13 Jul 07 by Tony Mac Cárthaigh
Tony Mac Cárthaigh artworks

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"In the Wake of..No.1."

"...reworked a v.early disgarded piece yesterday. Made in 1996 the rework demonstrated that a deal of progress has been made over 10 years...beautiful in todays strong sunlight" July 18 '06.

"In the wake of ..No.2"
"In the wake of ..No.2"

another reworked piece...this one put up more of a struggle than No.1. now SOLD.....

"Rebirth at the Sacred Tree"
"Rebirth at the Sacred Tree"

listening to some music at the time and it happened that this one painted itself....this is not a sure fire method !!

"Interlacing..No.1."
"Interlacing..No.1."

some masking and dripping calls with this one.

"Interlacing..No.4."
"Interlacing..No.4."

as tendonitis prevented me from standing this one was made sitting down.

"In the Wake of..No.4."
"In the Wake of..No.4."

....a sparse addition to this series...

"Beach Ware...Blue"
"Beach Ware...Blue"

Oil + pen on board and porcelain fragment...small glazed pieces collected at tide line made their way into the work....

"Beach Ware...Golden"
"Beach Ware...Golden"

Acrylic and porcelain fragment on board...found glazed at tide line and into small series...

BEACH WARE - Pressé.
 BEACH WARE - Pressé.
BEACH WARE - Pressé.

This is a large detail of Oil/pen and porcelain fragment on board ..it has homage to the late Michael Farrell whose work i admire so much.....

"Red One"
"Red One"

utilising colour red

" MOON AXE IN REED BED "
" MOON AXE IN REED BED "

using bits and pieces ....being creative.

" MOON DANCE "
" MOON DANCE "

what else ?

" ELLEN "
" ELLEN "

..a family project...

" NATURE VIA FINE BONE...1"
" NATURE VIA FINE BONE...1"

...pastel on Arches paper...

" T'ai Chi Man "
" T'ai Chi Man "

....finished version of earlier " Snake Creeps Down "...more work on face/sleeve and addition of sky blue background...

" A PAINTED GIRL "
" A PAINTED GIRL "

..ideas on culture / loss of identity as well as the price that must be paid....

" PROGRESS ON TAP MAKES A PAINTED GIRL TRADE FORESTS "
" PROGRESS ON TAP MAKES A PAINTED GIRL TRADE FORESTS "

...ideas on culture / loss of identity and the price to be paid.

" Daughter "
" Daughter "

..posed by my then 14 year old daughter under difficult conditions in a draughty garage space.

" a Painted Girl moves into No.9 "
" a Painted Girl moves into No.9 "

..for anyone whose interested this is a more worked on piece than that previously posted.

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11 Nov 09 19:30

I'm interested. I like the cactus and the radiator in the background. I like it as the painting on the wall seems to be more in focus than "a Painted Girl...", (and that one doesn't even appear in your portfolio). I like the fact that it's obviously a painter's place, confusedly come into being, a bit like - hopefully artprocess could become one day. Here I feel you're allowing me to see how things for you really are, and it's not a business proposition of selling me the dream. That I do appreciate.
Reaching beyond, a painted girl and other works in a similar pictorial vein are intriguing as you appear to enter into your own personal language, developing and refining a visual syntax of ever more abstracted figurative elements. You seem to incorporate found objects in the oil, and toss in shorthand visual cues like cartoon references. Really, about this whole process I'd love to hear you talk - what is it you think you're doing (we all find ourselves asking this basic question)? Why is this stuff so meaningful for you. When is the painting successful - when does it just go all wrong.
AP will only become interesting when the artist loses interest in her/his audience, and begins a mumbling monologue online. It's really then when the visual work and the ever-so-difficult verbal work will begin to compliment each and finally make some wretched sense.

copy
26 Nov 09 20:41

Ok John-Paul, then why not reconstruct this site a bit to make it more compatible with your notions, personally I'm all for it. Do away with the Artist Portfolios or at least limit them to 10 or 12 pieces, but the Studio Logs HAVE to be interactive because it's very unlikely that your desired mumbling online monolgues will ever occur, the history of AP so far has proved that. Conversation prodded by comments does remain a possibility.

However I've got to tell you that you're among the few people (or masochists) that actually want their work or process to be criticized or challenged in any way. I can recall many students from my art school days actually quitting on the spot if an instructor actually had the guts to say a wrong word. That said, once again I'm with you on this one, let the artist defend his / her position even though it may prove to be an impossibility, most artists having only some very slight glimmer of an an insight as to what it is that they're up to or what they're after. However you'll never know until this site is slightly revamped as I am suggesting. And even though it may lose most of it's members in the process so be it, test it out and put yourself out of your misery. While you're at it, how about that interview capability someone once spoke about?

Nice work Tony!

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27 Nov 09 11:49

Hello you two...i'm still in the room. Yes i have a scattergun approach to image making and half the time don't know what i'm at. For most creatives taking on board criticism is the last thing they want to hear esp' in the light of the prevailing truism which holds that anyone's vision is just as valid as...etc.

copy
27 Nov 09 21:36

Ok Tony, heard and noted, please go to the following link to pursue this discourse

[LINK]http://www.artprocess.net/opentopic?topic_id=130&topic_title=Taking a renewed look at Art Process.&forum_id=6&forum_title=artprocess.com - Directions[/LINK]

" CHAIR BACK ABSTRACT...NO.1 "
" CHAIR BACK ABSTRACT...NO.1 "

..indust' filler / twigs and oil paint on the back of a disgarded chair.

" WAITING for the PRESIDENT "
" WAITING for the PRESIDENT "

..3 girls..political demo..1980's..Pres.R.Regan.. This is just a detail of a larger work.

" PEOPLE AT AN EXHIBITION "
" PEOPLE AT AN EXHIBITION "

.. oil on a torn piece of arches paper ..

" MONK & ME "
" MONK & ME "

.. a tonsure at my shoulder ..

" TAGANN DEIREADH LE GACH RUD "
" TAGANN DEIREADH LE GACH RUD "

... all things must pass ... a triptych

Saint Laurent 1964
 Saint Laurent 1964
Saint Laurent 1964

.. my take on how Art influenced Fashion..

"a Dinosaurs Tooth and a piece of Orpens Glass"
"a Dinosaurs Tooth and a piece of Orpens Glass"

..collected and found objects ....

BONES OF AUTUMN..detail 1
BONES OF AUTUMN..detail 1
BONES OF AUTUMN..detail 1

..a detail .. from a work on canvas

BONES...series
BONES...series
BONES...series

.. a detail from a larger piece...

the "BONES OF AUTUMN"..series
the
the "BONES OF AUTUMN"..series

...a detail...

"Bones of Autumn" ..a series.
"Bones of Autumn" ..a series.

...one of a series of painted construction type work ...

" My sister says its got a Santa Fe feel "
" My sister says its got a Santa Fe feel "

... a once off .. its in the title ..SOLD.