Sigmar Polke review, Stuart Bush, contemporary art

The Art of Sigmar Polke – Review

Sigmar Polke tears everything down that came before and starts again It is a common misunderstanding to think that creativity is an optimistic response to life and its single aim is to reflect the beauty around us.  However, if you born in Germany in 1941 in the middle of the Second World War, would you want to paint an attractive still life with flowers?  Everything is a function of where you think you belong, and everything comes back to your identity.  If you had an urge to create an artistic response while growing up on malevolent soil in a world full of angst, would you use the potatoes of your youth? It… Read More »The Art of Sigmar Polke – Review

vivian maier, stuart bush, creative secret

What is your creative secret?

Following your passion, looking for your creative secret On a wet cold street corner in Chicago, in the worst part of town, you’re experiencing the thrill of observing life with your camera.  There is a homeless person on the sidewalk, who looks tired and hungry.  As you walk towards him, he looks directly at you, reaffirming life.  Looking in his eyes you see through the grime.  You recognise his spirit and hope for something more worthy.  Your pulse races, you’re witnessing suffering you can hardly imagine.  Your hand moves to the shutter.  However, you realise that to make the picture work, you need to step further into his personal space.… Read More »What is your creative secret?

Stuart Bush Studio Notes, Melissa Corbett, contemporary artist

An interview with Melissa Corbett

Interview with Australian contemporary artist – Melissa Corbett I recently had the pleasure of discussing the inspiration behind the works of fascinating young Australian contemporary artist – living in Spain, Melissa Corbett. Melissa is studying an MA in Arts Practice and Visual Culture at UCLM University in Spain.  Make sure to follow Melissa on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on her latest work at MelissaCorbettArt.com   Stuart Bush – It is definitely about time I got round to interviewing and inviting other artists to participate in my blog. Thank you for being willing to participate. My first question is, as an Australian artist, how did you end… Read More »An interview with Melissa Corbett

Stuart Bush Studio Notes, Playing to the gallery, Grayson Perry

Playing to the Gallery – book review

Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry Have you ever stepped into a contemporary art gallery and felt angry and confused?  How do you tell if something is good or bad?   It can be puzzling trying to form an opinion about contemporary art.  Who can answer this question for us?  Grayson Perry, the transvestite pottery and Turner Prize winner, takes on this brave task in his book ‘Playing to the Gallery’.  In it, Perry guides us on a whistle-stop tour of dissecting contemporary art as he sets out the tools to allow us to an understanding of modern societies’ relationship with art.   His book is based on a… Read More »Playing to the Gallery – book review

Stuart Bush, How does new art work come about? things that catch my eye

How does a new art work come about?

Things that catch my eye There is a belief that if you allow yourself, it be distracted from earning money and a professional career like being an accountant or a lawyer; it is to play away from what is essential. I’m afraid I have to disagree. Since I was a child, I have allowed myself to be pulled down a rabbit hole. When most people move on with turning their life away from play, I have stuck at it, allowing myself to indulge in a belief that an interest in what I notice is of value. I have given perception, high importance in my life. I feel lucky to be… Read More »How does a new art work come about?

Bridget Riley art, stuart bush, art exhibitions london,

Bridget Riley Art Review

Swimming through a diamond – Bridget Riley Art Exhibition London review   Almost anyone who loves art would be interested to know what the first experience of discovery is like. The moment when a painter notices that ‘something’, and has the opportunity to capture it all.  Leading to the dream of a fantastic career as an artist, with an absolute breath-taking body of work, accumulating in a career beyond belief that makes you go goggle-eyed.   I imagine Bridget Riley in 1960, aged 29 years old walking by a lake. Her arms are heavy, after a frustrating session in the studio. She is young, gifted and hopefully going places.  Her… Read More »Bridget Riley Art Review

marlene dumas paintings, the painter's life, stuart bush

Marlene Dumas: the painter’s life

Marlene Dumas: the painter’s life In 2004, I started to make a visual diary.  It is a great way to tune into what feels important. My visual diary has slowly developed and transformed over many years into a multifaceted body of work.  This body of work, like Marlene Dumas’s work, has recorded many of the moments in life that felt relevant and significant. It helps me understand and consider the things l am doing a bit better.   Writing about Marlene Dumas’s artwork enables me to articulate what l see and then go deeper into what l, myself, want to achieve when l stand in front of the canvas.  Painting… Read More »Marlene Dumas: the painter’s life

Stuart Bush Studio Notes, artist Eric Fischl,

‘Bad Boy’ by Eric Fischl – book review

‘Bad Boy’ by artist Eric Fischl – book review I imagine when artist Eric Fischl wrote ‘Bad Boy,’ about his journey as an artist, it must at times been excruciating to write.  Fischl along with his co-author Michael Stone goes deep with stories about the uncertainty of life as an artist.   He includes narratives of middle-class white America, from his messy dysfunctional family to his roller-coaster career.  However, the highlight for me is the journey Eric Fischl took to realise the type of artist he wanted to be.   Eric Fischl talks a lot about his time at art school at CalArts, California Institute of the Arts under the… Read More »‘Bad Boy’ by Eric Fischl – book review

Painting Freedom – Albert Oehlen review

Painting Freedom – Albert Oehlen review As a painter in today’s cacophony of visual possibilities, where would l start if l was trying to build a perfect painting practice and what would such a practice look like?  Especially if I wanted to leave myself and the viewer guessing what l was going to paint.   When I looked at Albert Oehlen paintings I wondered where he started.  Looking at his paintings in his latest show at the Serpentine, London, it is hard to imagine how he ended up here.  Albert Oehlen’s paintings have moved past his previous discord into the beauty in the conflict and almost defy categorisation.  I realise that Albert Oehlen… Read More »Painting Freedom – Albert Oehlen review

Overcoming fear, one brushstroke at a time, stuart bush, stuart bush studio, contemporary artist

One brushstroke at a time

Overcoming fear by taking one brushstroke at a time I want to share with you, a story about how I overcame my biggest obstacle and my biggest fear. As I look back to when I finished my post-graduate course in Fine Art in 2007, aged 29 years, I am still surprised how naive I was. I thought I only needed to display my artwork in a proper gallery, it would be seen by someone in the know, and I would be an overnight success.  How wrong can I get it!  I realise there is no such thing ‘god’s gift’. Unsurprisingly quick success didn’t happen. Instead, shortly after graduation, I had a… Read More »One brushstroke at a time