musetouch

Visual Arts Magazine

ISSUE 18 FEBRUARY 2012

Thierry Bruet Hamish Blakely Nikolay Blokhin Johanna Knauer Patty Maher Paul McCloskey JungShan Ink Mark Henson Ana Cruz Alex Stoddard

musetouch.net

Once upon a time, in a small coffee-house at the end of the world, an odd group of people gathered. A few journalists, two rebels with a cause, one writer and one lost soul. He was the writer and I was the lost soul. Everybody were noisy, talking, only two of us were quiet. But our eyes were sending secret messages. Mine were screaming Save me!, and his were answering I wish I could...I wish that so much, but I cant.. The dawn departed us all. The magic had gone. I never saw him again. Maybe we were the right persons, but the time was wrong...or maybe the time was right and we were wrong. Maybe is a beautiful, mysterious word. Happy Saint Valentines Day to you! Special thanks goes to Ljiljana Bursac, Nini Baseema, Kiyo Murakami, Murielle Mirabelle Velay Michel, Jelena Grujic, Ian Furniss, Bolek Budzyn, Thierry Bruet, Gines Serran, Mark Sadan and to all of you.

Maia Sylba

Like MUSETOUCH MAGAZINE and become part of it

Join our creative FB fan page and stay updated! www.facebook.com/musetouchvisualartsmagazine

Layer Studios is offering beautiful web sites, online galleries and presentations, blogs and FB fan page designs, at affordable prices, uniquely designed by Maia Sylba
contact: maiasylba@gmail.com skype: maiasylba www.layerstudios.net

THE FORM OF BEAUTY

blog by Nini Baseema

theformofbeauty.tumblr.com

KIYO MURAKAMI
photography

www.kiyomurakami.com

Strychnin Galery
Boxhagenerstr. 36 10245 Berlin

Berlin New York London

www.strychnin.com

ACADEMY OF ARTS FOUNDATION

To draw public support and to popularize the Russian Academy of Arts I. E. Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts Foundation has been founded in 1996. General objective, pursued by The Foundation, is domestic and foreign promotion of I.E. Repin Institutes students and graduates through expositions and media projects. Web site of the Academy of Arts Foundation (www.academart.com) has been created in 1999. To familiarize the broad audience, comprising museums and private galleries personnel, collectors and amateurs of fine arts with the avenues, explored by The Foundation, it was further revised and updated on 2002 and 2011 years. Website organized as online galleries of the artists graduated, teaching and studying in the I. E. Repins institute. Main goal of the gallery is providing the best creative artworks by academician artists all around the world. Foundations online gallery united over 50 well known figurative artists with recognizable manner and progressive style from SaintPetersburg. Worldwide promotion of Saint-Petersburg modern figurative art is main strategy of the Foundations activity. Outstanding paintings of the most of participants in Foundations projects combined classic traditions of figurative paintings with contemporary mentality. In the nearest perspective of the our activity is creating of wide database of I. E. Repins institute graduates for last 50 years. We also provide online exhibitions of the best works, artists and important art themes.

www.academart.com

MUSETOUCH MAGAZINE February 2012 Editor Maia Sylba Graphic designer Dejan Silbaski Contributors Nini Baseema Ian Furniss Cover Kiyo Murakami

MUSETOUCH is a magazine about visual arts. It has been created by Maia Sylba out of a love and passion for art with the hope that people will be able to use the publication and website as a platform to showcase their skills and gain recognition.

Facebook

facebook.com/musetouchvisualartsmagazine Twitter twitter.com/musetouchmag linkedin.com/in/maiasylba maiasylba@gmail.com

Linkedin Mail

Submission Guideline If you want to contribute to the next edition, you can send us an email with your data and a PDF file that shows your works, also a link of your website if you have any. We would love to see your art so dont hesitate to contact us and welcome. All artwork in this magazine is copyright protected under the MUSETOUCH Magazine brand or remains property of the individual artists who have kindly granted us permission to use their work.

musetouch 8

Johanna Knauer
Feel No Pain

JungShan Ink

Emotional Release

Hamish Blakely
Late Bloomer

010 044 076

Mark Henson
The Answer

168 192 218 240 260

Patty Maher

She Creates Anyway

Ana Cruz

Imagination

Nikolay Blokhin
The Young Master

Paul McCloskey
Divine

Thierry Bruet

108 138

Playing The Illusion

Alex Stoddard
I Am Here

musetouch 9

Johanna Knauer is talented female photographer. Johanna was born in 1988 in Passau, Germany. She is doing media studies since 2008 and is dedicated to photography and image editing since about 2 years.

Johanna Knauer

johannaknauer.de
musetouch 10

Feel No Pain

musetouch 11

musetouch 12

musetouch 13

musetouch 14

musetouch 15

musetouch 16

musetouch 17

musetouch 18

musetouch 19

musetouch 20

musetouch 21

musetouch 22

musetouch 23

musetouch 24

musetouch 25

musetouch 26

musetouch 27

musetouch 28

musetouch 29

musetouch 30

musetouch 31

musetouch 32

musetouch 33

musetouch 34

musetouch 35

musetouch 36

musetouch 37

musetouch 38

musetouch 39

musetouch 40

musetouch 41

musetouch 42

musetouch 43

A painting should speak for itself. As Fritz Lang, the great Austrian film maker and director of Metropolis stated, When a director makes a film and it doesnt express what he wants to say and he needs to give an interview to explain to an audience why and what; he is a lousy director. I certainly dont suggest an Artist be aloof or even this dogmatic, as I have enjoyed countless discussions with collectors that have left me with a vivid and refreshed perspective of my work, but it is a striking remark that applies to Art; a painting should grab the viewer without an essay or speech, leaving further explanation supplementary rather than vital. Where possible, my own thoughts should recede to allow space for the views of the audience.

Hamish Blakely

I am a late bloomer and its taken a while to find my own voice. When I was very young, I taught myself a great deal, slavishly trying to copy any picture that appealed. This was a good way to absorb some idea of technique but a means to an end. Things have moved on thankfully and while I count Caravaggio, Degas, and Velzquez amongst many influences, I have no interest in emulating another Artist. Once you have found your stamp, theres no going back and this is something I can not take for granted. Each bare canvas brings enough self doubt and nerves to keep me on my toes every time. I splodge the paint on and hope that I win the battle as sometimes the brushes and paint have their own peculiar ideas about how things should look. Not every piece can be of equal merit and it is this uncertainty that makes my heart leap when I have had a breakthrough. The first significant one of these arrived when I was 18 years old. It was a portrait of my Dad and I simply had not produced anything like it previously. Once completed, it made it possible for me to imagine painting as a vocation. Hamish Blakely

hamishblakely.com
musetouch 44

Late Bloomer

musetouch 45

musetouch 46

musetouch 47

musetouch 48

musetouch 49

musetouch 50

musetouch 51

musetouch 52

musetouch musetouch 53 53

musetouch 54

musetouch musetouch 55 55

musetouch 56

musetouch 57

musetouch 58

musetouch musetouch 59 59

musetouch 60

musetouch musetouch 61 61

musetouch 62

musetouch musetouch 63 63

musetouch 64

musetouch musetouch 65 65

musetouch 66

musetouch musetouch 67 67

musetouch 68

musetouch 69

musetouch 70

musetouch 71

musetouch 72

musetouch 73

musetouch 74

musetouch 75

Patty Maher

Patty Maher lives near Toronto, Canada, not far from the forest which provides the magical backdrop to many of her exquisite self-portraits. I think the best thing Ive discovered through self-portraiture is that my inner 5 year old is alive and well and still loves dressing up in costumes! However the most rewarding discovery has been the process itself spending time with myself creating something. Its very quiet and almost meditative, and I find no matter what kind of day Ive had I emerge feeling calm and centered. Patty Maher

wix.com/pmaher/portfolio
musetouch 76

She Creates Anyway

musetouch 77

musetouch 78

musetouch musetouch 79 79

musetouch 80

musetouch musetouch 81 81

musetouch 82

musetouch musetouch 83 83

musetouch 84

musetouch musetouch 85 85

musetouch 86

musetouch 87

musetouch 88

musetouch musetouch 89 89

musetouch 90

musetouch musetouch 91 91

musetouch 92

musetouch musetouch 93 93

musetouch 94

musetouch 95

musetouch 96

musetouch 97

musetouch 98

musetouch 99

musetouch 100

musetouch 101

musetouch 102

musetouch 103

musetouch 104

musetouch 105

musetouch 106

musetouch 107

Nikolay Blokhin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1968. His education in art began very early at the Art School for Gifted Children in 1980, and continued through his postgraduate work and professorship at the prestigious St. Petesburg Academy of Art. With more than 20 years of artistic studies Nikolay is a young master with unequaled genius. His paintings are the embodiment of the classics with a contemporary approach.

Nikolay Blokhin

The unique style of his paintings has not gone without notice. Nikolay has been the recipient of many awards, including the Russian Academy of Arts prestigious gold medal award for Young Artist of the Year, the coveted Grand Prize at the American Society of Portrait Artists 2002 competition at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Best of Show in the International Portrait Competition of the Portrait Society of America ,Boston, 2004. He is well versed in landscape and still life, as he is in portraiture. Nikolays paintings are represented in some of the worlds greatest collections, in Russia, the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Finland, and the United States.

academart.com
musetouch 108

The Young Master

musetouch 109

musetouch 110

musetouch 111

musetouch 112

musetouch 113

musetouch 114

musetouch 115

musetouch 116

musetouch 117

musetouch 118

musetouch 119

musetouch 120

musetouch 121

musetouch 122

musetouch 123

musetouch 124

musetouch 125

musetouch 126

musetouch musetouch 127 127

musetouch 128

musetouch musetouch 129 129

musetouch 130

musetouch musetouch 131 131

musetouch 132

musetouch musetouch 133 133

musetouch 134

musetouch musetouch 135 135

musetouch 136

musetouch musetouch 137 137

A trained architect, Thierry Bruet born in Paris in 1949, painter and sculptor for more than 30 years is a Master of the traditional technique of oil-base painting, specialising in large portraits of well-known figures in society and decorative monumental works. Commissioned by famous decorators such as Alberto Pinto, Frederic Mchiche, and Pierre-Yves Rochon. His works can be found in many collections throughout the world, as well as in many prestigious and luxury palaces such as the Hotel GEORGE V Paris (France), the hotel FOUR SEASONS in Alexandria, the MERIDIAN HOTEL in Bahrain, , the hotel FOUR SEASONS in Florence , SOFITEL HOTELS of New York and London, the INSTITUT PAUL BOCUSE , the Hotel BRISTOL and the Hotel SHANGRI-LA in Paris, HENRY BENDEL STORES in New York and the HERMES STORES in Paris. His personals exhibitions, include one in Metz (France) sponsored by the French Minister of Culture, in the Thiers Museum, Paris ( France) sponsored by the French Institute, in the Arab World Institute, Paris, but also personals exhibitions in London, Vancouver, Bale and Ibiza. Thierry Bruet dream is to tell a story of time which gets through his paintings and his sculptures,. He likes building big formats and playing on the illusion, the mockery, the contrast between the beautiful and the ugly.

Thierry Bruet

Studio: CREATURE SARL 22 rue Emile Lepeu 75011 Paris France

thierrybruet.com
musetouch 138

Playing The Illusion

musetouch musetouch 139 139

musetouch 140

musetouch 141

musetouch 142

musetouch 143

musetouch 144

musetouch 145

musetouch 146

musetouch 147

musetouch 148

musetouch 149

musetouch 150

musetouch 151

musetouch 152

musetouch 153

musetouch 154

musetouch 155

musetouch 156

musetouch 157

musetouch 158

musetouch 159

musetouch 160

musetouch 161

musetouch 162

musetouch 163

musetouch 164

musetouch 165

musetouch 166

musetouch 167

I am JungShan Ink, as Jung Shan is my given name, while the Ink part represents the Chinese ink I use in my work. I currently live in Taipei, Taiwan. Im a freelance illustrator working from home and my clients can be anywhere in the world. My illustrations are Chinese ink combined with digital pen (Photoshop brush) and Photoshop effects. I like to combine Eastern style with Western techniques. Most people think the Chinese ink technique is an ancient and serious art tradition in Asia, but I believe it can be modern and fashion. Music is one of the most important inspirations to me. When Im listening to music, I start to imagine the story of the song and try to catch their emotions. My art style is less color, and I use the characters emotion or make the atmosphere to describe the theme of the drawing. Like the brush stroke or ink stain. I love to add the petals fly and snow or rain in the background, it is meaning to the emotional release. Traditional Chinese ink painting created by the nature of the atmosphere and level of digital drawing is very difficult to achieve, so I made many traditional Chinese ink textures and tried to mix them with different material and technique * (like tattoo or graffiti and photographic..etc.) JungShan Ink

JungShan Ink

jung-shan.blogspot.com
musetouch 168

Emotional Release

musetouch 169

musetouch 170

musetouch 171

musetouch 172

musetouch 173

musetouch 174

musetouch 175

musetouch 176

musetouch 177

musetouch 178

musetouch 179

musetouch 180

musetouch 181

musetouch 182

musetouch 183

musetouch 184

musetouch 185

musetouch 186

musetouch 187

musetouch 188

musetouch 189

musetouch 190

musetouch 191

Who are you Mark?

Mark Henson

I am one of the now 9 billion human inhabitants of this small planet at the present time. I am very fortunate, as I have been able, for the most part, to follow my hearts desire. I wanted to live a creative life filled with artistic magic of all kinds, and to know and work with interesting and colorful people. I wanted to explore myself and find something of lasting worth to share. I am thankful for my good fortune, for many of my wishes have, over time, become reality. Now that I am past 50, I am more sensitive to the passing of the days, and so I like to hang around the studio as much as possible, painting, sketching and making things. I am person who came of age in the time of social ferment known as the 60s. I lived in suburbia near San Francisco and experienced the hippie days there in all their glory, the sights and sounds that filled the streets. In those days we wanted to change the world from a place of conflict and war into a paradise on earth, and we were willing to make some sacrifices to make it happen. Most of the ideals we worked for in those times are my guideposts today, and I am convinced that only by working together can we bring about a world with peace and justice for everyone. I live in a rural county in Northern California where I can be close to nature and grow some food in a garden. I live in a 150- year old schoolhouse with my wife Monti and a couple of cats. I do like to visit the big city on occasion, or travel outside of the United States. I enjoy learning about other cultures, trying to learn their languages, enjoying their music, hearing their stories, visiting the artists there, and of course, sampling the culinary delights. I have always had an interest in consciousness- Dont we all wonder where we come from, who are we, where are we going? It seems like these questions have always been on my mind. I dont have any answers- I like the mystery of it all. I am not a person who believes in any particular spiritual path, but I do know that consciousness is present- filling us every moment with knowledge and light. I think that solving the puzzle is more fulfilling than just knowing the answer. Why are you an artist, and when did you first become one? I have always felt the urge to make stuff with my hands. I cannot remember a time from childhood, when I was not involved in some sort of project or another, from drawing on the wall or stacking up blocks to building treehouses or models of ships and airplanes. I was tagged as an artist by my very first schoolteacher when I was 5 years old- I think she liked my drawings. Artistic inclinations were not discouraged in my family and I had some ancestral predecessors on the art trail - my great Aunt and Uncle were successful artists and designers in Los Angeles during the 30s 40 and 50s, and many of their creations graced our family home. I dont think I ever seriously considered being anything else, except perhaps a scientist of some kind.

musetouch 192

The Answer

musetouch 193

I was very lucky in my middle and high school years to have attended schools that actually had art classes- and excellent art teachers, who moonlighted as professional artists, showing their work in big-city galleries in San Francisco and New York. By the time i was 15 or so I could see the path ahead for me. I had no idea of what I wanted to do, media or style other than master the techniques required to make fine art. I did come to an epiphany of sorts- One day while I was thinking about the creative process and pondering the source of inspiration, i.e: trying to figure out what to do next, it dawned on me that all of the artists all down through history did not sit around in Art class wondering what to do- they just looked inside their minds and hearts, found their vision, and got to work. I realized that all of my wild and crazy hormone-driven musings were just as valid as subject matter for painting as classical mythology, dogs and horses, or bowls of fruit. I realized that all those theories about what art was supposed to be were just the thoughts of individual artists going about their business, or the ravings of wanna- be artists, critics and writers who rarely touched a paintbrush. So I immediately set to work making some drawings depicting all kinds of psychedelic monsters having sex orgies. These got my art teacher laughing and horrified yet fascinated all the girls in class- And one of the drawings sold immediately to a friend of my parents- making me a professional artist! So I knew I had struck gold somewhere in the cesspool of my mind, that my ideas were as good as anyone elses, and that I was, indeed, an artist. Why am I an artist? i have no idea, other that for me it seemed like the thing to do- I am just thankful I was given the vision. I had a dream once, when I was 12 years old or so- I dreamed that I was in a room filled floor to ceiling with many beautiful pictures- each one a colorful painting with marvelous imagery depicting all sorts of amazing things. I realized somehow while enjoying the gallery of my dream that I was in fact dreamingI could sense that these wonderful paintings were on exhibit in the gallery of my mind- viewable while dreaming, certainly, and perhaps viewable in waking life as well, if I could only remember them, and bring them into view by applying colored goo to a piece of cloth. Naturally I cannot remember the images I saw in the dream So I imagine I am seeing them again as I touch brush to canvas. Could you tell us some more about your painting? On the technical side of things, I mostly stick to oil paint on canvas, though occasionally I will mess around with acrylics, especially if I am painting live in a performance situation. Most of the time I do some preparatory thumbnails and then some more worked up sketches to get a fix on the composition of the piece, and the pictorial elements I wish to include. Often I will make a rather finished drawing before beginning work on a large canvas. Theres really nothing too complicated about the painting part. I often will use a colored- ground canvas or apply a thin layer of paint to stain the canvas darker and set a tone- then I will make a monotone version as an underpainting, to set the dark and light arrangement, and over this I apply the colors, sometimes in layers thinly letting them dry between, sometimes all at once with all- wet paint. The final details come towards the end of the process. I like oil paints because I often make changes while working, and oils allow the freedom to do things over, and I like the inherent luscious richness of oils. The secret ingredient is time- I can easily lose myself in the work, and large, detailed pieces can take a bit of time to make, even working very quickly. I work until something is finished, and dont mind if it takes a while.

musetouch 194

musetouch 195

I enjoy the making of the art. I am fluent i n digital art, but I vastly prefer to play with the colored goo. There is something supremely rewarding in being able to arrange a few simple materials into a magical depiction of whatever I desire. Its fun, and doesnt require batteries! What famous artists have influenced you, and how? I love museums- The art of the ages, waiting there for all to see in the Peoples Temple of Art! All sorts of art appeals to me, and I am always up for a museum of gallery visit. I also explore art on the internet, where I meet my contemporaries and see what they are creating. So many influences.The first art I probably really looked at besides work by my Aunt and Uncle might be covers on the Saturday Evening Post by Norman Rockwell in his heyday. I also would study meticulously the illustrations in books- there were some really fine illustrator back in those times. When I got a little older I lived near San Francisco, which has some wonderful museums. San Francisco was also the home of the hippies and all things psychedelic. There were some amazing artists like Stanley Mouse and Rick Griffin making posters that could be seen all around the city plastered to walls and telephone poles, just waiting to be pulled down and taken home. I liked to collect these, and started making some of my own for local rock and roll shows. I would look at all the underground newspapers that often had a lot of art included in the mix. There was also a fancy magazine from New York that always had some art features. This magazine, Avant Garde, prided itself on offering the best from the underground in writing, poetry, art and photography. Between its covers I discovered the work of artists like Ernst Fuchs, Mati Klarwein, Robert Venosa, De Es Schwartberger, and George Tooker- artists I didnt see in any of the other art magazines of the time. There is no one artist that was my main influence. I learn something new every time I can see an excellent piece of art in person. What inspires you to create? Magic. When you can take almost nothing, and make of it something beautiful that tells us who we are, thats magic. I am inspired by everything that happens to me! I think consciousness swirls around us like a breeze- all the ideas and concepts that ever were are floating around just waiting to be noticed and acted upon. I wish to take my favorites of these breezy things and manifest them as pictures- for unknown reasons it is mysteriously important to share the vision with everyone who cares to look. I think art has another magical property- it can communicate across time-sometimes hundreds and thousands of years, and still touch us both personal and universal levels. What is the message of your paintings, and also your own personal message to the world? Its really all about love. Love of life, love of nature, love for the birds and the bees, love for all creation- its so good, you just have to share! Thats the message. Its hard to show in one big picture, so I share it in smaller pieces, each emphasizing a theme pertaining to the whole. There is an infinitude of ways to express this message, which is why we can all be artists! My personal message? Lets grow our world into a place where peace and justice prevail, where folks treat each other with kindness, love and respect, where each person has the opportunity to manifest their potential as a human being.

musetouch 196

musetouch 197

How do you see yourself and your art in the future? In the near future, Ill be busy painting, getting together a book of my work, maybe some group projects. Sometimes I get guest curate an exhibit, which is always interesting. Painting has been around for a very long time, so I think it wont go obsolete anytime soon. In the later future, I wont be around! Most of my creations are made using antique technology that has been in use 500 years or more. Our ancestors made wonderful things that amaze us today with the excellence of aesthetic and skill of craftsmanship. If I make anything at all up to these standards it is my hope that it may be treasured for itself long enough to survive into the future, and so continue working the magic of art. MS

sacredlight.to
musetouch 198

musetouch 199

musetouch 200

musetouch 201

musetouch 202

musetouch 203

musetouch 204

musetouch 205

musetouch 206

musetouch 207

musetouch 208

musetouch 209

musetouch 210

musetouch 211

musetouch 212

musetouch 213

musetouch 214

musetouch 215

musetouch 216

musetouch 217

Ana Cruz is a Digital Artist from Portugal, Europe. Her special passion is Photomanipulation and her main focus is Dark/Gothic art, always with strong emotional charge. Always aiming for perfection and evolution, Ana started to add painted elements to her work, in order to achieve bigger and deeper focus on the visual aesthetics of her art. Anas interests also grew so now shes exploring her new sides of the art, such as Photography and Graphic Design. Currently dividing her time between her own business Ana Cruz Arts, Ana is also getting a Graphic Design course, in order to enlarge her knowledge and areas of expertize. Anas passion for the arts already captured the attention of many clients and admirers, such as Printing Companies, Publishers, Writers, Music Bands, Photographers, etc. Her work and portfolio is growing more and more each day... and so is her passion for the arts.

Ana Cruz

Imagination

anacruz.carbonmade.com
musetouch 218

musetouch 219

musetouch 220

musetouch 221

musetouch 222

musetouch 223

musetouch 224

musetouch 225

musetouch 226

musetouch 227

musetouch 228

musetouch 229

musetouch 230

musetouch 231

musetouch 232

musetouch 233

musetouch 234

musetouch 235

musetouch 236

musetouch 237

musetouch 238

musetouch 239

Paul McCloskey was born in Carrickmacross Co. Monaghan, Ireland. But is now living and working in Gorey Co. Wexford. Paul attended the National College of Art and Design (N.C.A.D) Dublin from 1981 and graduated with honours in 1986. Paul also attended De Montfort University UK and was awarded a Masters Degree in Fine art painting (MFA).Paul is a full member of visual artists Ireland. He has been involved in art and design education for the past 22 years. He has exhibited widely throughout Ireland and internationally with great success. He has been short listed on a number of occasions to represent Wexford both at home and abroad. He has travelled and worked throughout Europe and Australia.

Paul McCloskey

My most recent series of paintings called Awakening and Awakening Reloaded (oil on canvas/ board) attempt to highlight the familiar, the places and things we see every day, to see with fresh eyes the beauty thats all around us and to awaken, refresh and enlighten us to the fact that everything we need to know is already inside and all around us. Currently Ive been working with landscape, for now it facilitates me in portraying that sense of immensity and space which in turn assists me in expressing the power of spirit, the glory of something greater than me but connected to me. This is intended to evoke to some degree a sense of spirit, of enormity through the ethereal qualities of the paint using this vastness of landscape of matter and space as the catalyst in which to express this. I have also used the theme of seasons as a way to suggest the beginning and end, the circle of life. My paintings attempt to summon a primordial energy and reveal a sense of the power of nature, energy and Spirit. The use of gold within the Reloaded series of paintings stems from this concept of the halo and the flat gold leaf backgrounds of the early Greek iconography. Although these gold areas coexist with the painted areas of light perceived as being more natural to the painted landscape, its purpose however is principally to separate divine/spiritual light from earthly light, gold being precious and standing out as extraordinary, intending to evoke a sense of the sacred aiming not so much to evoke particular emotions although that may well arise but to evoke a sense of connection to spirit. The beauty of my surrounded environment, the wonder of its creation is the starting point and one cannot be but moved by the splendour of creation, however that connection to this splendour with the absence of ego is expressed from inside. I have built up layers of paint under some of the gold areas to add texture and shimmer thus adding further to the dimensional element of the paintings, as the idea of spirit is that it is all things and all directions simultaneously. I attempt to reflect this dichotomy by allowing the shapes and colours to interchange from solid (enhanced by impasto layers) to atmospheric on the canvas surface. The intention is to bring all things together, textural, atmospheric, dark, light and gold causing a tension and cohesion forming explosive qualities that transcend the two dimensional surface of the canvas. The emergence of the landscape bathed in light, giving glimpses to its vast splendour and adds a mystical element to the paintings. In places sky and earth are as one, evoking for me the sense of personal growth, the sense of awakening to the beauty, divinity and perfection, to the divine order within all things. This suggestion of heaven and earth in constant struggle, merging yet separable, solid yet

musetouch 240

Divine

musetouch 241

amorphous all suggest the dichotomy of the spiritual, the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, the struggle within between the conditioned self and the divine/spiritual self. The Landscape itself is important to me in this series Awakening and Awakening Reloaded the visual influence is determined by the surrounding landscape of my environment, but its intention is primarily as a catalyst in expressing divinity and is therefore secondary to this expression, its my intention to evoke a sense of spirit, of enormity through the ethereal and tactile qualities of the paint and aiming to suggest the vastness of landscape, both earth and sky, matter and space as the catalyst in which to express this sense of spirit, as indeed was the work of the great British romantic painter Turner, where he used landscape as an arbitrat to the realisation of the divine. His subject matter could generally not be regarded as spiritual and especially religious, yet he sought to express the power of the divine, the ethereal spirit in landscape. I strive for expression of spirituality in my works, rather than responding just to what I see. My Role as artist - To express honestly without ego the divine within and without......However ultimately I can only be honest in the visual language I speak and trust that when the viewer looks at my work they too will somewhat experience its intention. In creating this language the onus for the painter is to have honest openness, to truth, to free expression without ego. This alert awareness with the absence of ego in the making of my paintings is primary, how any painter reaches this state can be a deeply personal one and is as varied as there are individuals, for some it may be to delve into their past or to use meditation or work from imagination to working directly from life, for me it is the process itself. Being inspired within and without, this inspiration which is easier understood when felt rather than explained in words. When felt then the choices of colours, composition and marks made become inspired rather than contrived. It is here, in that place, where I believe I am most open and most susceptible to creating my best paintings and therefore fulfilling my role with truth. Bridget Riley refers to this place that is beyond logic, beyond ego, beyond thinking, There is an area, and a very sensitive primary area for an artist, which cannot be referred to directly without damage. It is as though the impulse which is about to be expressed should remain unavailable to the logic of the intellect in order to find its true form in whatever field or metier the artist has chosen. This spiritual awareness, this openness to the divine inspiration, plays an integral part and is an indispensable component in the process and expression of my artistic vision. So as a painter I must be ever vigilant, open and alert to this sensitive primary area. Thus the burden or struggle for me is to assess the level to which Im open and alert when new work is being created. Each of my paintings have their place in my evolution as a painter, but it seems inevitable as each new work is produced to experience this latest one as more special, this one satisfies my soul or hunger to create more than the previous work, perhaps this is because the latest work naturally reflects that moment of expression of where Im at now. But this paradox of exhilaration and torment of each new work overshadowing the previous one is a constant recurrence for me as a painter, until time and distance is given, sometimes weeks or even years, I, the painter struggle to be truly impartial when reviewing the success of a series of works. Often it is only when reviewing or revaluating works with retrospection that I as the artist, have then become the viewer and am now more fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses within the series. Painting for me is an intuitive and instinctive act allowing me to enter that place of no mind, this place of no mind or alert awareness is a connection to the divine. But ultimately the success of the painting can only be truly judged by the painter himself, as only the painter can truly know the level of honesty given to its creation and therefore how more open he was to inspiration or

musetouch 242

musetouch 243

divine influence, how open was I to the creative process, of allowing, in the making of my work? This is the ongoing question that perhaps takes a lifetime to fully answer and for me painting is a lifetime pursuit. However a point comes when I know I have to let go of a particular work or perhaps if has let me go? a catharsis has taken place and released me from that particular work, until the next one, this is when I become an observer to its creation, that is probably one of the most compelling desires for me as a painter, is to witness it as a creation. Paul McCloskey

irish-artist.net
musetouch 244

musetouch 245

musetouch 246

musetouch 247

musetouch 248

musetouch 249

musetouch 250

musetouch 251

musetouch 252

musetouch 253

musetouch 254

musetouch 255

musetouch 256

musetouch 257

musetouch 258

musetouch 259

The American youngster, originally from Jacksonville Florida, now living with his large family - that helps him set the elaborate installations for his shots - in Georgia, is only 17. The age factor is probably what makes the news, as it always happens, each time we talk about Rimbaud we cant help but remember he was so young. For some, a human being is already complete no matter what his age. Alex exists at 5, as he does at 17, as he will at 56. His image will change as do his shots every day of the year without losing their essence. Even if its digital, even if its experimental, even if the image can and will be perfected with maturity, Alexs 365 days are unique and cut through the screen, get to us for their linear research, profound sense of an almost scientific data collection that uses logic, sequences, conclusions. As ephemeral as are his photographs, as dreamlike and hanging behind a state of unconsciousness, clinging to whatever surrounds him with the intention of uniting with and belonging, each day says: I am here even when I am not breathing. When I was 17, whatever work I had produced stayed put on my desk, maybe stained, maybe I had a few people read my work or see my paintings, it was nothing like today where if you want someone to know you have something to say, to express, at large you will be heard. We can keep on asking ourselves, how does art in the 21st century exist? Can we still talk about emerging artists? No one emerges from the unknown, but is there, somewhere in the internet waiting to be found. Acelya Yonac

Alex Stoddard

alexstoddard.tumblr.com
musetouch 260

I Am Here

musetouch 261

musetouch 262

musetouch 263

musetouch 264

musetouch 265

musetouch 266

musetouch 267

musetouch 268

musetouch 269

musetouch 270

musetouch 271

musetouch 272

musetouch 273

musetouch 274

musetouch 275

musetouch 276

musetouch 277

musetouch 278

musetouch 279

musetouch 280

musetouch 281

musetouch 282

musetouch 283

musetouch 284

musetouch 285