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 :)