Custom PIGSY Nikes
Air Jordan Flights custom painted by PIGSY
Commissioned pieces of art sure can be interesting!
I feel very lucky to have received some interesting commissions in my art career - one being the recent painted dinosaur head which I blogged about recently.
However, my latest commission is probably of the most interest to me - a customized pair of Nike trainers for a young break dancer. Very cool!
White Air Jordan Flights
Here’s the before pic of the Air Jordan Flights before they were custom painted.
Angelus Leather Paint
As a starting point, I needed to order Angelus Leather paint to customize the Nike shoes. I looked on Amazon initially but then I founded a company in Madrid who sold Angelus leather paint online. The paint arrived promptly considering I made the order over the Easter holiday.
Custom painted Nikes
And most importantly, what you’ve been waiting for, the finished custom Nikes by PIGSY!
The artwork is very connected to the client who commissioned custom paint job on these Nike trainers. Do you read binary code?! You may be able to figure out some of the messages!
However, the painted star is fairly easy to read on the front of the runners - it symbolises the stardom of the owner of the Air Jordans!
Personalized Nike Trainers by PIGSY
"I Went to Mass" - PIGSY Solo Exhibition in La Casa Amarilla, Spain
“I Went to Mass” by PIGSY
PIGSY Solo Art Exhibition
La Casa Amarilla Galerie, Calle Santos, Malaga
Date: 27 March until 20 April
Sponsored by San Miguel Beer
PIGSY Spanish Art Exhibition Opening
Photos below are of the opening of the PIGSY solo art show “I Went to Mass” in La Casa Amarilla Gallery on Santos Street in Malaga, Spain, on Saturday 27th of March. The exhibition is running until an extended date of April 20th.
For opening hours and contact details for the LCA gallery, see here.
For more great pics, see here on Facebook
Room to improve - wishlists
Room to improve? Dermot Bannon and others on their renovation wishlist
By Arlene Harris
To read the full article in the Irish Times, click here
SUR in English "Seeking calm and solitude within artistic chaos" by Tony Bryant
Seeking calm and solitude within artistic chaos
Tony Bryant writes about the latest PIGSY exhibition opening in La Casa Amarilla, Malaga on March 27th with an extended run until April 20th, 2021.
La Casa Amarilla Galerie
Calle Santos 7
Nice to open the paper and see a PIGSY painting while enjoying a morning coffee in the sun here in Spain!
Exhibition Preview
“I Went to Mass” by PIGSY
Special preview for all of those who can’t travel at the moment. Check my website on Friday 26th March at 8pm for pics!
Or log on to the PIGSY instagram to watch some live videos from the gallery during opening day.
To read the article online on the SUR in English website, click here.
For further information, if in Malaga, the exhibition is open until April 20th including during Santa Semana.
The Gloss Magazine - Artistic Licence: Ciarán McCoy, By Penny McCormick
Penny McCormick interviews Ciaran McCoy aka PIGSY in The Gloss Magazine
A big thank you to Penny McCormick for her Artistic Licence feature of me and my “I Went to Mass” solo art exhibition opening in Malaga this weekend.
"I went to mass #02”
By PIGSY
Not to pray or to find a religious way
But to be with my chaotic soul
in peace and calm to listen
Listen
Listen
Listen
To a loud, uneasy, mind,
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three,
of what the world has presented to me and to deny the temptations that society condemns
Condemn the chaos and transcend into a peaceful mind,
I went to mass to pray my way.
I went to mass #02
Not to pray or to find a religious way
But to be with my chaotic soul
in peace and calm to listen
Listen
Listen
Listen
To a loud, uneasy, mind,
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three,
of what the world has presented to me and to deny the temptations that society condemns
Condemn the chaos and transcend into a peaceful mind,
I went to mass to pray my way.
“I’ve given enough” by PIGSY
PIGSY’s show is sponsored by Cervezas San Miguel
Qué: "I Went to Mass" Exposición by PIGSY
Dónde: La Casa Amarilla, Calle Santos 7, Malaga
Cuando: 27 marzo - 20 abril 2021 (apertura 12pm Sábado)
Patrocinado: Cervezas San Miguel
Sculptures
Found Objects
There has been an evolution of PIGSY’s work in both style and media over the past few years where he has moved from working purely on pre-fabricated canvas to creating his own canvas and frames to then going past this and moving in to sculpture using found objects. With the found objects he has been creating mainly figurative pieces that can be viewed as 3D representations of his work on canvas. PIGSY acknowledges the freedom that working with found objects gives him and states that “working off canvas means less boundaries so there are no limits on my creativity”
Hangman by PIGSY
A sculpture created here in Malaga, Spain using found objects and detritus in my studio. Newly arrived from Ireland, I was inspired by the sculptural work of Pablo Picasso to create this expressionist artwork "Hangman" in the hometown of Picasso. It is expressionist in form and in the style of Hawkins Bolden.
I’m fascinated by discarded objects that have been thrown away in the trash can. I decided awhile ago not to throw away any objects from my studio in order to re-piece them together to create art from the unwanted, and what is considered ugly.
For the pictured “Hangman” piece I mainly fabricated it using old paint and tin cans.
The drilled holes in the paint cans do four things
The action of the drilling of them create a sense of peace and comfort in my mind, I like the feeling and sound when creating the the holes
They represent a seeing into the inner working and thoughts of the mind
They act as a release valve that expel the inner pressures of the mind both physically and as a metaphor
The allow the inner mind to see out
The hang man and skull is something that I have been obsessing about for awhile now. There is a sense of torment within and the hang mans noose shows how delicate and fragile life can be. I explore a life now where one seeks hope and salvation in organised religion or something similar that will lead us to the promised land, when in truth the answers to our questions are within us in the drilled holes.
Pallet Art
Fabricated from a wooden pallet and used bolts and pieces of metal hardware to form the eyes, nose and mouth.
Discarded pieces of wood that come together in a jigsaw puzzle to mean “something”: What does it mean?
Obsolescence becomes obsolete
A pallet intended to carry objects to their destination now finds itself attached to a piece of chipboard that has been deemed not worthy to be part of its previously intended use. Steel angles and spray can tops now have a new purpose having previously being deemed obsolete. Their new joint purpose in this world is to be part of a creative movement that shows the inner torment of a broken mind. A shiny skull fits into an outer carcass that smiles to hide what is within........oneself.
Art in Lockdown
Pictured is a sculpture that I created during the first Covid19 lockdown in Ireland in March 2020. I sought out items to create an artwork from discarded items (Found Objects) in my living environment within the 2km government restricted exercise zone. The “Found Objects” piece is a sculptural collage of street and household items which mirrored the situation, that we as a collective society battled during this pandemic war. The piece is an emotional expression of feelings and observations on how a society deals with the physical and psychological effects of a natural enemy that made the government enforce a lockdown (or imprisonment) of it’s people for the greater good of a nation and the wellbeing of all who live within it.
Hope
In essence, my artwork is a response to a moment when society’s psyche was at its most vulnerable. But beyond this time there is hope, there will be the moment when our collective people are victorious in the battle with the “virus” or war. The weapons to defeat the “virus” or enemy will be us, as we responded to the lockdown and stayed away from each other and ultimately stopped the virus from spreading.
Resilience
The concept for the execution of the piece – using “Found objects” was to adapt, manipulate, distort and amend these objects in order to create an art work that was a direct comparison to how I see us, the citizens of Ireland and the world, emerging from the pandemic as a stronger, more resilient, more aware and ultimately a new and more beautiful humanity. My art mirrors life as we become a literal “Phoenix from the Flames” when we emerge victorious from our war on this viral pandemic, a little shook, a tad broken - but still in one piece.
This artwork was created in conjunction with the large pandemic piece “Phoenix Rising”
A focus on 3 works by PIGSY
“Non-Serviam”
Size: 1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas
This piece deals with the contradiction between the refusal to adhere to society’s rules and the loneliness and helplessness that are a result of this refusal. “Non-Serviam” (I Will Not Serve) is a bold statement of non-compliance and self sufficiency but looking deeper into the piece there is a call for help and the need for a guardian angel to save the artist. With the knowledge that almost every main character in Pigsy’s art is a self-portrait, there is the suggestion that the guardian angel required is his art and there exists a hope of self-salvation through it. Another clear indicator of the confusion caused by this paradox is the use of the word Malaika (an Islamic word for angel) on the angel’s chest, spelled wrong as Malaka (a Greek term for wanker).
“Mo Laoch” (My Hero)
Size: 1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas
It is a rarity that a character in a Pigsy piece is not a version of the artist himself but in this piece the figure is that of famous Irish writer James Joyce. The inspiration for this painting came after watching a documentary on Joyce and the realised connection between him and the artist's uncle, also James, whom he never met but who's house he now owns. Was Joyce talking about people like James in his celebrated novel Dubliners.
Could he have been a role model and mentor for Pigsy for he was also a poet and artist. The title "Mo Laoch" is Irish for "My Hero", a reference to the actual feeling for Joyce and the potentially stronger feeling for his uncle that, alas, never existed. Note that Joyce holds the red spelling book, Pigsy's nemesis, an item depicted in many of his works to signify his struggle with dyslexia.
“Cyberpunks”
Size: 1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas
“Cyberpunks” is Pigsy’s take on the movement formed in 1990, the beginning of the deep web and a decentralising power of the banks. The crossed out 72 is both a cry for admittance and a confusion that the artist’s year of birth predates the aforementioned formation- “I was a cyberpunk before it even started, let me in”. Note the signature in the painting in the top right is Pigsy in binary.
PIGSY welcomes visitors to his Malaga Studio
Visit artist PIGSY in La Casa Amarilla
PIGSY Spanish art studio is located on Calle Santos in the centre of Malaga City close to Calle Larios
During the pandemic Irish Artist PIGSY has been working full time as a professional artist in Malaga and is a resident in La Casa Amarilla Gallery. Pigsy’s studio is on the second floor of La Casa Amarilla which is a popular gallery in Malaga City Centre directed by David Burbano. The gallery is home to different sized art studios and hosts artists of various disciplines within. La Casa Amarilla is on Calle Santos a quiet street very near to Calle Larios and faces on to Cafe Aranda where you can stop off for a coffee and a churro after a visit to the studio. The cafe has been serving up churros since 1932 to the people of Malaga and visitors to this pleasant city!
Calle Larios, Malaga
The studio is a short walk from Calle Larios the main thoroughfare in Malaga Centro. Larios Street is a stunningly beautiful pedestrianised shopping street lined with attractive architectural buildings that at time will have you looking up rather than looking in the the shops! Most of the city is very walkable due to the pedestrianisation and also because of the size of the city which is very manageable for most to get about either walking or cycling - or you can rent an electric scooter too. The public bus is reliable and regular and can take you beyond the city if you wish to visit some of the small fishing villages along the coast (Pedregaleo is a must see), some of which are now home to chilled out fashionable, somewhat hipster, restaurants and cafes.
Art in Malaga
Pablo Picasso
Malaga has a rich art history with it of course being the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. Today artists and art lovers alike flock to the city to visit the two Picasso museums - one based in the house he was born in and the other in the house he grew up in.
Museo Carmen Thyssen Malaga
Along with this there are numerous other museums with the Carmen Thyssen in the centre of the city (steps away from PIGSY’s studio) showcasing a massive collection consisting of classic Spanish artists including artists, such as Mariano Fortuny, Joaquín Sorolla, Darío de Regoyos, Julio Romero de Torres and Ignacio Zuloaga.
The Carmen Thyssen Museum has a really nice cafe and gift store. The cafe does a really good cup of coffee (cortado) and there is a good deal for breakfast of a mixto, coffee and a glass of juice for about 3 euro.
Pompideau Malaga
The Pomipou Centre also has a museum here in Malaga (the first Pomidou Centre outside of France). The Pompidou Centre is located down by the port can only be described as a jewel in the crown of the marina and in fact it looks like a jewellery box being a cube colored building designed by Architect Renzo Piano sparkling in the sun and inviting visitors in to an amazing collection of artwork including Joan Miro, Dali and you guessed it some Picasso too!
There are lots of nice restaurants situated down by the marina close to the Pompideau Centre Malaga so you can make a whole half day of your visit to the museum and a lunch by the marina along with maybe a walk down to the lighthouse.
The Pompideau Malaga is free in after 5pm on Sundays.
Museo Jorge Rando
The Museo Jorge Rando reopened in Oct/Sept 2020 after renovations. It is located in an area that is a short walk from Uncibay Plaza is definitely worth seeing for both it’s extensive Rando collection and also the architecture of the museum with a spectacular corten clad courtyard out to the back of the building.
I visited the Museo Jorge Rando in October 2020 after it had reopened after renovations.
Malaga Studio Visit - Contact Enid
Contact Enid on pigsy.art@gmail.com if you are in the Malaga region and would like to meet PIGSY and take a tour of his studio and also visit La Casa Amarilla Art Gallery on Calle Santos, Malaga. PIGSY always enjoys visitors to his studio and will chat to you all about his latest work and what he is currently being inspired by.
Enid is also happy to give restaurant or cafe recommendations if you are interested in spending time in Malaga and want to relax over a glass of wine and some tapas after visiting the studio!
About PIGSY
About expressionist Irish artist PIGSY
Irish Artist PIGSY
Born on the North Side of Dublin in Ireland, Ciarán McCoy is an Irish Artist and award winning architect (ODKM Architects). He borrows from his architectural knowledge to create his diverse expressionist art work as his alter ego “PIGSY”.
The mediums that Pigsy uses range vastly from everyday household acrylic paint, chalk, oil sticks, acrylic sticks, oil paint, spray paint, charcoal and any other medium that feels right at the time of painting. McCoy explains “I like the looseness of my paintings I don't really want to put boundaries on myself or to be neat and proper. That's my architectural life. I like to be able to express myself freely in a fast free-flowing loose way - I really like the imperfection of the process”.
Honesty & Emotion in Art
"Many of my paintings are self portraits or semi-biographical, I paint about the things going on in my head at the time of painting. People have said to me that the paintings are angry but I don't think they're angry, I'm just expressing the frustrations of someone who lives with dyslexia. Words frustrate me and fascinate me at the same time. I sometimes don't understand the sounds of the letters, what they mean and why they don't do what they are supposed to do. Because of this I like to draw quick and loose as opposed to when I’m designing a building and it needs to be more rigid and consistent. I've also taken from street artists who have to paint fast. I think if you're drawing fast there's an honesty to it because there is no manipulation and overthinking, it's just straight from your head onto the canvas. I love the no phoney approach to that".
Mindset
This spontaneous approach takes away all inhibitions. "I deliberately don’t correct words that have been misspelled and I sometimes break them apart to emphasize what can be going on in my head”. He also splashes and spills paint loosely over the canvas which keeps the honest approach "for a long time I covered up the writing completely, so as to not expose myself too much to the outside world but as I got older I've stopped doing that. I'm happy where my art is, at the moment, and I feel that it's totally me. It's a take it or leave it approach, I have now."
Art vs. Architecture
“Art is a way of expressing myself and it’s a nice break from the normal day-to-day work routine of an architect. The creative process between art and architecture are very different disciplines. With architecture I have specific briefs and goals that I aim to achieve. With art there are no boundaries, I just express what's in my mind at the time that I am working, and in all honesty, I'm trying to get the thoughts out of my mind and on to the canvas. I see it as a healthy process. Work and life can be stressful at times and I find going to my studio and throwing a large piece of canvas on the ground and painting helps me release all those stresses in a creative and positive way”.
Creative Process
“My technique normally involves a free flowing start to each piece as I set out the scene for the broader context of the work, followed by a slower, drawn out finish as I immerse myself into the painting and endeavor to elicit an answer to the conundrums that I face and to dig myself out of the holes that I've created for myself in my mind and subconscious”
Influences
PIGSY is influenced by artists, musicians, writers and other figures in popular culture. He sites being influenced by artists such as Cy Twombly, Purvis Young, Hawkins Bolden, Karel Appel, Jean Michel Basquiat along with enjoying the work of David Lynch, David Byrne and poet Seamus Heaney and writer Hunter S. Thompson. Musical influences include 1980’s old school Hip Hop along with musicians like Talking Heads, Future Islands, Elvis Presley and currently Fontaines D.C. and The Felice Brothers.
Ranelagh Art Studio
For the past 10 years, PIGSY has been working in his Ranelagh studio in his award winning architecturally significant house in Dublin, Ireland. His art studio is at the top of the house on the third floor and is filled with light streaming from four window lights that flood the birch ply wood clad room that has a glass floor (which he covered in a plastic coating to protect it from the paint!). It’s a light and airy space - the perfect place to create art.
PIGSY in Malaga, Spain
As of August 2020, PIGSY is based in Malaga, Spain with full focus on the creation of art. He has taken a sabbatical from his architectural practice and has embarked, with his wife and dog, on an uncharted year in Spain inspired by all of the artists and creatives that have gravitated to this part of the world before him. He is excited about the adventure ahead of him, where he will fully immerse himself as PIGSY - as a full time artist he knows that he is entering in to an immensely creative period of his life!
Art on Walls
Art on Walls
Art and Interior Architecture goes hand in hand.
PIGSY contemporary artworks are bold and vibrant visual art pieces that enhance excellent interior design. Contact me directly to discuss your space and to talk about the many artworks that are currently available - or contact Designyard for further information.
In the home….and in the home office
PIGSY statement artworks spark conversation and inspiration within the walls of residential interiors. With the advent of Covid 19 and the evolution of homes spaces requiring a work space, PIGSY has seen an increase in clients contacting him for an art piece for the home office. PIGSY art helps create a positive and optimistic work environment. Most recently he has sold pieces which are now displayed internationally - Toronto, Canada and Galway, Ireland along with a piece sold in Spain - all three destined to be hung in the clients respective study rooms.
Home is where the ART is!
Art brings a feeling of well being in to lives. PIGSY’s expressionist art is a form of upbeat, positive storytelling and a marriage of color, poetry & edgy urban art. Art is a way to inject your personality and style in to your home with neutral walls crying out for a statement piece of art that appeals to the whole family. Something to note when choosing art for the home is that while color is very important it is not about matching colors to the home environment but instead it is about the colors complementing the environment.
See below for images of PIGSY artworks in their forever homes and discover the artist’s contemporary artworks and see how these works of art elevate and enhance inspirational interiors. Available in a variety of sizes and shapes PIGSY artworks work not only changes houses in to show homes but it gives each room a unique aesthetic quality that add to the enjoyment of home life for all of the family and for visitors to the home.
Home Art Gallery
Art in the home also gives you the opportunity to express your personality and show off your style along with your likes. Many people choose not only to showcase single large proportioned artworks in their home but also to mix it up and have a bit of fun with their collections by creating a gallery wall. It can take some time and experimenting to get this looking right (but that is part of the fun!) and I like to map it out on a plan before the actual hanging.in order to prevent puttting nails in walls that are never used. There are also professionals who offer a hanging service who will assist with the layout as well as the hanging.
It also helps to frame you art in a similar style that gives the collection an overall cohesive look. Buying unframed art from the artist helps with this as you can then choose a frame that fits with the rest of your collection when the artwork arrives to your home. On the other hand, I sometimes specify particular frames for specific art works that I have created and each of my art collectors appreciate this as huge thought has gone in to the decision to frame the art and a lot of consideration has also been given as to what frame looks best and enhances the artwork.
Want to talk about art in your home?
Contact me directly to talk about your space and your likes and see if we can together find an artwork that works for you in your home. My artwork ships worldwide from both Ireland and Florida, USA.
PIGSY Art on walls
You can see more photos below of PIGSY art in situ in the homes of art collectors all over the world……and contact me today to discuss a PIGSY painting for your home!
How to introduce art to children: 10 top tips and Enid’s top ten books about art for Children
Guest Blog: Introducing Art to Children and the top ten books about art for children
Guest Blogger Enid Bebbington (my wife!) writes about the ways to introduce art in to your children’s life. Enid also lists her top ten books choices about art for children - as a Librarian, she should know!
Bring art in to your child’s life!
After reading what a previous guest blogger wrote on the PIGSY website about her visits to London Art Galleries with her little son it got me thinking how awesome it is for us all to enjoy art through the eyes of a child. Children of course are the future of every industry and if we want art to survive and thrive (not that I think it won’t) we need to encourage the next generation to be art lovers just as much as this generation is.
However, as an art lover, I think seeing art through the eyes of a child helps to progress the craft and enjoyment of art. The engagement of a child, who has no boundaries, stimulates a conversation that in reality you don’t know where it will go or will take you. Additionally we all know that children have the biggest imaginations which could provide the biggest inspiration for artists!
With this is mind, I’ve thought about different ways that you can help and encourage the children in your life to be art lovers.
10 easy ways to introduce art in to the lives of children:
After a brain storming session with PIGSY here’s my 10 tips for introducing art in to the lives of your children
Art Museums & Gallery Excursions
Books - see the full list below!
Clothes - allow children to express themselves and their artistic spirit by letting them choose what clothes and colors they wear
Creating their own art - encourage your children to create their own art with art supplies in the home and then create a virtual art gallery on instagram in order to share it with family and friends around the world
Travel - research as a family where artists came from and then plan a vacation to this location to explore all of the places that the artist ventured around
Hang art in the home - and even give your children the option of hanging their favorite artist in their bedrooms
Make art a special treat - Sundays can be the day to visit an art gallery and then go for a hot chocolate after to look at pictures and talk about the art you just saw
Do you have an artist family member or friend? Set up a visit to their studio so your child can see how they work and what their artistic process is
Baking. Yes really! Bake a cake based on a piece of art. The Merrion Hotel in Dublin does a really great thing where they base their afternoon tea cakes on pieces of art in the hotel art collection. Really clever!
Face paint and dress up - children can experiment and explore art through these mediums
Enid’s Top Ten Books to introduce art to children & babies
“Life doesn’t frighten me” Edited by Sara Jane Boyers, with words by Maya Angelou and paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat
“Miffy at the Gallery” by Dick Bruna
“123s of Art” by Sabrina Hahn
“Andy Warhol. What colors do you see?” by Mudpuppy
“Pantone Colors” by Panetone
“This little artist: an art history primer” by Joan Holub
“Good night starry night (Peek a book book) “ by Amy Guglielmo
“Little artist board book set” by Emily Kleinman
“Keith Haring Pop Art 123” by Mudpuppy
“Yayoi Kusama Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn't Sorry” by Fausto Gilberti
“Women Artists A to Z” by Melanie LaBarge
“Life doesn’t frighten me” with Basquiat illustrations
11. I actually have an 11th, which is my favorite - it’s “Life doesn’t frighten me” which features art work by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a poem by Maya Angelou. I like it so much, that I have my own copy - it’s not just for children!!
Architecture for Babies
And here’s a little bonus book that you can add to the list. It is one of my go to books for gifts when friends welcome a new baby in to their life…….I think a book is always a good option as a gift for a new baby as clothing seems to be the preferred gift so it’s nice to give something a little different!
“Architecture for Babies” by Jonathan Litton
Final Bonus Tip - Join your local library!
My final tip for art in your family’s life is to join your local library. You’ll save a fortune on books and there are generally art activity sessions that the children can attend for free. Coupled with this many, libraries are connected to art galleries and show really great work by local artists.
And btw, do you know that Irish public libraries no longer charge fines and also have a universal card that you can use in both your home library and any other library in Ireland?!
The Ireland Funds Singapore - A Sense of Ireland
“A Sense of Ireland 2021” : The Ireland Funds Singapore
1st March - 31st May 2021
I’m proud to support and be part of an incredible line up of events for The Ireland Funds Singapore “A Sense of Ireland 2021”
“A Sense of Ireland” Events
An Irish Walking Tour: 14 - 28 March 2021
An Evening with……..Chef Andrew Walsh – Chef’s Table, Nua Irish Cuisine at CURE 16 - 25 March 2021
An Evening with……Loh Lik Peng, Managing Director, Unlisted Collection at POLLEN 26 March 2021
‘Exploring the Senses’ of Art from Asia and Ireland Art Exhibition 3 March - 31 May 2021
‘A Sense of Ireland’ Virtual Art Auction 13 - 28 March 2021
Irish Set Lunch at Butcher Boy 16 - 25 March 2021
Irish Afternoon Tea at Town, The Fullerton Hotel 16 - 28 March 2021
Art Events - Irish and Asian Art
The two events PIGSY is involved in are the ‘Exploring the Senses’ Art Exhibition and “A Sense of Ireland” Art Auction.
ArtXplor Gallery
The “Exploring Senses” art exhibition consists of the pop-up art gallery ArtXplor showcasing Irish and Asian art in Tanglin Shopping Centre in Singapore. ArtXplor is curated by Rosalind Lim, founder of ArtApart and Dr Stanley Quek. I have submitted multiple art works for this art exhibition and am proud to be part of a line up of emerging and established Irish and Asian artists (for full artist listing, scroll to the bottom).
The art exhibition runs until 31st of May 2021
Art Auction
The other event I am involved in is the “Sense of Ireland” art auction. I have donated an art piece for this auction and proceeds will go to The Ireland Funds. The auction launches on 13th of March with bidding closing on the 28th of March.
The Ireland Funds Singapore Beneficiaries 2021
For 2021, the beneficiaries of The Ireland Funds Singapore include worthy causes such as Dover Park Hospital, Eden Senior School for Children with Autism, St Luke’s Hospital, School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA), EQUAL, Love NILS and St Patrick’s School Gaelic Football
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Edit 5th March 2021
SOLD!
“Damned Flames” is now sold
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Artists
Ada Panopio
Sandy Liu
Vanessa Tria
Li Ching Heng
Yolanda Law
Bruno Tanquerel
Meng Rui
Ignatius Yeo
P. Gnana
HAKim
Yeo Kian Hwee
Geraldine Kieran
June Fairhead
Helle Helsner
Kerry Collins
Christine Bowen
PIGSY
ADW
Bernadette Madden
John Redmond
Neil Dunne
Ivan Daly
Isobel Henihan
John McNulty
Geraldine O’Reilly
EDIT 29th March
The auction part of this Irish Art showcase is now over (see PIGSY piece that sold - Planted Irony) but the exhibition is still ongoing until the end of the month so plenty of time still to buy these Asian and Irish artworks.
“Planted Irony” by PIGSY, sold as part of The Ireland Funds Singapore “A Sense of Ireland” celebrations
A new range of PIGSY Original Artworks
An accessible range of PIGSY Original Artworks
Original Art with Custom Frames
I’m excited to announce a new range of PIGSY Original Artworks. The new range is going to be introduced at my up coming solo art exhibition here in Malaga in La Casa Amarilla Gallery. The original art features a study on paper that is beautifully presented in a bespoke frame that is specified by me (my architectural experience is being used here - I have selected a simple frame with a classic aesthetic that will enhance any home) and which is then hand crafted to order here in Malaga. The framed piece below is now in transit to it’s new home in the county of Cork, in Ireland.
Accessible Art
What’s accessible about these new wave abstract-expressionism pieces, you ask? They are accessible for various reasons.
Firstly, the size of these art pieces.
Many of my art works are fairly large scale and you need grand walls to accomodate them. This new range features pieces that are approx. 330mm x 420mm so they are very managable in most homes. The size also gives you the opportunity to buy multiples and create a PIGSY gallery wall in your space. Or you can easily include one of these artworks in a gallery wall that you have already created (see example pictured).
Gallery walls in homes are something fun to do and are a very effective way of highlighting the art in your collection and showing it in it’s best light. A range of art works can be brought together in a cohesive fashion - sometimes it is advisable to use the same frame for all of your art but this is not always the case and a mix of styles in both the art and the frame styles can look marvelous.
As many of us are working from home currently, art gives us the opportunity to inject some color and personality in to our surroundings and it can make our homes a positive and fun space. These art works mean that you can update your home work space and make it an area that does not feel tedious but is instead an inspirational place of beauty where you are surrounded by art works that you enjoy and make you feel good!
Accessible Price
The other thing that sets these artworks as being accessible is the price of the art work. They are keenly priced including the frame. The price point that they are available at gives you the opportunity to start your very own PIGSY collection if this is the first PIGSY piece you purchase. Or you can decide to select multiples of these pieces in order to create a gallery or statement wall of PIGSY’s as outlined above.
Shipping Worldwide
Finally the other reason that they are considered to be accessible is that they easily ship worldwide - this comes down to their size and other factors. So you can easily receive this art if you are close by in Marbella, or if you are further afield in places like New York, Dubai or Singapore. It’s not a problem. PIGSY art has shipped all over the world to places in Ireland, Canada, USA and other spots and given the size of these works they are a breeze to get to you so you can hang them in a chosen spot in your home!
Made to order
Each of these artworks will be made to order. How this works is when you select a piece it will then be sent to the frame shop where it will be individually framed with the bespoke frame that is specified by Ciaran. This process will take about 7-10 days or so. After this it will then be shipped to your country, where ever you are in the world. It will be shipped from Spain. Unfortunately Spain postage is experiencing massive delays due to Covid and reduced flights, etc. All in all you should probably factor in a time frame of about 4-6 weeks for the arrival of your original artwork (or maybe a little more time, depending on where you are in the world and whether the art piece has to go through your country’s customs).
Good things are worth waiting for!
Contact PIGSY for further information
PIGSY Original Framed Art on Paper, now available: €420
Framed size 330mm x 420mm
Get in touch with me if you want to discuss anything further and for more information on this special new range of artworks please contact me
The smell of churros and hot chocolate wafts in to my studio from the café across the road
PIGSY talks with the Irish Times about his “year out” in Malaga
“The smell of churros and hot chocolate wafts in to my studio from the café across the road”
To read the full article online, click here
Seven Spanish Angels
Click play below to see the recent “Seven Spanish Angels” Exhibition by PIGSY presented by Designyard Dublin
CLIC Interviews Enid & PIGSY
CLIC Malaga
PIGSY and Enid in interview with CLIC Malaga - see below
PIGSY Art Exhibitions
To keep up to date and see when the next PIGSY exhibition is, click here
Key West: A drinking town with an art problem
Guest Blog: Key West - A drinking town with an art problem
Guest Blogger Amy, an Art Lover and Collector (Yes, she has a few PIGSY art works!) and a Florida transplant living in the tropical paradise of Key West writes about culture and arts in Key West.
When most people think of Key West, they think about Sloppy Joes, Spring Breakers and partying on Duval Street. However, as someone who lives in Key West I can attest that there is way more to do beyond drinking on Duval and a lot of it is cultural and literary activities. In this blog post I’m going to tell you about some of the arty and creative characters that at one time or another have spent time in Key West.
Key West means different things to different people and not all of us like to do the same things while on vacation so along with the above I’m going to list some of the amazing art galleries and cultural centers in Key West if you want to take a break from barhopping!
Famous Authors with a Key West connection
Tennessee Williams
Pulitzer prize winning playwright Tennessee Williams is known for writing “A Streetcar named Desire” and “The Glass Menagerie”. He lived in Key West for over thirty years and is thought to have written the final draft of Streetcar in the La Concha Hotel on Duval Street. His house was on Duncan Street and this was where he wrote “The Rose Tattoo” which was adapted in to a film in 1955 and starred Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani. To find out more about Williams, you can visit the Key West Tennessee Williams Museum on Truman Avenue which contains many Tennessee Williams artifacts including his typewriter!.
Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers born 1917 was an American novelist who published her first novel in 1940, titled “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” which was widely acclaimed and is still very popular and much read today. It’s an American classic to my mind. Carson McCullers was friends with Tennessee Williams and spent the Spring of 1955 with him here in Key West. McCullers died in 1967 at the very young age of 50 in Nyack, New York.
Truman Capote
Spent Winters in Key West staying and working on his writings in the very well known Pier House resort built by Key West native and developer David Wolkowsky. Capote wrote “Answered Prayers” in Key West.
Ernest Hemingway
Possibly the most famous Key West resident, Hemingway lived on the island in the 1930’s in his house on Whitehead Street which is now a museum. Initially he lived for a while, in what is now the Casa Antigua on Simonton, but, at the time Hemingway stayed there it was the Trev-Mor Hotel. He, and his then wife Pauline, were awaiting delivery of a Ford Roadster (a wedding present from Pauline’s Ungle Gus) but when delivery was delayed the car company said they would put them up in the hotel while they waited two weeks for the car to arrive. They fell in love with the island and stayed a further two years in the hotel and then went on to buy their house on Whitehead where Hemingway wrote numerous works, in the second story of the Carriage House on the property, including “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “Green Hills of Africa”. Born in 1899 and married four times, Hemingway died by suicide in 1961 but his legend lives on - not only through his novels but through the stories of his legendary drinking ability, boxing bouts and fishing trips. His house on Whitehead is a must visit in Key West and the tour guides have a dearth of stories to regale visitors on tours of the property……not to mention that you can catch sight of the 6 toed cats that can be traced back to Hemingway’s own 6 toed cat which are deemed by sailors to be a good luck charm.
Shel Silverstein
Not only a children’s writer, he is known for his cartoons and songs. He penned the Key West themed song, “The Great Conch Train Robbery” which was inspired by his girlfriend who drove a Conch Train tourist attraction in Key West. The Conch Train tour is a piece of Key West history having been showing tourists the island since the 1950’s!
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer.
Amy with Author Judy Blume in Ms. Blumes’ bookstore “Books ^ Books” in Key West
Judy Blume
It is a little known fact that the amazing Judy Blume lives on the island. A Key West resident for the last fifteen or twenty years or so, it's probably not a big surprize to learn that she is a massive contributor to the development of the arts, literature and culture on the island; she opened a book shop within an arts studio (where she works a couple of days a week! Well did, anyway, prior to covid). She, and her husband, George Cooper founded an arthouse cinema on the island - The Tropic Cinema.
And I've met her!!!! And she is wonderful, of course. So generous with her time and thoughts. She spoke with my sister and I for about twenty minutes - on subjects varying from why she opened a bookshop in Key West ("it was needed"), to abortion laws in Ireland, to asking us (ASKING US!!!!) what we thought of the U.S. cover of her latest book versus the European cover - and telling us how she preferred the European cover and how the process works of deciding on the covers etc etc.
Gore Vidal
Known for his writings, a commentator on culture and politics, Gore Vidal was openly bisexual and many of his books had LGBT characters.
Michael Mewshaw
Fiction and non-fiction writer Michael Meshaw (best known for his sports books, including “Short Circuit” and “Ladies of the Court” which both cover the topic of professional tennis) lives in Key West during the Winter time and spends the other time elsewhere travelling in Europe. His novel “Year of the Gun” was made into a film of the same name by John Frankenheimer in 1991.
James Leo Herlihy
Another friend of Tennessee Williams, James Leo Herlihy is the author of “Midnight Cowboy”, “All Fall down” and the “The Season of the Witch” and set many of his writings in Key West. Born in Detroit in 1927, Herlihy living on and off in Key West from the 1950’s to the early 1970’s and it was in the guest house of 709 Baker Lane that he wrote Midnight Cowboy in 1965. Herlihy died in 1993 in Los Angeles.
Wallace Stevens
Hailing from Pennsylvania, Wallace Stevens was a modernist poet born in 1879. He spent around 20 winters in Key West and penned the poem “The Idea of Order at Key West” in 1934, after publication of which he began to receive great recognition and by the 1950’s he would become to be widely regarded as one of America’s greatest contemporary poets and would be awarded a Pulitzer for his poetry. Stevens died from cancer in 1955.
Famous Artists in Key West
Winslow Homer
Born in Boston in 1835, artist Homer Winslow was a painter in the realist style, as well as being an illustrator. Homer was a landscape painter but is best known for his marine subjects. Having travelled in the States and also spending time in England, he spent many of his winters in different parts of Florida (including places such as Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West) and the Bahamas and also Cuba. He enjoyed the warmer weather (and fishing) in these parts and while in these areas he painted scenes of the sea and fishermen, mainly in watercolor but he also worked in oil throughout his life and also worked as an illustrator for the popular magazine, Harper’s Weekly. His 1903 “Key West, Hauling Anchor” is a timeless depiction of a sail boat in blue waters with vibrant billowy white sales. Homer died in 1910, aged 74, in Maine.
Mario Sanchez
Mario Sanchez was a Cuban-American artist born in 1908 and from the 1930’s he lived in Key West in the area called “Gato’s Village” which was the cigar-making neighborhood. Sanchez’ work specialized in wood carvings that he painted in vivid colors. The carvings generally portrayed everyday scenes of life in Key West. Defined as a folk artist he is considered one of the most important Cuban-American folk artist of the 20th century. Mario Sanchez died on 29th April 2005.
Wyland
While you may not know which artist painted it, you probably remarked on it, if you passed his amazing large scale marine based art work on the building that is currently the Key West Waterfront Brewery and was formerly the Key West Market down at the bight which is an apt setting for this mural featuring life size wales. Famous for his monumental whale paintings on public buildings (and even a gigantic art work on the hull of a Norwegian Cruise Liner ship), Wyland is a passionate environmental conservationist and is actively engaged in environmental outreach and eduction.
Ferron Bell
Bell is a really interesting artist that created works that can’t help make you smile when you see them. Along with appreciating his talent at creating art I really appreciate his wit, humor and cleverness in creating puntastic and quirky paintings. Bell was a self taught artist and died in Miami at the age of seventy in 2013.
Captain Outrageous
Captain Outrageous (1940-2007), with areal name of Norman Taylor, moved to Key West in the 1970’s after a career in Finance.
Richard Peter Matson
Born in Brooklyn Matson studied at the The Cooper Union Art School in New York City, followed by graduate studies at Yale University’s. After working in the field of advertising he arrived to Key West in the 1970’s from New York and lives and paints here now.
I actually attended the opening of his wonderful art exhibition “You don’t know Dick: The lesser known works of Richard Peter Matson” at the Custom House Museum in 2019. It was a really excellent and well presented exhibition showcasing the wide range of his exemplary talent - ranging from his oil paintings of houses, to his beautiful portraits, to his ads of the 1960s' during his career in New York city, working for J Walter Thompson, to his 1980's tongue in cheek greeting cards to his intricate decorative eggs.
Calvin Klein House, Key West - as photographed by me in 2019
Other Key West Notables and Celebrities
President Truman and The Little White House in Key West
Further Key West notables include President Truman who practically encamped to Key West for his Presidency and set up house in the “The Little White House” in the now Truman Annex. His wife was a fan of fishing and he was a fan of poker so the Key West lifestyle seems to have suited him! You can now visit The Little White House here in Key West and tours of the site are led by very knowledgeable guides who do a great job of recreating life in The Little White House during the Truman term.
Calvin Klein and his unique Key West House
Designer Calvin Klein also owned a house in Key West in the 1970’s. It is a very distinctive looking house at 712 Eaton Street. Previously called the Richard Peacon house it now seems to be referred to as the Octagon House.
Top Gun Actor Kelly McGillis
Actress Kelly McGillis left her mark on Key West, having set up a bar called “Kelly’s” in what was the original Pan Am Ticket Building in Key West. It has now changed ownership and currently a bar, restaurant and a brewery, with the possibly more apt name of “First Flight”.
Singer Songwriter Jimmy Buffett
You don’t have to be a “parrot head” to love the laid back island lifestyle music of Jimmy Buffett! And while in Key West you can visit his Margaritaville Restaurant on Duval Street and enjoy some great food and music. Here’s my twin sister and I in our Margaritaville shirts which we bought years ago in the store on Duval Street. They are practically vintage at this point!
Artist PIGSY and Key West
“Captain Outrageous vs. Frisbee King” by PIGSY
Featuring the subject of the art work doing that ubiquitous and widespread Key West thing of cycling freely down Duval Street without a care in the world!
And of course being that this is the PIGSY art website, I have to, of course, write about the connection artist PIGSY has to Key West. He first visited the island on his honeymoon in 2001 and then returned again in 2005 where he fell hard for the place. So hard, that he bought a vacation home to which he visited, from Ireland, numerous times until he sold it a few years later. Even after he sold his vacation home he continued to visit up until 2020 when Covid stymied travel from Europe to USA.
While on visits to Key West, PIGSY was inspired and conceived numerous artworks, including “Captain Outrageous vs. Frisbee King” and “Duval Flag”, which is an homage to the “Sea to Sea” rainbow flag which created in 2003 ran the length of Duval Steet in order to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the rainbow flag. “Duval Flag” was donated to the Key West Business Guild. PIGSY uses all of the places he has visited in the world as inspiration for his paintings, as a keen sailor he has travelled in the Greek and Turkish Isles as well as sailing around Elba off Italy - he also sailed in the Caribbean visiting islands like Bequia and Mustique.
PIGSY available in Effusion Gallery
PIGSY artwork is proudly represented in Key West by Effusion Art Gallery, centrally located on Duval Street. Find out more about Effusion Gallery, Key West here.
Art Galleries in Key West
Studios of Key West
533 Eaton St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Anna Sweet Art Gallery
513 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Zazoo Fine Art Gallery
622 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Key West Pottery
1203 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Gallery on Greene
606 Greene St. Key West, FL, 33040. United States
Harrison Gallery Key West
825 White St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Gingerbread Square Gallery
1207 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Custom House Museum
281 Front St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Key West Art Center
301 Front St, Key West FL 33040, United States
Art@830 Gallery
830 Caroline St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
LIK Fine Art Gallery
400 A Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Gallery 111
1012 Truman Aveenue, Key West
Key West Gallery
601 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Art on Duval
714 Duval St, Key West, FL 33040, United States
Effusion Gallery Duval Street
PIGSY art work is now available in Effusion Gallery at 701 Duval Street, Key West 33040, Florida.
See below for new PIGSY artworks available in Effusion Gallery in 2023.
And to see more about PIGSY’s art, you can watch the short video of his most recent art exhibition in Dublin, Ireland
Mirador de la Acazaba - Malaga
Back at the Mirador de la Acazaba
One of the best sights of Malaga
To celebrate St Valentine’s Day and for a nice activity to get up to in the morning we took a wander up the walkway and viewing point of the Alcazaba in Malaga at about 11am yesterday. The walk up to it on the corten walkway is serene and then the vista when you get to the top is absolutely supreme. It is fast becoming one of my favorite spots in Malaga and I highly recommend it if you are sightseeing in Malaga. We really enjoyed our time at the top and took in the full view and looked at all of the different sights, along with trying to see if we could see our own “casa”.
The photo here shows the view from viewing point on the Alcazaba which as you can see includes a view of the Roman ruins which include a theatre right in the centre of Malaga city.
Mirador de la Alcazaba : Visitor Information
Afterwards we strolled down at a leisurely pace and looked at the Roman ruins when we got to the bottom.
For information, tt’s free entry in to the Mirador de la Acazaba and it seems to be open seven days a week with Summer and Winter opening hours.
Winter hours are from October to May and are 10am to 5pm, while Summer hours run from June to September where it is open 10am until 8pm.
In order to get in you need to walk up to the steps to the left of the Visitors Centre (near El Pimpi) right next to the Cine Albeniz.
When we visited on Sunday, it was quite busy with lots of families and couples visiting the top. I’d imagine it is a lot quieter midweek - as it was when we visited a few weeks ago on a Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s some pictures of the Mirador de la Alcazaba, Malaga from our visit yesterday:
The stairway to the viewing point is an architectural gem. I’m a big fan of corten steel but I am also very impressed by the patterns in the laser cut steel. At every turn I am wowed by the architectural details - check out the corten steel nestled in to nature with the organic growth around it!
Happy Valentine's Day 2021
Valentine’s Day 2021
Say you Care
We’ve all had a strange time this year so if you have loved ones in your life, take the opportunity to tell them how much you care and love them. And although you may be physically distanced from them at this time, keep them close in your heart while also reaching out with a phone call, a text or a Zoom call.
And even if you forgot to send a card that you meant to send, it’s not too late to maybe buy a box of chocolates and drive to someones home and leave them on their doorstep with a note, as a surprise.
Be kind to yourself
Additionally, be kind to yourself. Take it slowly and have a day for yourself. Start the day with a special breakfast and a warm drink and savor the flavors. Get out and walk in your favorite park - enjoy small pleasures like seeing the snowdrops popping up. And then unwind over dinner with a good glass of wine followed by a chocolate dessert. Rid your mind of negative thoughts and delight in the present. Find a good feelgood movie to watch or read your favorite book. Basically have a “You Day” this Valentine’s Day.
Art Heart Bombardment
“Muy Fragil” - art about love and fragility - an anathema for 2021
In order to share a message of peace, positivity, hope and love, I flooded my instagram with images of “heart art”. It felt like the right time to do it given what we are going through and I hope it helps others stay upbeat and positive. This will end and we will be able to get on with our lives the way we used to.
But in the meantime, love is universal and love doesn’t have to change just because things around us are in flux. And if we feel a little “fragile”, know that there is always someone who cares and can help. Reach out…….someone will be there.
Hope
There is hope and a lot to be positive and optimistic about.
As you know my art work is neo-expressionist and I paint in reaction to what is going on around me. The news about the vaccine has given me great home and it spurred me to create this piece of work. The vibrancy of color in the piece reflects the hope and positivity that we can feel. So for today, I say be happy and most importantly LOVE!!
Share the love
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog today and if you like the sentiments or my art, please share the love and send on to others to read or share on your facebook or twitter. It would mean a lot to me!
And where ever you are in the world, have a great day!!
About Home Art Studios
Home Art Studio
As both an architect and an artist, I was very happy to collaborate with Real Estate Company Redfin and other artists on an article giving advice for creating a home art studio in your house. You can read the Redfin article about home art studios here.
Benefits of a Home Art Studio
As I was gathering my thoughts on what my top tips are for designing a home art studio, it got me thinking about what the benefits are of having an art studio in your house. For me, it’s been hugely beneficial as I tend to get fits of inspiration at varying times during the day and it means I can go straight to the studio and work immediatly when I get the impulse to.
Cost Saving
Although, I have always tended to rent additional studio space as well as having a studio at home, if you do decide to forgo the external space for a home art studio, it is definitely a way to save money. For me, I do like to rent a studio space in a shared area as I think it is worth paying a monthly cost in order to meet other artists and see their ways of doing things, along with possibly getting the chance to collaborate with other artists.
Better for the environment & sustainable
Depending on where your studio is located you may find that you need to use the car to get to it (this can be dependent on both the distance and also if you have to carry heavy supplies to your studio). So what is the closest location for a studio where you don’t need to use your car, but of course a home studio. Not commuting to your studio in a car is great for the environment……and good for your sanity too!!
Home Entertaining
I’m sure there are loads of other benefits to having a home studio, but one of the things I liked to do pre-covid was to make my home studio a really sociable space. I’d often have guests over for canapes and cocktails and a visit to my home studio. It always added something special for my guests when I was hosting them in my home!
Top Tips when designing your own home art studio
So if I have convinced you about the benefits of a home art studio, here’s my top tips to consider when designing the space or designating a room as an art studio:
1. Ventilation
Ventilation is really important so it is best to locate your home office in a well ventilated room that has large windows or doors that can be opened to let more air in. I use a lot of spray paint and oil paints and the fumes can be overwhelming at times. So being able to open a window at low level on one wall and at high level on the opposite allows natural cross ventilation. This method is cheaper and works better than mechanical ventilation. It's important to consider the neighbouring building along, the prevailing wind direction which in turn will position the windows within a design. A simple electrical fan at high level can help with the cross ventilation but I always try to eliminate this to save on cost and try let nature do it's thing.Some studios I've worked in have had dedicated rooms for spraying but this is more suited for stencil artists and the rooms can be badly ventilated so is a room that you don't want to spend time in.
2. Light
Diffused Natural Light! This is obvious but I'm always surprised with the amount of art studios that are designed as an afterthought with no light or the windows being located on the wrong aspect. Choose an area of your home that has an external wall or can be roof lit. Make sure that the windows or roof lights are good for diffused (north facing) natural light for the location of the art studio. Locating the window in the correct position i.e. on the north face (depending on where you are in the World!) means that you will get good light without glares and it means that the sun won't damage paintings that lie around in the studio for months or sometimes years which is common in most art studios.
3. Protection
Protect your wall and floor coverings. My home art studio is in a room that has a glass floor and is clad in birch plywood. I covered the glass floor and the birch plywood with a roll of plastic laminate that I change every year or so. But you can also use a tarpaulin to cover the floor and protect from paint. Protecting your wall and floor surface means that they will be pristine if you go to sell your house (and this will protect the home value). I find this good from a creative perspective too because sometimes I just want to start afresh with a new mindset (almost like starting a new canvas) and having a removable protective cover means that the walls don't cost me lots of money to repair when I want to strip down the studio to start afresh . It is also a fast process so I don't waste time on DIY when I want to start anew.
4. Whiteboard Wall
Create one wall in your home art studio as a full white board ( I use a blackboard myself because I like to write an idea and then rub it out So its a private message to myself it also reminds me of school which triggers memories). You can then use the whiteboard to brainstorm your next project or to jot down ideas as they come to you! Very practical but important.
5. Work Table
I love to have a large table where I can sit and mix paint and explore sketch studies. This is a luxury but if you have the space it's worth it. A design point is not to locate the table when it prevents you from executing your workflow without thinking. I paint on the ground as well as the wall so it's important that the table doesn't get in the way of throwing the canvas to the ground.
6. Fixings
Fix hanging battens to the wall at different heights for different size canvas. Make sure to leave one wall completely free or make sure that the battens are easily removable. This allows the artist to afix/roll out an unstretched canvas to the wall . I also use two old chairs to sit a stretched canvas on.
7. Group Items and organise
I'm a messy artist. What that means is that I paint fast and discard brushes, paint cans and any materials I'm using when done with them so as not to stop my flow of creativity. However, When I tidy up before I start painting or after that I group items in locations on the floor or wherever. This means that I generally know when an item is so I can find it fast so as not to stop my creative flow when I am in a state of concentration.
8. Temporary is better than permanent
When creating an art studio in your home it is best to install temporary structures in to the space. In order to protect your the value of your home, it is best to have non-permanent features in special rooms like these. Temporary features mean that particular spaces can be quickly and easily changed from one use to another depending on the requirements of each home owner. For example the room that is now my home art studio was used as yoga studio at one point by my wife. All of my art materials and equipment were easily cleared out in order to change it from an art studio to a yoga studio…..and then back again to a art studio. It’s best to have flexible spaces to make the most of your home and to protect it’s value in the future.
PIGSY’s Home Art Studio
The above are all common sense and easy to achieve once you understand what way you yourself as an artist works. Some items are specific to the way I work, but I think, in summary, what you need is ventilation, light, organisation and storage.
As you can see from the photo of my studio, I designed my space with tons of light and ventilation. I was building my art studio from scratch as I fully refurbished my formerly derelict Georgian property in Dublin, Ireland. Because it was pretty much a tear down and re-build, I could design it fully for my needs. I clad the studio in corten steel which over time turn a beautiful organic orange earth color. The roof is full glass and then there is more glass on the floor. This is where the protective covering was needed! I covered the glass floor in protective plastic sheeting and I also put this protective covering on the birch bly wood walls. In essence, your own personal needs will dictate how you create your own home studio.
Good luck with it all and happy creating!
Thanks for visiting my blog, do get in contact with me if you have any questions about my art.
Alcazaba Walkway and Roman Ruins in Malaga
Citadel Slope and Roman Ruins: Designed by OAM Architects, Malaga
Buried in the landscape of the slope of the Malaga Citadel is a superior example of architectural design by competition winning OAM Architects of Malaga. It’s a walkway that leads to the Alcazaba with views of the Roman Theatre. Constructed of Corten Steel, it is both earthy and elegant and sits sympathetically in the terrain. It is a magnificent piece of architecture and a must see if you visit Malaga. Because of the unobtrusive interruption on the landscape it is difficult to see but it can be accessed by steps to the left of the Roman Theatre Visitor Centre. As you climb the steps of the structure you can’t help but be in awe of both the honest creation itself, as well as the marvelous setting and the incredible views as you approach the top. At the top it is calm and quiet and Malaga city centre spans out below with views as far as the eye can see. Spring time is probably the perfect time to take a visit to this site as during the warm Summer you will feel the steps as you summit!!
Interest at every angle
In all honesty, I don’t think it is possible to take a bad photo of this structure. It delights at every angle. It’s a stunning example of a sensitive architectural intervention on a significant and historical tourist site. This is design that the public realm deserves and you will feel an air of tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of the city when you visit. It’s quite magical and very alluring.
I’ll leave the photos below without any further words as the images themselves do the talking……
