James Bloomfield

Hunters Brew and Cankys Guinel

2011-12-30T11:08:00.001Z

Eating away at missed opportunities, and dawning realisations...manchester drizzle, drizzling

Manchester Royal Infirmary - Exhibition - A Letter to Lowry

2011-12-06T21:18:00.003Z

Today I installed a number of my Berwick upon Tweed paintings in one of the display cabinets in Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI). The opportunity was given to me by Brian Chapman director of LIME. The cabinets are on the corridors in the new MRI building and provide an ever changing display of work from artists, museums and third sector organisations.

"A letter to Lowry" is an installation of my studio, including reference material, paint box and a letter to Mr L.S.Lowry explaining how I recently found myself following in his footsteps in Berwick upon Tweed.

The installation will be in place until December 2012 and is on the first floor corridor next to the main lifts.

Rochdale Infirmary Project -LIME

2011-12-06T21:08:00.003Z

I have been approached by the LIME team to engage in a painting project with Rochdale infirmary. I will be painting in the out patient department and speaking to patients, staff and volunteers about Rochdale and the changes that the area has been going through.

I will ask people about where they grew up, where they worked, their favourite buildings and places in Rochdale. These places and streets will be marked on to a large ordnance survey map of the area giving me an insight into suitable locations for a series of paintings to be displayed in the Hospital.

There will be three initial consultation days with the last being on the 12 December

AWOL Studios

2011-10-04T09:40:00.003+01:00

My work is featured on the AWOL studios website, soon there will be the opportunity to purchase direct from this site. Click here to view

My Berwick paintings are coming to a close now with only 5 more to complete. I have a large one on the drawing board and a number of smaller ones yet to start. There will be 12 in total and a number of limited edition prints aswell, once complete I aim to exhibit in Berwick and am currently chasing down a couple of galleries.

October is one of my favoutite months, the raking sunlight and crisp dry mornings are perfect for searching out locations and making those all important preliminary studies......

Killing Jar V Meadowland August 2011

2011-08-11T11:35:00.001+01:00

My Meadowland V Killing Jar project is really coming together at the moment, visit the blog for more information and to follow its progress. http://thekillingjar.wordpress.com/

Slow Progress

2011-07-04T11:58:00.000+01:00

6 paintings now on the go for Berwick Upon Tweed, back in the groove and then out of it.... Meadowland project growing and requiring my attention, summer heat and endless jobs slowing me down...slow progress.

New Online Shop

2011-06-06T22:36:00.000+01:00

Due to a number of recent requests I have now set up an online shop where you can buy original pieces of work . At present I am only shipping to the UK for the larger paintings to keep costs down. To visit the shop please click here http://jamesbloomfield.bigcartel.com/

Primed and Ready to Go

2011-04-19T20:27:00.001+01:00

This week I have started to prepare for a body of work on Berwick in Northumberland. I spent a fascinating few hours here walking in Lowrys footsteps (who was fond of a holiday here, no wonder I found it inspiring !) Some of the buildings and streets really did get me excited, a lot of the buildings I find interesting have now been demolished in Salford and Manchester and Berwick was bristling with charm!

Here are some Wikipedia facts:

Berwick-upon-Tweed (pronounced : BERR-ik ə-pon TWEED) or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the Scottish border.

Berwick's strategic position on the English-Scottish border during centuries of war between the two nations and its relatively great wealth led to a succession of raids, sieges and take-overs. Between 1147 and 1482 the town changed hands between England and Scotland more than 13 times, and was the location of a number of momentous events in the English-Scottish border wars. One of the most brutal sackings was by King Edward I of England in 1296, and set the precedent for bitter border conflict in the Scottish Wars of Independence.

In 1174, Berwick was paid as part of the ransom of William I of Scotland to Henry II of England. It was sold back to Scotland by Richard I of England, to raise money to pay for Crusades. It was destroyed in 1216 by King John of England, who attended in person the razing of the town with some barbarity.

Henry Travers, born in Berwick in 1874, was a character actor best known for his roles in Hollywood film productions, most famously as Clarence the angel in It's a Wonderful Life. One of my favourite films!

Over the next few weeks I will be posting my progress so watch this space!

Residency at Lime

2011-04-11T14:21:00.000+01:00

Today I started my residency at LIME arts and have begun to plan out how I will spend my time here. It is a fantastic opportunity for me to develop my practise and create new work.

Lime develops, co-ordinates and delivers a wide range of creative projects within health care. The aim is to show how the arts can play an important part in enhancing quality of life and quality of care.

New Beginnings! New Ideas! time to breathe!

BP Portrait Competition 2011

2011-04-11T13:35:00.000+01:00

This years entry to the 2011 BP portrait competition measures 200mm x 250mm, it depicts Abdel Ali al-Megrahi. It is presented in an english swept frame made from black oil resin which has been decorated with european and antique gold.

Title: Abdel Ali al-Megrahi 2011

"On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted, by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, of 270 counts of murder for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988 and was sentenced to life imprisonment."

"Megrahi was freed on compassionate grounds by the Scottish Government on 20 August 2009 following doctors reporting on 10 August 2009 that he had terminal prostate cancer and was expected to have around three months to live. In December 2010 it was reported that his condition had deteriorated and that he was in a coma. Some questions are still being raised into the reason for his release, and whether if he had appealed his conviction might have been quashed"

"On 16 July 2010, four United States senators made public their concerns over the release, stating they believed that the oil company BP pushed for his release to secure a deal with Libya. BP confirmed that it did press for a Prisoner Transfer Agreement"

source:wikepedia

Turner Prize 2010

2010-12-07T10:13:00.001Z

The turner Prize has been announced along with the usual outrage. Its the same every Year, I don't know why they act so surprised at the winner. This year is no different with two painters, a sound artist and an installation team. The award ceremony was incredibly boring to watch with the only interesting thing being the students demonstrating in the background. Nicholas Serota sounded like old man Dorrit , professing his belief that "art should be for everyone where ever one lives and from what ever social background....." " I am a gentleman you know and you can leave a token of you appreciation , a small testimonial, that would be most gracious as I present the award again in London, one doesn't want to travel to the provinces...."

The sound artist (Singer) won, I forget her name and I'm sure most of you will if you give it a few weeks, I think her work would sound great on the Scottish bridges but probably loses its impact in a gallery setting. The turner prize achieves its aim by causing controversy but also fulfilling its quota of pushing Art forward in new directions. Sound art though is nothing new with John Cage work coming to mind as well as many others like Robert Wilsons "The Sundance Kid Was Beautiful".

The Turner prize again gives out a prize to let the public know what it already knows, on a day when 33 recording artists release a version of John Cage's 4min 33 secs to reach the Xmas number one.

I think that art should be moving forward especially with the wealth of technology available at the moment. To me we are stuck in the post modernism movement of art plagiarising the past and regurgitating it as something new. Where is the avante garde? where is the "shock of the new" who is really out there being creative and challenging audiences. Artists are so concerned with originality in a market that demands novelty, it is not possible if you are too afraid to break out of the norm.

A few years ago you could put anything in a gallery and call it art, with the right statement and process behind it. Sometimes there was no process at all, today audiences see through this, they have literally seen it all before and have lost respect for it. Art needs to re-address this through integrity of artist vision and complete honesty about the way the artist works, and why he/she works.

Art today has many different layers, more people than ever are in a position to call them selves artist, 100 years ago most would be working in mills, or down pits, or be shopkeepers or merchants sons/ daughters. With the improvements in lifestyle and readiness of materials it doesn't take much for an artist to be borne. In this new society though art has many roles, it is decoration, talking point, investment, status symbol, the old manifestos of aesthetics, beauty, truth have been washed aside.

For me personally an Artist should use their vision for the greater good, to highlight how we are living, to enrich our lives, to offer contemplation of existence, to de-mystify false gods, to shape the future, to leave a legacy.

Hemingway always started to write with a truth, there is something noble about this approach, it is a difficult path to follow and might not be what you want to hear but ultimately will lead to a greater understanding of your self and the world around you.

The War Cabinet 07.XI.2001

2010-09-14T19:51:00.001+01:00

This is the second Piece in My Killing Jar project , documenting the invasion of Afghanistan by the USA and UK. The piece depicts two common houseflies that were bugging me in my living room and finally passed away on the windowsill. Upon further inspection I recognised them immediately and placed them in an antique entomology case circa WWI. The piece entitled The War Cabinet 07.XI.2001 will be exhibited at Hope Mill Studios in November 2010.

I have also started the third piece in this series titled The Flag, more to follow

The Killing Jar 2010

2010-09-10T18:16:00.000+01:00

Friday night and another week done! I thought I would put some information on my latest work. At present I have been extremely busy with Restoration Work and the work I do with Pool arts and Gorton Visual Arts. I have had little time for painting apart from a few pieces here and there. My big project has been a bit of a Pandora's box, I have looked inside and spent three months dealing with what I have seen.

The project is a departure from my usual practice of painting but still feeds into the large spectrum or world view that I take. The Killing jar is an ongoing project that has been fuelled by the conflict in Afghanistan, with UK casualties alone going past the three hundred mark, i feel compelled to create a piece of work tackling the immense waste of life that is taking place at present. For more information please visit the Killing Jar Hub on Wordpress: http://thekillingjar.wordpress.com/

2010-05-05T22:39:00.000+01:00

City 0 -Tottenham -1

Typical City...........................

BP 2010 Thoughts....

2010-04-08T20:59:00.000+01:00

Today spring has sprung and even though I dint get into this years BP I still feel optimistic. Competitions are a great way to get recognition and hopefully further your career, but it can also have an adverse effect on your work. If you are preparing an entry solely for competition then you are marketing your work, the idea is no longer yours it is for someone else, much like a commission. It is good to push yourself but not if it dilutes your message and definitely not if you are changing the way you work to fit their criteria. This year I put myself under enormous pressure by trying to complete a huge canvas in a tight deadline.

The portrait of My Dad is probably one of the best I have done to date, but I think I tried to say too much. If I enter next year it will be something much more modest and something that I painted for myself and not just for competition.

BP Portrait 2010

2010-03-19T19:41:00.000Z

Apologies for lack of discipline and not posting!

I have just completed my 2010 BP portrait entry of My Dad, aptly titled My dad!

It is just over 2m long and 80cm high! and as I discovered quite large!

I started this in January and have been working on it pretty much every evening since.

The painting has made me realise a lot about my style and approach and hopefully I have learnt a great deal from it...

Tonight I am sipping Guiness and feeling rather exhausted!

The Big Freeze

2010-01-07T10:26:00.000Z

After hard snow all night we woke up to this!! and still snowing, cant remember the last time it was like this. Probably in those nostalgia filled days when I was a kid living in Bacup when every winter it seemed to have at least 2 foot of snow!

I looked at the front of the house to see nothing moving and new it would be foolish to venture out in the car. So after getting Lisa up and the dogs ready we went out to see who was foolish enough!! Brilliant, we went down to Worsley road to witness people struggling in their cars probably on the way to the Trafford Centre. Kids emerged from every direction with sledges, god only knows where they had been storing those for the last 10 years.

We ploughed on to the field managing to ignore the smug smiles of every 4x4 driver, one week of the year their vehicle pays for itself and don't they know it!

The field was about 8 inches thick and virgin white until we embarked up on it and let the dogs unleash a torrent of yellow snow! Leaving this for the sledgers we rushed back to the co-op to witness the panic buying first hand! The shelves were empty with people fighting to stock up on bread, milk and most importantly alcohol.

After all this excitement it was time to return home and defrost the snowballs off the dogs legs, which were now so big that Oscar was rolling home and Eddie walking like he had an overfull colostomy bag !

No painting today as the studio is -5, will venture out to Pool arts this afternoon to make my stretcher for this years BP portrait competition and prime the boards for the Newcastle paintings that I have started. Might just pop into Tesco on the way and load a trolley full of bread and Milk just to get the ball rolling!

Crawshawbooth paintings

2009-12-22T11:33:00.000Z

Earlier this year I was commissioned to paint some scenes of Crawshawbooth in Rossendale. It was nice to focus my attention on the area where I grew up. Rossendale is full of terraced houses built in fabulous sandstone. As soon as I started to paint I could feel memories start to flood back, just from the colour of a stone or the shape of a window. I painted 9 paintings in all, many of them catching the low lying mist of the valley in winter. I felt that as I progressed my palette improved and I really captured the colours and atmosphere of that small part of the valley.

I am know looking to paint some more of Rossendale, maybe starting in Stacksteads where I lived the first 10years of my life.

Of the 9 paintings 7 have now sold to private collectors and the remaining two will hopefully help me secure an exhibition at the Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington later next year. I may also make available some limited edition prints of the paintings.

The snow has just eased and I may venture out into the Xmas madness to continue my studio move.

NEW Studio Arrives!!

2009-12-21T17:42:00.000Z

After a long wait and much deliberating the new studio arrives, I planned this 5 years ago when I first moved here! Any way it is in and up!! MBT installations from Halifax came to build it after i had been let down. They arrived at 8am and the cabin was up by 2.30pm amazing!

So now begins the process of moving from my old place..started today in full snow and ice, didn't realise how many paintings I have! I have been at the current studio 5 years and it shows! I will have to be super ruthless with my work only saving what I think is important. Tempting to do a Bacon and just destroy all of it and forge ahead with new work! something tells me this would be foolish but is so tempting.

Other news is that I have spoken with the SAU unit at Hope Hospital and they would like to exhibit my remaining six Salford as it is paintings. Just need to type up a proposal and get the ball rolling...

Concrete Delivery!

2009-12-03T22:10:00.000Z

This is the concrete delivery system I built for the base of my new studio!, a chute from the top layer then barrow across next on and then over the wall and into the frame! It took me and two lads 1hr 30mins of constant barrowin to move 5m cubed or 10 tonne!! Absolutely knackered afterwards and then had the joy of going to the dentist afterwards!!

The base was then tampered buy my chief navvy and I (mum) and left to go off! typically it was the only frosty night we've had , but seems to be fine!!

Publish Post

Studio will be delivered next Thursday and built on Sat , Sun! cant wait to get in, have started some new Newcastle paintings as all of my Rossendale paintings have now sold!!

GUY FAWKES INN YORK "good fish crap coffee"

2009-11-25T23:02:00.000Z

This is the birthplace of Guy Fawkes, or so they say, me being somewhat of a cynic. Called in here on a recent trip to York. The rain was pouring and we had just climbed 275 steps to get to the top of York Minster and so needed a drink! Inside was an open fire and candles on every table giving a real boutique feel to the inn. We ordered Fish and chips and were suprised by the enormity of the fish definitely 9/10 and as a bonus there was a beer festival on! So a quick pint of Gut Fawkes and back on the road!

Later that night we had eaten out and really fancied an irish coffee, so we called in and asked at the bar , the bar staff looked a little bemused (ive worked in catering and know that when one goes out more are sure to follow!)but said thay could do them. 10minutes later and a cappuccino with a shot of whisky in!! no cream just frothy milk! God Awful! So swapped for another pint of Guy Fawkes and Back on the road!!

Guy Fawkes good fish crap coffee!

Temporary Measures

2009-11-23T16:20:00.000Z

Just found this picture of my temporary Studio!, this is the green house at the bottom of my garden which has been one of the most productive spaces Ive ever worked in! My Studio aquaintances are not artists but insects and offer little distraction (maybe thats the secret!). Only problem being when the light is on it becomes a giant beacon for every flying insect in the area!! I thought that we didnt get many big bugs but some of these moths are huge! and believe me when you are painting and two moths decide to enter your 8foot by six foot space It can be a little Hectic!

My allies are three large spiders that are getting increasingly fatter as I work later!

Welcome to My Blog

2009-11-23T15:16:00.000Z

~Welcome to my Blog.
Today I took down the Six of the 12 paintings I was exhibiting at Hope Hospital, the paintings had been on display for eighteen months. I had some fantastic feedback from the exhibition and wished they could have been up longer. The remaining six paintings have now been donated to Hope hospital to remain on permanent public display.

The paintings are going to be added to my website shop for sale, until I can arrange for another venue to exhibit them. To view them please visit http://www.jamesbloomfield.co.uk.

I am also in the process of moving from my current studio , this is quite a daunting task!! My new studio is'nt built yet and I have till the end of December! Ah well a bit of pressure never did no harm!