Back from Borgogne

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 :)

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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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

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

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

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?

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

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

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 )

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

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

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

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

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

Memes - a new thought for a new year.

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.

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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 :)

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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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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 :)