Creating something of quality, beauty and substance requires planning, patience, thought and commitment

Any kind of creative or skilled process demands great attention to detail, passion and belief. When these three things are in place the results can be truly inspiring. For an artist this is no different. Much of the work that’s involved is done without you ever seeing it or knowing about it; painting can be a small piece of a large jigsaw – even if it is the most important by a mile.

To get more of an idea about what goes on, here are the processes I go through to get a concept from inception to delivery (and assume that I have already thought about the structure of the painting for weeks in advance):

Preparation:

Decide on what colours to use | Place an order for paint | Decide on the size of the piece; Order and collect stretcher bars (1-2hrs) | Buy a non-porous membrane sheet | Check application tools | Stock check thinning mediums | Buy staples | Drink coffee | Eat cake | Cut a piece of flat canvas to oversize | Charge iPod | Buy plastic tumblers | Fit new filters to breathing mask

Painting:

Mix all the paints | Arrange all the tools | Have a slice of cake | Paint (hooray – at last!) | Move to drying area | Clean all tools | Put paints away | Re-Cycle leftover paint | Tidy and clean studio

Finishing:

Assemble the frame | Square off the frame | Position canvas in final position and check all sides | Stretch and staple (1-2 hrs for around 150 – 300 staples per piece) | Take photographs (up to 1hr) | Trim excess canvas from the inside of the frame | Sign and name the painting on the reverse | Final QC check for indentations, rippling or flaws and correct if required | Final check on stapling quality (usually with the help of a big hammer)

Posting onto the site:

Download all photographs to PC | Sort through around 100 to find nine good ones | Crop and resize images and save for Web Optimization | Choose three room settings to place examples in | Optimize these images for Web too | Open site Content Management | Create new post | Insert images and create a thumbnail gallery | Place all ALT tags on images | Embed copyright watermarks | Insert titles, tags and SEO meta data | Write engaging and descriptive content | Decide on price | List all sizes and materials used | Program Shopping Cart with new information | Have a slice of cake | Choose a site category to list it in | Upload everything | Check everything

Post-painting jobs:

Update Sitemap | Create, print, sign and hologram the Certificate of Authenticity | Post to Facebook and Twitter and other networks | Create content for the mailing list | Test page for Caching Speed, readability (Flesch Scoring) and that everything works | Check stats after one week | Check for Google crawl and indexing point | Check and revise SEO meta-data after two weeks

I can easily go through fifty individual component processes to get just one painting onto my website. Painting the actual piece is a small part of a very large logistical system; all with the focus of creating the best quality art I possibly can. I haven’t included what happens when I take paintings on the road to visit clients. Then the whole process begins again with selecting, packing, loading, driving, hanging, wrapping, loading driving and unloading again – usually all in one day!

A little love and a lot of care will always translate into quality.
Effort will always equal reward. More of one brings more of the other. In the end, a complete and unique art ownership experience doesn’t come cheap, so next time you see an artists’ original work think to yourself what lies behind it and why they ask the money they do for it.

More often that not it will help you appreciate the art can be so much more than just a painting or a piece of sculpture – what you are really buying is a piece of someone’s life; always a difficult thing to place a value upon.

I can’t ever recall not painting to music in some form or another, even if it’s a random radio station. I don’t have any preset playlist or particular genre I choose; instead I’m normally happy to hit the Shuffle button and see what comes out. I like the idea of this as music can shape our ideas into something truly inspiring.

At the core of my listening preferences are a few selected artists that will normally end up playing at some point during the creative cycle. For me, these artists and their music form a core of all the things I hold closest to my art. Expression, freedom and an ability to get lost in whatever you’re doing.

In some ways I tend to listen more to the melodies , phrasing and tonal characteristics of a tune over the lyrics. I’m not that good at remembering words anyway so they are often a secondary consideration. However, there are always significant tunes in anyone’s library that hit you at the deepest level every time you play them – both in terms of musicality and lyrics.

 

I’ll save Michael Buble, Rachmaninov, Thin Lizzy, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Sugarland, Pink Floyd, Muse, Mozart, Coldplay, Run DMC and Frank Sinatra for another day! Then there’s Irish Folk music plus the Blues… think I need a lie down!

Imagine  that your puberty-ridden world is about to be challenged by some guy who throws paint around for a living. The prospect of having to sit around on a cold floor listening to some 40- something has-been drone on about  colour and stuff, in some tedious monotonal blurb is almost too much to bear. No wonder you hate school so much.

Your teacher has been trying for weeks to get you excited about the arrival of an artist but still you can’t raise so much as a derisory scowl.

And then, the day of days comes. You are instructed to bring your old clothes to change into (as you might get messy) but not even the thought of casting aside a uniform in a defiant demonstration of self-expression can get you suitably enthused. As you gather in the corridor by the big sports hall you catch sight of a bald guy carrying bags and boxes.

At first you are curious about the two big paintings sat on silver easels at the front of the hall and wonder if you should ignore them or go and take a closer look – but then there’s the presence of ridicule abounding from your friends to consider. Just as you take your place he introduces himself and asks for two volunteers. Oh you hope you don’t get picked, you couldn’t bear the shame of it. Fortunately he picks the class jokers who quickly turn into a comedy double act, giving everyone carte blanche to poke fun and ridicule. Mind you, as he sticks the names ‘Boris’ and ‘Doris’ on these two lads there is a profound warmth taking over the room.

Across from the vast expanse of bright blue sheeting and huge strips of blank, crisp canvas you can see your teacher, looking interested, excited and perplexed in equal measures. What’s going on? This all seems, well, a bit mad doesn’t it? The artist talks about what he does for a while then asks the volunteers to start opening pots of paint. You can vaguely hear some music playing but it sounds like a throwback to something your dad might listen too. Jeez, two hours of this to put up with.

And then everything changes

What? You thought that everyone used brushes or painted things you recognise? Is that all you’ve ever been shown? Skills are learned with pastels and watercolours, accuracy and perspective are essential in any artists’ toolbox but this, surely this is not painting right? I mean, you can see nothing but sticks and spoons and paint flying around the place. What is this guy doing? Suddenly you find yourself very quiet and attentive as the melee of movement and sound becomes ever more involving. You can see him twist and turn and gesture towards the people sat before him. Actively encouraging participation and questioning as he goes. You’re suddenly very aware that you’re going to be doing this in a few hours – doing this for real, on your own piece of board – and not a small one either. Feel a bit cock-sure of yourself now do you? Thought so…

As your comrades fall victim to the fumes of the paint you stay sitting, knowing that you are being entertained for sure but also taught. You find that you are thinking about why he places paint where he does and what happens when you do certain things. The clock counts down. The Assembly is finished. Now it’s your turn. Now you get to paint.

Free from the shackles and authority you turn your head towards the sky and breath in the taste of freedom and the open air. Today, right here is where you create your own expression for perhaps the very first time. You’re going to prove to yourself that you don’t need anything but desire and the ability to throw away your ego to be consumed by something that seemed so wrong just a few hours before.

You twist, throw, spread, question and evaluate. Picking colours and tools to suit your mood. Teachers, officials and even the Principal come round to see what’s going on – oblivious to what this feels like from the other side. You feel compelled to ask them what they think and they are stunned by the results – just as you are.

Your painting tells you it is done. In a beautiful moment of completion you have done something you never thought was possible. The artist comes over to your group and begins to get very animated and passionate about  arcs, splatters and shapes. He gets sucked in by the amazing textures and colours that you, and your friends, have produced.

After lunch you return back to the hall, hands covered in paint that won’t come off. A trait you share with your fellow artist comrades. Your bond is now shared. Your chains cannot be broken. You will always be part of a day that produced something very special. You listen intently as he picks out a few pieces from the masses that are laid out on the floor to dry; picking his way on tip toes deftly though the array of colour that lies beneath him. You hear how he is proud of what has happened on this day, how he is staggered by what you have all accomplished. Suddenly you find that words no longer matter. And that’s exactly how it should be.

45 pieces of outrageous, beautiful and brave Modern Art that would grace the walls of any gallery or open space.

45 weary but genuinely surprised students who realised that they can do things very special with a little push in the right direction.

45 examples of belief in oneself and in others.

One unforgettable day

If you would like to book me for an Art Educational Experience day that gets your students and pupils fully interactive with their own art then please Contact me using the link at the top of the page.

One major UK event boasts spaces for 1200 artists’ works from anyone resident in the UK. It carries significant weight with a prestigious name, airtime on television and can be a sign of recognition for the lucky few who get accepted. However, all is not what it seems. The actual number of slots for people like me is far less than those claimed, partly due to the usual stagnation of a network of favourites and names that get to curate their own artists’ works instead. Those that are left get whisked past a panel of cobweb-ridden philistines who are out of touch with anything but the most shocking or most mundane of artforms and genres.

Your entry fee and transporting costs would be better spent with a children’s charity or a local hospice than being squandered on the notion that you are going to be the next Hirst or Emin

Then there’s the stress of waiting for the acceptance or rejection correspondence. And worst of all is knowing that some crusty fuck-head thinks that what you do is NOT good enough for others to see. This very principle is wrong at the most basic of levels.

Who are they to tell me I am not worthy of being shown?

All open-submission contests and exhibitions are shameless popularity contests and nothing else. These have sod all to do with art and everything to do with money and the number of votes a piece of art can get. That’s like X Factor for art. What a great travesty that we have to reduce aspiring artists of all ages to a procession of wide-eyed wannabe’s because they are hoping to get exposure and sales. For a few this will work but for the rest of us it never will. Art should not be a about the number of votes you can win. When was the last time you went out on a sunny day into your local park, dropped a canvas on the grass and started painting?

Get real. Success with your art will have little to do with what you get from these competitions. Sure they can provide a platform to showcase your amazing work but they can also be very demotivating too.

There are no substitutes for 20 hour days. FACT.

If you loosen your grip for a second it can all start falling away from you. I sell paintings. I hand deliver most of them. I take art to people and hang it in their own homes. This works, very well. But it’s hard graft. I know a number of artists (without any online presence) who work three hours a day, don’t know their market and don’t do anything to promote themselves and they wonder why they can’t pay their mortgage. Is it really that difficult?

I have no magic wand, no secret to selling art and no winning formula to share with you. I just work ridiculously hard seven days a week. I stress about where the next piece will come from, worry that I will never sell another piece and get frustrated when I throw away one canvas for each one that looks good. I frame and staple until my thumbs bleed, I lie awake at night thinking about new directions and off-shoots for turning what I do into other forms of work. We all have a unique style and there is a market for all art. If you don’t believe that then stop because you are wasting your time.

You just have to believe that what you are doing is right. You don’t need art competitions to do that. They can help if you are one of the lucky ones but pinning your aspirations on the nod of a judge’s head can do more harm than good. Besides, becoming determined and resilient makes your art turn a corner. It shapes the very creativity that pours from your fingers. It makes your art better.

This year I have not entered two of the major UK art exhibitions, I have chosen not to do another Saatchi showdown (don’t even get me started on that one) and I have rebuked approaches from two galleries who seem hell bent on screwing me on price and control even before they have seen my work for real. I told them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine

Being scammed, manipulated and bullied by galleries, art judges, online gallery websites and people who think they know what my work is about fills my heart with great sadness and my head with determination to dispense with these arseholes altogether. I don’t need them and I will never need them. This bourgeois network of Neanderthals is dead in my mind. Too much of our energies gets put into this kind of pseudo-networking instead of going into promoting our websites and artwork which, after all, is our shop window to the world. Make it work for you.

Art is for people – all people. It is at the core of who we are – along with love, war and peace. It doesn’t belong on faceless white walls in austere galleries nor should it be beyond the reach of those who want to own it.

Thanks for reading. Share if you enjoyed my rants about the ‘system’…

“CP the Artist” is a visual artist with an ever changing concept that is not restricted to any category of medium, type or style. He can be urban art, digital art, traditional, modern, commercial art, abstract, classical, etc. His forte is digital painting, graphic art, traditional oil and acrylic painting.

Constantly exploring new ways of capturing single creativity and art form. In the words of Vincent Van Gogh, “I am still far from being what I want to be. But with God’s help I shall succeed.” CP dares to have faith and confidence, thanks to his Creator.

Being a self taught artist all his life, art is in him. As he says “I want my art to portray the essence of life, love, tragedy, spirituality, self expression, hope and purpose. My appreciation and motivation for this artistry is part of my goal of having a long lasting relationship with you the viewer”

Well, looking at some examples of what he produces I don’t think there’s any doubt of that.

To see more of his work please visit www.cptheartist.com

“While shepherds watched their flocks by night
All seated on the ground,
The Angel of the Lord came down,
And Glory shone around.”

The Union of Shepherds has complained that it breaches Health and Safety Regulations to insist the shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided. Therefore, benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs must be available. Shepherds have also requested that, due to inclement weather they should watch their flocks via CCTV cameras behind centrally heated shepherd observation huts. The Angel of the Lord is reminded that before shining his/her Glory all around, the shepherds must be issued with glasses capable of filtering out any harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory lighting.

LITTLE DONKEY

“Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road,
Got to keep on plodding onwards, with your precious load.”

The RSPCA has issued strict guidelines with regard to how heavy a load a donkey of small stature is permitted to carry. Also in the guidelines are permitted feeding breaks, and at least one rest break in a four-hour plodding period. Due to the risk of pollution from the dusty road, Mary & Joseph are required to wear facemasks. The ‘Little Donkey’ has expressed his discomfort as being labelled ‘Little’ and would prefer to being simply referred to as ‘Mr Donkey’. Comments upon his height or otherwise are considered to be a breach of his equine rights.

WE THREE KINGS

“We three Kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain,
Moor and Mountain,
Following yonder star. ”

Whilst the gift of Gold is still considered acceptable – as it may be redeemed at a later date through such organisations as ‘Cash4Gold’ etc – gifts of Frankincense and Myrrh are not appropriate due to the risk of oils and fragrances causing allergic reactions. An acceptable alternative might be a gift voucher. It is not recommended that traversing Kings should rely on star navigation, and would advise the use of AA Routefinder or Sat Nav. Both can provide the quickest route and advise on fuel consumption. As in the case of Mr Donkey, the three camels require regular rest and food breaks and facemasks for the three Kings are obligatory due to the likelihood of desert dust disturbed by the camel hooves.

THE ROCKING CAROL

“Little Jesus sweetly sleep, do not stir,

We will lend a coat of fur,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you, ”

Fur is no longer appropriate wear for small infants due to the risk of allergy and for ethical reasons. Therefore, false fur, a cellular blanket or, perhaps, micro-fleece material should be considered alternatives. Please note that, only persons who have been subject to a Criminal Records (CRB) bureau check and have enhanced clearance will be permitted to rock Baby Jesus. Persons must carry their CRB disclosure at all times and be prepared to provide three forms of identification before any rocking commences.

JINGLE BELLS

“Dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh,
Over fields we go – laughing all the way. ”

A Risk Assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered safe for members of the public to ride. The Risk Assessment should also consider whether the use on only one horse in appropriate – particularly if passengers are of larger proportions. Permission from landowners must be gained before entering any ‘Open Fields’. To avoid offending those not participating in the venture, it is required that only ‘moderate’ laughter is used and not at a noise level likely to be of nuisance to others.

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER

“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows,
All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games. ”

You are advised that, under the Equal Opportunities Policy, it is inappropriate for persons to make comment upon the ruddiness of Mr R Reindeer. Name-calling contravenes our Anti-Bullying policy, and further to this, the exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from any reindeer games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against anyone found guilty of this offence. A full investigation will be implemented, leading to imposing sanctions such as a ban from hanging up stockings or enjoying Christmas dinner.

AWAY IN A MANGER

“Away in a manger – no crib for a bed … ”

Refer to Social Services immediately

10. If I wanted a painting like that I would paint my own

Then be my guest. What paints are you going to use then? I take it you have used paints before to produce abstract art? Mmmmm…..Let’s see. You will need canvas. I assume you know all about the weave densities and primer properties? Leaving paint aside what kind of painting are you going to produce? You are obviously confident about what colours to put together so it should be easy for you to stand in front of a blank canvas and create something you will want to look at every day?

9. My five-year old could do that

I have no doubt that they could. If I could throw off the chains of adulthood and revert back to a pure state of innocence, like a child, I am sure that my art would develop into a place I can only dream of. Having said that, feel free to bring yourself and your offspring to my studio and come and prove it. You can’t? Quel Surprise…

8. You should paint smaller pictures? I can’t put a large painting in my house

Yes you can. You can do anything you want to. Big is good. You wouldn’t hesitate to put patterned wallpaper up all over you wall would you so why baulk at the thought of filling a wall with a painting? It makes no sense

7. Have you got one like that one but different?

Sod off. What’s the point of that? If I have a different one then it’s not like the one you like is it? I mean, come on, where did you last leave your common sense?

6. You will never get anywhere in the art world without a Gallery behind you

Bollocks. I position well on all major search engines and do absolutely NO marketing, NO advertising and NO promotion in any Gallery because I can sell my work all day long without them. The Gallery network, on the whole, is stuffy, pretentious and elitist. They charge too much money, rip off their buyers and leave artists stranded for months without payment. Public galleries and museums are brilliant, private galleries are dead meat – I chose not to waste £1000 on a ‘limited edition’ print by some Joey I’ve never heard of.

5. What is it supposed to be?

It’s not supposed to be anything. It is whatever you want it to be – and that will change every time you look at it and with your passing moods and emotions. If you look for representations you will miss the point. Shapes will appear and forms will be recognized but this is entirely a personal thing. Don’t think of it as being anything but think of it as being everything

4. Jeez, are you some twisted retard? What the hell made you paint that?

Thanks for that. Firstly, I am not retarded – I would estimate that by your comment my IQ is roughly twice yours therefore you may want to consider revising your previous statement a little. When I paint I am remarkably empty of most thoughts. I don’t paint when I am sad, I don’t paint when I am upset and I don’t paint when I don’t want to. Painting under these circumstances doesn’t work (well, actually I’ve found out that it does but we’ll do that post another time!) Mostly though it comes out like pants if you do or it gets so twisted and gnarled up that I have to spend the next few months trying to explain to shitheads like you what was going on when I painted it – which is as pointless as giving the Sistine Chapel a coat of brilliant white emulsion.

3. You are not an artist in my opinion

And you are not a human being my friend. Ergo: the truth hurts. Are any of us artists or are we all artists? Who cares? Jealousy is a cruel mistress. Accept that.

2. Can you do me a painting that has red and blue and green and yellow and that is 1.1 metre square and is 28mm thick and has a house and some sheep and some abstract people standing on a hill and one of them must look like my dad?

Errr….No. Absolutely not. May I suggest that you paint it yourself?

1. Not being funny mate but I could paint that in ten minutes

No you couldn’t. Despite your masculine bravado and pathetic, over-inflated sense of self-importance you couldn’t. You have not spent years learning about paint and what it does, you know nothing about the properties of canvas, primers, mediums and application techniques. You know nothing of colour, shape, forms and texture. You would not understand compositional balance if it smacked you in the face.

To be honest I wonder if you could even find your own ass in ten minutes, let alone paint an abstract work of art. But I’ll give you the chance to come and prove your claims by inviting you to paint with me at my studio, where I will pay for all your materials. Come on; let’s see how big your balls are? Oh you’re busy? Oh well now that is a surprise isn’t it you fucking ignorant twat-faced retard.

My racing snail is not winning races anymore so in an effort to reduce his weight I removed his shell, hoping this would make him more aerodynamic. It hasn’t worked as I expected though – if anything it’s made him more sluggish…

Blonde wife is painting the house when the husband walks in and can’t believe she is doing so well – but to his surprise the sweat is pouring off her so he asks:
“Why are you wearing leather jacket and an anorak?”
She replies “Hello? Read the tin! It says for best results put on two coats…”

Took a woman home from clubbing the other night and after a few drinks we went upstairs and started taking our clothes off when a voice from the bed said:
“I hope that’s not that fat bird from last week?”
The shocked woman said “What the hell was that?”
I apologised and told her it was the bloody memory foam mattress…

The lead actor in our local gay pantomime ‘Aladdin’ was bum raped on stage last night..
To be fair the audience did try to warn him

A magician worked on a cruise ship. The audience was different each week so the magician did the same tricks over and over again. There was one problem though – the ship’s parrot, who saw the shows every week and began to understand how he performed every trick. Once he knew how it was done he began shouting out loud in the middle of the show:
“Look, it’s not the same hat” or “Look, he’s hiding the flowers under the table” or ”Why are all the card the Ace of Spades?”
The magician was furious but was powerless to do anything about it as it belonged to the Captain.
…then the ship sank…
The magician found himself on a piece of wood floating in the middle of the sea with, as fate would have it, the parrot.
They stared at each other with hatred but never uttered a word. This went on for a day and another and then another. Finally on the fourth day the parrot could not hold back any longer and said
“OK, I give up, where’s the f*****g ship?”