On the easel

On the easel - as yet untitled

I am currently preparing for the 2015 Warwickshire Open Studios. I always like to show new work as I have many 'repeat' visitors who I feel obliged not to bore with previously shown work. This was no problem when the "Open Studios" held biannually but since it changed to an annual event it is a struggle to fill the space. I use this as both a "carrot and stick"to maintain my productivity. It is not that I need any incentive to continue making my artwork, just that in these recessionary times when (as many artists are finding) demand has slackened, I can easily 'stretch' both the thinking and making time. Another positive benefit of the time pressure is that I have begun drawing again (as I can complete a drawing in a week as opposed to a painting taking a month or more). It is not that I haven't been drawing - I always draw from life at least once a week. When drawing for exhibition I try to explore "ideas" in the way that I do when painting. Sometimes trying out new themes but often giving life to some of the ideas and preparation that I produce in the run up to a painting which didn't quite "make the cut" to the final image. I haven't photographed any of the new drawings yet so I can't show you one on this blog - it will perhaps encourage me to do another soon (without the long gap since last I wrote!).

I continue to try and interest people in 'life drawing' - to share the inestimable benefit and enjoyment that I find. Happily after several years when life drawing  was out of favour with art schools it seems to be making a comeback. I think the renewed interest is as a result of demand from students who, now they are paying inordinate amounts of money for their training, want some durable skills rather than the ephemeral attitudinising that many courses promote. It would have been easier to accept the dropping of life drawing in many art schools if they had replaced it with a better way of developing a students visual awareness and skill, but I don't see any evidence of this. I know some people will find my enthusiasm for drawing anachronistic but the life drawing and painting classes that I organise and teach outside the college system have never been fuller.

Multi-tasking - Warwickshire Open Studios 2014

My annual exhibition, together with my jeweller partner, as part of Warwickshire Open Studios has been more frenetic than usual. Crazily, I like to exhibit new work as some visitors come every year and I feel obliged not to display work that they have already seen. I am not a very prolific painter. I remember being taken on by my first London gallery in the seventies (Nicholas Treadwells). Nick asked about my output and when I said it was around eight paintings a year he laughed and said that I must get faster as a dealer needs around twenty to justify promoting an artist. Despite not increasing my productivity I was with him for seventeen successful years and nearly forty years later I am still only producing around eight paintings a year. I do paint faster, but I prefer to spend much more time choosing ideas and gathering information for my imagery. 
                                       After a lean period for sales since my last London gallery was a victim of the recession I made several sales this past year (mainly as a result of collectors coming to me). This made a welcome 'dent' in the work that I would have shown in this Open Studio show and necessitated a change in my usual working method. I normally work on only one painting at a time but I decided to start four at once in the hope that I would have them ready for Open Studios. I had previously tried working on two at a time (this makes sense if you paint in oils as you can move on to the other painting when one is too wet to work on). I however found that one of the pair became a 'favourite' and ended up better than the other, whereas if I do them 'back to back' and put all my effort into each one in turn they are equally successful. Contrary to my expectations I found working on four was both enjoyable and fruitful - as to whether they are any good, the viewers will have to make up their own mind. If they are well received it puts me in a quandary as I am obviously capable of increasing my output. Previously I had used some of the extensive preparatory work that didn't make the 'cut', and become a painting, as a subject for drawing. This time I didn't have the luxury of being too choosy and all the competing ideas became paintings.
                                I am an adherent to the 'less is more' school of thought as regards painting, both in terms of stripping down extraneous detail within each image and only painting the ideas that I find truly compelling. This facet of my personality could be interpreted as laziness but because I regard my life as an artist as a quest for some sort of enlightenment or insight, so the filtering of ideas and discarding of unnecessary or distracting detail is to me an essential part of the process. I realise that I have a lot more to say on this subject but I will save this for a future 'post'. Please take a look at my website if you would like to see the new paintings.
                                       Just to end on a lighter note below is my favourite quote on 'multi-tasking". The inimitable Billy Connolly while commenting on the prevailing view that men are unable to manage two activities simultaneously said….

"If women are so good at multi-tasking, how come they can't have a headache and sex at the same time?" 

   

Forthcoming Exhibitions

There are two exhibitions coming up that I am participating in which I hope you will be able to visit :-

"Oneself As Another"

 The first is a major museum show at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol "Oneself As Another". It is curated by the irrepressible Jemma Hickman of Bo.Lee Gallery (formerly of Bath but now operating from London). There are works by an illustrious line up of modern and contemporary figurative artists and I feel privileged to be included among them (details of the exhibition and some of the artists appear below). The preview of the show is supporting Changing faces a U.K. based charity that supports people with disfigurements.

'Likeness" - Neil Moore, 81.5 x 56cms, Oil on canvas, RWA 2014

" Oneself As Another, a major exhibition curated in partnership with London-based bo.lee projects, bringing together a select group of painters, sculptors and photographers whose work explores the definition of each individual’s sense of ‘self’.

The exhibition includes work by leading twentieth century artists such as Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, famed for their brutal exposure of the individual psyche. These are shown alongside work by artists who offer an alternative to contemporary portraiture – one which acknowledges, yet refuses, the freak show of difference.

The exhibition will also include the first showing of Sanctae, an Arts Council England-funded installation by leading South West based artist Ione Rucquoi. This dramatic and moving piece provides a place for reflection, consisting of an architecturally-devised space within the gallery inhabited by larger-than-life photographic images of naked, female subjects, adorned with individually painted gold-leaf halos.

The show also presents the ‘Damaged Human’ series by Sarah Ball (2012 Welsh Artist of the Year) - beautifully rendered miniature portraits derived from medical archive photographs. Works by London-based painter Wanda Bernardino and BP Portrait prize-winner Johan Andersson likewise revel in the notion of what is revealed or hidden, while renowned photographer Bob Carlos Clarke toys with the taboo, confronting us on the edges of decency.

By bringing the unseeable and unsayable to the fore, this exhibition offers the viewer the chance to reconcile aspects of one’s own, personal narrative through the brave acknowledgement of Another."

" The Human Clay Revisited"  

"Solstice" - Neil Moore, 137 x 91.5cms, oil on canvas,  Ropewalk 2014

The second is at the Ropewalk Gallery in Humberside. Entitled the "Human Clay revisited", it begins on Saturday 8th March and continues until Sunday 20th April. For those of you not old enough to remember the original Human Clay exhibition - it was a major show of twentieth century figurative art selected by Ron Kitaj held at the Hayward gallery in 1976. Many painters, who had been steadfastly continuing in the then unfashionable figurative tradition were given a platform by this touring show, establishing the contemporary relevance of figurative art for a new generation.  'Art'household names Bacon , Freud, Auerbach, Kossof were included (as well as Kitaj, who coined the phrase for them as the "School of London" before, sadly, leaving for the U.S.A. where he hoped his talents would receive better recognition).      

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