Note 2017 Oil on canvas 60 cm x 60cm A square painting. It is a portrait of a person from the waist up. The details in the portrait are sparse. The figure is roughed in using blacks and whites, lending it an ominous or ghostly vibe. Angular grey segments separated by pale areas surround the figure. Over laying all of this in an orange hue are angular squiggles. They are arranged in a regular grid. The squiggles look like they could be runes or sigils. The image overall has a mysterious and challenging feel to it.

An old painting of mine. 2017 or 2016. Im not sure what has happened to the painting. But i know i no longer have it. Which is a shame as I really like it.
#cypher #portrait #oilpaint 🖌🎨
#artcan #kiac
Note(2016 -17)
Oil on canvas
60cm x 60cm
LOST

A square painting. The overall hues are tend towards green due to me not wanting to faff with the colour correction on my phone. The painting at first looks like a complex collection of brushmarks. In cadinium reds. Acid pinks titanium white and ivory black. The features of a face can be made out in the bottom left, a torso in darker hues stand to the left of this. Near the top right an eye is loosely painted and on the left a foot. The painting is not finished. It's lacking something to draw it all together.

Another square formatted painting. The hues here are warm. A roughly painted 5 x 5grid forms the main compositional structure for the image. The most of the painting is painted in cadnium red. The area it covers is roughly a reversed c shape. To the 'back' of the c and in its curved void cadnium yellow hue is the main colour. The work contains encoded information using a range of pictorial cyphers I created. Cadinium red areas are separated by washes of the same colour. 4 horizontal yellow stripes and 5 vertical stripes are layered on the red areas. More centrally a dark circle links with a circle on the edge of the painting. Occupying the section next to the circles diagonal white lines are painted. These lines are wet in wet and require a bit of attention to give them form.

Two from this morning in the studio. I'm on a break and might nap.

I will be working on the hexglyphs this afternoon/evening as long as my will doesn't falter.
#kiac #art #oilpaint 🖌🎨
#studiolog

Six word story 1 Prototype The image shows a roughly constructed paper cube, in 3/4 view. The paper used is a simple squared graph paper. On each of the sides we can see, different squares have been shaded. Some squares are darker than others. The cube sits on a black background that is speckled with dust. The second photo shows the same cube but different faces of the cube. It's an idea ive been wanting to explore further. #cube #cypher #sixwordstory #artcan #KIAC

Six word story 1 Prototype The image shows a roughly constructed paper cube, in 3/4 view. The paper used is a simple squared graph paper. On each of the sides we can see, different squares have been shaded. Some squares are darker than others. The cube sits on a black background that is speckled with dust. The second photo shows the same cube but different faces of the cube. It's an idea ive been wanting to explore further. #cube #cypher #sixwordstory #artcan #KIAC

Six word story 1
Prototype

A six word story on graph paper as a cube.

It's an idea ive been wanting to explore further.

#cube #cypher #sixwordstory #artcan #KIAC #upscrolled

Ace exhibition in Kelham, Sheffield
#kiac
🖌🎨 💙
#GageGallery

Mixed metaphors and tangents — cathalpaint Art and rambling thoughts on my current situation.

A rambling post. That has helped, belive it or not to add a direction to my search.
Mixed metaphors and tangents — cathalpaint

www.cathalpaint.com/blog/2025/10...

@artcanorg.bsky.social
#blogpost
#thoughts #kiac

If you don't read my alt text you do miss out on my thoughts. I'm not saying they are worth reading just that they are there.

I class these as semi asemic art
#artonbluesky
#frustration #artcan #kiac @artcanorg.bsky.social
#oilpaint
#text
#asemic

A page of pencil drawings looking at the mechanics of a man twisting his torso.

Figure study of a lady leaning forward with her right shoulder raised. Completed in pencil.

Late night figure studies
#figurestudies
#kiac
#artcan
#drawing

Self portrait in oil. I've mainly used a pallet knife on this. It is highly textured.

A loose figure study. Its based on a life drawing sketch and memory. A woman's figure is laid with one arm across her midriff. The figure is depicted in extreme foreshortening with the head closest to the viewer. The figure is painted in cold tones of blue , purple and pink. Lots of white has been used.

An abstract cube like structure is shown in 2 point perspective. The vanishing points are just off the picture plain; presenting the perspective as quite extreme. The cube has been 'cute into with sections removed. The result is a complex arrangement of receding surfaces. The 'structure' has been painted in shades of grey, with underpainting showing through in sections. In the center of the structure a section is painted a bright cool yellow. The background suggests a sky and ground, but currently remains undefined.

On a non frankendrain related note I logged studio time. Yay!!
3 things re worked, bits to do on the portrait and on the abstracty block.
#painting #artist #kiac
@artcanorg.bsky.social
@kiac.bsky.social

Picture of an out cropping at Winnats pass (near castleton in the peaks district.) It looked to me like a dragon snout, due to the way the shadows fell.

A view looking across the top of Winnats Pass. Yorkshire. Clouds to the top, green sun lit grass to the bottom. The top of the pass can be seen with the sun forming shadows.

A view walking down Winnats Pass with members of KIAC.

A view of the slippage of the old mam tor road. Layers of tarmac followed by rock filling and a layer of older tarmac. The upkeep of the road was abandoned in the late 1970s. Although no longer drivable you can walk the 'road'

Little windy jaunt out to old mam tor road and winnats pass in the peaks. It's near castleton in Yorkshire.

We had a lovely bit of geology information from Mark at #Kiac
Home now and a lot of housework to catch up on.
#walks #kiacwalks
#yorkshire

Foreshortening male figure in chalk and pencil.

Elongated male figure in chalk and pencil. With blocky shapes in background.

male figure in chalk and pencil.

5 studies of a male figure in chalk, pen, marker and pencil. 2 mins each.

Long over due image post. Life drawing from tonight.
#kiac
#lifedrawing
@artcanorg.bsky.social

A wide-angle shot of my studio space this morning. It looks like it's a mess. Light is streaming in from the upper right. A variety of paintings are strewn along the left-hand side of the space. Figurative work, geometric doodles, geometric cyphers, pure abstract works and blank boards and canvases Dotted throughout the studio are one or two toys, containers, bricks, a random hat and some storage To be honest, looking at the photo I feel like I need to find Wally (Waldo for our friends in the US)

A bare corner of my studio in which I have placed 3 sets of shelving.

A shot of the left-hand side of my studio space. Lengths of 2x4 have been attached to the plasterboard. In the foreground to the extreme left is my lovely cardi which has daisies on it.

A wide-angle shot of my studio as of Friday. I've pushed all my artwork and bags and boxes and detritus back into the space. The next step is to organise it all.

The studio is coming together. I put these shelves up myself. I wish I hadn't as I got splinters in my bum.

Being the DIY god I am it took me forfuckingever. No swearing though. Lots of confusion and looking for stuff I just had in my hand.

#DIY #studio #KIAC #artcanhour @artcanorg.bsky.social

5 hexagons connected via white wriggling line. The other spaces in the hexagons are painted in a relatively flat manner. The surface of the board is scored. The colours used are thin washes of cadmium yellow and cadmium orange with a little raw umber and alizarin crimson mixed in. Very very small amounts. The colours are liable to be altered a bit but essentially the pallet will be yellow, orange and grey. I might not be able to resist putting some blues into it.

A detail of the image showing the scored and textured surface of the work.

Another detail shot showing the surface and a closer look at the white line.

A final detail shot showing the marks I will be making in a mixture of charcoal, pencil, and paint. They are also a cypher but based on the celt ogham system. The play between the ancient written systems and the digital binary system I use in the hexagons makes me all silly happy. 😜

Finally it feels like there is a functional process to these hexcyphers.

Ideas and theoretical research are starting to connect with the physical objects.

ch/ng//sth//nlyc/nst/nt(wip)
Oil on panel. 60cm x 60cm
#sheffieldart
#hexcyphers
@artcanorg.bsky.social
#KIAC
#artaswriting
#art
#cypher

Loose pen drawing of a model from lifedrawing. She is depicted seated on a stool. The pose was 10 minutes i think. I would have loved more time on the pose.

Wednesdays life model completed in pencil and charcoal. The pose was around 20 -25 minutes long. Some proportions are a bit off, but I spotted them and just ran out of time to properly readjust them. I want to be so much better with the proportions so i can work more loosely. I think I'm itching to try a figure study in oil. But i have so many prodjects already on the go.

The major thing i wanted to show was the hexagonal image in the picture. Its a kind of grey cadmium yellow at the moment and very loosely painted in. The red painting to the left was completed in lifedrawing. I will add some subtle details in the background. On the wall from left to right. A semi abstract figure study. In warm and grey hues. An abstract. The focus was to enjoy moving the paint. Which i did. Another figure study this time laid down with an orange patch in the background. A small moody self portrait when my beard was free and wild.

Hello your friendly neighbourhood spiderma..wait minute wrong profile...oops.

Some images from life drawing last night and a shot of work I'm painting or thinking about.

I'll post a close up of the hexagon image another comment.
#KIAC
#Lifedrawing #sheffield #art #studio
@artcanorg.bsky.social

This shows the relatively organised part of my studio. Lots of paintings on the go. Lots of ideas and projects I want to finish and others I want to start. If you zoom in you can see other work and ideas dotted around. Most of the things I see here are in a warmer palette. Cadmium yellows, reds and oranges. I guess I'm impatient for the warmer weather.

A close up of an abstract. I use these to help use up excess paint. They also have no real focus behind them. I get to enjoy these in a way no one else does. I love the movement of the brush through the paint. The darker edge and the thinner edge. The flow of the brush over the surface. I just need to enjoy these. To enjoy the process of their creation nothing else.

An image of a bizarrely coloured odd architectural object. It is shown in extreme 2-point perspective. It is essentially a cube or cuboid with sections taken out of it. It's in the process of being completed. The colours were so out of whack I've had to place lots of washes on top. It's going to be very blue by the time I'm finished. I'm tempted to make the image very tonally similar so the various planes are only seen if you really look. The background is very airy. Blue sky and earthy land.

The studio is getting busy and full. I need to get shelves up and organise my space. Especially as Open Up Sheffield is in May.

More details of the photos in the alt text.
#studio #KIAC #wipart @artcanorg.bsky.social #opensheffield

A 5 minute figure study completed at Wednesdays Lifedrawing class in KIAC studios on Ball Street Sheffield. The figure is seated and is shown against a warm grey background. I'm really happy with the head and legs and the fact I got the proportions correct effortlessly. My other works from the same session all show proportion inconsistencies. A head will be too small, limbs will stretch or shrink to fit. I think I got over confident with my abilities after this one. I also think I began focusing too much on the fun I was having.

The same image from the previous picture. Now however I have painted the background cadmium red. The formlessness of the hands and the lack of feet distressed me. So much so that after I took the photo I painted some in. I will see tomorrow if I like the result.

Development of the life drawing works from Wednesday (19th March 2025)

I'm adding coloured backgrounds and correcting proportions. Or attempting to at least.

I think my boards need to be narrower.

I will use primed paper next session. It's cheaper.
#KIAC #Lifedrawing #artcanhour #art

A seated female figure in black and white oil paint. She sits crossed legged looking down to the right The background is a warm grey. I'm extremely happy with this piece. It was a 5 minute study. There are still issues that I have with sections of it that dont sit or look natural. However I'm more than proud of how I'm developing and how the legs in this look. On a side note I did attempt a 5 minute portrait. It went very badly wrong. Heh. I'll post my less successful and quicker studies when I get a chance.

A mix of 2 and 5 minute figure studies from 'line of action' a lovely figure drawing site with a number of configurable options. Even at the free level. Win. The image shows 2 standing figures in black and white oil paint on a grey background. The other marks in black around them are difficult to decipher. They are various limbs and torso parts from 2 minute studies. I used these to help work out the consistency of the oil paint. I needed it to flow like ink but to have a thicker consistency to it.

The image shows 3 fairly decent 2 minute figure studies. Again they are rendered in black and white oil paint. Well payees grey and titanium white if I'm being exact. I seem to lose my sense of proportion easily. So I'll need to do a lot of quick studies that focus solely on getting the body angels and proportions. My break time is over and I need to sort laundry yay!

I decided to be brave and take in some oil paints to the life drawing session yesterday. The combination of fumes from the gas heater and my turps/oil medium mix, was intoxicating. Heh.
#art
#Lifedrawing
#KIAC
#sheffieldartist
@artcanorg.bsky.social

An abstract painting. The hues used are warm. The painting is not finished. Currently, the background is a yellow hue with red areas on the top and along the left-hand side. The word STONE is written in yellow ocher towards the bottom right. Other 'S' like letters are seen in the top right and bottom left. A burnt umber has been used towards the centre. Some blue is used as an accent colour throughout the work.

A square abstract painting. This is currently unfinished. Muted hues that tend towards purple and grey are in the background. In the foreground reds, ochers and peaches have been used. Lines of yellow are within the work adding tiny focal points for the eye.

This is a bit difficult to describe. I think I'm finished with it. The painting is 60cm x 60cm. It has hexagon elements on it that give a sense of structure. The hexagons are blue green and white. The drawn structure of the hexagons can be seen. Along the top, the left-hand side and bottom a pale cold grey has been used. The bottom right edge uses a wash of orange and red that feels rust like. There is a slight echo of this on the top left edge. The hexagons hold a fairly central position. On the grey areas a variety of harsh chaotic black and burnt umber marks have been made. They have a discordant and disordered sense of structure. To my eye, these more chaotic, monochromatic elements seem to be consuming the more structured and colourful hexagonal elements. What do you think?

Some works in progress from last week that I'm fairly happy with. I'll be in the studios tomorrow, so I'm taking today to do some urgent admin and gardening and house work. (I also needed a break from the controlled nature of the hexagon cyphers)
@artcanorg

#wip
#KIAC
#artcanhour
#abstracts

www.kiac-sheffield.org @kiac_studios kiacsheffield@gmail.com KIAC You're Invited! Join us for our Open Up event, where creativity comes to life! Explore unique artworks, meet the artists behind the creations, and get a glimpse into the vibrant world of our studios. Date: 3rd 5th, 10th and 11th May Location: 40 Ball Street Neepsend Sheffield S3 8DB ///glue.bound.state Time: 11am - 5pm Whether you're an art enthusiast or simply curious, come along and enjoy a relaxed and inspiring atmosphere. We can't wait to share our work with you!

Open Up Sheffield

Lots of participating galleries across Sheffield.

Come visit #KIAC and #Gagegallery

///glue.bound.state
Is the what3words link
I'll be there most days and will be more than happy to chat!

This shows a Hexagon in slight perspective. The Violet sections are the background, the pink sections are Zeros. The green parts are masking tape. The grey sections are Ones and unpainted This took around 10 or 15 minutes to mask up.

This shows two hexagons in slight perspective. The colours signify the same things as the previous picture. These two hexagons took an hour to mask up. I will not be sad to see the back of this one.

St/p (wip) 60cm x 60cm Emulsion on mdf The image shows the painting masked up and areas painted in different colours. Again Violet is the back ground, pink the zeros, the maroon is the ones and the green parts are masking tape. I'll probably have to explain the zeros and ones comments at some point. Maybe. I have spent the day masking this up. Then I stayed a bit late painting it. I'm almost done with this one. It will need a few more coats of paint and some varnish before I'm done with it.

A productive day in the studio. Also lots of thoughts today about how fortunate my life has been to me.
#studio
#hexencoding
#KIAC

l/t/ny/g//nstf//r 60cm x 60cm Emulsion on mdf The image shows a dynamic arrangement of hexagons. The dynamism comes from the stark contrasts between the black and lighter sections. The hexagons are in the process of being covered in masking tape to achieve sharp painted lines. As stated in the text along with the image, the hexagons have encoded a short section of 'the litany against fear' from Dune by Frank Herbert.

This is a process shot. It shows the board covered in green masking tape and blue (royal sapphire) paint. The next stage will be to cover the blue and black sections for the final colour.

This image shows the painting propped against the studio wall. In front of it a note book containing the encoding patterns. The text from 'The litany against fear' I've encoded is "I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer" The colours used are referencing the colours of the house Atradies. The painting will most likely require another coat of paint in each colour, but I will nor need to remark the work for this. Hopefully. ....

Yesterday's studio work. Today I'm mostly avoiding housework . But I will crack on with it in a bit. Maybe.
#hexencoding #artcanhour @artcanorg.bsky.social #KIAC #studio #dune #mentalhealth

This is a homage to Dune. I use an adapted version of the litany against fear often and I find it helps.

A hand reaching out to an abstract structure. The structure has extreme 2 point perspective. The painting is unfinished and untitled.

A hexagonal vivid pink squiggle on a vibrant orange ground. The pink line weaves around parts of the hexagon. It is a labyrinth with one way in and out. The painting is textured and appears swiftly painted. The work is unfinished. (I photographed it upside down too, but shhhhhh!!)

Work from the studio, today. They are both fairly small. The greenish one is round A3, the labyrinth in pink and orange and about 10" x 10". The labyrinth contains a message.

#artcan
#artcanhour
#KIAC
#studio
#wip