Paint Posts

Lost World

2012-01-12T23:49:00.000Z

It all happened unexpectedly

And then…

To commemorate our relationship

The British Library created a smartphone app

Featuring 50 manuscripts,

And nearly 500 images,

Plus interpretive text and videos.

London Lights

2011-12-11T00:28:00.001Z

one day the lights that inspired them might call him away

did pleasure for its own sake save anyone?

for what does it profit...?

he would remain faithful to the inner voice....

Sofa Skateboard & Wheelie Bin

2011-10-31T00:08:00.001Z

Heygate Lament

2011-09-25T00:20:00.000+01:00

At one time he lived on the first floor,
Of an old Victorian tenement,
Balfour Street, London SE 17.

Across the road was a council tower block and maisonettes

Grey and intimidating!

A reproach to love.

Today - though the tenements remain,
The tower block and maisonettes are gone.
Fondly thought of now lost.

The Cloud Counter

2011-08-14T10:21:00.002+01:00

The Cloud Counter

His warrior palms

That is...

He grapples with the vapour

Of our good intentions.

Jungle Fever

2011-07-09T17:30:00.005+01:00

Looking up...

Above the crosstown brilliance

It’s not a shooting star they see

But some deeper trajectory...

Another couple in free fall

Caught in the headlights

Of the paint splattered Oldsmobile

Night is here!

A festival of unexpected purpose.

Oppressive heat!

A lifetime’s supply of cigarette papers and rolling tobacco

Ignited!

A countenance that buffers war zone noises

And bourbon poured to fan the flames.

In this strange light

Eyes stream lines of jungle vision,

He reaches out to question his companion.

Had they not arrived hearing the rainforest break the surface,

The audio hum of turf obstacle and tree chaos,

Of endless yards of free canvas and textured silences?

What make of mark was it finally

Left him stunted in lively connectivity?

Carving a directed course

Tempered to drive though granite

He'd attempted to make sound substance!

But could not make gravity pierce sonic nature.

Instead folding his brow over a scream,

He followed the ash tracks on his outsize denim overalls.

Another mysterious trail of heated tarmac,

Of road paint boiling

And the smell of burning rubber.

Later

Somewhere in a field

The days beginning!

A memory....

A squandered wish after regret.

Of which the monument stands already.

A breath coagulated and solidly formed

And a hardened set of long discarded paint brushes

Encrusted in the hour before the sun.

Surely a portent.

The Mountain King

2011-07-02T17:16:00.002+01:00

Found! In the heart of the city!

The mountain king

Wheeled in!

He entertains the crowds

They love him!

He’s so funny!

Saw him myself 20 years ago

Up for two nights in a row

Three days on my bed

Then venturing toward life

Feeling the people come and go

The surge of so many pleasures

Sought or taken.

In the square he holds court

A grin broader than shoulders

He condescends

He addresses us

He plays a mandolin

And tells a joke!

Unaccountably

Waves of remorse and sorrow engulf me

When he reached my history

He seasoned the soup I’m in

Long live the king!

The ages rest with him

He is half as tall as me

How could I ever stand again!

The King's Garden

2011-06-19T01:03:00.008+01:00

I

Come walk with me!

In the Royal Gardens

The King has drawn me close

After many years

Spent in the outer deserts

At the head of my companions

It was there we learnt to refuse

The heady enticement

To wander our own pathways

II

But now

Here in the undergrowth

In the lusts of life

Close to the heart of humid passion

The King has allowed me to roam

He is not far away

Should I experience difficulty

He will come quickly to my rescue

III

From without it might not seem this way

To the untrained eye

It might even appear that the King despised me

That of all His subjects

I was the most disdained

But like I say

Look carefully and you will see

Am I not free?

At liberty to come and go as I please

The guards let me be

I am not escorted here or there

IV

If His Majesty should request

He knows I will come

And He confides in me

There are secrets I cannot share

For example the names of certain plants that grow here

Yesterday he told me the dimensions of the garden walls

Although this information in itself is not important

It interested me to hear there were walls

For in my explorations I had not yet discovered them

V

Today His Majesty has company

Many dignitaries grace the garden lawns

Distinguished guests exchanging pleasantries

I loiter in the bushes

There is a kind of rank shade here

The perfume of some exotic fruit

Now decaying

But what decay!

And what fruit!

Such as never seen before

An ecstasy of malodour!

Something like Moringa

VI

He knows I’m here

He won’t call me today

Or disturb my investigation

You see He delights in me

He Himself once made these discoveries

He wants to share His treasures

VII

Tomorrow I plan to venture deeper into the undergrowth

I would like to reach the wall

It is my aim

To see it!

And touch it!

Run my hands over the sacred ancient surface

Savouring its texture

Breath in the dank mortar

Pushing my nose up close

VIII

Ideally I’d like to find a corner

Yes!

The darkest corner

The leafy canopy resplendent above

I would put my arms to the adjacent walls

And make a special wish or request

What that would be

I don't know as yet

It’s not important

It is the act itself that is important!

IX

This would be

A very solitary excursion

I know

But I’ve no doubt He would be close

Aware of me there

Looking up from His conversation

Pondering my situation for a moment

And besides

The angels of Heaven would accompany me there

Whispering reassurance

Or is that the rustle of the breeze

In the trees overhead

X

Standing here at the wall

The world somersaults

The wild man of the ages

His long white hair and yellow beard blowing

Waves his staff over the early morning mist

This new morning!

I ask myself

Are we at the end of time?

The Light remains fixed

From the lawn

The King is beckoning me

My friends are there

At last!

I have company.

epitaph

2011-06-10T21:34:00.003+01:00

reverential

fountain

thus much

must ever flow

breath and blood

and breed and blow

forgotten not

and with the just

accounting given

divine inspired

and interstellar driven

reputed lost

reported

then....

was done for

stealin’...

I'm Fixing a Hole...

2011-06-03T14:07:00.000+01:00

I’m fixing a hole.

Twisting,

A space opens beneath me.

An error no larger than

Than a tooth cavity.

A flossing margin.

Still, a chasm of consequence follows.

The passage from Death to Life,

As the gulley under the flyover.

I throw out a grasping salute.

Guttering!

Why am I swearing in German?

Two rough guards,

Gravity & Flail,

Frogmarch me.

Didn’t no-one tell Time it’s rude to stare?

Hovering there...

I saw a TV thrown from a third storey window.

I saw the flickering shadows of love.

I saw a graffiti blessing.

Eyesore.

Though I am not uglier,

Lying here,

The rain gets in.

My mind is wandering.

The radio sings…

‘I’m fixing a hole...’

Just Another Laser Show

2011-05-21T15:21:00.015+01:00

Through the worst of it

The storm yes!

Does one need new phrases?

What to compare it to

A crucifixion..?

Violent emotion!

Give us a metaphor!

Ah! the mind

Feeble with sorrow

Isn’t it so?

Originality

Weighs something like gold

And costs as much or more. Yes?

Blah…

…went to the gods

came back with fire!

(Went to hell and back!)

Falling or floating

Which is which?

How do you tell the difference?

There was this emotion...

An experience in the dark!

And to make a memorial,

I put up some words

And had them graven on this stone,

My heart!

But these scribbles make no sense

Now the charm has passed.

And all that remains is

A poor man with head in hands.

What remains is …

The fear of leaving nothing.

Give us a thought then!

But spare us!

The faded flowers in cellophane,

The sequences in slow motion.

Spare us the lines etched on faces in grainy black and white,

the sequined images of sorrow…

Instead!

Today!

The sun weeps light.

The moon sings ballads.

Throws back its head and laughs.

The ancient scrivener kicks up dust and waves his arms!

In a tantrum he gives up his staff!

Poor fool!

Where did your wisdom go?

What impostor drums the hard ground now?

The Mrs. follows with Polyfiller,

Sealing the cracks.

Well, a square metre will do,

Hang it on a wall,

Or paint it white,

And watch your shadow!

Share a meal, a glass of wine, and cooing!

Then back to work!

Crawling on all fours

In search of the Golden Section.

Ah yes!

The horizon!

Painted too!

Then...

Oh tedium! They fall through the backdrop!

Pulling it down about them!

Laughing they wait to be escorted away!

But no-one is there!

Their dusty empty theatre is a sham!

And no-one arrives!

But I arrive!

I saw the poster!

I take pity!

Let me be the one to feel sad!

Knowing the show will be squalid!

Knowing the place will be empty!

But the notice says, “Come and see....”

“This is your Life!”

Well it was me that made the poster!

On it I put:

• some white text

• some glare

• some black printers ink

• a little bit of green

And then I pinned it…

And pinned it…

Till it had the texture of Braille.

Then I stood on it!

I rubbed dust in,

And worked the shiny surface.

What a pointless exercise!

There were other things that were boring also!

So it was put in a portfolio

And went to a cupboard.

Sometimes it is taken out,

With closed eyes we run our hands over the pitted surface.

I don’t read Braille but what we think it says is this,

“Dive in the water’s lovely”

I check again....

“I am messed up paper!”

“Dreamer Sleep!”

“2d off selected items!’’

“Don’t Touch Me!”

Have we been fooled again?

Did I rest on a mere design!

What good could possibly come from that?

Was it to be some kind of oracle?

It was put as such to the gathered assembly

But they are rightly angry.

They ask us to leave.

In the street there is the wish to escape!

How?

I ask the question!

Speak it into a container,

And seal it.

Oh! please don’t make me say,

‘Message in a bottle!’

There! It was said!

Because of that,

I’m holding the container still.

No faith!

Only a hot irritation,

A focused anger, flowing…

Cutting through the dense matter,

Separating us from light!

If I can get through to the source…

Maybe we'll see something there.

Light will spill through,

Illuminating the room.

Some time passes...

Eventually …

Success!

Light streams through!

Ethereal patterns fill the room!

We watch entranced...!

And spend some days

Swimming in luminous phosphorescence,

Brightness above,

Radiance below.

Brilliance to the left and right of us.

Then without explanation

Feeling for the hole,

I use that place to insert a nail,

And hang the poster which I framed.

Was this the light we were looking for..

Or just another laser show?

Pit

2011-05-13T22:25:00.000+01:00

I Prefer My Momento Mori Blonde

2011-05-06T16:58:00.000+01:00

Cipher

2011-04-29T23:17:00.000+01:00

Contamination Sample

2011-04-18T23:16:00.000+01:00

I can feel it in my bones

2011-04-04T23:55:00.002+01:00

Was pretty amazed by this when came across it on the New Cross Road last year. It was disappearing when spotted and has now completely gone.

Busker

2011-03-31T00:02:00.000+01:00

vfigure projection :f 2platform

2011-03-22T17:58:00.000Z

Super Droid

2011-03-18T22:20:00.000Z

...a dedicated follower of pattern

2011-03-11T19:12:00.001Z

yes! he was cut to size

worsted

his houndstooth checked

his scarlet skirted

his herring…

boned and gutted!

needled

they pinned me down

they hemmed me in

they stitched me up

or so it seemed

sheared in my prime

my loose ends strewn.

and all that was sown

was gone too soon

not seeded gone

but too soon bone

Hood

2011-03-04T23:23:00.000Z

Butterflies

2011-02-25T21:10:00.000Z

Skull Studies

2011-02-18T21:55:00.000Z

Whitewash

2011-02-11T23:24:00.000Z

New Cross Rd

2011-01-28T00:44:00.000Z

Dearly Departed

2010-12-31T17:53:00.002Z

Livesey Place, London SE15

2010-12-16T22:58:00.000Z

Las Poor

2010-12-09T21:56:00.002Z

Laurie Grove, London SE14

2010-11-30T17:57:00.000Z

'...from the Great Heygate Estate'

2010-11-27T17:31:00.000Z

note 2 self

2010-11-23T21:58:00.000Z

Seen on the Street

2010-11-13T14:28:00.001Z

Has-Been

2010-11-08T21:38:00.000Z

Like a Skull II

2010-10-25T00:35:00.000+01:00

Two Rascals: The Antidote to Feng Shui

2010-10-18T22:44:00.000+01:00

Depth Psychology: What Menaces?

2010-10-05T22:13:00.001+01:00

Mutant Blood Cell

2010-10-02T16:02:00.002+01:00

Epiphany

2010-09-29T23:58:00.002+01:00

Viral Alert!

2010-09-23T23:38:00.002+01:00

Sheet Metal

2010-09-21T23:23:00.002+01:00

Assassin

2010-09-11T21:36:00.002+01:00

Like a Skull

2010-09-08T23:54:00.004+01:00

Fugutive from the Lake of Fire

2010-08-28T16:31:00.001+01:00

Dark Knight

2010-08-21T01:04:00.001+01:00

Alcasan's Head

2010-08-17T18:20:00.003+01:00

Cyborg Resection

2010-08-16T23:47:00.002+01:00

Artery

2010-08-11T20:21:00.001+01:00

Run Mascara

2010-08-06T17:26:00.003+01:00

Padlock

2010-08-02T21:29:00.002+01:00

Young Paul

2010-07-30T16:16:00.002+01:00

Red Wood

2010-07-29T22:42:00.002+01:00

Artefact

2010-07-28T00:11:00.006+01:00

Charnel Drip Mix

2010-07-25T23:52:00.002+01:00

Charnel Charon

2010-07-22T22:26:00.004+01:00

Transmission

2010-07-18T22:43:00.002+01:00

Late Lounge

2010-07-09T22:06:00.002+01:00

Red Rib Rack Skull Stack

2010-07-08T23:26:00.002+01:00

Specimen

2010-07-07T23:58:00.002+01:00

Decrepit Reflection

2010-07-06T23:48:00.005+01:00

Lethal Circus

2010-07-05T23:14:00.005+01:00

Melody

2010-07-03T23:31:00.003+01:00

Astral Zombie

2010-06-28T00:11:00.003+01:00

Ferry

2010-06-23T22:24:00.003+01:00

Charnel Label

2010-06-20T00:03:00.002+01:00

AO-OA Graphic Detail

2010-06-14T22:27:00.002+01:00

OA-AO Presents...

2010-06-13T19:46:00.004+01:00

Pink Pile

2010-06-07T22:52:00.002+01:00

Insignia

2010-06-05T15:04:00.003+01:00

Neon Fantasy

2010-06-01T15:28:00.001+01:00

Pin Up

2010-05-29T09:03:00.007+01:00

Reaper

2010-05-27T22:03:00.001+01:00

And Whose Bones Are these?

2010-05-24T22:44:00.005+01:00

And whose bones are these
To walk the earth
To land just here...
And just such fragile bones
To be kicked or thrown
But not throne
For kings lie in exulted homes
Tho kings never did lie on thrones
But on their beds did surely lie
But then did surely lie upon their thrones also
And most wretchedly did many die
For where kings lie
Is innocent blood sown

Phantom

2010-05-23T21:44:00.007+01:00

Sums

2010-05-21T17:39:00.005+01:00

Tonsure

2010-05-17T23:44:00.004+01:00

Warr Magazine: July Issue 1955

2010-05-13T21:36:00.006+01:00

Autography: The Chronicle of Fancy Dan

2010-05-10T22:45:00.005+01:00

Visor

2010-05-05T20:12:00.005+01:00

Gentleman & Mask

2010-05-03T13:40:00.009+01:00

Mask

2010-05-01T23:31:00.003+01:00

Blue Nuke

2010-04-30T17:41:00.000+01:00

Chill Pill

2010-04-25T14:39:00.001+01:00

Toxic Imaging Gold Star Award (Grade 1)

2010-04-24T11:05:00.006+01:00

Addiction

2010-04-18T00:41:00.000+01:00

Bones BM

2010-04-16T23:05:00.000+01:00

Radio Active Bones

2010-04-15T15:33:00.002+01:00

Substrate Remnant

2010-04-12T14:58:00.003+01:00

Stencil

2010-04-06T21:19:00.002+01:00

Sironi in Pink

2010-04-06T00:52:00.001+01:00

Disinfectant

2010-04-05T00:03:00.002+01:00

Mirror, Mirror

2010-03-21T22:47:00.003Z

More Skull-Duggery

2010-03-19T21:31:00.003Z

Exit Strategy

2010-03-18T22:40:00.004Z

Diamond Cut Skull-Duggery

2010-03-17T23:34:00.007Z

Apparition

2010-03-14T17:07:00.002Z

Charnel Trophy

2010-03-13T14:37:00.004Z

Graffitism

2010-03-12T21:11:00.003Z

Grime Time

2010-02-07T22:56:00.000Z

Still from a Movie: Bonded One

2010-01-30T16:31:00.002Z

Glacial Trophy

2010-01-25T22:47:00.002Z