Epiphany-the Magicians Curse

 

Other titles for this piece could have been 'Blind Faith-there's something in my eye', 'Garret-the Alchemists broken Machine' or 'Creating empires when you can't afford a new pair of shoes'.

Elements of the drawing have origins in a rough painting I did in 2010, which was more of an exercise in free association. I've been refining this version for around two weeks however-pages and pages brimming with sketches and scribbled notes, which may turn out to be a work of art all unto itself when its complete.

Not entirely sure which chapter this piece is, maybe eight or nine, but as it stands Epiphany is one of the signature pieces for the series-Purgatorium, which I guess is turning into my magnum opus.

Or the epic last gasp before the reign of fire.

Or everything plus the kitchen sink.

More soon.

Dream Orphans readopted.

I've reinstated the Dream Orphans gallery's on my site. 

http://davidgoughart.com/Dream_gallery.html

Like a lot of artists, featuring newer work will always take precedence. 

Still, working on the new series, some of the older themes from those paintings seem to be resonating again and regardless of any hang ups I have over my technique from then, there's no denying a certain naive charm over what has gone before. Below is a collection of my personal favorites from between 2003 and 2008.

'Chapter XII - Prospero's End...the artist as sage'

Chapter twelve and twelve hours straight working on this one.

I realize that I'm doing them out of order, but I rather like the none linearity of working this way.

I would write more, but I am Exhausted and exhilarated, and off to LA for the weekend.  

Nine more to go when I return.

'Chapter I-Chimera Rising-the spawning of the artist'

After multiple progressions over the last year, I never thought I'd gotten this piece right until now. 

Chimera was a fire breathing female from Asia minor-a hybrid of animals composed from a lioness, snake and a goat. 

My creature is more abstractly anthropomorphic, but no less potent for it. 

Here she uses Maladroit-her familiar and the afterbirth of Aphrodite, to dispense with Miranda-transformed into a mighty crawfish- who spawns the artist (the protagonist of our story) in her final death spasm.

Working on this series, I'm struck with how it feels like a return to the kind of motifs and vocabulary I was using over twenty years ago.It's invigorating after the minimal approach of the previous series, and I'm hugely excited to see it realized onto canvas.

Exile of Sisyphus

Exile of Sisyphus

11" x 14" 

Graphite on Paper

Here's a drawing for one of the proposed Purgatorium pieces-entitled 'Exile of Sisyphus'

Sisyphus for the uninitiated was the King of Thessaly, who having betrayed Zeus, duped Thanatos and hoodwinked Persephone was incarcerated in the Underworld, whereupon he was set an eternity of toil, rolling a boulder up hill, only to have it roll back to the bottom when he had reached the peak. 

It's analogous of the artist lot of course, or at least my own- but with more drawings to be revealed over the coming weeks, its a signal of my intent for the years duration.

A Rose by any other name.

“I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.”

James Joyce

This is Rose Elizabeth Gough, born this past week to my son Thom and his young lady Rachael. Isn't she beautiful? 

Looking at her... thinking of her birth into a world I'd long since resigned as forsaken, makes me realize that some of the hopes, dreams and aspirations I had for the future are contained in her, that any legacy I could have hoped for pales in the remarkable, glorious potential her life brings.

Welcome to the world baby Rose.

Joseph Conrad-heart of darkness

"Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line."

Joseph Conrad

After reading about a recent one off production of Heart of Darkness, based on the lost screenplay by Orson Wells, I took a short break from my own dark imaginings to paint this in a few hours today-a portrait of Joseph Conrad.Of course, my generation were introduced to his book through Coppola's version-'Apocalypse Now',making his literature culturally incongruous (perfectly exemplified in Gary Oldmans gritty Nil by Mouth.) in that it encouraged legions of kids to pick up a book that wasn't already on the school curriculum, for the first time.

Anyway, with sketches for the new series still holding me hostage, it was rather nice to paint something that didn't require a great deal of effort or thought.