Oil on canvas. Pictures of the solitude experienced at different times of life. Some scenes show good times, some not so good, some bad, of people being alone on purpose and being alone, or isolated, without wanting to be. Every side of solitude is shown: playing as a child - operating my train set, playing in the garden, kicking a football around pretending to be other people, walking to school through the park, all the dreams in my head, listening to songs, reading on a beanbag, writing in the University libraries, reading or listening to music or watching the world go by from the commuter coach and train, walking through London, listening to music in the car, reading on the sofa early in the morning, reading on the train, reading on the bus, working from home, living in Wing Island, a mother at home with a new born baby, a prostitute waiting on the street, a prisoner in a cell, a housewife working, a crane driver, a train driver, a lorry driver, an old person in a chair, an old couple sat together, one of whom does not remember the other, a person in a crowd, ….
Monday, 27 October 2025
Monday, 12 August 2024
#252: Black Dog Ideas I and II: Black dog's a-coming tonight and His Black Dog
Black Dog I: Black dog's a-coming tonight
Oil on canvas. A painting of a man who is frozen still, his eyes shut tight. A recording of a dog running and painting, getting nearer and nearer, can be heard.
Black Dog II: His Black Dog
Oil on canvas. A painting divided into four panels in the style of Man with a Newspaper by René Magritte. A man is seen sitting in an easy chair positioned in a living room in each panel, in the same pose each time. Only his face shows any change in the man. The room itself is seen from slightly different perspectives in each panel.
In the first panel, we see the man only, sitting passively, looking out at the viewer. In the second, we see the man, his eyes looking to the window, his face concerned. In the third, we see the man, again sitting passively and looking straight out at the viewer but now a black dog is present, standing on its hind legs behind the man, its front paws on his shoulders. In the fourth panel, the man is sitting, serenely, the black dog lying at his feet.