Monday 15 December 2008

Two Days

Hey everybody, with all the stuff going on everywhere 'round this time of year, I figured a little reminder might be in order. I'm off to go hang the show and make sure everything is shipshape for the opening on wednesday night, so i hope to see you guys there.

The starting time of 19:30 is just when the doors open,there's no 'program start' so feel free to swing by any time during the evening.

The gallery will also be open throughout the festive season with the exception of the big holidays if you're in town around that time.

Gallery contact details can be found here:

www.salon91art.co.za

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1016403570974&f=1&e=-12#/event.php?eid=37092443655


Thanks, and i'll see you guys there.


H

Monday 8 December 2008

Critical Mass

Hey everybody. Well, the day of reckoning is drawing near, my solo show launches next wednesday, December 17th at 19:30. The exhibition is at Salon91 in Kloof street, Cape Town (opposite Arnold's).

If you're in town it would be supercool to see you there. I'm very proud of the work i've done, so the more people getting eyes on, the better. Bring your friends and anyone interested in something they've never seen before. The show is running for a month, so make sure you do pop round if you're in town over the festive season, I know how much we're all moving around this time of year!

Any questions, just give me a shout. Take care and don't forget the sunscreen.

H

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6397367088#/event.php?eid=37092443655

Photobucket

Friday 21 November 2008

Counting Down once more...

Well, it's just under a month before the launch of my solo show which i've spent the last number of months sweating blood over, os let's hope it's been worth it. I just wrapped up the last work on monday, making it almost three months to the day after i commenced this marathon, but it's done now and the smaller processes like getting everything framed and hung are now lying ahead.

In the meantime we've locked the date for the launch, so if you guys can make it, please join us on the seventeenth, it's gonna be good! It's at Salon91 in kloof street opposite Arnold's, but I'll put together an updated flyer...

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=37092443655


Take care

H

Wednesday 5 November 2008

State of affairs

Right, we are eagerly awaiting the opening of Salon91's first group show on thursday 06 November, it has been a long time coming and should be pretty impressive for all the diverse work that will be on display.

Salon1 Invite

In the meantime things are churning along for my solo show which looks set to launch on 17 December. I began a painting marathon on 20 September and finished this past monday, being the third of November, so needless to say i'm somewhat sick of the smell of turpentine, but there will be no rest for the wicked and there's some more, interesting, work to be done, so I'm not quite out of the woods yet.

On that note i'll leave you to whatever you're up to while i go ply my trade and i sincerely hope to see you guys at the gallery on thursday.

Take care!

H

www.FLY-DUTCH.com

Friday 31 October 2008

Counting down.

Hey all, you may or may not be aware that this show has been in the
works for some time and it's finally come to the point where it's
ready to open! The exhibition is at Salon 91 Contemporary Art
Colllection on 91 Kloof street, across the street from Arnold's and
takes place on 06 November, which is next thursday, from 19:00. Will
be great to see you guys there, so come pop in!

This also means we're a month away from the launch of my solo show!

Take care, and here's a link to the event on FB.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=42883939427

Tuesday 28 October 2008

D-Day Minus Nine.

Hey all, just for those of you who didn't get the update, the inaugural group show at Salon 91 in Kloof Street (CT) is kicking off on 06 November and NOT 30 October as initially scheduled, so I'll hopefully see you guys there next week!

I will send out reminders closer to the time for those of you with short term memory issues. Will be great to see you all there.

Thanks

H

Monday 20 October 2008

Stenciling 101

Hey all. I was asked for advice regarding stenciling by a mate and upon typing this up i figured this knowledge may be of help to others, so here goes, a little crash course in kicking Banksy's arse. Please do.




I'll give you what i know about stenciling,but the key is basically a lot of problem solving and fine cutting, which is going to drive you nuts, but if it works, then it's worth it.

Firstly, the material which works well for this kind of thing is acetate, you get big sheets at craft stores in rolls, like really thick transparencies. It's tough, so won't fall apart or sag like cardboard, but it's harder to cut. Also, even thought it's tough, keep it safe in a file with the rest of your stencils, because they will get damaged if they're lying around loose.

Second is the big problem solving issue which is going to require quite a bit of thought and planning. That is the fact that the picture you are trying to make work must be down to two solid colours, black and white, one which is cut out and one which is masked by the remaining parts of stencil. Now the tricky bit is cutting the relevant areas out whilst still keeping the remainder of the shapes intact and together. This can either be done through choosing which areas can be compomised and leave them out, or 'floating' bits can be kept in place with strips, although for the overall effect this should be avoided. I'd say it is better to do your planning well and thus not have to deal with the problem of 'floating' areas.

How to create an image that is heavily monochrome(meaning no grey) is simple enough of you have photoshop and a printer Convert your image to grayscale and select 'levels' (Ctrl+L). Then force the colour marks to the centre, this will get rid of the greys, basically mess about 'til you get the best balance of black and white, keeping an eye on the amount of fine detail that you're going to have to cut out later. Then you just print it out and tape it to the underside of the sheet of acetate and get cutting!

This is the extent of my practical knowledge, it's basically how you use it that varies and will determine the result. The stenciling i've done has been largely on t-shirts where i've done a crude stencil and worked the relevant fine detail in later when all the big elements were in place. Naturally if you're doing hit'n'run spraypainting in public space, then the idea of adding in detail afterwards is not really applicable!

Like i said, lots of problem solving. Also, keep and eye on your stencils in case they get clogged with paint after use, otherwise the image they produce will get less and less sharp.

Hope this helps, let me know, yeah?

Take care.

H

Thursday 16 October 2008

Whatever grist the mill requires.

Hey everybody. Apologies for the silence, but things are kinda rough this side, i'm in full production for my solo show, which will be happening soon enough at Salon91 in Kloof street Cape Town.

The gallery's inaugural group show launches on the 30th of October, so be there, cos it's gonna be good. After that it's my turn, so let's hope i don't kill myself in the process of getting everything done for the solo show. But it's looking good so far...

Also i'll be posting some new work(on my FB group...) once this particular storm has passed, so keep an eye out!

Take care and take it easy.

H

Friday 10 October 2008

Fits and starts.

But hopefully this time we can the damn thing to start playing!

I'm screening my short film Inevitability at Klein Libertas tonight and hopefully it won't fuck up again, but things are significantly more streamlined this time round. I have learned a lot in the process of producing this piece, which is always rewarding and does light the way forward, especially seeing as i had to delve back into my training as animator.
The vague notions of 3D animating did come back surprisingly clear(thanks to the fact that i didn't do away with my notes!) and made the whole process fairly painless if not entirely stress-free. This, coupled with having to edit the piece myself has helped me refresh a lot of buried knowledge and takes on a whole new guise when seen with the perspective of experience gained along the way from forgetting something to remembering it again.

So who knows how all this might be applied in the future...

And amid all this rediscovery I am still working furiously on my solo show which is coming up in little over a month, so things are ploughing forward full tilt, but the less said about that the better, I prefer to let my work do the talking.

Now back to work!

H

Monday 22 September 2008

SitRep, Shmitrep.

Hey everybody. With Heads of State ducking out before completion of their tenure and similar such behaviour, we have decided to go against the grain and take LONGER with what we need to do. This is naturally not by choice, but that's how it's gonna be, I'm afraid.
What I am dancing around is the fact that the inaugural group show in which I will be participating at Salon 91 Contemporary Art Collection in Kloof str(CT) will be held back. A bit.
Basically shows have been shuffled around, thus another show will technically launch the gallery with the group show to follow. After this it will be MY turn for a solo exhibition if I don't succumb to fatigue in the meantime.
I began work in ernest(horrible, unintended pun)on saturday September 20th blocking six paintings and I have just bought another trunkful of canvas with more to come in a weeks' time, so things will get rough, but hopefully the result will be worth it and i wil be alive to see it.
I'll hassle all you good folk closer to the relevant dates.

In the meantime take care and give 'em hell as best you can.

If you have any further queries, you can get hold of me through the site,

www.FLY-DUTCH.com and the gallery site here: www.salon91art.co.za

See y'all later!

Tuesday 9 September 2008

Those are the breaks.

Ahoy there.

I just got word that my work is going up on Juxtapoz's reader art
section tomorrow, so check it out at www.juxtapoz.com

They post a new artist's work every day, so it'll trickle down the
ranks as time passes.

Two seperate things happening is that I'm going to be showing a little
something on friday night(12 sept) at the Klein Libertas in
Stellenbosch during Ms Beckmann's show, so anyone interested in some
great music and hopefully a not-too-disastrous bit of visual art,
please come check it out (BOOKING ESSENTIAL 021 8838164). I'm
currently busting my ass on it, so don't believe my hype, cos I have
none. But going to be another brilliant show, knowing her.

Secondly is the opening of Salon 91 Contemporary Art Collection in
Kloof Street later this month, it's opposite Arnold's, so all you
souls in town should check it out during the routine hangover
breakfasts I know you're prone to. The date is not locked yet, but
I'll be sure to let you know when i have it verified, wicked locale
too.

Right, for now i'll leave you guys in peace, seeing as i have a big
sheet with very little ink on it in front of me and it needs to get
covered, so i'll get to it.

Take care of yourselves wherever you are and whatever you're up to.

And remember to click the link!

www.JUXTAPOZ.com


Laters!


H

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Inching forward

I have just finished two significant paintings for the inaugural exhibition at Salon 91 contemporary art collection in Cape Town. That however, me being me, does not mean a cessation of hositlities between myself and The Work, but rather an opportunity for renewed effort as I begin working on several new tasks and continue a number of other hefty ones. The details of what these sets entail may be disclosed a bit later, but i'm not one to ruin a work in its infancy with unneccesary hype, so do excuse me for being so cagey.

A cover for Something Wicked Magazine is also in development, which will be a surprise for all, myself included, no doubt.

Dates for the upcoming exhibitions should be confirmed shortly, which generally means the shit will strike the proverbial fan in terms of getting a LOT done in an very limited timeframe, but we love a little pressure, eat it for breakfast.

I'll shut up and get on with it now, but more information will be forthcoming.

Take care.

H

Wednesday 6 August 2008

A Difficult Birth

Well, I have taken it upon myself to purge the existing content of this blog in order to launch it as a clean slate parallel to the site which is now up and running (kinda sorta) at www.fly-dutch.com for those who weren't directed here form there.

I'll post whatever news and rant might be relevant to my line of work and train of thought, although the rambling will hopefully be kept to a minimum. I make no promises.

It's been a hard slog getting here, but things are now in place and hopefully will move forward at a steady pace from here. I also hope for the sake of information that I do my job in keeping this stream current and up-to-date.

I will certainly try.

Welcome, take care and bear with me. Comments are most welcome.

H!


"I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve"