Where is the Art?

Well it has been quite a long time since I last blogged. The reason is simple I have had nothing to say which if you actually knew me is quite rare, although now I have. After watching the British Masters on the BBC, not the Golf the series on painting I have felt inspired to try and do something different. The world at the moment is in turmoil nothing seems to be going right. Famine in Somalia, War in Afghanistan, Libya, Phone hacking scandals, Rupert Murdoch, Rebecca Brooks, David Cameron in cahoots to run the country, the basic collapse of the of the world’s economy the list is endless.

But where is the Art ? who is producing the art that will stand the test of time, so that when people look back at this period of our history there will be seminal images that encapsulate the feelings and the mood of the world? Artists throughout history have been responsible for some of the most iconic images of their time. The presenter of the BBC series Dr James Fox said that basically at the moment within the art world there is a general trend towards trying to be too different and more crazy and sensational, but in his opinion he believed that we should try to be a bit more ordinary. I agree with him. Look at the paintings made by Coldstream, Nash and Spencer.

What will the unmade bed and the pickled cow say to the humans of the future. That we were a bunch of stupid gullible idiots that deserved everything that we got. If you can convince someone that this is art then you can convince them into believing just about anything. The media lie to us the politicians lie to us isn’t it about time that artists around the world stood up and told the truth.

Hello!

Well it has been quite a while since I last added anything to my blog. I have been busy painting in preparation for my next exhibition “Spring in Action” at Letchworth arts centre. This is a group show that runs from Monday 21 March until Friday 1 April. Hopefully I will have some sales. 

I am also going to Primrose Gallery in Northampton this week to show some paintings with a view to them representing me. I have never really done this before the owner has looked at my website and liked my work so who knows you can only try. Money is hard to find at the moment for most people so it probably isn’t the best time to be trying to sell paintings, still they say that there is always money about somewhere it just a matter of finding the people who have it. 

My latest venture is picture framing. The local picture framer has retired and I have bought his equipment. The saving alone framing my own work will be worth the investment. He is going to teach me how to use it all so I will be able to start framing on a commercial basis. He made quite a good living at it. Well that’s about it for now. I will try not leave it so long before I blog again. Not that anybody is reading it.

The reason for my absence!

Great?

I thought quite a lot yesterday about the meaning of great. What is great? There are the obvious ones Alexander the Great, Peter the Great, Great Britain and probably many more but who decided that these were great. My 6 year old granddaughter thinks that I am the "greatest artister" in the whole world so maybe I have already attained the greatness that I set out to achieve. I think she is great and probably one day so will everybody else.

At the moment I am getting ready for my first real solo exhibition in May. It is both exciting and daunting it seemed so far away when it was first discussed but now it is only a few months away I am starting to get those nagging self doubts that always seem to creep in. Will everything be ready, will it be good enough, will people like it the list is endless. I know that if you listen to artists like Damian Hirst and Tracey Emin they say that they don’t really care if people like it or not all they want is a reaction. I am not entirely sure that I believe them. Still at the end of the day if anybody wants to give me a million quid for one of my paintings I will not give a monkeys if they like it or not! While we are on the subject I have only just got up so my “unmade bed” is available along with “Unhoovered front room” and “dishwasher which needs emptying”. Also having spent quite a long time in the Army there are probably photos of me in private collections all over the world that would make Grason Perry look quite normal.

This is I think why people like me struggle in their endeavours to achieve greatness. In my opinion and it is only my opinion when a pair of dirty pants, a light going on and off or a cow cut in half and pickled in a glass case becomes great art you sometimes wonder why the hell you bother. Anyway enough ranting I have just noticed some sheep in a field which I think would look brilliant in a bed in a glass case turning the lights on and off dressed as women... great.

Me with my greatest fan!

28th January - Welcome to my Blog

Well here it is my first blog ever. 2011 I have decided is going to be a big year for me. I reached the age of 50 this month so it seemed like a good time to make some changes in my life. Recently I attended our social gathering of the Artists Network Bedfordshire during which the subject of blogging and its advantages were discussed. It seemed like a good way of increasing interest in my web site so I have decided to give it a go. I have read some blogs to give me an idea of what goes on, however if you want to know what I had for breakfast or many times I have visited the loo then this is probably not the blog for you.

I paint and have done for most of my life off and on. I have always had a burning ambition to become a great painter I know deep down that this is probably never going to happen and that If I am lucky enough to attain it, it will probably be like a lot of the great artists after I am dead and know nothing about it so why do I bother? The answer is simple I don’t know. I just have to paint. At the moment my greatest influences I would say are the Glasgow Boys. I worked in Scotland a few years ago and visited the Kelvingrove on quite a few occasions although at the time I was more interested in Rennie Mckintosh, but once inside the gallery it was hard not to notice the pure genius of the group and since then I have been a fan. I had hoped to go to the Royal Academy in London and see the exhibition that is running at the moment however work and life gets in the way so maybe next time.

I don’t know what else to add at the moment but I am sure that I will soon anybody who knows me will tell you that I never shut up so be warned!

James Guthrie - Pastures New