The Voice behind the canvas

A little while ago I was invited to come on Hull-Kingston FM radio, to have a wee chat with the lovely Wolfy O'Hare. It was a lovely chat, ranging from how I'll know when a canvas is finished, what inspires me to paint, and even what scares me more than my time in the North Sea!

You can listen back on SoundCloud via this link

Listen to Daniel Fairbairn in conversation with Wolfy by Wolfy O'Hare on #SoundCloud

It's been a while…

Well, what an interesting couple of years. Since my last blog post I've been back in my old job in Norway, moved house, changed website hosting, got paid off again, seen the world come to a halt in a pandemic, resumed painting and returned to my original website host, (and breathe)

Moving house certainly hadn't featured in our plans, until it did. Once we decided, it all moved fairly rapidly and I can honestly say it's been the best thing we've done for ourselves and our family, and if you follow me on social media, or know me, you'll know our views are stunning.

The views are what brought me back to the canvas. Losing my job and seeing the world descend into loo roll insanity left me feeling disconnected and lost. Certainly in no frame of mind to create.

Eventually though, it became too much, the sunsets began stacking up in my Google photos album and I found myself making a folder, “2020 skies”, and began picking the good ones before I realised why.

Then I was painting, and as I did so, I went over all the little things that had nudged me in the right direction. Finalising the layout of the conservatory into a social space with room for my little paint/brush trolleys and easel, some kind of sanity prevailing in the outside world, at least in Scotland. I also let go of any unhealthy attachment to my career in Oil. It was sheer chance I found my way into it, and sheer chance that I found myself out of it. It got me this far, but it's gone. Like baby teeth or yesterday's weather.

As my painting progressed, I of course highlighted it on social media, where interest grew. Eventually it sold before being completed and the next one sold before it was really begun. You can't really encapsulate the feelings I had during this. Painting is entirely personal. You create something from a thought inside your mind, a feeling from your heart, and lay it out on a canvas for all to see and judge. I think I'm realising now that it's the emotions you can express in a painting that carry across first. Like the aroma from the kitchen of a wonderful or horrifying meal. I think, when I'm analysing my work, as a piece develops, I'm really checking if there's any encumbrances to those emotions. Does the true voice of the painting hail clearly or is there something muffling it.

Another solo

Yep. No sooner than I had started the last one, I was planning this next one. Before I go into more detail I'd like to thank all who helped me with my last show. Namely, Kate, Andy, Christine, my Wife, and my good friend Jed, who makes exceptional coffee and company. None of it would've been possible were it not for you.

I sold over half my canvases, one even to the States, had incredible coverage on the press (Ben) and TV (Emma), and had a really encouraging response from the local community as well as tourists who came in during their visit to Glenfiddich.  

But time waits for no man, and so I plotted my next show. A close friend noted that most of my work sells locally, and so I decided to do something that would be a tribute to this area. I chose the local Harbour at Buckie. It has had a pivotal past to play in this area and in the lives of generations of families. It has seen great changes in its time and I felt a lot of those were echoed in my circumstances as well as many of the local guys who had once worked the boats or shipyard but now found themselves offshore and finding that threatened too.

I also grew up as a coastal child, often visiting harbours with my Dad in his role as a Coastguard. I felt a familiarity and affinity with the idea of the Harbour. 

I have so far organised premises and am most of the way into finishing the body of work for this show. 

Open Arms, midway through completion

I'm really looking forward to showcasing my collection with you. 

Land-ho!!

Sunlight is drifting through the window onto my shoulders as I write this from the comfort of the leather sofa in the Glenfiddich Gallery. My daily home for the last two weeks, I've been at the centre of the Spirit of Speyside whisky festival when local distilleries open their doors and invite you round to share their secrets. What an atmosphere! Locals and visitors from all around the world have been on good form despite it beginning in a blizzard. 

The gallery has been buzzing to, with over half the canvases being claimed in the first week. It's been such a revelation. This whole time I've been fixated with producing the work and then with the logistics of the exhibition. So much so that I'd not taken the time to consider the bit where I'm meeting visitors and discussing the work. I needn't have worried as it's been great seeing people's reactions and responses to my work. After working alone for the last six months on this, you can imagine how good the feedback feels.

if you're reading this having been to see my work, I'd love to read your comments below. If you haven't been yet, hurry up! Only two days left 😉

It's close!

Gulp, so it's only a matter of weeks now and I'm still pulling all nighters and grafting away. Starting to pull things together now and straighten it out in my head but I'm sure I'm not as organised as i should be. Will be meeting the curator of the gallery this week and should hopefully start moving completed canvases soon. It's going to be exciting seeing the space fill with my work. I still have to organise publicity and a sign for outside the venue to let people know it's running. 

My latest canvas, still work in progress. 

This is one of the canvases I'm currently working on. Working title: A different dream. Apologies if this is displaying sideways, I'm posting from the studio on my phone, so it's bound to go wrong.  

I'm enjoying doing these self composed paintings, as they allow me to talk about something, an idea or a concept in a way that will carry the information to the viewer, directly. This painting is about significant changes in life. It echoes work i did in my early 20's in college, and revisits a theme i started then.