Stairway

And now for something different. I started this a few months ago and then left it until yesterday. It's been an exploration (sort of in conjunction with drawing practice) of perspective and directions - up and down, in and out etc. It's painted in acrylic on water colour board 50 x 40. It's got lots of imperfections but I like it.

Red Woman

After I'd finished her (and I never meant to paint her in the first place) she didn't seem to belong with the Hidden Women so I've put her with the Red Men in the Red Series. I don't know whether I'll like her next week or next month, but at the moment she's quite satisfying to look at.

I've finished (for the time being) reorganising the aja site so I can get on with my new projects. I'm trying not to spend any more time with Gledhow Valley Woods - it's turned to the wall - maybe the only way to be free of it is to burn it. Hmmm we'll see. I also need to redo the background on the old Ituski picture - that will fit well with Age and Visibility (after pondering I changed the Invisibility to Visibility because that's what I'm painting and hopefully celebrating - visibility of the old as well as the young).

Thinking of Itsuki, I finally put the panels together of his picture that Zoltan recently brought back from Hungary. I've sent the photo to Itsuki for his approval and then I'll post it on the site. I'm looking forward to that - it's such a pleasure to see it again.

That's it for now. How are you getting on with The Other Field - are they finished? And did you go hothouse drawing today?

Gina1 ballpoint sketch

This is the sketch I told you about that I did with Tescos ballpoint and gel pens. It was interesting to draw without being able to rub anything out. (I like rubbing out so much, I have been known to draw with the rubber as well as with the pencil so this felt like a strange exercise.) It was drawn from memory not a photograph.

This is the beginning of one the three projects I'm now engaged with - The 5 Sisters. I've been given lots of photocopies of pictures of the sisters that I want to draw and paint. I shall use these together with memories and real life visits as a base for what I do.

falling apples

Saw some of the drawings I hadn't seen before on yr site - but also saw this one - which is very good - and full of expectations.

I can see the trouble you've been having with it and the overpainting - but if can step back from it a little - it has a bit of magic on the quiet - again the intersting dislocations of the green world - and importantly the 'isolated figure' sitting with back toward the viewer....in a space of its own almost. I like it a lot - it looks less 'tryhard' than some others, and all the better for it - titles good too. cheers. Dai

PS - Untitled 300 from yr website also looks interesting

Under Rubbles 294 by Itsuki Matayoshi

Itsuki said this was a series, too, but I didn't see these. He did some other versions of this one in photoshop, and I put one on the ajagap site.

I know that you paint differently from Itsuki, but there is something in both your works that I absolutely love and get lost in. This one reminds me of your work even though it's so different.

Weaker Vessels by Itsuki Matayoshi

This one was done in 2001 but he did a whole series of these. I remember him doing some before he left Oxford at the beginning of 2000.

'Sanctity' by Itsuki Matayoshi

Heyla, Dai - I'm thrilled to be getting pictures from Itsuki again, so wanted to share them with you. I've put them on the ajagap site but pictures are better on here because you can click to make them bigger. I must sort out the other site so you can do that there, too, but no time yet.

Will post a few more as separate posts.