IX 2024

Before

 I exhibited my work at IX at the Goggleworks in Reading PA last week after staying with friends in Maryland. They were going there as collectors to see if there was anything they liked to buy (there wasn't) and drove me up to the show. As we arrived a collector was sitting at the entrance who asked me if an older painting called "Faeral" was still available which it was so I made my first sale before even going in the building! A good start!

As I was setting up (aided by my friends Morgan and Jean) a couple of collectors that had bought off me previously approached me and asked if they could buy my latest painting "Tatooine Sunsets" which I had just put up on the screen... I said yes of course - another sold before the event had started, this was going well! The event itself started at 6.00pm and within the hour I had sold "The Vampire of San Polo" to a collector from New York and within I think half an hour another collector came along and bought four more! Oh I forgot to mention that "The Portal" sold to another collector couple in between so at the end of the evening I had sold seven paintings in the show plus "Faeral" at the entrance... the best I had ever done at IX....

The next day I sold "Red Lantern Street" and then nothing on the next day until finally on Saturday I sold "The Fire Temple of Ahura Mazda" to the collectors who had bought "The Portal" previously and who couldn't bear to leave the show without it.

During the run of the show on Wednesday I also sold "Yama Jinja" on Beyond The Everyday so all in all I sold eleven paintings during the time I was there including nine from the show itself - a record I would imagine I will never beat. 

Morgan suggested that I leave the remaining larger painting "Castle Of Lost Souls" at their house where they could ship for me from in case a buyer in the USA emerges. I then resolved to bring the last two smaller paintings back with me on the plane as hand luggage (I had brought two with me this way when I arrived) so this meant... no shipping back to the UK of unsold paintings, a first!

Hmmm I think I will go to IX next year....

After

 

 

 In the "After" pic you can see four paintings packed up in bubblewrap waiting for the buyers to take them away on Sunday the final day of IX.

Yama Jinja sold

 Whilst I was at IX in Reading PA last week (more on that in another post) I sold "Yama Jinja" through Beyond The Everyday, the first I have sold on this platform ran by Every Day Original. This was a painting intended for last year's IX but I was unable to attend. Oil on linen 22" x 16".

Tatooine Sunsets

 The last painting to be finished to take to IX later this month. This is the third Star Wars-themed painting I have done with the first two snapped up by collector friends in the USA so I thought that it would be nice to do another one as nobody really saw the first two! The move across from my Orientalist inspired work to Star Wars is not as much of a stretch as you might think. The Tatooine architecture has elements of the local architecture where it was filmed, Tunisia (?) and the buildings here on a desert mesa are  very similar to my mosques etc in desert locations in earlier paintings. There is meant to be a bit of Ralph McQuarrie in there too.... just spotted a little repaint to do before I take it to IX but this scan will do for the moment.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12"

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Paintings For IX

 These are the paintings that I am bringing to IX this year in Reading PA. Eight are framed the rest will be hung unframed as I have not had a chance to get them framed for various reasons. It's my usual mix of Fantasy and Orientalism seasoned with a bit of Science Fiction and Horror.... I like variety. I will be shipping them in two batches and hope that they don't get lost/stuck in Customs which happened once before and did not make for a relaxing pre-event time with friends in the US while I frantically rang FedEx to find out where the hell they were. As it turned they got delivered on the day I was there to hang them in time for the Private View that evening.....please not again!

IX (Illuxcon) will be held at the Goggleworks in Reading PA from 23 to 27 October. If you're in the area come along it's quite a show!

Tatooine Sunsets - stage 3

 Mostly finished the sky but left it like this to make a start on the rocks below the buildings. Something tells me I need to get the colours and contrast right here first before I paint the rest of the picture.

Tatooine Sunsets - stage 2

 First colour pass on the sky and background as well as a second layer of the tonal underpainting on the landscape.

Colours used: Manganese Blue Hue, Kings Blue Light, Dioxazine Purple, Wisteria, Burnt Sienna, Brilliant Pink, Permanent Orange, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

Tatooine Sunsets - stage 1

 This is probably the last painting that I will finish in time to take to IX later this month. It is in fact the third Star Wars themed painting I have done recently but the first two were snapped up very quickly by collector friends in the USA so I thought that it would be nice to do one for IX as nobody has actually seen the first two (although one of them will hopefully be published in the upcoming Art Renewal Center International Salon book if it gets accepted as a Finalist). The move across from my Orientalist inspired work to Star Wars is not as much of a stretch as you might think - Tatooine is a desert-like planet and they used Tunisia (?) to film the Tatooine scenes with some of the architectural styles melded with the futuristic. Indeed the buildings in this one on a desert mesa are very similar to my mosques etc in desert locations in earlier paintings. Hopefully there is a bit of Ralph McQuarrie in there too....

This is the tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brushes.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".