We were provided with paint, brushes, ladders etc. As work commenced we took over the sound system—bringing in our own mixed tapes (I recall Mudhoney and early Henry Rollins being my main contribution)—and had free access to the bar, although we very sensibly stuck to non-alcoholic drinks during ‘work’ hours.

And so it was that, over the ensuing weeks, The Royal Artillery Hotel transformed into ‘The Arthouse’ : a venue for local bands wherein every surface was decorated with a wild array of colourful illustrations.

I met some great people that spring; friends I’m in contact with to this day. I later played numerous gigs at The Arthouse and attended plenty of others.

I have no idea how long the murals survived… it’s been many years since I visited that part of town.

I still have drawings and photos of my work - of-course!

*Yes, this is Number 2. No, you haven’t missed anything, Number 1 is still to come.

Dunkelheit, Sturm und Drang

“Darkness, Storm and Stress” is a repository for my illustrations, scribblings and photographs ~ visual art rather than written words.

Thanks for reading!

Artwork is often a reflection of the Artist’s state of mind; conscious or sub-conscious.

I began drawing faces in my early teens, unaware that what would become my trademark/raison d'être — the open/screaming mouth — was not just inspired by a school assignment on drawing with unbroken line (or my love of Gerald Scarfe and ‘The Wall’1) but a sign of something deeper; something that remained unspoken for many years to come…

Another oldie ~ an appropriate visual summation of the past couple of weeks… ?

Share

DUNKELHEIT, STURM UND DRANG

by Pen Black

Throughout the early ‘80s I was completely obsessed with Pink Floyd’s album The Wall. When I saw the 1982 film, directed by Alan Parker, the animations by Gerald Scarfe blew me away! His visual style and the way he so eerily captured the moods of the music was a revelation; who can forget the ominous and frightening marching hammers? (below) The idea of incorporating animated sequences was a stroke of genius and the film is worth seeing for them alone.

I was an Art student in Secondary School and had the idea of ‘interpreting’ the image from the movie poster. The Scarfe piece looks like it’s done in ink or watercolour… I did mine in oil paint on a canvas approx. 7'x7' using palette knives to apply the paint in thick splatters and strokes. Sure it’s not exactly original but I copied it by eye without any preliminary sketches or outlines and was pretty happy with the way it turned out. The photo (below) is a tiny bit blurry but it’s the only one I have…

…although the painting is still wrapped up safely in the storage loft of my Dad’s garage; if I ever move into a house with enough wall space to hang it, maybe I’ll retrieve it.

Share

DUNKELHEIT, STURM UND DRANG

by Pen Black

Leave a comment

Almost forty years ago (!) ~ a sketch based on a postcard of Andy Warhol.

I sang in a band back in the early ‘90s… and ended up using some of my artwork on our posters; this was in the days before I had access to a computer so everything was hand drawn, cut and pasted; as you can tell by the slight wonkiness of the lettering (above).

To help with publicity, we hit upon the idea of making a shitload of stickers (photocopying a full page on sticky-backed paper, and cutting them into individual pieces about 7x10cm [approx. 2.7x4"] in size), we gave bunches of them to everyone we knew… and suddenly (it seemed) pub toilets, tram stops and bill posting hoardings all over town were festooned with these natty little buggers. I’d go to parties and see them on the fridges of complete strangers, people stuck them on their guitar cases and anywhere else they could think of.

The band may not have been a roaring success, but plenty of people got to know these two crazy faces of mine.

Leave a comment

Dunkelheit, Sturm und Drang ~ “Darkness, Storm and Stress” is a repository for my illustrations, scribblings and photographs ~ visual art rather than written words. Subscribers to ‘Pen Tangles & Pent Angles’ are automatically subscribed to this section of my publication. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time if you’re not into it!

Dreaming Madness or Sleeplessness… the unsteady thoughts and hands of my ageing self.

A repost of my ‘avatar’ illustration, in its full form.