Art school dropout from the 1960s, this is my full circle and I’m taking none of its nonsense this time round, although I hung onto a smidge of the rebelliousness of those student demos along Brighton’s Grand Parade and I deploy it whenever I come up against a daft rule. It’s fair to say I’ve given some of the earlier exercises short shrift, reinterpreted many, and invented my way into an alternative universe with others. It’s the spirit, not the letter that counts, right?
I’m a big fan of technology so I’ve been really pleased to see that this is embraced by OCA. My focus begins with physical art which I jump through digital hoops to produce a moving image, often with audio. My current favourite apps include MotionLeap for iOS/Android, Filmora10, 11, Pro, then PowerDirector for video editing, and Artivive for layering video over static images. These can be triggered by pointing the app at the image wherever it is – on a wall, on a postcard, on a telegraph pole as I’ve established recently. There’s an in-app torch for low light conditions but you do need a decent mobile signal if you’re not in reach of wifi.
Where am I going with this? It’s hard to say because it always takes me a while to process new material and ways of thinking. Level 3 (HE6) will be the consolidator although I’ll need to hit that ground running.
I like colour, expressiveness, and meaning in my work.
Instagram: instagram.com/fishbits/
Blogs: Conboyhillfiction, primarily writing related but now incorporating my science blog; and Strayfish Arts where non-OCA art, how-to and documentary videos, and occasional discussion posts go. All my Level 1 (HE4) and completed Level 2 (HE5) OCA blogs are merged here.
Animations padlet: still trying to figure out a purpose for this beyond housing as many of my physical art-based videos as I remember to post.
OCA YouTube playlist.
Mastodon: initially for twitter refugees following Elon Musk’s takeover and unprincipled tweets, and now thriving in its own right. Slightly unwieldy but it does the job. @strayficshion@mastodonapp.uk
Art CV
Education
Foundation year, Brighton College of Art 1967-68
BA(Hons) Painting, Open College of Arts 2018 –
Art work
Mulligan. Cartoon cat for The Bradfordian ~ 1965
Scenery for Bradford ice rink 1066-1966 (1966) and Psychedelia (1967)
Lockdown Locks. Print rights purchased by Swatch, 2021.
The Speed of Things. Commissioned to accompany the poem, Star Roots by Tom Sheehan. In: A Christmas Canzonette. [Ed M. Fitzpatrick] The Linnet’s Wings. 2021. Pp 42-43.
Bang Bang. Commissioned to accompany the poem, Solo Shot by Tom Sheehan. In: A Christmas Canzonette. [Ed M. Fitzpatrick] The Linnet’s Wings. 2021. Pp 46-47. Publication date TBA.
Tokyo Ghost. Painting commissioned for the cover of An Unfamiliar Landscape by Amanda Huggins. Publication date October 2022.
The Day You Make a Memorial. Requested by the author for use with her poem, Not Quite You. In; Talk To Me About When We Were Perfect. Amanda Huggins. Due out in 2023, published by Victorina Press. This was a collaboration; I had sought and received permission to use the words from that poem in my painting and Huggins asked and received permission to use the finished work to accompany it in her book.
Tree Fairy. Commissioned to accompany the poem, The Little Christmas Tree by Bob Lazzar-Atwood. In A Christmas Canzonette, 2022. The Linnet’s Wings. Pp 102-105.
Restoration. Commissioned to accompany the poem, The Penrhos Branch Line by Nick Bowman. In A Christmas Canzonette, 2022. The Linnet’s Wings. Pp 78-80.
Publications.
Augmented reality – what place does this have in art? Weareoca blog. February 2022. [online] Available at https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/creative-arts/augmented-reality-what-place-does-this-have-in-art/#comment-78804. Accessed 21st March 2022.
Conboyhill Arts - art from stART to finish 