Poetry and Painting combined

I have recently become intrigued by the thought of combining my poetry and my painting in such a way that one image contains both a poem and a painting.

It seems to me that the combination may make an interesting work of art.

Sometimes the poem comes first, sometimes the painting comes first. And sometimes they just belong together.

These are the first three I have done.
Do let me know what you think.

David

Reality on Whitby Pier

In this case there was no question in my mind that the two belong together.

I have printed this off, blown up to poster size, and pinned it on the cork board in my kitchen.

Voyeurs

In this case the poem came first.
I was looking through the poems which will be included in my new book and just thought – I could paint that.
Just for fun.

Stones

In this case the painting came first.
I took an extract from one of my poems because it seemed to fit.

Spirit of the Sixties

Many things happened
while I was out the back
having a fag.

You got down on your knees
and gave Tom S. a blow-job.

Alex T. had his first successful
bowel movement for two weeks
and on announcing the fact to everyone
received a generous round of applause.

Jill M. took off her top and bra,
flashed her tits to the whole company.
They had all seen them before.

Two people I had never met
continued quietly shagging
on an armchair in the corner.

The central heating boiler
in the kitchen blew up
and demolished the house.

Do you remember?

Cock Pit Farm Tea Rooms

Some of my paintings are now on display, and for sale, at the Cock Pit Farm Tea Rooms in Weston on the back road between Otley and Ilkley.

I am chuffed to bits.

Hopefully there will be prints available for sale there in the near future.

The Tea Rooms are open Wednesday to Sunday 11:00am to 4:00pm
They serve wonderful coffee and home made cakes to die for.

Call in, have a look, have a coffee.
Tell Sue that David sent you

Paintings from round and about

Otley Chevin

I was prompted to paint this by my friend Paul who, in response to one of my previous paintings, said he missed his weekly walks up the Chevin.
I guess the landscape in Florida is rather different from the landscape in Yorkshire!

Bolton Abbey

A painting inspired by a poem

La Petite Mort

On the back seat of a car, in a secluded clearing,
with the theme song from ‘Local Hero’
playing on the stereo, two people
couple with such intensity
that for a moment the forest falls still;

the woodpecker pauses in his drumming,
wood-nymphs cover their eyes
and their ears with their wings,
and a robin, nearest to the scene,
begins to doubt his own ability.

Meantime, a sparrowhawk,
searching for other prey, looks down in wonder,
wonders if, for those two people,
life will ever be the same again, then swoops
to change the life of a coal tit for ever.

 

Book launch and Poetry readings

There are no such things as seagulls
Book Launch and Poetry Readings

My new book – ‘There are no such things as seagulls’ will be published by Valley Press in June of this year.
To coincide with this launch I will be doing a number of poetry readings   -  details below.
Please feel free to attend any or all of these.
Do let me know if you are coming. It will be good to see as many friends as possible.

Sunday 17^th June – 1:30pm Bridlington Spa

This event, hosted by Jamie McGarry, is part of a day-long event by Valley Press.
So if you want a day of poetry, book readings, workshops and an opportunity to meet the publisher and some of the Valley Press authors, not to mention a day out by the seaside and an opportunity to buy some books then this is an event not to be missed!!

Monday 18^th June – 7:30pm Carriageworks Theatre Leeds

This event, hosted by Ian Harker, will be run under the auspices of the Leeds Writers Circle but everyone is welcome.
The Carriageworks Theatre is in the Electric Press building on Millennium Square.

Sunday 24^th June – 12:30pm Victoria Pub, Leeds

This event, hosted by David Tait, will allow you not only to sample good poetry but also to enjoy the ambience of one of the finest pubs in Leeds  -  good food, good ale, good atmosphere. If you like your pubs to be like pubs, as I do, then this is the place for you. The Vic. Is behind the Town hall in Leeds.

It is my intention at each of these events that selected poems from the book will be read not only by me but also by some of my friends.

Wednesday 27^th June – 7:30 Heart Café, Headingley, Leeds

This is not a launch event as such. I will be reading along with four or five other poets at this event which runs on a regular monthly basis on the last Wednesday of each month.

Some Whitby Paintings

I am posting these paintings by way of a progress report really I guess.
They represent as much as anything else a process of learning. Not only about painting itself but also about how a painting looks when I transfer it from my iPad.
I have discovered I need to be aware of what it looks like after printing.
I remember hearing David Hockney talking about just this on a television programme.  I didn’t understand what he meant then but I do now.

Enjoy
David

Towards Sandsend

If I had known, before I started, how challenging this painting would turn out to be I might well have not started it at all!
But there you go – Story of my life really.
And if I was to do it again I would probably do it differently.  Story of my life again!

But it is what it is and I learnt a lot along the way.

Whitby Abbey

This is another painting which gave me real challenges.
Tikarma very generously provided me with advice and guidance without which the painting would surely have finished ‘in the garage’.
The quality of the finished painting is down to me – not down to the quality of Tikarma’s advice which was really helpful.
The other challenge with this painting was for me to understand how it would look.
It looks really good when printed on a good quality printer. (I don’t have a good quality printer but I know a man who does! )

If you take two paces back from the screen you get a clue!!!

Whitby Pier

This painting was done just because it was tremendous fun to do!
What it is all about really! 

Oh, and one other thing -
I don’t half get a good feeling when I see one of my paintings framed and hanging on my wall!!!