Postcards from the Edge

Postcards for the show arrived today, and the shit suddenly felt real. Paint spattered in my studio headspace for eleven hour stretches, its easy to forget the endgame, which is no bad thing.

Notes from an Easel-Death of Winter new painting by David Gough

Title: 'The Death of Winter' (2009)
Size: 15" x 30"
Medium: Oil on canvas

Inspired in parts by a recent sabbatical to Big Bear,the cold dystopia of Cormac McCarthys 'The Road', and the result of listening to Brett Andersons 'Slow Attack' album continuously, it is a counterpoint to all those Kinkaid style depictions of cosy Christmas card scenes, and relates symbolically with the end of the solstice, the death cults relationship with seasonal transition, and the intangible feeling one gets of ones own mortality, looking across a frozen lake in the clutches of winter.

Barrowboy-generalisms

November is two days old, and I'm keen to wash the bitter taste of October from my mouth with the peppermint rinse of mentioning that today, I meet to spec the premises for the live painting event with FM 94.9 on November 12th.

I also wanted to let you know that my interview with Fantasy E-zine is now available to read for subscribers at the following address:

http://www.fantasyezine.com/

A snippet of which follows:
FE: How would you describe or categorize your art?
DG: I really don’t like to-its too static. By nature, artists are flighty and evolving constantly, and to formalize any kind of label is to box you in. This week, I happen to be a hyper real Victorian, surrealist with a sideline in biomechanic-steampunk, next week I may be playing jazz flute.

Finally, I am in the process of illustrating a book with author Peter J Carroll, who used my Gods and Monsters piece on the cover of his previous book-The Apophenion. Peters new book is a very exciting project, and I shall post occasional teasers. It's a continued exploration of practical and theoretical magic and higher dimensional curved spacetime.

Which brings us back to matters of karmic influences in a way-arc, circle closed.

Uh-oh, don't look now...

Barrowboy-Sabbatical from my imagination

It would make a great title, but I've plumped for the less imaginative 'Two Dead Roses'
I like the dichotomy (my favourite word) in the fact that its a still life depicting death.

Meanwhile, its back to the cohesiveness of my series-The Valley feels about a day from completion, but its always such a eureka moment when I down my brushes and draw a line under 'The End', so it may drag a day beyond that. We'll see.

Artifact-Talesof an Antiquarian-Ship of fools

El Barco De Tontos-or Ship of fools-like Death and the Maiden-followed a very European tradition in Art. From Bosch to Durer-there are examples littered throughout art history. It also had its origins in the satirical medieval German poem (Das Narrenschiff) warning against over 100 vices and follies, which later became the basis for a tarot of the same name.

For myself-in the fall of 2006-folly was something that I felt my artistic career path had fallen victim to. Continually stiffed by a series of bad licensing deals, the diminishing returns and production line mentality of selling on Ebay and the alienation of what I considered was the cultural vacuousness of living in California for the first year, I felt I'd reached a nadir creatively and integrally.
In truth, I despised everything I had painted over the previous five years, which seemed bogged down by the flotsum and jetsum of symbolic embellishment, ultimately trying to imbue the cultural trends of a certain Hot Topic audience with some depth of meaning.

So, ever one for the posturing of melodrama, I proclaimed that El Barco De' Tontos would be my final ever piece,and that on the eve of my 40th Birthday, it was time to give up the lifelong dream of being an artist and disapear into the anonymity of a faceless institution. I had probably read Bukowski too much, because, that was exactly what I did, taking a mundane day job at a post office box in La Jolla-one of the most vacuous places in southern California.

As my swansong, I was sending a representative cast of my own familiar characters-clowns,grim reapers, demons pirates and lepers-helmed by a harlot muse, into the endless horizon of an inevitable vanishing point.

It would be six months before I would paint again,and not until I had relinquished an audience,contractual obligations or any expectations of myself.

Artifact-tales of an Antiquarian-Gods and Monsters

Completed in the fall of 2004, Gods and Monsters was very much informed by more than a dabble with dark magiks and having read too many Dennis Wheatley novels as a teenager. Still living in the UK at the time, and having dallied briefly with a coven in places called Thornton Hough, I was immersed in the Crowley Tarot, John Fowles the Magus, Colin Wilson,The Mysteries, Eastern mysticism, occasional headonistic weekends in Amsterdam and a late night tryst that led me down a very solipsistic, self destructive path indeed.

In all manner of ways, Gods and Monsters was trying to make sense of it all, examining if their were pre-ordained forces and wisdoms at play, such as astrological motifs, religious rites and the Arcana, or if it was merely arcane, and influenced by ones own psychosis,the dirge and the vampires, we surround ourself with during the unravelling of daily existence.

Elicited as part of my 'Dream Orphans' series, and like most of my works of the period-sold on Ebay for a song-the piece has since become notable for its inclusion on the cover of Peter J Carrols 'The Apophenian' as well as being the theme and title for my retrospective book.


Painted in a week with Acrylics, I'm still very proud of it, its an important work, and continues to be one of my most sought after pieces at shows.

Signed reproduction prints of Gods and Monsters are available from my website HERE.

Exhibiting Press

I am showing three pieces at the Thumbprint Gallery in a week-July 5th for a group show fittingly entitled 'Nightmares and Dreamscapes'-I'll post full details closer to the show date, but you can also see them by clicking the poster link.

I also had word that I am featured in a forthcoming catalog, called 'The Big Book of Contemporary Illustration' compiled by Martin Dawber. Although its not scheduled for release until September, Its available to preorder HERE.

Gothic Art Now-contemporary Gothic Art and Illustration by Jasmine Becket Griffith, featuring David Gough

Amongst the forest of paper that has bloated our mailbox lately-'tis the season and all that-was the rather delicious tome-'Gothic Art Now'- compiled by the delectably gothic,talented and sickeningly prolific-Jasmine Becket Griffith.
Resplendently lavish, beautifully designed and containing luminaries such as Brom-who pens the foreword-Master H.R.Giger, David Bowers, Scott Radke,David Stoupakis, and more names than you can shake a sable at-it also includes the work of one diminutive David Joseph Gough, who I've never heard of, but I believe shows some promise.

Its a real honour to be rubbing galley shoulders, alongside a pantheon of names I've admired since sprogdom, and I am very much at Miss Jasmine's requital, for my magnamanous insertion. I also owe her big time, for the very cheeky finale, where I get a name check (for the hell of it) in her acknowledgement's.
The book is available at most High street retail outlets, and with one day before Xmas,if you can stomach the bun fight-it would make a hefty gift in someone's stocking, or if you want to make up for missing the day altogether, its available from Amazon (in its US incarnations *note sleeve) from the following link:

Gothic Art Now on Amazon