THE KINGSINGER CANVAS PART 3

This is how the big Kingsinger canvas looks now, or how it looked when I finally gave in to the dark earier tonight. Can't really see any of the colour or the detail here in the photo (and looking at work on line is never right anyway) but i just wanted to keep the evolution going here on this blog, as much for myself as anyone who may pass by and read any of this... Whole load of new pieces that need to photographed properly and put on line, lots of work ready for the month ahead at Patrick's Harvist...

Lot of people already asking me to put on a second Affordable Fair before we've even got to the first one, lot of really good artists making contact, don't want to just do another one though, don't want to turn it in to some kind of monthly production line. Maybe another one for August? Do something else with the space for July? I have this idea for a show of 100 smallish paintings, don't want to end up doing gallery things all day everyday though, already eating at my painting time...

Just heard on the radio that Louise Bourgeois has died. What a long creative life... guess most people will know her from her giant spiders...

100 paintings has to be a stupid idea doesn't it? 100 different sizes and shapes all gather together over the walls of the space

Really like Mimi's work...

Really like Mimi's work, love her energy... http://mimisioux.blogspot.com/

An exhibition

KINGSINGER CANVAS LEAFGROWTH PROGRESS PART 2

The ongoing progress of the still unfinished canvas wall that is the Kingsinger canvas (previously blogged about further down, retrieved from the bins of a former member of 60/70's vocal group The Kingsingers). There's quite a few in between photos between this part 2 and the previous part 1, saving it all with the idea of animating it, there again maybe not. far too easy to get distracted by animation and photoshop and computers rather than raw canvas and wet paint...

Colours are a little washed out in this photo, just want to document it for myself here (and You if You want to see it) , ye s I know it isn't finished and I really should keep it all to myself, but I do see these ever evolving canvas pieces the same way i view the ever changing walls full of layer after layer of graffiti marks down at the Southbank... Walk pass this canvas again next week and it will have changed once more

Things really coming together with the gallery space now, getting rather excited about the forthcoming PATRICK'S HARVIST AFFORDABLE ART FAIR - Harvist is spelt that way because of one of roads the cafe and gallery space is on the corner of... people seem genuinely impressed with the line up of artists for the first fair, can't wait to see it all up in the space.

Going to follow things up with a solo show of my own work, some may question that but I feel like I have a good body of new work to show, feeling confidently excited about filling the space, and I kind of want to be the guinea pig and learn about the problems involved in solo shows at the gallery, rather have the problems happen to me that someone else I've brought in. But then MARIA SLOVAKOVA is going to be involved as well, Maria will take a wall, show some of her work (I really love Maria's paintings, one of the best things about running an art space is discovering new art and new people), Maria will also perform her music/poetry/soundscapes...

"We are performing a 30 minute set with Dean Firth on electronic soundscapes and Greg Hall on cello at the opening of Sean Worrall's Solo show that will also feature some of my paintings...See you there" said Maria on line just now..

The solo show will open on 17th June, more news very soon... Creative exciting times... Lots of good people making contact with their art and energy and.... keep it all coming, might take a couple of days for me ot get bac kto everyone, I will get back though...

PATRICK'S HARVIST AFFORDABLE ART FAIR

All coming together nicely, there's the poster we've just made, links to all the artists and such can be found on the Organ website here

those scissors get everywhere...

Washing line in the late evening sun.... those scissors get everywhere... busy day today... no time for No Soul today....

found itself in an apple tree...

Another new canvas piece that today found itself in an apple tree... Good use has been made of the Saturday light and the sun...

This year's hop leaves are now out and

This year's hop leaves are now out and that wall of leaves canvas that started life last year, and that has been documented here on this blog before, has put on some new growth today...

Are these pieces ever finished? Or pieces of Ever evolving street art that shouldn't be there forever? This one is another bigger canvas and is probably ready for a show that will probably happen after the Affordable Art Fair at Patrick's Harvest...

Could well be there's been enough leaf-growth for a show of my own?

Kingsinger canvas leaf growth progress

The great big Kingsinger canvas I told You about the other day, the one found outside Mr Kingsinger's house, one of those Ikea print things that Mr Kingsinger had clearly become tired of that suddenly found itself born again with lots of green leafshapes...

Today was the day to take it out and back and let more leaves grow on it... Work very much in progress right now... my personal wall full of ever evolving graffiti flavoured marks and shapes... leafgrowth as Spring threatens to think about Summer... More next week...

Really positive response...

Really positive response to the collective ideas, Affordable Art Fair and gallery space... Really don't like looking at art on line, must be done though and there;s some genuinely exciting connections being made, some artists I'm really excited about sharing space with. Really looking forward to exhibiting and sharing some of the work I've seen during late night web surfing sessions in the last few days

The first Organ currated Affordable Art Fair will happen at Patrick's Harvist cafe and gallery space here in London NW10 (Kensal Rise) in the second week of June. Looks like an opening view on Thursday 10th June, and then the fair runs through to the 13th with bands, music and good people upstairs in the cafe area, and... Exciting!

First artist invites have gone out, people are booking spaces, coming back to me with ideas and really getting the spirit of what I'm trying to do. True, it probably is Organgrinding again, with artists rather than bands and records and those awful creatures called booking agents that you have to deal with when you're putting gigs on though... Proper DIY and creative people pulling together...

So I put the word out about collectives, people started replying... lots of people... so I typed out some words, far too many words... and sent them to everyone, I'll put that reply here, so everyone can read it...

Here it is.....

Hello,

First let me apologise for this general (lengthy) generic e.mail, don’t really want to be this impersonal or indeed this long-winded, needs must though, there’s suddenly a lot of art-shaped enquires and gallery e.mail flying my way. This is in response to your e.mail about either the new gallery space or the idea about an arts collective that I recently threw out there on to the web...

The information here is for you to use and respond to. I’m open to all ideas, all suggestions and whatever you wish to throw back at me, come get involved please, start a dialogue...

I’m Sean Worrall (although some of you may know me as Sean O in indeed Sean Organ),

A BIT OF BACKGROUND... Organart was a small group of painters, sculptors, film-makers and animators with a shared love of underground alternative music and the culture that evolved around that music. The collective started in the late 80’s, started by a small group of then art students. It included an alternative music magazine called Organ that gained quite reputation during the 90’s and the early part of this century. I won’t bore you with all the history now, but Organ and indeed Organart has evolved and carried on in one successful form or another right through to today. The approach has always been DIY, a alternative punk ethos, a roll up your sleeves and get it done attitude, a creative outlook all fuelled by the contradictions of a fine art background and a whole lot of street art, punk, Factory aesthetics, (both Warhol and Manchester versions) an occasional bit of healthy high art pretentiousness and... well...

Along the way (as Organart) we’ve made A series of TV shows, radio shows (we’ve had a weekly show radio on London arts station Resonance FM for a few years now). We ran a rather successful alternative record label, we’ve put on art shows as well as something like a thousand alternative rock gigs featuring various shades of bands in venues both big and small, all over London... Not really wanting to turn this in to a life history, just filling you in with some background so you get a vague idea as to who I am and where I’m coming from here...

Over the last couple of years I’ve scaled back pretty much all my musical activity, we’ve closed the record label, stopped putting on live gigs, scaled down the Organ magazine and I’ve gone back to my real passion - throwing paint at canvas, at cardboard, at the occasional wall. Organart still exists but scaled right back to a core of two of us originals, myself and Animator and fellow Resonance radio DJ Marina Anthony, along with one or two contributors, collaborators and such...

I’ve been painting quite frantically over the last two years, exhibiting in East London galleries, the occasional West London space, street events, art fairs, experiencing the same frustrations as everyone else in terms of galleries, the rules and such... Last week I threw up some on-line postings revolving around the idea of pulling together a loose coalition of artists - a new collective of motivated creative people to share ideas, share potential gallery space, to throw thoughts around, to combine and exchange information, experiences and resources...

Since I originally posted about the collective idea there’s been quite a few developments. Last week I went to check out some new gallery space over here in Kensal Rise, London NW10. I went in there with the idea of maybe just hiring the place and putting on my own show or maybe a group show for a potential collective or just a few like-minded art-makers... Came out with the (unpaid) job of gallery manager with freedom to run the space full time and to (within reason and with respect paid to the cafe upstairs..) do whatever I want in terms of putting on shows and inviting people it....

Not really sure if I wanted to be pulled in so far in terms of actually running a gallery, kind of got excited about the possibilities now though... And we do have lots of experience, we kind of know a little about what we’re doing in terms of PR, promotion and running events. (I’ve been rather shocked to see how artists are treated by galleries, agent and such here in London, I thought the music industry was bad but...)

THE GALLERY SPACE is underneath a really friendly cafe and venue called Patrick’s Harvist here in Kensal Rise, NW10 - 45 Chamberlayne Road if you curious, go have a look if you want, space is there now, coffee is good in the cafe, basement space is open although I will point out the the lighting in gallery needs some work right now and the way the current work is hung (and not really publicised) has nothing to do with us, we don't start doing things our way until until June).

I want to hit the ground running and get things rolling while the people who’ve offered the space and chance are still excited. I like to have lots of good energy and excitement running around these things – apathy is an enemy, we like to get things done here... So we’re going to start with something simple, something that will hopefully excite the owners, the public and the art community around here...


AFFORDABLE ART FAIR

We’re planing a three day “Affordable Art Fair” straight away. Date is second weekend of June, (before the football World cup distracts everyone). Three days of events, music, art fair in the gallery space downstairs (in terms of music, for those who know me and have listened to my radio shows, no it won’t be hard-boiled experimental punk rock noise, think more alt.folk acousticness, jazz...).

Space at the fair is available right now for people who want to get involved and maybe want to sell a piece of work or two.... this is very much a fine art thing, not so much a craft thing, there is a regular craft/vintage fair event being planed (indeed the first one happened last Saturday), so people who want to know about that ask me and I’ll give you the details of the people who are running that...

Right now, right away I want people who want to come be involved in having work in the Affordable art fair.

Dates: private view Thursday evening, 10^th June (art in the gallery space, events, wine, beer and such upstairs), open all day until around 10pm on Friday, with things happening upstairs on the Friday evening. Fair all day until late night on Saturday with outside daytime events in the garden space and things happening outside on the street (the gallery and cafe is on the main Kensal Rise high street – 45 Chamberlayne Road, at the top of Portobello, just over from Queens Park - interesting area, lacking in art right and ready for something like this. Latest James Bond was in the cafe yesterday, the area has become rather fashionable in the last couple of years, I suspect there may just be a few people who’d like to buy original pieces of exciting art around here.


So we kick off with the AFFORDABLE ART FAIR, and if that works and everybody is happy, we do more. Wheels are already in motion in terms of a follow up in the form of a two week group show for later in June, so talk to me about that as well, and then... more shows, more fairs, more.... I want to get people excited about the space, then we can do more and more, group shows, solo shows, 3d, photography, sculpture...

First things first, who wants to know more about the fair? Who fancies some space? We have 14 space available... get back for more details


THE COLLECTIVE IDEA? Still figuring that one out, kind of got overtaken by the gallery space this week... Feel free to come back to me with your ideas about the collective, I’m going to put a blog page up where people can post and bounce ideas about, post their thoughts and such... For now, I’ve put some thoughts on my “No Organgrinding Here” personal blog, feel free to go add comments and make yourself know to others if you wish


Right, time to pull together the Affordable Art Fair, who wants more details? I know you're now wondering about the cost, I'll be right up front, yes there will be a small (and I hope reasonable) fee for each artist involved, to cover the rent, the posters, the flyers, the PR, the time spent looking after the show and such... I'm looking at no more that 25.00 per artist... come back if you want to know more...

Sean Worrall

throwing ideas and galleries and affordable art fairs about... come get involved...

So now, where were we, this week has been taken up with talk of collectives, of gallery space, of DIY and doing things ourselves, raging against the art machine as it were... paint has hardly touched canvas (or cardboard or vinyl) this week, only Wednesday morning, paint must be thrown at least once a day though, thems the rules and some rules should not be broken... Hop leaves are out and ready to be painted...

So here's an update just for the record, blue vinyl, 7"blue vinyl, another bit of old ORG records stock, everyone who ever ran a small label must have loads of unwanted bits left over, I'm painting all ours and leaving it on the street... that one was a Dream City Film Club/Rhatigan split single, limited to 1000 but we only sold about 800 so... nothing is ever thrown away here, everything can be turned in to a canvas....

The Gallery space we are now working with is in the basement area of a friendly bohemian cafe/venue called Patrick's Harvist, good coffee, great looking cakes, really friendly people, a breath of fresh air is this part of NW10...

I really didn't plan to get involved in running gallery space but now it has happened I'm rather excited about the idea... After my years of putting on hundred of gigs (thousands, really think it got in to four figures, that's one hell of a lot of tedious sound checks, drummers, people counting to two, guitarist's egos, singers turning up late, fights, beer, broken stage drivers in hospital runs) , no, I really didn't want to get involved in putting on art events and being the one doing all the organising again... seems I must though, galleries in London really aren't that artist friendly are they, I'd rather do it all myself then take all their money grabbing crap...

So we start off with the simple idea of an Affordable Art Fair in early June, with bands, events, and four days of doing it all the Organ way (damn, more band soundchecks!). Loads of fresh exciting art in the gallery area.... all I need now is a whole load of exciting/excited artists to come join in. I want to make this a monthly event, got to make the first one work though. can't do that by myself...

And then there's the first group show straight after... two weeks of paintings on walls... four or five painters sharing walls, I'm one of the four or five, if you think your work fits on the same walls as mine then come yell... if you don't think it fits and you're thinking, no, I don't want to share space with all those leaves and that spray paint and almost (but not quite) out of control paint throwing, but you still fancy the space and taking advantage of our organising energy and publicity drive then please come talk to me about ideas for the space, for your show, your group show... I'm open to all ideas, all art, I have to respect the place, the people, the cafe so Ron Athey style naked upside down and bleeding type performance art I maybe just have to pass on with regards to this space right now... Wonder if Ron paints pretty flowers?

The Collective idea... still chewing on those ideas, if you have any add them as comments... say hello anyway, who are you lurking there... And yes, I did do the "Please Choose One" miniature pieces drop, I hid with a camera and spied on you taking them... well I was near by, not that hidden, they all went in about an hour, did it on the South Bank by the Thames, I'll tell you about it when I have a moment... must paint...

The Gallery Space is at

PATRICK'S HARVIST GALLERY SPACE
underneath PATRICK'S HARVIST CAFE
45 CHAMBERLAYNE ROAD
KENSAL RISE
LONDON NW10

Go have a look at it if you want, be aware though, the art currently hung in the basement was not hung by us, lthough I do rather like some of the work there, and I'm wel aware that I need to do something about the lighting before we kick off in June.... Actually, if you are going to lok at the space give me a shout, I'm just around the corner and I don't bite... right, sun out, time to sling paint...

THE DAFFODIL - Mixed media on recycled canvas

THE DAFFODIL - Mixed media on recycled canvas 60cm x 90cm (April 2010)

Just been reminded by You that i hadn't put a photo up of the final Daffodil, here it is, just for You... Thank You...

Recycled because the piece is painted on an unwanted untouched, (untouched besides by the hand of filthy weather), found on the street canvas - this one found and weathere-white in a pile of rubbish outside a house... I kind of like that idea lots more than going out and buying a new one, this is my idea of street art... find it on the street, paint it, put it back on the street...

NEW GALLERY SPACE...

NEW GALLERY SPACE... So us Organ team thought it was time for some action, had enough of how most galleries here in London treat artists. We've been looking for some space in a place where the people in control of that space have the right attitude to life, to art and the way of doing things. Most of these London gallery venues seem to be about nothing more than an operation in seeing how much money they can squeeze out of art makers. So we're looking at opening up spaces and doing things in a slightly more resonable and balanced way, First space is in a basement underneath a rather friendly cafe, over here on out home turf in NW10, Kensal Rise...

Motivated excited pro-active artists get in touch, organzine at aol dot com. First combined two week show is set for June, opeing night first week of that month. Come at us with ideas and vibrant energy...

motivated pro-active 2d artists/painters who want to collaborate

Organart is a long standing, compact, ever-evolving, small collective of alternative creative people - artists, musicians, underground gig promoters, bands, small press/zine makers, animators, radio show makers. Over the last 20 or so years, we've had many people come through and right now we're looking for fresh blood....

I know I said No Organgrinding here, but this is a touch of Organgrinding...

Today we're looking for a small band of motivate 2d painters/artists and this is something we've been posting elsewhere today...

We're North West London based and right now we're looking for motivated pro-active 2d artists/painters who want to collaborate in terms of exchanging creative ideas, energy, sharing gallery space, projects, the seeking out of alternative space to show/make work. We want a new collective of five to ten 2d artists to join us and to bring something of your own to the group.

You can be London based or you can come at us with ideas from wherever you are. All thoughts and ideas are welcome. Organart has been about in one form or another for over 20 years now (we're experienced when it comes to doing rather than just talking), come throw some ideas and get involved, come introduce yourself.

Gallery exhibition space and more waiting for those motivated enough and with a style and outlook that lines up somewhere near ours...

Contact me directly

I BELIEVE IN BOB & ROBERTA SMITH... (and Resonance FM)

Sunday is day two of the Resonance FM fundraising marathon. Here's five fresh pieces of still wet black (or blue) seven inch hand-painted vinyl that will be auctioned on air tonight somewhere after 9pm... Tune in and find out more via www.resonancefm.com where Bob And Roberta Smith is anchoring the second day and we shall be on air with Cardiacs goodies and some other bits to auction. There's already some gig tickets for Boredoms at the London Forum that you can go bid on...

Come on, support Resonance FM, and help us keep this fine and uniquely special arts radio station on air...

Today's Mayday find, today's Beltane find

Today's Mayday find, today's Beltane find, today's quarter day find on the street was the biggest found piece of canvas yet, quite a body of new work building up now and all on recycled canvas found on the street... This one is, or was now - was because the piece has been in my work space for a few hours and paint has grown on it - this one was one of those giant mass produced canvas art prints you can buy in places like Ikea, and now it is reborn and coming to live with real painted leaves growing in a Trillion green kind of way. By the end of next week it will be ready to be shown, graff marks will grow on it, leafhearts and shapes will unfold and drip on to it in some kind of paint-fuelled bloom, indeed if it was raining (for the first time in about a month here in London, no rain here since April 2nd I think I heard on the radio), if it wasn't for the heavy rain I'd be outside now with spray and paint-stink annoying sunbathing cats with the shaking of spray paint... And it turns out this one was being thrown out by a man who was once in that 70's vocal group, The King Singers, here's a YouTube of them in Boston. There's a story to each of these pieces of found recycled canvas... and now this one has green leafhearts on, come bac kthis time next week and see what else grew on the canvas...

Anyone intersted in sharing some gallery space in London NW10?, Kensal Green...

fund raising weekend at Resonance FM

Today, Mayday, is the start of a marathon fund raising weekend even at London arts radio station, Resonance 104.4fm... Loads of art, music, experienced and more being auctioned over the weekend... It really is a privilege to get to DJ on the the station, I really do agree with the New York Village Voice when they called the station the best in the world... None of us get paid to work there, we're all volunteers, no expenses or anything, it costs us money each week, we do it for the pure pleasure... and there's no advertising on the station either, all funding is from donations, besides the little bit that comes from the arts council (expect that to be cut if those damn Tory get in next week) so the station really does need the life blood of donation... (please)

More about it on the Organ website via www.organart.com

You can explore Resonance via www.resonancefm.com