Life drawing and painting classes in Warwickshire 2014

I am continuing to run my life drawing and painting classes in 2014  beginning with the first of a series of day 'workshops' on Saturday 1st February. These workshops are usually held on the first saturday of the month throughout the year. They take place in the fully equipped studio at Shottery Memorial Hall (near Stratford on Avon). They start at 10am and finish at 4pm and the cost is £40 for the day - this includes basic paper and light refreshments.  The day comprises of different poses, some very short and dynamic through to longer more languorous poses. Different techniques and media are taught throughout the day. 

I also teach a weekly life drawing evening class in Leamington Spa. These take place on thursday evenings from 6.15 - 8.15pm (in the North Hall, Spencer Yard, CV31 3SY). The cost this term is £144 for twelve weeks beginning on 16th January and finishing on 10th. April (half term 20th Feb.).

Alongside my own love of life drawing I also enjoy painting from life and I like to encourage others to try life painting. Two or three times a year I do a single pose life painting day, the first of these will be on Saturday 1st March. 

In the summer I will be running two life drawing and painting summer schools. They will take place in July and August over three days (dates yet to be confirmed). They consist of a variety of life drawing activities in the morning sessions, followed by the same single pose in the afternoons to enable students to complete a life painting

If you have any questions or are interested in attending any of my life drawing or painting classes please email me therealneilmoore@hotmail.com  and I will add you to my email list and keep you informed of life drawing and painting opportunities throughout the year. 

Please note all classes must be pre-booked and paid for in advance (either by sending me a cheque or by online banking). I am keen to encourage newcomers and younger people to the delights of working from the figure and I offer a concessionary rates to those in full time education and members of many local arts societies. Please contact me for details.

Shapeshifter

"Shapeshifter"    Oil on canvas     91.5 x 107 cms.    2004

This painting of mine is currently displayed in Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum as part of the biennial rehang of the main art gallery. It is, too my knowledge, as yet the only painting of mine that has been acquired by a public collection (all my other works having disappeared into private collections). It is included in a "Medicate" themed rehang alongside works by Marc Quinn, Jason Oddy, Alexa Wright etc.. Why "Medicate"? Leamington, or Royal Leamington Spa to give it its full title, was until a few years ago famous for its healing waters and people came from far and wide to 'take' the spa water at the Pump Rooms. The art gallery is now in what used to be an NHS hydrotherapy unit within the Pump Rooms. In partnership with the Wellcome Trust, and in keeping with the buildings history, many works have since been collected with a medical theme. 

Many years ago while suffering from back pain I was referred by my doctor for treatment at the Pump Rooms and experienced the full range of hydrotherapy treatments under the supervision of the renowned, and I think last head of the hydrotherapy unit, the formidable Miss Golland. Alas, in my case, it didn't help alleviate the pain. It was however an interesting experience (it is one of the many redeeming features of being an artist that even the unpleasant parts of life are food for the imagination!)   

At the time (2004) when I painted “Shapeshifter” I had become intrigued by western society’s increasing interest in cosmetic surgery. People’s apparent dissatisfaction with their appearance seemed to intensify with the proliferation of ‘celebrity’ culture. The illusory perfection of these airbrushed icons became achievable to anyone with enough self loathing and money. Sadly, if you desired Jennifer Lopez's bum or Madonna’s breasts, there were plenty of surgeons willing to assist you – at a price. The emotional insecurity necessary to resort to such a drastic and often dangerous procedure is disheartening to contemplate.The use of same model for both the "surgeon" and the "patient" in the picture was intentional because it reflected my feeling that cosmetic surgery is often just a socially acceptable form of ‘self harm’.

I am always glad to have my work seen anywhere but I am especially pleased to be hung alongside works by Simon Lewty and Barry Burman both of whom I have known for many years (or, tragically, knew in Barry's case - sadly he took his own life some years ago). I hope that you can visit the gallery. Like many small municipal galleries they have some artistic gems and it is well worth a visit. Many, if not all, of the collection has been digitised and can be accessed via their website www.warwickdc.gov.uk/wdc/royalpumprooms  
 

The road to hull is paved with good intentions

"LIKENESS" Oil on canvas 81.5 x 56cms

This painting is currently on exhibition in Studio Eleven in the Fruit Market area in Hull. The exhibition is of figurative art including paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture. It includes works by many well known artists including Alison Lambert and Jake Attree.

My brother, Rob Moore, also a painter, is currently exhibiting his new work at the Ropewalk Gallery in Barton on Humber (at the southern end of the Humber bridge).

End of 'plugs'!

On a personal level - this glorious summer, so long awaited and so deserved, has whizzed by. My 'good intention' to do lots of new paintings has somehow been filled with exhibiting, teaching, home maintenance and many other 'time bandits'. While I haven't been very productive as regards painting I have done a lot of preparatory work and I can't wait to begin to explore the new ideas.

Unlike many artists I don't see things and want to paint them, -  I experience life (with all its vicissitudes) and try through painting to unravel its complexity. They are only 'attempts' and more often than not lead to more questions than answers. I am reconciled to not knowing (which is why I don't seem to require a religion). The one statement that the otherwise reprehensible, war mongering American politician Donald Rumsveldt made (and was, curiously, much derided for) that I concur with is "That there are known knowns, unknown knowns and unknown unknowns". The important thing for me is that, like the Olympic motto "It is not the winning, it is the taking part". When I finally slip off "this mortal coil' I will have at least tried to understand that which Paul Gaugin the painter so succinctly captured in the title of one of his paintings "who are we, where do we come from and where are we going" (forgive the bastardised quotations - the words are like my paintings 'metaphorical' but hopefully sometimes contain some insight).

More practically, I don't have any gallery to represent me and take care of selling my work and the paintings are stacking up (storage is becoming a real problem). I don't want to spend any more time than I already do on 'marketing' - I don't like it and I am consequently not very good at it. So if there is anyone out there in cyberspace that can help I will be eternally grateful.  

Open Studio

"Pas de deux" - Neil Moore  2013
Oil on canvas           76 x 107cms

I am exhibiting my recent drawings and paintings at home as part of Warwickshire Open Studios 2013 from Saturday 29th June to Sunday 14th July. For details of location and opening times for this and all the other open studios please click on this link.

Life Drawing and Painting Classes etc.

This drawing is one of a new series that I have been working on. I have been experimenting with adding colour to the 'subtractive' charcoal technique that I have developed over the past year. 

'Stop' - Neil Moore 2013   54 x 36cms
Charcoal and coloured pencils  



Life Drawing and Painting Classes

I have a couple of  life drawing workshops coming up on the 4th May and the 1st June. These will take place on Saturdays in the fully equipped art studio above Shottery Memorial Hall near Stratford on Avon from 10am until 4pm. The cost is £40 which includes paper and light refreshments (full time students only £30).

My 3 day Life drawing and Painting Summer Schools are nearly full so please let me know a.s.a.p. if you would like to come or require further details. They take place in the Shottery Studio on July 16,17 & 18th and August 13, 14 & 15th (tues. - thurs. 10am to 4pm). The cost is £120.

Please contact me by clicking here if you would like to book or require further information about these or any other classes.

Juxtaposition

'Juxtaposition' - Neil Moore 2012
76 x 56cms Oil on canvas

I am exhibiting this painting in an exhibition of my paintings and drawings at Creation Fine Arts in Beverley in Yorkshire. The exhibition also features enamelled silver jewellery designed and made by Jane, my brilliant jeweller wife. This is the first time that we have exhibited together in a commercial gallery. The exhibition opens on the 3rd April and continues until the 6th June (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Jane and I will be present on Sunday 7th April from 12noon - 4pm if you would like to join us for refreshments and a chat. The gallery can be found upstairs at 7 North Bar Within, Beverley, HU17 8AP - we hope to see you there.

LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING SUMMER SCHOOLS  2013

July 16th, 17th &18th and August 13, 14 & 15th

In the art studio at Shottery Memorial Hall, Hathaway Lane, Shottery, Nr. Stratford on Avon, Warks. CV37 9BL

Rapid ball point pen drawing - Neil Moore 2012

Three whole days of working from the figure is a great opportunity to cover a wide variety of techniques and media. Each morning will be spent drawing. There will be a range of poses from short dynamic ones to longer more languorous ones. Every afternoon there will be the same pose to enable you to complete a life painting (or more elaborate drawing).

The days will start at 10am and finish at 4pm. There will be short breaks mid morning and afternoon. Paper, teas, coffee and biscuits are provided. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or visit the nearby pub where they do meals. There is free parking right outside the studio (the railway station is less than half a mile away).

Places are limited to only 10 students so early booking is advisable. The cost is £120, payable in advance.

Please email me if you would like to book or require any further information by clicking on this link.

Life drawing and painting classes spring 2013

My first life drawing workshop of the new year is on Saturday 2nd February, this is followed by a second on Saturday 2nd March. If it is life painting that you are interested in I have a life painting workshop (single pose) on Saturday 6th April. The workshops all take place from 10am to 4pm in the fully equipped art studio at Shottery Memorial Hall, nr. Stratford on Avon. The workshops cost £40 for the day (which includes paper and light refreshments). All classes must be pre-booked. To book or for further information please click on this link . 

Always look on the bright side of life

I often say (only half jokingly), when urging drawing students to try using black and white media on a half-tone paper, that it is like "life" - "mostly grey with the occasional highlights and dark patches". My own life recently has been more akin to indian ink on white paper - no half tones.
                                                                                                            Last summer (or the season previously known as summertime) was an unexpectedly fallow period for me. Generally I manage to spend the majority of my time indulging myself by creating paintings and drawings, but all manner of things conspired to get in the way and I was hardly able to get in my studio. This enforced break really brought it home to me how much I need the solitude of my studio to cope with the vicissitudes of life.  It is entirely possible that I need my 'art' more than the artworld needs me.



"Kirsty"                   40.5 x 30.5cms.             Oil on canvas 



 I was very fortunate to persuade a former model (Kirsty) to come up from London and spend a few precious days of her annual leave working for me. For over a decade she has featured in, and inspired, more paintings and drawings than any other. Kirsty has this rare empathic ability to register in her expression the subtlest of emotional states that I require of her (she would make a brilliant film actress). I am presently using the imagery I gathered from her for my new work (see illustration) which will hopefully be included in my next exhibition in April 2013 at Nigel Walker's new gallery Creation Fine Arts, Beverley, Yorkshire. This will be my first gallery exhibition with my wife, Jane, who will be exhibiting her enamelled silver jewellery alongside my paintings and drawings. 

Autumn 2012 Life Drawing and Painting Classes

Alongside my own work I continue to organise, and teach, life drawing and painting classes. My regular thursday evening class is full this term but I have a couple of Saturday 'workshops' scheduled. The first is a life drawing day on Saturday the 3rd of November and this is followed by a life painting day(single pose) on Saturday the 1st of December. These workshops are held in the fully equipped art studio above Shottery Memorial Hall, near Stratford on Avon. They start at 10am and finish at 4pm and the cost is £40 for the day (which includes paper and light refreshments). Please contact me if you would like to book or require further information by clicking on this link .                                                             

New paintings and drawings - Warwickshire Open Studios

I will be holding an exhibition of my new paintings and drawings(including the one above) as part of  Warwickshire Open Studios. This bi-annual event, formerly known as Warwickshire Artsweeks, is a fantastic opportunity to see the breadth and depth of creativity in my home county. Jane, my wife, will be exhibiting her  jewellery alongside my own recent work. Details of our exhibition, together with all the others, are available at http://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/ .    

Additional life drawing and painting summer school

For those of you who were unable to get a place on my July summer school I am proposing to hold another one in August. It will take place in the fully equipped art studio at Shottery on tuesday, wednesday and thursday 7th, 8th and 9th August. This three day course is a wonderful opportunity to learn and practice a range of media and techniques. The mornings are devoted to drawing with a range of poses from rapid dynamic ones to more langorous long ones. The model will be in the same pose every afternoon to enable a life painting to be completed.The cost is £120, which includes paper and light refreshments. For more information or to book a place please email me via this link

East West - where to see my work currently

 'Contradiction' oil on canvas, 81.5 x 91.5cms

If you are in London I have some of my paintings in a show of gallery artists at East West until the 3rd. June. East West gallery, who have exhibited my work since 1995, will be relocating and this is their last exhibition at 214, Kensington Park Rd., W11 1NR (Tel. David Solomon, the gallery director for details of opening times, 0207 229 7981 - now is a good time to buy from them as they are reducing stock prices from May 26th to the 3rd June). Included is the image above 'Contradiction' from a series of works that I painted playing with the ridiculous idea of picturing noise. An expression of the frustration and futility of not being listened to, being misunderstood. An idea that I can trace back to a painting I did in the early 80's of a figure beating a drum with a feather. Rather disappointingly when I found a swan primary feather big enough to contribute visually it actually made quite a noise when you struck the drum with it. C'est la vie.



'Implosion' oil on canvas, 27.5 x 23.5cms.

More locally, I have some recent paintings, including the one above, in the A.M.A. (Assoc. of  Midland Artists) show at Fosters Gallery. Fosters Gallery is at 35, Grennhill St., Stratford upon Avon, CV37 6LE and the exhibition continues until mid June.

Life drawing and painting summer school

My annual 3 day summer school will take place this year on July 17th,18th & 19th.(tuesday to thursday, £120) in the fully equipped art studio at Shottery, nr. Stratford on Avon. For those of you who, like me, are passionate about working directly from the figure it is a great opportunity to experiment with a wide variety of techniques and media. Each morning a range of poses from quick dynamic ones through to longer, more languorous, ones will be included to extend your approach to drawing. In the afternoons the model will be in the same pose to enable you to have the opportunity to complete a life painting.

'Belle jar' - oil on canvas 74 x 51cms. Neil Moore 2012



 If you can't commit to the summer school I still have spaces on my life drawing workshop on Saturday 5th May and the 2nd June life painting workshop. The day workshops cost £40 for the day which includes paper and light refreshments. I offer concessions to school students (£30) and to members of the artists groups Warwickshire Artists and A.M.A. (£36) to which I belong. 

Please contact by email at therealneilmoore@hotmail.com if you would like to book for any of the above or would like further information 

Pressure - art and life

'Pressure'  by Neil Moore 31.5 x 31.5cms Oil on canvas 2012

I had thought that as I got older life would perhaps be a little easier but in many ways the opposite is true. I seem to have accumulated more and more responsibilities as well as possessions. Experience helps in handling the responsibilities and I can just about cope, - but as to 'stuff', I begin to wonder whether I own things or it is they that own me. Usually I can retreat from the vicissitudes of reality into the 'therapy' room - my studio. Latterly my home has had to undergo some major surgery and even this solace was denied me for a while. The little painting above was painted prior to the builders shattering the relative peace of my life and, presciently, is entitled 'Pressure'.

For those of you who enjoy my life drawing and painting classes I have news of forthcoming opportunities. I am taking bookings now for a life drawing workshop on saturday 5th May  and a single pose life painting day on saturday 2nd June. If you are quick there may be also be a space in my weekly thursday evening life drawing class next term. Please contact me if you would like to book or require further information.

Carpe diem

"Dead of night" - Neil Moore
Painted in 1989. Oil on canvas. 101.5 x82cms

Last Friday I attended both the funeral of one dear friend and a memorial concert for another who recently took his leave. The sense of loss is eased by the consolation of knowing that their lives, as both artists and people, were fruitful. One of the ironies of outliving others is that in listening to the eulogies I discovered more about them in death than I knew in life, and I so wished I had shared more of their lives.

This reminder of the temporary nature of our lives serves to remind me/us to make the most of what time we have left - hence the 'carpe diem' in the title. The 'day' that I hope that you will 'seize' is Saturday 3rd March when I am running the next the life drawing workshop. If you would like to book, or require further details, please contact me by email by clicking on this link    

Life Drawing and Painting Opportunities in Warwickshire 2012

I am organising life drawing and painting classes again this year beginning with the first of a series of day 'workshops' on Saturday 4th February. These day workshops are usually held on the first saturday of the month throughout the year. They take place in the fully equipped studio at Shottery Memorial Hall near Stratford on Avon. They start at 10am and finish at 4pm and the cost is £40 for the day - this includes basic paper and light refreshments.  The day comprises of different poses, some very short and dynamic through to longer more langorous poses. Different techniques and media are suggested throughout the day. 

I also teach a weekly evening class in Leamington Spa. These take place on thursday evenings in the North Hall, Spencer Yard, from 6.15 - 8.15pm and the cost this term is £120 for ten weeks beginning on 12th January and finishing on 22nd. March (half term 16th Feb.).

Alongside my own love of life drawing I also enjoy painting from life and I like to give others the rare oppoprtunity to do a life painting so two or three times a year I do a single pose painting/drawing day. Every summer I also run life drawing and painting three day summer schools.

If you have any questions or are interested in attending any of my life drawing or painting classes please email me (therealneilmoore@hotmail.com)  and I will add you to my email list and keep you informed of life drawing and painting opportunities throughout the year.

Please note all classes must be prebooked and paid for in advance (either by sending me a cheque or by online banking). I am keen to encourage newcomers and younger people to the delights of working from the figure and I offer a concessionary rates to newcomers and those in full time education. Please contact me for details.

Where to see my new paintings

"Severance" 35.5 x 25.5cms Oil on canvas

With luck you can catch my newest paintings on the Bo-lee Gallery stand at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea this week. I say 'with luck' because of the limited space on the stand Jemma , the director of the gallery, tends to rotate the work on show. Just ask if you want to see mo(o)re. Illustrated is one of them, - the smallest single oil painting I have ever exhibited at 14" x 10" and therefore at a small enough price to be 'affordable'. Also I have a diptych on exhibition in the Association of Midland Artists exhibition at the Bath Place Community Venture Gallery here in Leamington for the next two weeks. 

'Severance' - Neil Moore and Anneka Reay. The complete works.

'Severance II' opened at Studio Eleven in Hull on saturday 15th October. The private view included a heartrending extract from David Windass's play 'Thinsperation' performed by brilliantly by actress Kimberley Hayman. Like the work on view its subject was the devastation caused by anorexia, both to the victim and their nearest and dearest.The exhibition continues until 20th November 2011. All the works are for sale - please contact the gallery info@studioeleven.co.uk for information about prices and availability.

 Illustrated below are Anneka Reay's uncompromising images of herself - a rare glimpse of this deadly eating disorder from the sufferers perspective. They are all ink drawings- some pen and wash and others drawn only in ballpoint pen. These are followed by my own drawings of Anneka.

   

'Broken'      50 x 30cms.

'Dance with me'     40 x 60cms.

'Insomnia'    40 x 28cms.

'Left hanging'     40 x 28cms.

'Mirrored glass'     58 x 40cms.

'Replay'     40 x 28cms.

'Sapling'      40 x 28cms.

'Strings attached'      55 x 38cms.

'Toy'     50 x 30cms.

'Write to me'     30 x 20cms.

'Tomorrow'    28 x 40cms.

'Suspended'     40 x 55cms.

'You've riddled me'     55 x 35cms.

'Empty chair'     40 x 28cms.

All my drawings below are drawn in charcoal on paper.

'Exhibit A'         42 x 62cms.

'Exhibit B'      62 x 42cms

'Exhibit C'       62 x 42 cms

'Exhibit D'      42 x 62cms.

'Exhibit E'      62 x 42cms.

'Exhibit F'     62 x 42cms.

'Exhibit G'     42 x 62cms.

'Exhibit I'     42 x 62cms.

'Exhibit J'   62 x 42cms.



'Exhibit J'    42 x 62cms.



'Exhibit K'    42 x 62cms.

'Anorexika'   126 x 101cms    Oil on canvas

Current Exhibition - Severance II

'Exhibit K' - Charcoal on paper 42 x 62cms   Neil Moore 2010

The work produced as a result of the collaboration I did last year with artist Anneka Reay (which was exhibited in Bath in August) will be showing again at Gallery Eleven http://www.studioeleven.co.uk/ in Hull from Saturday 15th October until the 20th November. Not for the fainthearted, Anneka Reay's raw self portraits make my drawings, depicting the effects that an eating disorder can have on the body, look pretty . If you care to scroll down through earlier blogs there is information about how the show came in to being.

Life Drawing and Painting Opportunities in Warwickshire

Drawing and painting a naked figure could be considered a worrying use of someone's time, but to the initiated, who have experienced the trials and tribulations of tackling this challenging task, no justification is required. To my knowledge no one has yet devised a better, and more enjoyable way, of aquiring the heightened visual awareness that is a prerequisite of all visual art practice.

'Life' work has fallen out of favour with many art colleges and consequently young teachers of life drawing aren't coming through. It befalls older artists, like me, who have always valued it's essential benefits to carry the 'torch' for life drawing and painting. I teach monthly day workshops (usually on the first saturday of the month) and a regular weekly evening class.

I am taking bookings now for these Saturday Workshops - the 1st October which is a Life Drawing day, and for the 5th November which is a Life Painting day . The saturday workshops are held in the fully equipped art studio at Shottery Memorial Hall. They begin at 10am and finish at 4pm and the cost is £40 for the day (paper and light refreshments included).

The life drawing evening classes are held in central Leamington on thursday evenings from 6.15 to 8.15pm. The cost works out at £12 per class,  so this coming term (12 weeks ) it will be £144.

All classes must be booked and paid for in advance. Please contact me by clicking on the link below if you would like to book or require further information therealneilmoore@googlemail.com

SEVERANCE

This drawing, (titled' Exhibit G') is included in the exhibiton 'Severance' which is a joint exhibition of my own work and that of Anneka Reay. Those of you who follow my blog will know that I began an unusual collaboration with Anneka to produce work for this show (scroll down to earlier blogs for all the details). The exhibiton takes place at the Bo-lee gallery in Bath from the 15th - 27th August and the preview is on Saturday 13th Aug. Anneka and I will both be there from 6 - 8pm so please come along to see the work and meet us. The link to the gallery's own site, which has images of both our work, is to the right.

The darkness of lightness

The owner of this painting (painted in the nineties by yours truly) has asked me if I know of anyone who might like to buy it. The painting, entitled "The darkness of lightness", is an oil on canvas and measures 48" x 52" (h x w). I rarely feel anything but dissatisfaction with my work (as the maker I am only aware of the deficiencies) but this one is among my few favourites and I would like it to go on to another 'good home'. Let me know if you are interested and I will put you in touch with the present owner. And, yes - it is me in the painting (I was cheap and available!).

Darkness to light

'Longing', 46 x 56.5cms. Oil on canvas                                     Neil Moore 2011

"Darkness to light" is the title of an exhibition including some recent paintings of mine, which Jemma Hickman of Bo-lee gallery is mounting in the Octagon Chapel, Milsom Place, Bath from the 21st to the 30th June 2011. Gaynor O'Flynn will be performing "The Artist Naked and Blurred" at the P.V. next tuesday evening (21st June from 7 - 9pm). The Octagon is an interesting space right in the middle of Bath and provides an excellent and unusual space for displaying art, - well worth a visit. For more information follow the link http://www.bo-lee.co.uk/  

'Whats occurin' - forthcoming exhibitions.

Excuse the qwerky heading - if you are a fan of 'Gavin and Stacey' like me you'll understand.

If you live close to me in Leamington Spa there is one of my paintings hanging in the Leamington Spa Art Gallery 'Open Exhibition' until June 11th. As with all 'Opens' it is a 'curates egg' (eg. good in parts). There seems to have been a policy of choosing examples of every medium regardless of their quality - but there are a good number of interesting works which make a visit worthwhile.

The Shadowside

 I am forging ever stronger links with a gallery in Bath called 'Bo-lee'. Jemma Hickman, whose started the gallery at the peak of the recession, is indefatigable. Many of the more established galleries had become lazy during the halcyon days of the boom with all its city bonuses and haven't coped very well with the harsher economic climate and some have 'gone to the wall'. Jemma with her youth,energy and vision is gradually establishing a reputation for high quality, challenging figurative art in all media. I am confident that in future the gallery will be a leader of the new wave of younger galleries after the 'cull' created by the recession.

Above is an example of one of my new paintings centered on the 'Unidentifiable Object' (see previous blogs below) will be included in a group show entitled 'The Shadowside' in London. For details of the exhibition click here. 

Forthcoming life drawing and painting opportunities

My monthly workshops continue with the next one, which is a life drawing day, on Saturday 7th May.
This is followed by a life painting day(single pose) on Saturday 4th June.
I am also taking bookings for a life painting and drawing summer school from the 6th to the 8th July (wed,thurs,fri.). Please contact me by email if you would like to book or require further details.

The unidentifiable object

The unidentifiable object

For some years now I have been seeking (or hoping) to come across an object so curious that I wouldn't be able to identify what I was looking at. I have tried to enlist the help of friends in this quest but it isn't easy to describe something that is indescribable - some 'thing' that is not recognisably 'animal, vegetable or mineral'.
It struck me only recently that there are parallels between this search and my struggle to make paintings.

More often than not when I am creating a painting I am striving to achieve a look/feeling that I only 'know' when I see it. Frustratingly I know when it is not 'right' and I just have to keep on changing things until (hopefully) I find 'it'. It was Picasso I think that said that "I don't seek, - I find". Although I have to confess that I am not sure that I fully understand what he meant, my interpretation is that 'it is more fruitful not to wait until inspiration strikes but to produce work and the ideas are generated by this activity'.

So, instead of waiting in the forlorn hope that I would discover the unidentifiable object, I made it - or at least had an attempt at making it. I am no sculptor and what I have made is crude and fragile, but strangely satisfying. Having made it, I am still no nearer to knowing what it is, or why I felt the need for it. I am in the midst of including it in a trio of paintings so perhaps I shall find out. It may remain a mystery.

Tantalisingly, but not deliberately so, you will have to wait until you can see it as I haven't yet reached the point where anything is fit to photograph. It won't be long I promise.      

London Art Fair

The gallery, 'Bo-Lee', which staged a solo show of my work in 2009 is exhibiting at the London Art Fair  this week (19th - 23rd January) and is taking some of my recent paintings and drawings(see pic) to exhibit alongside other gallery artists. Not as 'edgy' as 'Frieze' art fair, it is well worth a visit with good quality painting and sculpture etc. on show.

'Scrunch' - 2010 Charcoal on paper 63 x 42cms.

Centrefold



Untitled (as yet) - oil painting on canvas, 125.5 x 101.5cms



Firstly can I apologise for the long interval since my last posting, I have been busy making artworks. There are just too many 'time bandits' that cant/wont wait and because this blog isn't one of them it gets pushed to the bottom of my 'to do' list.

The 'collaboration', which I mentioned in my last post, continues apace. So far I have completed eleven drawings and this one painting. My collaborator (whom I shall refer to as 'A' to preserve her privacy) has, under the most difficult of circumstances, been busy producing drawings too. Our intention is to exhibit the work together when we are ready - which hopefully wont be too long now.

It has been a problematic, though interesting, diversion from my normal working method. The continuing dilemma is whether or not I should be making imagery of 'A'. Am I being exploitative, even prurient? Could the attention given to 'A' (by using her as a subject) in some way affirm her own body dismorphia as not being deviant? In my efforts to help her divert her destructive obsession into the more healthy and creative direction am I inadvertently encouraging her self destruction (by in some way 'celebrating' her emaciation)? 

My belief in the therapeutic power of creativity (which has saved me from spiralling downwards many a time) caused me to think it a risk worth taking. Thankfully, so far, it seems to be working and she has made tremendous progress both physically and artistically (psychologically it is too early to tell, but I am, as ever, hopeful).

Oh yes, this posts title "centrefold" refers to the use of one of my paintings ('Quietus') in ARTSPACE magazine produced by Leamington Studio Artists. apparently there is no such thing as bad publicity (see the link to the right).

LIFE DRAWING AND PAINTING OPPORTUNITIES         

I am continuing to hold life drawing and occasional painting workshops at the studio in Shottery (nr. Stratford on Avon). They are usually on the first saturday of the month but it being New Years Day there wont be one in January. The first workshop of the new year will be a life drawing day on Saturday 5th February and the cost will be £40. As always, places must be pre-booked and paid for in advance. Please contact me by email if you wish to book or require any further information.therealneilmoore@hotmail.com

Obsession

Exhibit A - Charcoal on paper

         The comfortable routine of my (creative) life - so reassuringly constant has been disrupted. Whether by chance or destiny an uninvited guest has appeared and unsettled me. 

My own history as an artist has been one of unswerving self indulgence - I paint only what I want, I don't do commissions or repeat images. It is a 'control' thing. Unlike the rest of my life, which is necessarily compromised by external pressures, in my art I have total control (subject only to the limitations of my own imagination and skill). Without my art I couldn't cope - it is both a joy and a necessity.

I tell you this because it may explain why when 'A' turned up looking for modelling work I saw in her that same need for 'control'. Her need she assuages by starving herself. She had been a talented art student but she became so successful at denying herself food that she was unable to continue. So weak that she couldn't function normally she did continue to draw. Probably no more than listless doodles to while away the hours of lassitude, they demonstrated to me both skill and imagination. All the more tragic that this talent had been stifled by her 'disorder'. In the hope that she might be able to channel her desire for control in a constructive direction instead of the self destruction she inflicted on herself, I suggested that we collaborate together on an art project.

Using 'A' herself as the subject, we have both agreed to complete a series of drawings within a specified time with the intention that, provided there was no deterioration in her condition, we would exhibit them together on completion.  

My fervent hope is that she will begin to examine and express her 'obsession' through drawing, creatively supplant the nihilism and perhaps even neutralise the causes of her disorder (after all isn't this what all artists do to some extent).

Above is my first of several drawings that I have done as part of the collaboration. If you click on the word 'guest' in the first sentence it will take you to a fascinatingly relevent blog which I follow.         

                                              

Life Drawing and Painting Classes

The thursday evening class is fully enrolled and up and running. If you had intended to join us you will have to wait until after Christmas and see if any spaces become available. In addition to this blog I circulate information about future life drawing and painting opportunities via email. Please email me if you would like to be added to my email list.

I am taking bookings now for a life painting workshop on Saturday 6th November and the next life drawing workshop on Saturday 4th December. Both workshops cost £40 for the day. Please email me for further details or if you would like to book.

The happiest day of your life

'The happiest day of your life',  90 x 91.5cms, Oil on canvas, 1988

The above image is of a painting that I did long ago when I was evidently not that enamoured with marriage. It isn't that I didn't believe in the long term commitment that marriage enshrines(supposedly), it is just that I had noticed at the time, when a lot of my friends were taking the plunge, that often the size and spectacle of the wedding was in inverse proportion to the time the 'happy' couple stayed together. The reason I included it is because my own daughter's wedding took place last week and it was, thankfully a modest but truly happy occasion which will I am sure prove my youthful cynicism to be unfounded.

Now that it is over I am beginning to get my head around the classes that I am organising and teaching this autumn,

Autumn Life Drawing Classes

I am going on holiday at the beginning of September so the first of my monthly one day life drawing workshops, which usually take place on the first Saturday of the month, will be on Saturday 2nd October. I am taking bookings for this workshop now. It will take place as usual in the art studio at Shottery Memorial hall, near Stratford on Avon, from 10am until 4.30pm and the cost is £40.  

I have a few spaces for newcomers in my weekly evening class which takes place every thursday (during term times) from 6.15 - 8.15pm in Leamington Spa. The term starts on 16th September and costs £144 (half term is 28th Oct. and we finish on 9th Dec.).

All my classes have to be booked and paid for in advance. Please email me if you would like any further information and to check whether there are spaces left.