End of the exhibition & the beginning of another

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

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.

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

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

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.