Tag: art

Announcing a New Book Project and Exhibition


 
I am delighted (and very apprehensive) to announce that I will be publishing the first book of my work in early 2019, with the help and support of my very good friend Greg at Kozu books. We will making pre-orders available on the 1st of December. I have plans for some very special editions for collectors, along with more basic editions for those wanting just the book.

In conjunction with this I am also announcing today that I will be holding my first major solo exhibition in London. This will be at the beautiful Menier Gallery close to Tate Modern and The Shard running from the 17th to the 22nd June 2019. Apart from being a perfect space to exhibit, I chose this location because 100% of the profits of the gallery go to support the Paintings in Hospitals charity, which does excellent work in helping both patients and staff in many ways through artistic growth and expression.

The title of the book and exhibition is ‘Abstract Mindedness’. I have chosen this to tie in with the project it will be featuring. As many of you know I experienced a nervous breakdown in early 2018 and am still only partly recovered. I decided some months ago to see how the illness affected my work and so set about a project which will last 12 months, from around the time of the breakdown until just before publication. It will also include some of the words I am writing to accompany the images through the year. It might sound like a bleak subject for a project and you might expect all of the work to be dark and morose – but I am interested already that, despite what you might think, I am not necessarily making gloomy images when I am deeply depressed and sunny cheerful images when I feel brighter. Such stereotypical results are not coming through – which ties in with this not being the stereotypical illness that many people perceive it to be.

I am half way through the project. Some of the work is selected but much has yet to be made and it is both exciting and little atychiphobic to think of this (yes, I had to look that up). Most exhibitions and books are announced when the work is made – the images sure and definite. I hope what I do between now and the end is worthy. If not, I am in big trouble.

I also wanted to mark a year on from the breakdown and help others suffering similarly, especially young people coping with mental illness, and so 100% of the profits from the book and the exhibition will be going to support the Young Minds charity.

In addition to this, in an effort to raise more money for them, and to mark the fact I have lost over six stone in weight (and hope to have lost more by next spring), I am going to do a sponsored walk up Snowdon in North Wales. I thought, due to my weight and health I would never see the top of a mountain again, but now I have the chance. So on 30th April 2019, I will be making my big ascent. If you would like to join me, you are most welcome, especially if you have donated to Young Minds via the Just Giving page I have set up which sends the money directly to the charity. If you are a tax payer and tick the Gift Aid box, the government will add another 20% to whatever you give at no cost to you – which would be really great. You can find my Just Giving page HERE. I would like to thank all of you who sponsor me in advance. I love you forever and really appreciate it.

A final plea, (and I am being a bit cheeky with this), but I want as much money to go to the charity as possible and I have my usual reticence about my work selling. The hire of the London gallery is rather expensive so it would be wonderful if any companies or individuals might like to sponsor the show as a way of reducing the outlay – either by providing products or by a small donation. Anything at all would be much appreciated and help me towards my goals, but I will cover anything that I can’t raise. If you would, please EMAIL ME. I also would also really appreciate it if you could share and retweet my posts about the book, exhibition and walk – I will try not to make them too frequent or repetitive – but it is shares and retweets rather than likes which are most helpful to a cause like this – again, I will notice every one and love you always. I may also be on the prowl for help with invigilators, waiters and waitresses on the private view evening (to which you are all invited, naturally) and so on.

The private view will be on Tuesday 18th between 6 and 8pm’ish. There will, naturally, be sustenance and liquid refreshment for hungry and thirsty photographers and art lovers. More of which later.

The spring of 2019 is going to be a important for me in hopefully completing these projects, helping to raise awareness of the issues of mental health, helping others with mental health problems and perhaps giving me an opportunity to move further away from the worst effects this illness has had on me. It is giving me a focus at least. I already have many people who have been quietly supporting and helping me confidentially with the early stage planning. I couldn’t have got to even this point without them. Greg at Kozu books has been supportive, patient and a driving force behind the book. He is going to allow me to blog about the whole process of making the book, in case you are interested. Maria and Chris at Tan-y-Foel in Betws-y-Coed, quite simply the finest bed and breakfast in North Wales (don’t stay anywhere else please – it is a haven of peace, with the added bonus of Pip, the loveliest of dogs, and the ‘loo with a view’) – they have been so kind and helpful with the early planning for the ‘Big Walk’. My very best of friends, Terry, Valda & Bill, who have stuck with me when I have been at my lowest, bleakest worst. Who have listened, cajoled, encouraged (and dragged) me through this awful year. I am forever indebted to them and will never be able to repay them. And finally Chris Friel, who has, despite his own tragedies, been a good friend and empathetic ear throughout the darkness – his suffering makes mine pale into absolute insignificance and yet he still understands, offers support and friendship.

I am in debt to them all.

The Pool by Iain Sarjeant

The Pool by Iain Sergeant

From the first time I heard that Iains series, The Pool, was to be published by Triplekite, I was excited. I have followed Iains work for a few years now and The Pool series has become a favorite of mine.

I first came across the work on Iains website a year or two ago and was instantly entranced by its delicate beauty and simplicity. Iain is a full time professional photographer working out of Strathpeffer in Scotland. His work is often characterised by its keen observational quality. Iain is a man who walks around with his eyes wide open and seems to see things where many do not.

Is Pinterest of Value to Photographers?

pinterest

I have a confession to make. When I first heard of Pinterest I dismissed it quickly as irrelevant. It seemed to me to be a hangout for young women with boards entitled “My Perfect Wedding”, “Cute Kittens” and such things. Boards full of images of people too perfect to exist having weddings that would never happen and then live in houses just to perfect for real people. I left within minutes of logging in.
 

Cute Kittens

Let the nightmare begin. There are a LOT of cute kittens (and puppies) on Pinterest, but you don't have to look at them if you don't want to


 
That was a couple of years ago. Then, a week or so ago, I can’t remember why, I had occasion to visit the site again. This time I stayed.

Why the change?

This time I thought it through and explored a bit deeper. Certainly, the site is populated primarily by women. 80% of ‘pinners’ are women. Nothing wrong in that, obviously. It’s just that for me, as a man, the kind of things the majority of the ladies were devoting boards to were of no interest to me. As much as I love cute puppies and recipes for homemade eye makeup remover, I wasn’t really looking for that kind of thing. It is this ‘noise’ that had put me off so,quickly on my first visit.

This time, however, I took a deep breath and typed in a search for, imaginatively, “landscape photography”. The results were interesting. Yes, lots of over saturated cliched images, but also I soon found boards created by discerning pinners full of stunning work.
 

Mono photography

But there is also a lot of really good photography to suit any taste and from all genres withn Pinterest. Of course, you can also introduce images from all over the Internet which appeal to you onto your own boards too, to elevate and inform other users ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Spurred on, I searched for creative black and white images. The same resuLt. What really impressed me was that much of what I was finding was from older photographers. By older, I mean photographers working a hundred, fifty or twenty five years ago. The great names like Adams, Sudek, Stieglitz, Rowel, Weston, Maier and so on. You don’t find these on Flickr.

Also there are photographers whose work I have not found through any other channels. I was soon hooked, created my own account and was feverishly creating my own collections.

So how does Pinterest work? The idea is simple. Imagine a pin board on your studio wall on which you pin snippets of information and pictures to inspire you or to help you with a project. In Pinterest you can create as many such virtual boards as you wish. These boards can be public or secret.
 

Pinterest Board screenshot

This is a partial screenshot of one of my Pinterest Boards - this one for images of colour landscape photographs


 
You can then search within the Pinterest site on the public boards of others and re-pin things which you find interesting or inspiring onto your boards. The origin of these images or items originally is pages on the Internet. The item always retains its link back to the original source page, no matter how many times it is re-pinned. You can go to the source page by double clicking the item. This is really useful, as when you find an image by a new photographer or artist you like you can then leave Pinterest and go and explore their own website.
 
Pinterest Boards

My home page of pin boards. Each board is for images on a different subject, so i can keep my images organised.


 
You can also introduce new items into the Pinterest site onto your boards by pinning them yourself when you find something on a website you wish to pin to one of your boards. In fact, this is something that more pinners need to do. Around 80% of pinning is ‘re-pinning’ of images from the boards of others, so you do begin to see the same images appearing in searches. More members need to search out new material from the web and pin it to their boards for others to discover. This keeps the site fresh and, if you are prepared to do this, you will quickly find lots of pinners will start to follow your boards as they offer something fresh and new. I have only been active for a few days and already have close to fifty people following my boards.
 
Pin Boards Closeup

A close up image of some of my pin board icons


 
An interesting side note that I have noticed is that Pinterest has started to drive low volumes of new traffic to my website since I started actively using it. I am guessing this is coming from people who are seeing my images on boards and following them back to their source on my website. It may also come from people checking out my profile on the site and clicking my website link. Don’t get me wrong, the volumes are small at the moment, but noticeable, and growing. I am not recommending using Pinterest as you would other forms of social media to drive traffic to your website or blog. That wouldn’t be an efficient use of your time if it was your sole purpose in doing it. However, I am pleasantly surprised by the effect already and see it as a knock on benefit.

There are also some serious concerns about copyright, which as artists and photographers should concern us. It is up to each user to decide on this issue and if you want to read an article on it you will find one here.

You can follow individual boards of others if you like what they pin and this allows you to see when they add new things to that board in case you wish to pin it to one of your boards (likewise people can follow your boards if they like them). Or you can follow an individual and see everything they pin to all of their boards.

You can also create boards of your own images or pin your own images into your boards and they may get re-pinned by others who like them.
 

Pinning widget

Here is an example of pinning an image from an external website, in this case my own, using the widget you can get from the Pinterest site for your browser. When you are on a web page with an image you wish to pin, just click the "Pin It" button and this dialogue opens (it also allows you to choose which image if several images are on the page), you can add notes and select which of your boards you wish to add it to and then just pin it when done.


 
I use the site extensively now to collate inspiration for my work. Not only in photography, but I have also found myself researching art as well and learning valuable lessons from it.

I have also found interesting Photoshop tips and have a board to collate ideas for remodelling my photographic office and studio here a home. My wife has fallen in love with Pinterest and is collecting ideas about make up, cleaning solutions, decorating tips, craft making ideas, gardening – the scope is endless. Where I thought it would be a location just for organising my inspirational images, it is fast becoming a location to collate visual information for all sorts of projects and ideas. Some boards are public, others are private. Many designers use boards for design ideas, graphic designers use them to collate new fonts collections or colour themes, gardeners use them for plant and garden layout ideas – the uses are endless. If you search for ideas on the site you will soon find some very, very clever people who have ingenious solutions to problems, people who have ways of recycling items for amazing uses and who seem able to come up with things I would never dream of.

In the screen shot below I typed in “Recycle Pallets” – thousands of ideas came up, these are just a tiny, tiny fraction – just try it – click here
 

Recycle Pallets

Some pallet recycling ideas


 
I would encourage you to have a look. Why not take a browse at some of my boards and see what you think. I would be interested in hearing your views. You can find my boards here – http://pinterest.com/dougchinnery/ Why not sign up and make a start by following me ๐Ÿ™‚