snobbish person is a crippled person, incapable of making contact with others on a purely human level. It is born of isolation, often from birth, by cultural norms which make no reference to the root causes of the norms.

So their point of reference becomes narrow in certain areas. Their brains never have the opportunity to fully develop reference points for certain actions and motivations, which are normal in a human being.

Their behaviour becomes modeled by the mature cultural structures which already exist within their artificial peer group. Like a crutch.

Imagine a child which never plays with other children but who is surrounded by adults.

With no reference to the root motivations which the adult culture is based upon, the person simply follows the preexisting rules and finds it difficult to step outside of the social bounderies within which they are constrained, because they do not have the points of reference necessary, emotionally/mentally/at a primitive level.

Points of reference which the brain requires, in order to fully develope. Hence, they are crippled, unless they can acquire the mental reference points, born of experience. This may be done through imaginatively reliving an experience. Such as reimagining their childhood while in a deeply suggestive mental state, or spending a lot of time with young children of a dramatically different culture.

"Dignité" at l'hotel de Ville de Paris

2010-05-18T21:21:00.000+02:00

The vernissage of "Dignité" at l'hotel de Ville de Paris. These rooms are only used on special occassions and they are incredibly beautiful.

The exhibition is well worth visiting. Take your time, read the descriptions, put them in context and put yourself in the place of the people there.

The exhibition of photos runs until the 3rd of July.

Another view of the impressive architecture & decoration.
The walls are covered in magnificent paintings.

The artist who invited me, Guillaume Herbaut. His subject was Mexico. Shocking what is happening there. He risks his life to get the stories and photos. Some of the people he has interviewed made great sacrifices to communicate with us, to anyone outside of their environment.

Lack of education is one of the biggest hurdles there.

La Cafeotheque

2010-04-15T08:44:00.000+02:00

You are invited to an informal exhibition of paintings of Paris and surreal paintings from the dreams of the artist, Tom J. Byrne.

The exhibition runs from the 17th of April and continues untill the 12th of May, 2010.

The venue is the best coffee shop in Paris. It's an informal atmosphere and the staff are friendly and happy to discuss the art. Occassionally Tom J. Byrne can be found there drawing the people who come to visit the exhibition and sample the coffee.

For more information on the venue, read Oliver Strand's recent piece in the NY times, here, http://tinyurl.com/yhxcpez

Art competitions

2010-03-22T08:48:00.000+01:00

I'm running the Greenlane gallery, on the ile saint Louis, in Paris. Following some comments by artists regarding competitions I made the following response:

I've looked into the idea of promoting the gallery and finding new artists by opening up a competition where the winner (only one) gets a two week solo show.

I have to say that having looked into the process, with the intention of doing it well, that the amount of work involved is daunting. The costs are not negligible and that is on top of the normal costs of running a gallery.

In the normal course of things, running a gallery, even badly, is expensive. To run a gallery well you need a team of people, someone manning the gallery, someone looking for collectors and dealing with journalists and someone marketing the gallery online and in real life. You need to know and be on good terms with a lot of journalists, collectors and artists.

Having been an artist for over 25 years, when I took over the management I was shocked by how much work it demanded. Since then I've produced a dribble of art rather than the flow I had before. However I've learnt a great deal and it has changed my mind entirely about what it is that a gallery is and what it does.

Too many people who have gone through art school and artists in general are educated to think, that it's simply a shop where they sell art. That's an incredibly inaccurate description. If that were the case, people would just open their own shop.

In fact, I recommend that. An artists collective which runs a gallery would be a very healthy experience.

Savvy art article-NY, How to collect art

2010-01-08T10:49:00.000+01:00

NYC magazine, Savvy, published a piece which I wrote this morning (east coast time). It's about how to colect art. Have a read of it here.

http://www.24savvy.com/articles/01-07-2010/savvy-art-buying-believe-it-or-not-youre-expert

Here's the original article I wrote:

Art is driven like the clothes business, by fashion. But art, whether it be paintings, film, photography or sculpture, outlasts fashion. Fashion is a churning beast which survives by consuming itself. It's a bad guide for art. Ignore what's popular because it won't be tomorrow. If you are buying art for investment you are always thinking with regard to the future. The best way to understand the future is to relate to the past.

The art that lasts, is the art that touches the human in us. The art that makes us reflect or vibrate. The art that can transfer it's vibration to us. It's the existence of the human in the work that vibrates with us. That vibration is of extraordinary value. The primitive. The human touch. Even Leonardos Mona Lisa is a primitive combination of earth pigments ground and mixed with mediums such as egg, oils and water.

All of that sounds pretentious. How can you relate that to the, day to day and find art of value? Well in short, buy the art that appeals to you. The art which you like, which does not require a story to prop it up. If the story is lost then the work looses it's connection to you and others, so don't let yourself be convinced by a smooth talking gallery owner. Allow yourself to see, not just with your eyes but with your heart, your lungs. Allow yourself to drink in the art.

Then apply your intellect. Start to calculate. Ask yourself about the artist. Ask about their history. It doesn't really matter if they have been to art college. Especially now, when they don't usually teach anything of substance. Your guide to the value of the work is whether the artist is driven. That's what will tell you whether they will continue to be driven. Will this artist continue to experiment. Will they make a mark. Will they inspire other artists. Are they a chapter in the history of art. Are they even a page? Are they sincere?

And if the answer to all these questions is no, yet the work appeals to you, you have still found a piece of art. Not an investment of course but art and art has a value in your life which goes beyond the surplus of coins that flow from the slot machine on the last day of your life.

Some people might remember us by that mass of coin. That slush fund they can cash in on or measure us by. None of that matters to us when we have finished living. The only thing that matters, ultimately, is the vibration of life we attune ourselves to while alive. Live like that and buy art like that and you'll find art that has value and will have value in the future.

Naughty or nice

2010-01-06T23:44:00.000+01:00

Happy new year
Hope all went well over the holidays and that the dreaded grip didn't get ya.

A cold got me but I'm using it to great benefit. Time for reflection and contemplation. I'm bed bound, plus my voice has gone all husky, which has a nice effect on my wife :)

Crossroads

2009-12-25T23:09:00.000+01:00

OH! what to do?
I find myself at a crossroads!

Recent drawings on the metro

2009-12-19T06:23:00.000+01:00

I've been doing a lot of metro journeys and rather than read I've been drawing. It really gives a lot of people pleasure to see me drawing on the train. I'm amazed by how friendly they get when they spot what I'm doing.

Sometimes the subject notices I'm doing their portrait but generally not. Other times people have mistakenly assumed I was drawing them, when in fact I was drawing the person beside or behind them. It's surprising how often they would like to see what I've done. Children are particularly interested.

Women are funny though. There have been a few times when I've been doing their portraits and either they have asked for my card or they have simply passed me their phone number. Hilarious when that happens because I'm not the most attractive of guys, especially by Parisian standards. None the less I take it as a compliment and always pass it to the bloke that looks like he needs it the most. I'm married :)

Here are a few of the recent sketches from November and December 09. I get about 3 minutes or perhaps a little longer to draw these so there's nothing too finished.

Snow and portraits

2009-12-18T08:11:00.000+01:00

Hi
It's snowing in Paris. Lovely but it means a total go slow. I'm not feeling very inspired anyway. There seems to be very little feedback, whether it be good or bad from people regarding arts these days. I'm not going to try to do anything for a few weeks. I'm just ging to go with the flow and see what does or doesn't happen.

I've been enjoying drawing people on the metro. Will post a few drawings of them here later. I've also been doing more portraits in oils. That's come to an end for the moment. I won't do any more commissions till January at the earliest. In fact, I think that I'll concentrate on Gravure. I've been missing my friends in the engraving group for some time now and thanks to the fact that I'll be handing the gallery over to someone else in January I'll be free to get back to that. Running the gallery has been so incredibly time consuming. Very interesting of course and I learnt a lot but so many other things that are important took a back seat as a result. What I learnt is invaluable though. It has given me a totally new outlook on art and the art world.

Here are some of the portraits I've done this week. Neither is finished and both were executed very quickly. I'll finish them off later. Oddly enough I've found that instead of speeding up through doing the portrait sessions, in fact I've slowed down. Great way to get to know people though.

Portraits for free - 2

2009-12-14T19:02:00.000+01:00

It's been a week since I posted the notice about portraits for free and so far I've done several. There are 3 more planned for this week. After this I'll start looking for a location in Paris where I can work in natural daylight so a nice atelier in a good location would be good.

Here are a few of the paintings so far. 3 hours each which is pretty fast but there's no underpainting or drawing. I just go straight in with the paint.

Portraits for free.

2009-12-07T23:35:00.000+01:00

I'm painting portraits for free in the gallery at the moment. If you are interested in coming along send me a message, phone or email. There are only a few days left this week. Most of next week is free. I'll give you the details when you get in contact.

December Exhibition in Paris

2009-12-07T19:00:00.000+01:00

The opening night went well. I'm still a bit knackered by it all.
Here are a few pics from last friday. Thanks to Jean-Michel Volat for the marvelous photos.

Standing in the rain.

2009-11-26T07:40:00.000+01:00

Burrrr!!! It's winter. I was out in the forest painting yesterday. It was a little overcast but nothing serious. About an hour into painting it started to drizzle. Nothing very heavy. I ran to the house and grabed an umbrella & large sheet of plastic. The plastic was for the easel and the painting. The umbrella kept me dry while I sheltered behind a tree. An hour later, I concluded, it was time to give up pack everything away and get back to the house till it stopped.

However, the time spent waiting for the rain to stop, standing under the tree with an umbrella in the rain, was marvelous. I had a chance to just experience nature. No mobile phone, no people passing, no cars. Just the drizzle, the trees and me. I almost never stop to just experience things. There is so much to do. Even when I'm painting I've often got that little voice in my head judging the work and trying to understand what it is I'm doing so that I can build upon the experience. This was nothing like that. Just calm. Very quiet and respectful. Nothing boring about it. I really enjoyed, just looking at nature, wet and all as it was.

Damian Hirst - Francis Bacon? I don't think so.

2009-11-25T08:43:00.001+01:00

Damian Hirst must think that Francis Bacon was a pretty bad painter. He and his PR company are always drawing parallels between Bacon and Hirst. It's constant.

He's throwing tons of money at this new identity of his. So what if the critics dish the work he does. He'll just build more PR and pay for more articles in magazines, do more deals with museums and art galleries. Eventually the critics will bend and their opinion of his work will go from 'it's a terrible mistake' to 'the best thing ever'.

Because once Hirst has brain washed the public, the journalists will, quivering as ever in the face of public opinion and received fact, capitulate and kiss the ground he walks upon. Or should I say water, he walks upon.

The only hope for his demise is if he himself balks at the amount of work & money involved in changing the opinion of the masses. If he finds that actually doing his own painting is too much of an emotional drain. I can easily see him falling back on his minions to create the paintings while he parties. If he hasn't already.

At least he claims he's promoting painting that is supposed to be self created rather than directed.

Inside the brain of an artist

2009-11-24T11:19:00.001+01:00

Have a look inside the head of another artist, literally!
Irish actor, Fiona Shaw allowed her brain to be scanned while reading T.S Elliots 'The Wasteland'. The results are remarkable.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/2009/nov/24/fiona-shaw-brain-scan

Banksy's wall in Jamaica

2009-11-24T09:21:00.000+01:00

I hope this doesn't happen to all Banksys work.

Reasons to be cheerful

2009-11-22T02:41:00.000+01:00

Today I went to collect the frames for my December exhibition. The framer did a marvelous job and very fast too. They look great.

After that I went to an exhibition in Baillencourt sur Essonne. It's not a high quality exhibiton, just a local thing but lots of good artists come from all over france to be in it. Certainly it has some good quality work on show.

I got an invitation to a very cool exhibition in Paris on the Champs Elysses next week. Looking forward to that.

Sent off promotional material for the next exhibition in December.

Invited some other artists to show their work in Ireland with a gallery that I work with.

And now I can't sleep because I'm thinking about the show, in two weeks, so, I'm going to do the most creative ironing I can, at 3am :)

Plein air painting

2009-11-16T23:29:00.001+01:00

Thank goodness for the great outdoors. I was painting with some other artists in Fountainbleau on Sunday. This is when I'm happiest. Out in nature with other artists. It's really, really great. I wish I could do this every day.

Here are a couple of photos. The painting is in acrylic.

FIAC 09

2009-10-27T09:07:00.000+01:00

Some photos from FIAC 09

It was an interesting exhibition. I didn't get to see it for long (very expensive to visit) because I had to return to the gallery before 2pm and the FIAC show opens at 1pm. The que started an hour before.

Ahhh!! the French love a good que. See those smiling faces. I think Parissians are happiest while having a good group que :)

Killing Pelicans............

2009-10-21T21:27:00.000+02:00

You think you're responsible. That you live a decent life, which impacts others to a minimum and that you care about nature!

Which piece of plastic, that you discarded, is in these photos?

Which gas lighter?
Which bottle top?
Which item, that you discarded, got kicked by a shoe, got blown by the wind, ended in a gutter, was washed to the sea, is on it's way to the Pacific, to kill a chick, whose parents don't know the difference.

Look, learn, deactivate an action.
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11

Make the world a better place.

Plein air, sketching, exhibition

2009-10-19T17:20:00.000+02:00

Hey, been doing lots of things on the qt. Yesterday, thanks to an artist friend who looked after the gallery, I was able to go out and join some others at Fontainbleau for Pleine Air Painting. It was really a great day. Well worth taking the time out for. I'm a little ill with a cold as a result because it was freezing but I'm still very glad I went.

Here are a couple of photos.

I've also been doing a lot of sketching on the metro in Paris. The portraits above are of people I've seen on the train recently. It's a nice way to spend a voyage. I might take a day out just to do that, particularly on longer journeys, perhaps to CDG airport etc.

There's an exhibition coming up. Yes, my own work at last, rather than other peoples. It's in Style Pixie gallery. A great, off the beaten track gallery which I really like. It has an underground feel to it. The curator is great and the directress is very inspiring.

Some photos of the upcoming exhibition.

2009-10-13T21:36:00.000+02:00

These photos were taken today. It took a lot of time to get everything right. The work of a gallerist and curator are not to be underestimated. It's a lot of preparation and my hat goes off to all those people whose jobs I never understood before.

The marketing side of things does take a fair bit of time too but it's easier now, than initially. Once you set the systems in place and have a good guest list thing are easier.

The paintings and fabric designer were chosen to compliment one another. Geometric forms started me off on this track. Then thankfully I found artists whose work complimented that idea. In this exhibition we see a progression from the geometric to the organic while still keeping the sense of sculpture in the images.

I'm looking forward to the exhibition. It should be a good opening and I'm looking forward to meeting the guests.

Stuff of dreams.

2009-10-13T06:59:00.000+02:00

The next exhibition is being installed at the moment. It's called 'The stuff of Dreams'.
It should be compete today and the doors should be open in the afternoon but the grand opening is on Thursday at 6pm.

End of the exhibition & the beginning of another

2009-09-27T22:49:00.000+02:00

The painting exhibition came down today. Everyone was very happy and there was a last minute celebration. We also sold one more painting. So I'm pretty happy with that. I'd like to thank Raluka, Cyril, Ximena and JMY for participating. It was great.

The next exhibition is of black and white photography. It's called 'Reflections of Ourselves' and hopes to show how much we have changed in the last quarter century. The photos stretch from the 1980's to the present day. Things have changed a lot. In startling but also very subtle ways.

Here's the invite. Hope to see you there.

Greenlane gallery-sales

2009-09-24T22:34:00.000+02:00

I sold seven paintings this week. That's good. In fact it's looking like I sold another to a Canadian couple this evening but it's not certain.

I managed to finish a painting, spoke to my mum on the phone (always a good thing), a friend called in to see me and talk about art. We had a great laugh. She's Polish and can drink whiskey like a guy. I didn't drink any but we had a good talk. Then another recently met friend called into the gallery and invited me to see the antique boutique which he runs on the ile. Lovely place. Seriously good quality antique jewellery, watches and furniture. I love emeralds. Guess it's the Irish in me.

The photography exhibition starts next week. There are three really good artists. I'll post more on that later.

The opening of "Les Lignes du Corps" on the ile Saint Louis.

2009-09-19T11:05:00.000+02:00

At the moment I'm the curator of exhibitions in the Greenlane Gallery on the ile Saint Louis. It's 29 rue des deux ponts. Come along to see what's on show. We had the opening on Thursday of "Les Lignes du Corpes" on the 17th at 6pm - 9pm. It went really well and the artists work is terrific. It's based on drawing as the main medium of expression with some colour work by two of the artists to create dynamism and flow. Even with the colour work the lines of drawing are clearly visible.

Ximena de Leon Lucero's work has a lot of symbolism. Her drawings, which are big and extremely powerful dominate the show with rich layers of meaning and subtle messages.

Cyril Réguerre has painted using line. His rich reds and dark figurative symbols coming together to anchor the exhibition.

Raluca Vulcan's work is whimsical but her lines are powerful and beautiful to trace. I've been present while she works and it's an awe inspiring experience.

JYM's work is almost graphic and reminds me of fashion paintings of the top class fashion houses from the 1920's and 40's. Her work is very powerful and done in charcoal on paper, framed in glass.

All four artists work comes together really powerfully and each compliments the other.

I hope you can visit if you are in Paris. The gallery is open every day except Monday, from 2pm till 7pm.

The invitation and photos from the vernissage on the 17th of September.

The film

2009-09-19T10:35:00.001+02:00

Over the last few months I've been collaborating with a bunch of film makers here in Paris to produce a mucic video for a singer called "Lenna" which could be used to promote her songs.

Well it was a bit of a disaster. We had worked really hard in the preparation. The storyboards were great (that was my department) and the camera and lighting crew were top class. Seriously impressive. Lenna was incredibly flexible and positive and so were most of the actors.

However, the director sucked (no hesitation in saying that) and the production manager didn't have any experience so it all fell apart on the second day. Producing a good film depends on so many skills coming together very well and communicating clearly, respectfully and with dynamism.

Despite that, the whole experience was remarkably positive. At the break time we all came together and everyone got on very well. The production crew couldn't face everyone else so we ate in a jovial fashion and discussed possible future projects.

If there was a real problem it was that we tried to do too much too fast given the level (across the board) of experience of the people involved. If we had been more evenly matched I think things would have gone perfectly. The creative and technical resources were certainly there.

Here are some photos of the shooting. It was really cool. Most of the (good) photos below were taken by Virgil Shrock. The rest are mine :)

Back from Borgogne

2009-09-14T05:08:00.001+02:00

Ah, you don't know what you missed!

Sounds like the opening chapter in a book by an old man to an audience gathered around his death bed.

Well I hope I don't qualify as on my death bed :)
We had a great time in Borgogne. Fantastic might be a better description. The chateau is superb. The weather perfect, the company suitably insane and the food superb. We did paint but not enough. Really and truely we tried but there were so many other things to explore. There was a lot more in the way of drawing going on. Thank goodness for Paul who anchored us all into the world of colour and form. As he painted, he spoke and we were drawn around in fascination.

That got us going and we attempted to bring ourselves to the creative process. It didn't really work but when I look back I think that this week was more of a battery charging exercise and a bonding experience.

We had a wonderful time. It was very creative. We watched movies on a big indoor cinema from 10pm till 3am, every night. Took lots of photos, painted, drew & talked about the past, planned for the future. Drank wine on the balcony and cycled along the canals. It will be even better next year.

Borgogne, Artists retreat

2009-09-07T01:34:00.000+02:00

Today is the second day of the artists retreat in Borgogne. It's great!! Really chilled out and the chateau is everything we could have hoped for. It started with breakfast out in the sun.

Everyone is getting on well and the days have been interesting with discussion on art, painting and exhibiting. The location is perfect and the people very welcoming. We found an organic market yesterday and stocked up on vegitables etc. Borgogne is a great area. Perfect for artists. Very interesting and lots of history here too.

Borgogne, NY, Dublin, Paris, exhibitions and events

2009-08-18T19:28:00.000+02:00

It's been a very nice summer here. Not as much sunshine as many would like but that just means that there's been less need to water the grass as far as I'm concerned. I like the rain.

It's very quiet at this time of year. Paris empties completely. I can go for walks and draw in the local forest with no chance of being disturbed. If people stuck around they'd realise how nice it is here without the crowds but then there would be crowds so I'd rather they didn't.

So what's up? Well I've had my head down painting and drawing. I'm working with a film crew in Paris to produce a music video.

The prepartations for the chateau artists retreat in Borgogne are well in hand but there's still plenty to organise there.

There are several exhibitions:
One in September in NY at the The Emily Harvey Foundation Gallery on Broadway. The exhibition is called "A Book about Death" and it is an homage to Ray Johnson, a celebration of Emily Harvey and a global exploration of Death. There are several hundred artists taking part. It opens on the 10th of September and Matthew Rose is the currator.

Another in October in Dublin. This is a solo show, curated by Tony Strickland. I don't have a lot of details on this yet as a location hasn't been officially pinned down but I'm sure it will be excellent. Lot's of new work in process for this.

In November I'm exhibiting in the StylePixie gallery. For the life of me, I don't understand why I'm so excited by this one, but I am. Really looking forward to it. The stylepixie gallery is great. A lovely off the beaten track, undergroundish and genuinely artistic, incredibly friendly gallery.

In December I have a great exhibition for two weeks in the Greenland Gallery on the Ile Saint Louis. Sur la rue des deux ponts. It's a great gallery and I will be sharing the space with the incredibly tallented Joby Hickey. Joby is a photographer. He specialises in pinhole photography and the results are quiet magical.

I've been getting down to more drawing while experimenting with metal and corrosives. The results are interesting and compelling.

Compelling me to do more, experiment more and develope this unique approach. I love it because it's a development of the sides of painting that usually gets lost in the process. The drawing and the chemistry. The drawing is dramatic, big and surprising and you can say the same for the chemistry, which of course exists in all painting processes but you can rarely see it so clearly at work.

The other thing I've been focused on is the production of smaller works. It started as a project for an upcoming exhibition. One of the constraints was size but it surprised me that I got a great deal of satisfaction from this limitation. It allows me to produce more intimate pieces.

So although this blog has been quiet, it's for a good reason. More soon. I'll post examples of the things that are happening and of the week in Borgogne as it developes.

Craig Hannas paintings

2009-07-08T08:26:00.000+02:00

Hi
I recommend anyone who collects art, to go to the LAURENCE ESNOL GALLERY in 40-42, rue des Saint-Pères. Paris 75007. They have an exhibition of Craig Hanna's works on perspex and extracts from his sketchbook. The reflections in my photos make the work harder to see but everything I looked at is great. Lovely lines and a great sense that the artist understands his work. It's not classically painted. It's contemporary with classical skills.

The paint being applied to the perspex creates a shadow of itself on the background colour and gives the paintings a sense of multi-dimensions. I saw reproductions of his work years ago and it was the confidence and obviously natural, unaided drawing, which first attracted me to it. In the flesh, it's much richer.

It's clear that he has more than a fleeting understanding of paint and drawing. This is a person who has dedicated & really immersing himself. Through years of dedication he's brought this to a contemporary level where it speaks with his own personal voice rather than just being a technically good painter.

The art really speaks to the viewer on many levels. There is a purely empathic understanding of another human being caught in paint, the contemporary take on long neglected artistic drawing and painting and the impressive skill and bravery required to do this kind of work.

These combined, really set Craig Hanna apart from the herd. I'm sure anyone collecting and supporting his work now, will be richly rewarded in years to come. Even if you never buy art this is an exhibition well worth seeing and getting excited about.

The gallery staff are very friendly and are fluent English & French speakers.

Bird Bronzed

2009-06-22T16:23:00.000+02:00

The little bird didn't die in vain though I'm sure he wouldn't agree. Here's the finished painting / drawing. It's charcoal on paper.

Summer Projects

2009-06-22T08:59:00.000+02:00

The weather has been so bad that we barely noticed the spring and most people are still shaking off the winter blues. It's hard to believe it's June.

None the less, it's summer time here again and in Paris that's when people start to meet up, socialise more, dust down their projects and collaborate.

I've joined a film crew in Paris as their storyboard artist. Among the projects that we're working on is a romantic drama about two people who meet online and eventually marry. The script is bound to change but here's a photo of the last meeting with some of the people involved. Actors, directors and crew & myself. The first draft of the first part of the storyboard is below.

Apart from that, I'm still drawing nudes of course. Below is a sketch from last Saturdays session with the live model. She's brilliant and usually creates pretty good poses but it's when she's taking breaks that she looks the most dramatic. If we weren't so busy talking among ourselves, that's when we should be drawing her.

Bird - day 2

2009-06-18T00:44:00.000+02:00

I think that this drawing is almost finished now. It's on paper with charcoal. It may be that I'll paint the background. I don't want to ruin the work that I've done so far so I'll have to experiment first.

Bird-leaving his mark

2009-06-16T19:58:00.000+02:00

Today I found a barely alive little bird in a neighbors garden. He didn't last very long but he went peacefully. These are very beautiful creatures. So I started drawing him on a large sheet of stretched paper. He's leaving his mark, slowly, but surely.

The sun came out in Paris :)

2009-06-14T23:36:00.000+02:00

We had a couple of days of sunshine, something that has been a bit rare this year. So I took advantage and got out as much as possible. There were a couple of parties and I got to the Louvre. That's another couple of things that I've been missing with all this activity lately.

So here are a few photos.

First off, a small party. I've been doing a lot of engraving work this year. Mostly thanks to a bunch of local architects who pushed me into it and motivate me to keep at it. So thanks to Jean-François Vincent for that. The other photo is Pierre who drank too much wine at the little exhibition we had.

I was at a party last night but didn't take any photos. It was in the 10eme. Had a great time at Helen Tangs. Lovely people and mostly artists.

At the Louvre today, there weren't too many people for a change. So I visited the Dutch artists section. I'm incredibly impressed by the work of Pickenoy. Not only are the paintings still in perfect condition but they are fantastically well painted. The paintings are from the 16th century but look as though they were painted yesterday.

No doubth the Louvre restorers deserve a great deal of credit but the paint is uncracked, the colours smooth and beautifully applied and there is incredible grace and aliveness in the portraits. To find a photo with the same life in it would be more than a challenge. I don't think it would be possible. These details are from the portrait of Johanna Le Maire

Here's a marvelous detail from a painting by Gerard Dou.

I also had a wander around the streets of Paris and visited the Palais Royal. There I saw the famous Vefour restaurant. Apart from the great art and the the incredible restaurants there is always something good to see. It's worth wandering around this area anytime the sun is shining but especially on a Sunday as they have students of the academy of music performing classical music on the street.

I'll post more photos of exhibitions etc on my newsletter. Be sure to sign up. It's on the bottom of my homepage. http://tjbyrne.com

World Drawing day.

2009-06-06T07:57:00.000+02:00

Today is world drawing day. It's a big deal. I love drawing so here's my contribution, posted to Youtube. You'll find more information here http://www.drawingday.org/index.php
Participate, it's great.

The Irish Embassy Expo

2009-05-19T20:51:00.000+02:00

Hi there
Hope you had a good weekend. I had a pretty charged one as they say. The exhibition in the embassy went well and there was a pretty good turn out. For art lovers it may have been a bit difficult to commit to as there were so many other art exhibitions this last weekend. Sorry to all my friends whose exhibitions I didn't get to see.

It was great to see so many of you at the exhibition and I hope I had a chance to chat with everyone. There was pretty decent weather and the mood was good. Even a little bit of champagne flowing. This exhibition continues for a month.

So here's a photo taken on the day. This is from the left, Natalie Martin, Anna Anderson (the Irish Ambassador to France), me and Bernadette Martin.

The next exhibition is Sunday, May 23rd, in Saint-Germain-les-Corbeil (91250), 3 avenue de la Pointe Ringale, Seine et Marne. The show runs from the 23rd of May until the 1st of June and promises to be excellent. I viewed the other artists works this week and everyone's work is of a very high quality.

On the 6th of June there is the Goal Ball. It's in Hotel Concorde LaFayette, 75017 Paris. I'm exhibiting paintings in aid of the charity Goal. A commissioned portrait will be offered to the highest bidder on the evening.

More details here www.goal-ball.org/p/auction.php

Black and white paintings.

2009-05-15T06:58:00.000+02:00

I'm doing a lot of work with black and white at the moment. Large paintings on wood and painted in acrylic. The nudes are more difficult to organise because they need a model who will pose for several hours. I find it fascinating work. Very absorbing and fantastically interesting to translate the world of colour into shades of grey.

There is a lot to learn here. It's a medium that has been ignored but it has an intense beauty and romantic feeling to it. It's definitely necessary to have a concept of the atmosphere you want to create in mind before you begin. Here are a couple of recent pieces.

The forest beside my atelier.

A mature model from the atelier of Jean Louis Morele.

I want to build these up into a series for exhibition later in the year in Paris.

Blogging about a blog

2009-05-14T00:16:00.001+02:00

A really nice review of my work was written today by the artist and journalist Matthew Rose.
Here's what he had to say.

http://lalandedigitalpress.blogspot.com

Busy days

2009-05-05T11:43:00.000+02:00

Busy days.
I did a marathon of painting this weekend. Saturday and Sunday with Parisian artists painting the nude. Saturday was great. I spent it with Jean Louis Morele. We were painting in his atelier and discussing different mediums. He's a magnificent oil painting artist but also very passionate about watercolours. We meet again next Saturday. It should be good. A couple of other artists will be there for a session of work lasting about five hours. It's more economical to hire an artist together and share the work space. We also enjoy one anothers company. Great discussions take place during the breaks. This is an acrylic which I did on Saturday.

Sunday was with Agnieszka Pado, drawing for five hours. These are tough intense sessions. The models are very brave.

We had an artist friend from England staying with us too. Irma Irsara arrived on Tuesday last week, till Sunday. She was exhibiting in the Bastile, Grand Marche de la Art Contemporain. She did very well, attracting the attention of a lot of galleries, artists and collectors. Sold quiet a lot of work too. So shes definitatly going to be staying with us again next year.

This is one of the paintings which will be at the Irish Embassy exhibition on the 16th of May. This particular painting took almost a month to complete. It's extremely symbolic with lots of layers of meaning. It's title is Trinity Chalice.

Paris-Exhibition in the Irish Embassy

2009-04-29T16:01:00.000+02:00

I'm getting ready for my next couple of exhibitions for May.

One is in Saint Germain Les Corbeil which is in the Seine et Marne region of France. The other is in the Irish Embassy in Paris where I'm going to have a solo show on the opening of the newly renovated building. More information on those below. I'm also negotiating with a gallery in Paris for a September show but more on that when it's finalised.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first exhibition on May 16th, will be in the prestigious opening day of the Irish Embassy in Paris. The building has been renovated and is magnificent. Our ambassador, Anne Anderson has managed a fabulous restoration project.

My paintings will be hanging in the hall, landing, smoking room, music room & dining room. Here is a photo, taken yesterday, of the beautifully restored dining area.
The details are:

May 16th, 10am - 4pm
12 avenue Foch
75116 Paris

Entrance on Rue Rude.

www.embassyofireland.fr
Further information
+33-1-44176700

Recent Paintings
As usual

As usual I've been very busy creating new works, experimenting and drawing.

This painting, called 'Natures Eye', is in oils on canvas and it's talking about our connection to nature. How we can see the world through the eye of nature and respect our interconnectedness with it.

'Gene Pool' is about tinkering with the environment. The fish is a new species. The round spheres are natural genetic structures and the square ones are man made additions. It's painted in oils on canvas.

Leaving Maubec

2009-04-24T06:35:00.000+02:00

I don't want to go but have to get myself back to Paris. It's been a lovely week here, storms and all. The place is marvelous and after Dingle in the west of Ireland I am happiest here.

With the painting etc I didn't get much of a chance to be out and about much. I painted most of the time. To have the light and to be surrounded by nature was worth coming here for.

We did visit a monastery called Ganagobie (meaning "Big Fish"). It's built upon a tableland overlooking the Durance valley which has a wide river, hense the reference to the fish. The history is remarkable. It seems to have had long links with the celts and was a spiritual fortress or stronghold for thousands of years. More recently it was founded as a monastry in the 10th century. There are a lot of relics showing the celtic connections but now it's a benedictine monastery which has been completely restored to it's former glory.

Here are a few pics of the place. The Ganagobie church entrance. Me, having a sandwich in the village of Apt. My nephew (on the french side) and a sketch which I gave to a friend of the family (I did get some drawing done).

The painting which I started isn't finished but it has a good essence. The most rewarding work has been the work which I do from imagination or dreams. This really surprises me. I had always feared that my internal vision was not profound enough to create works like this, hense my focus on realism and study. Now all that understanding is mixing with my own internal imagination and works which I don't believe I would have been able to successfully do before, are coming out. I'll post a photo of the painting next week.

Machine dream

2009-04-23T04:36:00.001+02:00

Tonight I had a weird dream. There was a young robotist building a machine which a man could fit into and basicly use it as a shell within which to work. To do manual labour for farms, building etc.

He was very comfortable within this machine shell and develeopes a good intuitive relationship with the machine shell. He called it that, a shell! The day arrived when he had to show the machine to an audience and give a presentation on how it worked.

He packed the robotic shell onto the back of his pickup truck and got in. His intention was to drive the hundred miles to his destination (somewhere in the USA) and then speak in front of an audience. The car broke down half way there and he had the bright idea to get into the suit and give it a field test. So he strapped himself in and started off across country. Eventually he arrived at a bridge and not wanting to attract too much attention he decided to cross the riverbed over the foundations of the bridge. He did so. Eventually he arrives at his destination. A little worse for wear and the suit a bit muddy (it's grey/white and quiet small relative to the shape of his body). The audience is surprised that he is late but he recounts his journey, showing video clips of the machine, taken from it's onboard camera. People are amazed at the potential of his devise.

So, what starts off as an agricultural working aid, ends up having huge military potential.

The next part of the dream.

The shells have been adapted for military use and one man can opperate ten at the same time. This becomes a standard squad. The central shell is occupied by a man or woman and the remaining machines mimic their actions in a battle situation where the ideal is simply to move forward and destroy.

So, cut to a forest scene. A great grandchild of the original inventor is fighting to protect his families land from the military organisation which want to take it over. It's mostly wooded territory. His education is pretty basic because he never had the advantages of his grandfather. Not well connected enough and in fact he doesn't even realise that the advancing army were originally designed by predecessor.

Despite this he is very intuitive and well connected to the land and such farm machinery which they have. He sets a trap for the shells. Identifies the central machine and sets out to isolate it. A simple rope trick is used where the central shell is traped, hoisted off the ground and isolated very quickly. Once isolated he quickly destroys it by taking over one of the others, switching it from auto to manual and using it's firepower to destroy the isolated central shell. Now he is inside the shell. He takes controll of the others and arranges the other machines to dig a hole among the trees, enter the hole and cover themselves untill he calls them. Which he doesn't intend to do anytime soon.

What happens next is like a second stage in evolution. He begins to live as an outlaw with the shell as an extension of his body. It becomes his home and he studies it and developes a connection with it which has never existed before between any human & machine. He learns to recognise that the machine has an intuition and a range of senses that were never intentionally built into it.

A new era of sentient life evolves. End of dream.

I found this dream to be very disturbing and very likely to actually happen. Most people won't be following science the way that I do but the technology for such a dream to come true is well and truely in existance already. I'm not disturbed by the potential military use of such a machine, though I should be given the way that simple building machines such as caterpillar trucks etc are being used as weapons. It's more the connection with the machine and the resulting disconnect with the natural world which the young character experiences. Using our current mode of living as a guide where corporations are more machine like than responsible or moral, as a model, it is easy to see how we could easily fall into the trap of using things in a purely disconnected manner. Disconnected to humanity, to morals, to honesty and trust. Fundamental building blocks of a society that is actually alive, as opposed to self destroying.

Downpour

2009-04-20T18:16:00.000+02:00

Oh la! It's really raining. The light just vanished and the clouds unleashed a massive downpour. So I'll not be painting any more this evening. Might get some drawings in. The painting is only a third of the way through. You can see a bit of each layer. The charcoal drawing, the greyscale underpainting, and the colour in oils.

Here are a few pics. This is nothing on what I can see out the window right now. It's as dark as dusk. The lights are flickering here so I think the electricity might go off soon. Big storm rolling in.

It really is like Ireland now :)

Why go to the south of France?

2009-04-19T11:06:00.000+02:00

If you're not going to paint the landscape, why go to the south of France?

Everyone talks about the south of France as though it is a heaven for artists. Not everyone who comes here paints the landscape. So why not Paris, there are surely a lot more galleries?

The reason that artists and art collectors both rave about the south of france is the light, the people and the history, the space it gives you to think and the changing seasons and colours. The best time to come to the south is not the summer. Despite that, tourists and artists alike flock here at that time. For those who live here, the summer is the least attractive season because of the heat & it's getting hotter of course.

We are in spring now and it's almost as green and rich looking as Ireland. The iris' are in bloom and trees are showing off their rich colours. Blossom is everywhere and plants I've never seen before are showing pink, white, purple & mauve. The light is gentle, yet bright. It's not hot, there is a cool breeze today.

The landscape varies from flat to hilly to mountainous very quickly. It's a human scaled landscape. Most structures are built from local stone. As people can travel so easily now, there are a lot more visitors by car during holiday seasons and land is more valuable to sell for housing than to farm. Despite this, farmers work and cultivate the land, producing the best wines and incredible vegetables. The quality of the food alone is a good reason to live here and always has been.

In the winter the light is perfect and there is no searing heat. Photographs rarely capture the magic of the more simple aspects of the landscape. Yet the artists eye is very impressed by even these parts because of the surprising sense of distance and perspective. The easily perceived definition on everything. The landscapes shines. It fills you up with a new sense of colour and an appreciation for values of light which will help you no matter what you are painting.

When you come here you have to grow into the land as well. We can't have the benefits of the city while enjoying contact with nature. Nature can't survive that. When you come here, be a farmer, an artist or a writer for a while & leave the TV behind.

Marcus Mcallister Expo etc

2009-04-02T00:46:00.000+02:00

Hi
It's been a while since I posted (apart from a couple of minutes ago). That doesn't mean I've been quiet. The opposite applies. I've been drawing intensely, painting, teaching, and getting my work out there.

I also got to go to a couple of exhibition openings. One was Marcus McAllisters show in Paris. Not his first by any means but this is the first time we have crossed paths. His show was in the Style Pixie gallery and it was full to bursting with a really wide range of people from all communities. His work is a real mix of media but the images are very creative, inspired by his note books, one of which he keeps with him at all times so that when inspiration strikes he can make a note or drawing. Some of the pages are so detailed and interesting that they became framed pieces in themselves.

You should check him out. http://www.marcusmcallister.com

Here are some photos from the evening. All taken with my cell phone so the quality is far from great.

Etsy evening in Paris

2009-04-02T00:35:00.001+02:00

Hi
Had a great evening in Paris tonight. I met up with some of the organisers of Etsy. We met in the Petula Cafe, 6, Rue des Ciseaux, 75006 Paris, Tel : 01 44 41 01 09. Metro St Germain des Pres/Mabillon.

Etsy.com is an online arts and crafts site where people who make things by hand can sell what they do. By coincidence I opened an Etsy shop last night and the timing was perfect because Maria and Liz, the speakers, have never been here before. My etsy shop address is http://artytom.etsy.com

There was a nice bunch of people at the meeting. Apart from me, they were all women :)

The conversation was very interesting. Lots of important things relating to selling and creating were discussed in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Great to see people who are involved in creating and recycling being so dynamic and friendly.

Springs first big strike in Paris )

2009-03-19T10:31:00.001+01:00

Today is a beautiful spring day. There are small buds suddenly visible on the trees. I must start on my paintings of the change of season in the forests here. I already have several of autumn and one of winter. Appropriately with minimal colour. It is mostly drawing on canvas. Nice grey lines in charcoal.

So how do the Parisians celebrate spring. They have gone on strike :)

Only in france. It's officially to protest against the policies of Sarco. Even the radio stations have gone on strike (amazing) !!!

They couldn't have timed a strike better. This is only the third day of sunshine we have had since the darkness of winter. It's unlikely that the city will be very busy tomorrow. Most people 'prend le pont' which means that they combine a day off with a weekend. So from last night or this morning there will have been an exodus from Paris to the countriside. Bravo le grève :)

Shell kills off the Green

2009-03-18T17:56:00.000+01:00

Hi
I'm a greenie. I've always been and was kind of getting to the point of being lazy about it. After all. Everyone is green now. So I was feeling like, 'it's okay' I can relax a bit. After all, even the oil companies are seeing sense.

Well the fights back on!!

Shell have just announced that they are dropping all investments in alternative energy. Because it's not profitable enough. Nonsense!! Solar power technology is really coming into it's own and is increasing in efficiency at a rapid rate. The danger is more likely that alternative energies are threatening to actually replace their oil products.

In the process of their "previous efforts" to go 'green' and invest in the process' of green energy technologies, they will have filed many patents for technologies that would make the world a better place.

That's a bit sneaky really. They had the cooperation of people who really believed in what they were doing. The finest minds throwing themselves and their ideas into the pot in order to liberate the world and improve the environment. Now those technologies are bottled up. Captured, where they can't do any good.

People who would like to take up where Shell left off will be unable to, without getting badly sued. Unless they are in China that is, because China doesn't respect copyright that much.

I, for one, will be avoiding all Shell products (where possible) and purchasing alternatives.

Here's the entire article: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5927869.ece

There is only one word for this and unfortunately it's derogatory.

Exhibition update - Dublin March 2009

2009-03-08T00:12:00.000+01:00

Hi
The exhibition went really well. There was a huge crowd even before it started with more arriving as the evening went on. As for atmosphere, it was great. There was a great crowd of interested buyers and a few artists that I hadn't seen for a while.

The exhibition continues until the 28th of March and I highly recommend visiting. The exhibition area itself if on the first floor and is open to the public from 5pm.

Liam has a very good Irish Arts Event blog. He manages to get himself invited to everything and graciously records them all.

His blog is:
http://irishartblog.com/

Here's a pic of myself, Liam Madden & Brian Gallagher.

Invitation to Exhibition, Dublin 4, March 5th 2009

2009-02-26T13:21:00.001+01:00

Exhibition of Drawings & Paintings - Invitation, March 5th, 2009

You are cordially invited to an exhibition of paintings and
drawings at the United Arts Club, Dublin 4, at 8pm, on the
5th of March, 2009.

The exhibition is a once a year event and is the best of the best,
of life drawing in Dublin.

Artists such as PJ. Lynch, Comhghall Casey, Brian Gallagher,
Oisin Roche, Michael McWilliams and myself will be showing
3 pieces each, of our best work from the year.

It's also a very good social event with a real chance to mingle
with real artists. There is always a great sense of comaraderie
and it goes on till late. There is no pressure to buy and it's an
extremely informal and relaxing atmosphere where you can
pick up seriously good bargains from top Irish artists who are
mostly there to show off, to one another.

Thanks to Irish author, Fiona O'Brien for performing the
opening ceremony & Brian Galagher who organises the event
every year.

regards

Tom

America. 20-1-09

2009-01-21T16:05:00.000+01:00

Thanks America for becoming America again.
Out of the ashes rises the phoenix.

Memes - a new thought for a new year.

2009-01-06T06:56:00.000+01:00

This is a response which I wrote to a friend who is having a difficult experience with some odd people and their ideas. The persons in question are a bit nuts or out of control so the topic of memes came up and I wrote the following to put things in perspective. I hope you find it interesting.

----------------------

The world is full of unstable people. Have you heard of memes? That's a new word which is used to describe thought as a living thing. Seeing thoughts in an objective manner helps us to recognise that the 'Meme' requires us to think the thought in order to keep it alive. Certain patterns of thought are like bacteria and require our attention to remain alive.

It's function is to find a host and to get the host to propagate the idea among other hosts and therefore grow the meme and ensure it's survival among the species.

Sounds crazy doesn't it, until you wonder what it is that makes these unstable people unstable.

Fashion is a meme, so are certain word combinations such as, "have a nice day" or even religious beliefs. Hate is a powerful meme and is very common in all it's different styles and types. Facism, racism. In fact any 'ism' is a meme. Any thought that can be repeated and copied takes on an identity and wants to be reproduced so that it can survive.

So getting in control of our thoughts is quiet important. Or rather, standing back from our thoughts and not allowing them to control us.

That's the difference between a stable and unstable person. Hows that for a new concept :)

-----------------

I had a revelation about this a few years ago and told it to someone I knew whom I believed might be able to relate to it. His response was to suggest that it was a good topic for a science fiction movie and looked at me as though I was nuts. Since then I have found several books on the subject although I think that the actual word "memes" was not coined till very recently. It's great. I feel like a pioneer :)

Happy new 2009

2009-01-04T10:08:00.000+01:00

Happy new year everyone!

Right now, I'm recovering from the Christmas and new year celebrations. My head if throbbing and I need to work off the excess of the celebrations and cooking.

I wake up with painting ideas in my mind and have a big urge start in a new direction. There is still one painting commission to finish in my studio, so that is the priority.

I'm reading Owens book at the moment and getting my studio space reorganised.

We have decided to leave Paris in 4 years and move to the south of France. So a lot to do in the coming months & years. We have a farm there and although it requires a lot of work we are looking forward to it.

This is the entrance to the main building. It's a great little place but needing a lot of attention and repair. The farmer, who is a friend of ours, retires in a few years and wants to teach us to look after the land before we completely move in. Couldn't ask for better and I paint very very well there so am looking forward to it a very great deal.

I will have to visit the museums of Paris intensely over the next few years so that I fill up with all that culture, which is one of the few things that Paris has to offer. A recent American artist visiting here described it as a living museum, not a living city and reluctant as I am to admit it, I think that there is a lot of truth in what he says.

The south of France is living and throbbing with art, writers and sculptors.

View with mountains and olive trees.

2008-12-18T16:44:00.001+01:00

I've just finished an oil painting which will be a Christmas gift for my parents in law. They have a nice collection of paintings and appreciate art. The view is from their terrace looking towards an neighbors house with olive trees in the foreground.

La Provence

2008-12-18T11:49:00.001+01:00

This morning came the news that myself and my father in law are on the cover of La Provence, newspaper. A local journalist took a photo of us at work on the houses that were flooded. That's me in the blue, covered in mud and not looking too cool. Michel is in front in red.

Tadelakt and Flood

2008-12-17T18:59:00.000+01:00

I just finished a course in Tadelakt which took place in the hills around Maubec, south of France. It was an excellent course, taught by a Moroccan decorator named Jamal Daddis, author of the book, Le Tadelakt. If you are interested you can find this on Amazon.

Tadelakt is a form of lime which, when finished and polished correctly has the ambiance of marble but unlike marble is warm, impermiable to water, easily sculpted and extremely nice to look at and touch.

Great course, taught by a great teacher.

While we were studying, it began to rain and it rained hard. It didn't stop for 24 hours and many people were flooded out. All day today was spent helping people to get the waves of mud out of their houses. One local person had a pool of water around their house which was a metre and a half deep. That's about five feet. So their entire house was swamped. A few locals, the pompiers, myself and my father in law, spent the day separating their things from the mud and stones washed in by the waves of water. It looked like a complete disaster but by the end of the day we had made huge progress. Drains were unblocked and the mud cleared away. There's more to do tomorrow but it's looking good.

Here's a photo of an orchard beside the house that was flooded. Below that is a photo of the course in tadelakt.

Nude strike in Paris.

2008-12-16T18:28:00.000+01:00

Hi
One of those things that have been difficult to find in Paris has been life drawing. I am restricted to only two locations, at present, where I can do this kind of drawing but had heard rumors that others exist. Despite having many french artist friends, none have not been forthcoming in advice on the topic.

Today I read that there has been a nude strike in the center of Paris to support the models who work in these mysterious places. Apparently the Marie has been organising these things all along. Who would have thought to look there?

You might find this interesting to read.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/16/france-art-life-models-protest

http://www.tjbyrne.com

2008-11-30T21:02:00.000+01:00

Hello
I've just created a shop online where you can purchase cards, posters and framed prints of my work. If you click on an image below, it will bring you directly to the shop.

Enjoy :)

Arts Newsletter

2008-10-24T12:17:00.001+02:00

Hi
I've just added a news page to my site where people can follow what I'm up to. It's a bit like a blog but not a blog.
I'm going to be exhibiting in Paris next week so this gives a taste of what it will be like.
It goes out each month in the form of a newsletter so if you are interested in receiving a copy just sign up. The option is at the bottom of the page.

http://tjbyrne.com/sharing/artside.html

Best
Tom

The New York Times-Oct 19th 2008

2008-10-19T18:55:00.000+02:00

I was very interested to find this article in the New York Times today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/washington/19fbi.html?th&emc=th

Particularly this section here. I smell conspiracy pooh here. There are a lot of people suggesting that this financial crisis is a part of a bigger strategy and to be honest, it seems hard to have not seen it coming. Yes I did, along with lots of others!

"Since 2004, F.B.I. officials have warned that mortgage fraud posed a looming threat, and the bureau has repeatedly asked the Bush administration for more money to replenish the ranks of agents handling nonterrorism investigations, according to records and interviews. But each year, the requests have been denied, with no new agents approved for financial crimes, as policy makers focused on counterterrorism.

According to previously undisclosed internal F.B.I. data, the cutbacks have been particularly severe in staffing for investigations into white-collar crimes like mortgage fraud, with a loss of 625 agents, or 36 percent of its 2001 levels."

Autumn leaves

2008-10-16T23:06:00.000+02:00

It's amazing how the arrival of autumn brings a wonderful fairy tale quality with it. It's a bit of paradise. Everything rests under a golden blanket of leaves and the trees are a mix of green, gold and reds. It's really magical. If you get the chance to take a few minutes on the weekend try to get out into nature and just watch the leaves falling. It's very peaceful. There is a sense of things being put into perspective.