[Grafter]

A messy painting with a simple message.....

"John Lennon was Right...!"

Up Now @ Grafter's Shop

[Daniel Silk]

Nice work I think the red and white versions would look nice framed as a pair side by side.

[mardy1]

Nice...very nice !

[bdr79]

These look awesome

[Grafter]

Well into production.... These start hitting doorsteps tomorrow....

[Sliding on the Walls]

I like how you have managed to make the heart from carefully controlled 'mess' - I imagine it took a lot of trial and error!

I do think that the splatter effect in this sense looks a bit too much like blood for my liking though - which technically still makes the message accurate. If we lose too much blood we will die afterall!

The text reminds me of Mr Brainwash - dont hate me!

[Grafter]

Just added a small Canvas Edition of this piece (Only 3 of each) to my shop plus a couple of lovely wooden originals. Available here: Grafter's Shop

[Global Art Traders]

Jul 1, 2016 13:11:34 GMT 1 Grafter said:

Just added a small Canvas Edition of this piece (Only 3 of each) to my shop plus a couple of lovely wooden originals. Available here: Grafter's Shop

This looks fantastic! Very wall friendly

[met]

Jul 1, 2016 13:36:14 GMT 1 Global Art Traders said:

Jul 1, 2016 13:11:34 GMT 1 Grafter said:

Just added a small Canvas Edition of this piece (Only 3 of each) to my shop plus a couple of lovely wooden originals. Available here: Grafter's Shop

[...]

This looks fantastic! Very wall friendly

By "Very wall friendly", do you mean uninspired and uninspiring?

[Grafter]

Jul 2, 2016 5:37:05 GMT 1 met said:

Jul 1, 2016 13:36:14 GMT 1 Global Art Traders said:

This looks fantastic! Very wall friendly

By "Very wall friendly", do you mean uninspired and uninspiring?

Errrrrr, No..! I think what he meant was, "That's quite pleasant to look at. It would look good on a wall". And quite frankly, that'll do for me.

Let's not over complicate all this stuff. "I like it" or "I don't like it", is usually only what people are interested in.

[treweman]

Jul 2, 2016 12:58:26 GMT 1 Grafter said:

Jul 2, 2016 5:37:05 GMT 1 met said:

By "Very wall friendly", do you mean uninspired and uninspiring?

Errrrrr, No..! I think what he meant was, "That's quite pleasant to look at. It would look good on a wall". And quite frankly, that'll do for me.

Let's not over complicate all this stuff. "I like it" or "I don't like it", is usually only what people are interested in.

This is a sad statement. Maybe in your circle of friends and fans, but not in mine. If I were an artist and my art was described as "Pleasant to look at" I would be quite upset. And your worldview apparently is that people are simpletons who are about as deep as a child's wading pool. You have created one of my favorite images of the last several years, the original Splash, which is powerful and evokes strong emotions from me everytime I see mine. The minute it becomes merely pleasant to look at, I will sell it, and replace it with something more meaningful. 

[Daniel Silk]

[treweman]

^^^ that is a terrific photograph!

[Grafter]

Ok, maybe my comment was a bit flippant but it was in response to a rather crass and quite insulting accusation. So let's examine it a bit deeper.

"Uninspired" - Well, was I inspired to create it? Yes, I was. I made the piece in response to a simple notion expressed by someone who wanted to inspire love and peace to a wider audience through a song that he'd wrote. The idea seemed like a good one and it was something that I wanted to associate myself with and try to promote through the medium that I use, painting.

That's that one dealt with. Now,

"Uninspiring" - That is probably not something for me to answer but for those who choose to buy it, but I would hope that the meaning in the painting is pretty simple to understand and hopefully anyone viewing it might just take a minute to be reminded that, yes, everything else is pretty much nonsense and, indeed, all I do need is love from those around me.

Having said all that I am also aware of the aesthetic importance of what I have produced in order to get my message across. I could simply have drawn the thing in biro on the back of a fag packet, but no one would have been interested and my time would be wasted. By making it "more pleasing to look at" it encourages people to hang it on their wall and therefore makes it more likely to reach more people in the long run.

I'm also 100% certain that not everything I have ever sold, (and I have sold quite a lot), even makes the wall. I'm sure there is work of mine still sitting in the tubes that it was sent out in or in a Mylar folder under someone's bed. My point being that not everything I produce is bought for a deeper meaning or a message to be had. The aesthetic is all important and there is a place for people who just want a nice picture to look at and are capable of making their own mind up about things without having me ram ideas down their throats.

[bdr79]

I bought a red canvas. I like it. Also liked splash....bought the oversized.

For me it's <thumbs_up_smiley>.

[met]

Jul 2, 2016 20:53:38 GMT 1 bdr79 said:

I bought a red canvas. I like it. Also liked splash....bought the oversized.

For me it's <thumbs_up_smiley>.

Good to hear.

Although perhaps bad form to hijack a thread started by someone else, I'll allow my self-interest to trump protocol on this occasion.

Bearing in mind the enthusiasm you've expressed for your recent purchases, you may be interested to learn that, 45 minutes ago, I myself became an artist.

This is a completely new venture and business opportunity for me. I'm feeling slight trepidation but also very much looking forward to the fresh challenges that await me in the months and years to come. Hopefully, you too will share my excitement about this foray into the mysterious world of contemporary art.

Given my limited skill set, imagination and budget, I've decided to focus for now on Appropriation Art — using Google Images, which has thus far been an amazing resource. I mean, like, super amazing. The genre of my work is different to the earlier paintings in this thread, yet the sensibility and sentiment remain comparable.

-----------

And so, without further ado, as a surprise UAA Forum exclusive, I'm extremely proud to release today the following series of three prints:


1. That One from the HR Department with all the Self-Help Books and Teddy Bears on her Desk was Right...! (I), 2016
Signed and numbered inkjet / giclée / archival pigment print on 75gsm paper
Limited edition of 5 (plus 1 AP, not for sale)
Sheet dimensions: 210 x 297 mm
Price: £200





2. That One from the HR Department with all the Self-Help Books and Teddy Bears on her Desk was Right...! (II), 2016
Signed and numbered inkjet / giclée / archival pigment print on 75gsm paper
Limited edition of 5 (plus 1 AP, not for sale)
Sheet dimensions: 210 x 297 mm
Price: £200





3. That One from the HR Department with all the Self-Help Books and Teddy Bears on her Desk was Right...! (III), 2016
Signed and numbered inkjet / giclée / archival pigment print on 75gsm paper
Limited edition of 50 (plus 5 APs, not for sale)
Sheet dimensions: 210 x 297 mm
Price: £80
Bonus: Each buyer will also receive a YouTube link to the incredible song, My Heart Will Go On, by Canadian national treasure, Celine Dion.






*** Please note the actual prints received may vary slightly from the above images, as my printer is running low on Cyan and Magenta. From a glass-half-full perspective, however, every print will be slightly different — each therefore being a one-off, unique artwork.

First come, first served.

Forum members can send me a private message for my PayPal details.

[misterx]

OK, you've proved you aint no artist, even with your "self interest" trumping protocol.


I don't own any grafter pieces, but appreciate he has his own "look", something a lot of artists lack.

Do I want to buy one? No. Do I want to constantly throw stones at art I don't like? No.

I appreciate that you do not like this piece. You are welcome to this opinion,naturally, but seeing as you are clearly an intelligent and eloquent person who knows, for want of a better term, "his shit', I cannot for the life of me understand why you choose to stoop so low sometimes. You show all the traits of being better than this!
As others have mentioned before, your writings are some of the best on here....its just, sometimes, you know, you get a bit nasty. Your choice though, and if you are ok with it more power to ya.

My tuppence worth. You enjoy your Sunday mate, mines nearly over, with work looming tomorrow.

[met]

Jul 3, 2016 9:39:00 GMT 1 misterx said:

OK, you've proved you aint no artist, even with your "self interest" trumping protocol.


I don't own any grafter pieces, but appreciate he has his own "look", something a lot of artists lack.

Do I want to buy one? No. Do I want to constantly throw stones at art I don't like? No.

I appreciate that you do not like this piece. You are welcome to this opinion,naturally, but seeing as you are clearly an intelligent and eloquent person who knows, for want of a better term, "hiss**t', I cannot for the life of me understand why you choose to stoop so low sometimes. You show all the traits of being better than this!
As others have mentioned before, your writings are some of the best on here....its just, sometimes, you know, you get a bit nasty. Your choice though, and if you are ok with it more power to ya.

My tuppence worth. You enjoy your Sunday mate, mines nearly over, with work looming tomorrow.

Thank you. I enjoyed reading this, and also appreciate that drafting it was probably an exercise in restraint.

I've mentioned before that among the posts I value most are coherent ones expressing opinions conflicting with mine. These are the kind that challenge, forcing reassessments of my own views. There's nothing like a well-reasoned argument for changing your mind, fine-tuning your position, or at least raising your awareness and understanding of other viewpoints.

------------

When it comes to art discussions, my position is engaged. It is also militant, and the duty is threefold:

1.  Highlight and support what I consider good.

2.  Resist, undermine and discredit what I consider bad or pernicious.

3.  Encourage fellow enthusiasts, especially newer ones, to:

3.1  be proactive and ambitious in their art research and self-education — through reading, documentary-watching, attending lectures or discussions, visiting museums, galleries, degree shows, etc.;

3.2  question everything, think more, be wary of the herd and herd instinct, learn to discriminate, and be conscious of the motivations of others (including possible conflicts of interest or vested interests); and

3.3  exercise patience and caution when buying art costing more than nominal amounts.

------------

Points 1 and 3 above are innocuous.

Regarding point 2, this would cover the stone-throwing you refer to. I'm aware it is a source of contention for many, though I believe it's a necessary part of the arsenal.

Piss-taking mostly falls under point 2. On occasion I indulge because it amuses me. More importantly, it is a battle tactic.

It's worth mentioning I get it when you say, "I cannot for the life of me understand why you choose to stoop so low sometimes." The perspective I have is simply different — where satirical or mocking posts are not stooping but in fact the opposite. They're attacks made for the benefit of a cause. Primary concerns in these cases include ensuring what I write (i) is fair and informed, and (ii) has potential, however small, to be effective.

By potentially "effective", I mean in doing the following:

(A) Pushing artists, dealers and publishers to either up their game or abandon ship when the work they release is substandard. This can also serve as shots across the bow for others who may be tempted to choose easy, lazy, hackneyed routes. Ambassadors within an art movement have a responsibility to not regress, and to not insult our intelligence by taking us for chumps.

(B) Pushing other art enthusiasts to get off the sidelines, demand better art, and withdraw blind support or be more vocal when presented with rubbish. Everyone has to pick their own fights, but there's much truth in the maxim "Silence amounts to acceptance". Argument to moderation, or false compromise, is also harmful. Wittingly or not, it's a type of collusion.

------------

I take on board your comment about my sometimes getting "a bit nasty". While partly a matter of perception, arguably this is also an aspect of satire and other expressions of criticism. To a degree, therefore, it may be unavoidable.

Having said that, the form and tone of an attack may indeed detract from the substance of the message. They can hinder the effectiveness of the attack itself and clarity of message — thereby compromising broader objectives. If this occurs, then a recalibration or tactical rethink may well become necessary.