Lenkiewicz vs Pollard .... Real Democracy in Action !!

you know I like to talk to myself a little, while I am in my little impromptu studio spaces ...

and every now and again , I manage to string together a set or series of words that actually resonate as an articulated truth , I consider the perspective of that truth , and every now and again I will discuss those topics of appraisal with fellow humans as they drift into the little impromptu gallery spaces and exhibitions that I hold ( because art for me , aside from being a therapeutic means of conveying evidence of an existence lived . is a means of engaging with a bewildering herd animal known as the general public )

and then when I am in a state of forced transience, at some train station , bus station , airport , waiting for a lift ( that's how I generally manage logistics , since we had to murder like a million people in some middle eastern country for the sake of maintaining the status quo , I personally refuse to own and operate my own road vehicle )  I find the time ( although it is often a bit of a rushed job ) to rant and rave on this digital page .....to reflect on some of those conversations , engagements and ideas ...

and that really has become the whole premise of this blog !!

Now I have been discussing matters at length lately , with a few fellow Artists , practitioners and producers , and there are some things that are abundantly clear !! one of which is Differentiation or the seeming lack of  it !!

the whole modern age , is as my friend Hunter Thompson once suggested ' the land of the weird ' and there such evidence of that in this thing we have come to know as Democracy !!

as the title suggests , I have been considering at length the differentiation of Artists and Painters, now it seems to me, that Painters offer aesthetically pleasing veneers , they white wash walls , paint pretty pictures of dogs and cats , they really offer a beige version of the world for an audience to barely even look at , its a way of covering cracks in a broken and battered cladding .....don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that ! but it has its place ..... personally when I am in a beautiful set of sceneries , I can find the inclination to make a visual record of that , I can fill sketchbook pages with little visual diary entries of places seen and visited, but this is not what I would consider to be my ' Art work '. on the contrary , they are merely drafts , simple impressions , personal notes ... and that is about it !!

Artists , now Artists do something quite different , they reflect on imagery , and they use it as a vehicle to convey ideas , complex premises , arguable notions , they offer a perspective that you can either agree or disagree with , thus incorporating and extending the line between practitioner and viewer ! and hopefully if they have done a good job , not necessarily restricted to technical excellence, but certainly emphasised by it ! they have offered a window into the human condition , into thoughts , feelings , notions and ideas that should engage the audience ... and to keep the spirit enthralled or appalled , all great artists and philosophers alike have dealt with three real .... and they are real human concerns and perpetually baffling notions .... that of love, life and mortality !!

Now I was recently in what some people assume an art gallery to be, a place full of pretense and bourgeois bullshit , and it was perfectly nice , but as I stood there amid some very expensive artworks and renderings, sipping a glass of perfectly pleasant white wine ... I was looking at two images that were side by side . One was a cartoon by the relatively well known painter Brian Pollard , it was a picture of Plymouth Hoe with smeaton tower and the surrounding green , and it was all bright colours and there were whimsical renderings of whimsical things, of cats and kites and sailboats and icecreams .....

next to it was a Painting by the late artist and personal friend Robert Lenkiewicz, it was dark and it was moody and it was full of questions. there was a semi clothed model , a depiction of a mirror , that offered a glimpse of the Artist at work , the space that the image conveyed, that themodels were situated in was dirty and broken and a little grimy ....

Now if you were to take these two works , and indeed the two individuals that produced them .... I think its a stark statement in itself as to where we are with a great many things in our current culture !

So Brian Pollard, with his friend base and social circle of well paid, uninteresting, followers and collectors , that ensure ' gallery stockists ' a great return and turnover of a very beige product,

Or indeed Robert Lenkiewicz ?? hypothetically speaking as if he was still alive ! well Robert never panted a tramp with an ice cream, lazing on the green in front of smeaton tower .... because he was engaged in something else, the business of living ! and observing the many facets of that, that took guts , and struggles , and indulgences and trials .... and it really spoke, even if some of the images are not that aesthetically pleasing, they are a means of offering a reflection , that is much more thorough than a youtube video .... or a Brian Pollard Cartoon, and yet Robert Died in Poverty!!

this is the real Democracy , and we have sold it to the better presented , the more marketable , the more cash affluent version of the thing !

Coca Cola ? or local Spring Water, that ensures and justifies a well maintained water table and natural environment within the region  that the consumer actually lives   ( fracking ahem )

McDonalds ? or locally produced sustenance , that ensures and justifies a healthy environment that that same consumer must live and engage with

Whistlefish ? or independent local Art Gallery , that ensures a means of distribution and support for a wide range of local expressive's ,facilitating the  keeping of  communities diverse , varied and interesting

Donald Trump ? or Bernie Sanders , I know that there is myriad party allegiances and infighting that muddy the water here , but its the same question as Tory or Labour ( and not the corporate balirite personal investment squandering thing that the latter has become )

so watch your ass , and just as importantly watch your expenditures ..... support that which is actually worth supporting,and be wary although the better advertised, the better financed will offer you all manner of slogans and assurances to invest in their super duper gargantuan brand , to a large extent , due to the apathies of the baby booming generations all of that capitol was garnered through questionable means .... I don't begrudge Brian Pollard giving up Medicine to pursue a bit of a painters career, but I wonder why , in an age such as this , he found the healthcare system so draining , so terrible , so intrisicly ghastly , to inspire the want to go and paint  cats and icecream cartoons , instead of offering comment or insight into the horrendous situation that Plymouth , or the nhs finds itself ?? he took his salary cash and pension provision , and his sphere of influence , and decided to offer a view of a veneer , a falsity .... one that offers no insight , no real reflection and no prospect of change ...its the supermarket gift shop , easily digestible propaganda , that spews from every revenue hoarding charlatan out there ..... keep calm and carry on !!! make America great again !! Coke for life !! Army: be the best !!

Artsist can be painters, but Painters can rarely be Artists , there is a time and a place for both, but not at the expense of each other x x x

Brand New ' Sketch Book Pages ' SALE x x x

A very Limited Edition !!

Here is your Chance to Obtain and own a rather unusual ' SketchBook ' work , whereas the series is usual limited to a maximum of 10 pages per A3 sketch book , during my little transient exhibition this summer season ( The Arts Hole on Tour 2017 ), I was often working on demonstration pieces during the course of the exhibition , as a result I was able to produce my sketchbook drafts on the larger format , and as a result  these pieces were produced in the larger A2 instead of the usual A3 .... these are produced on a standard sketchbook  quality Sheet of Cartridge and as you can see don't retain all of the detail and depth of the usual A2 / A1 higher priced format , but they are fantastic and unusual examples of Drafts for the Lager more intricate works in progress , for a much more affordable collectors price!! There are only 3 original paintings available in this Release , and it very much first come first served !! These are not featured on the website !!! and can only be purchased Directly Through the Tiffany Gallery , Higher Market Street East Looe , Cornwall , U.K . Get In Touch x x x 

''Converging Waves''

Original Sketchbook Page A2  

Landscape 45cm x 60cm 

Sale Price £225.00

''Merging The Veld's''

Original Sketchbook Page A2 

Portrait 60cm x 45cm

Sale Price £225.00

''Overthought....''

Original Sketchbook Page A2 

Portrait 60cm x 45cm 

Sale Price £225.00

There are still a few Sketchbook Pages in the Original and Standard A3 Sizes ( 30cm x 40cm )available, so please get in touch if you would like more information about the last availabilities from the final sketchbook of 2017 ,as well as the original hand drawn cartoons from the '101 reasons ...' series available but book early to ensure Christmas delivery  visit www.artsbyvalerio.webs.com for more information or e-mail  me or one of the representing Galleries directly for up to date availabilities / Offers / Promotions / Exhibitions / Tutorials/ Lectures / Workshops / Adventures  x 

LIKE AND SHARE CHRISTMAS COMPETITION 

For your chance to win a  ''Valerio Starter Art Collector Set'' Comprising 5 ..original artworks with a combined value of £795.00 !!! Just Like and Share the Artby VALERIO facebook page with the comment '' Artby Valerio Christmas Competition 2017'' winner will be announced 31/12/2017 

including  2x standard A3 (30cm x 40cm) ' 101 Reasons...'Original Hand drawn  Cartoons / 2 x 'Mini Art's' Original Paintings  (20cm x 20cm ) colour technique canvases / and 1 x Standard A3 ( 30 cm x 40cm )' Valerio Signature Style ' Hand Drawn Sketchbook Page : 

A perfect addition to any Art Collection !!

Artby / Designby / Rebellionby ....

Artby Valerio 100% ABV 

loads going on in the meantime ... but for a little long term play x

ok you crazy peeps ..... after the excellent response from the ' Why Not ? ' Art and Design project in Amsterdam 2015/ 2016 and the follow up ' Brexit Refugee ' Touring Expo this summer .... Artby Valerio and affiliates will be putting together a brand new month long Project in The beautiful City of Amsterdam in March 2018 , we are seeking all sorts of collaborative endeavours.... please get in touch if you are a practitioner / producer / maker / baker / shaker of any kind , we want to hear from Artists and Designers and Musicians and Food Producers / promoters / Performers .... gallery owners/ Curators  / empty space owners / blank wall hoarders/  hotels / hostels / coffee shops / restaurants and bars that might like to be involved in ' the Mad Dogs and Englishmen ' project for next year .... have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you x x x 

Artby /Designby / Innovationby / Tutorialsby / Adventureby / Rebellionby ....

Artby Valerio ABV100%

forged from waves , weather and adversities + all for passion not for profit 

Keep an IJ on this ....

Mad Dogs and '' Englishmen '' 

Amsterdam Land 2018 x x x 

'merging the veld's'

original artworks by Valerio : now also available from Maker Heights on the beautiful Rame peninsula in Cornwall x...... drop in and say hi , and check out the community organization that is attempting to thwart the total corporate takeover of some of the last  free spaces in the SO called U.K.....but as with most things , time will tell !!!

I even pop by every now and again to offer the usual , unusual range of artclasses and workshops x

Artby / Designby / Adventureby / Innovationby / Tutorialsby / Rebellionby ....Artby Valerio ABV100%

so Long Amstersam x

there are some people, that as we crash around our crazy world , amid our crazy introversions, immersed in this thing called life  .... that have the ability to show us something beautiful !! to remind us that for all of the internal distractions and exterior hypnotising influences ... for all of our hate and malice and negativity ... that there is still something wonderful , something miraculous and fragile .... something beautiful about the wonderfully flawed human being , with their constantly vexing human condition .

There are some people that for reasons that language cannot define , that description and connotation seem to be so trivial in their attempt to translate a feeling , a place , a love , a gesture , a reflection


... Ha Ha reflections!! .... well I suppose that reflections are the reason for this post , in more than one way , I found out late last night that a dear friend of mine passed away , on the same day as completely coincidentially two other friends and influences also passed away , and it leaves something of an impression

It seems that one of my favourite country and western singers died to day ..... Don Williams and the musc has been such a part of my life that , I am saddened by the fact that there will be no more brief discussions before live performances ... I am saddened that such a body of work will remain perpetually ' unfinished ' ( as that is always the bane of the creatives existence ) and that I will never again be able to ask for that aged gruff and growling advice that was always so stoic ....


another of these passings was a guy that grew up on my block as a kid ... he was a few years older than I was , and he was a heavy drinking alcoholic for ... well probably 20 years, there was a sense of the familiar in Michael though , and in the small Cornish town that we both grew up , it didn't matter how far away I was , it never mattered how long I was away , or what time of year I managed to get back to that quant , damp little place that I grew up .....' Mumbley ' would always be sat on the concrete block sea defenses that looked like some ex communist countries attempt at art deco  with a bottle or two of barnstormer cider watching the world go by ...... but this was a good soul ... not an aggressive drunk or a pervert or a weirdo .... just a really sweet soul that couldn't handle such sensitivities in such a macabre and hostile world !! a real shame for such a young guy to have drunk himself to death and he will be missed

lastly I found out that my friend Amstersam passed away while cycling from Amsterdam to Munster in Germany, and this is the one that has really upset me the most I think , now I had only known Sam for probably a little over two years, but as soon as we met we had an instant rapport, I immediately respected and admired the body of work , and I really felt that he held the same mutual respect for me , which is always nice when two creatives instead of being instinctively wary and competitive of each other , find that far more valuable balance of inspiring each other , jeering each other on , and comforting each other when you have those lousy days / weeks .....

Amstersam / Sam Van Dam , who ironically and quite sadly had only just started working with a gallery in Amsterdam, for his wonderful images of as what he described ' the best city in the world ' ... such a body of work , from such a beautiful soul .... really there will be times in the future that I know I will be saddened on many levels .... Amstersam will no longer be there in my lovely ' Amsterdam -Land ' .... our conversations will no longer echoe along the canals and our bike rides will remain unridden ..... our little photographic excursions will no longer take place with a constantly changing group of bizarre internationals in tow ..... your book and music recommendations ....

but most of all .... our silences will remain un sat .... sipping coffee and offering each other those little moments of broad reflection about what the other has said .... I will miss listening to your beautiful optimism , your way of routing any positive element out of any given circumstance ...  and in a very selfish way ... I will miss you listening to me too

when I first heard the news my initial response was .... nah !! hes pulling a fast one ... or some administrative error has been made .... but alas indeed we lost a hell of a friend and a hell of an artist there .... and lovely Amsterdam Land will be for ever a little emptier without ... Amstersam

Artby Valerio Cartoon featuring Amstersam a depiction from January 2017

Mad Dog Mcrea ' Take a longer Road '

one of my latest favouritest songs that I think reflects perfectly the feeling of carrying around thousands of pounds/euro's worth of personally produced stock like some kind of homeless transient .... a topic that we would discuss regularly x x x

well its all perfectly decent you know !

Shibari by Valerio, .......apparently!!??

Life Drawing with a Kink ! .....

So , I  have recently held a rather last minute little arts and crafts week up at maker heights on the Rame, in Cornwall ( which is incidentally just along the coast from the little town that I grew up in ) , and as well as damn near burning out I have thoroughly enjoyed myself !!!

A little about Maker ...... well it seems that it was once some military fortification or other and does still have a few architectural echoes that would indicate such ! apparently it has been used as various extra cirrucular and rehabilitative bases over the decades , but aside from all of that ... aside from the blah blah historical importance of some neglected ruin , aside from the value of the actual real estate that it actually resides on , or the cost of rennovations or any of that stuff

just for a minute I want to consider what Maker represents as a whole .... these days its a little bit of land that overlooks the sea , in a wonderful rural location ! its a place that offers very reasonably priced camping a very short distance from Plymouth!! and yet, also has a stunning example of a little Cornish village right on the estuary just down the hill ..and at the moment it represents , just like ADM and Ruigoord in Amsterdam and numerous other little ' Free ' spaces , psaces where if you want to put up a little exhibition , or a little demonstration ... a little social interaction , then these are the kinds of place to be able to do it .... and they are absolutely vital ... the main internal structure of the whole Gallery scene is exactly where street art came from .... huge numbers of exceptionally talented artists that couldn't get gallery space , started using the city scapes that surrounded them as their galleries ... but now of course, like everything else it has become completely enveloped by the profiteers , and now only certain street art is demanding high prices and the rest , well the rest is just graffiti ...... not the artists themselves of course , but just the whole trendy veneer of it all .... kind of like what happened to the Greenwich village scene I guess !! Personally I think that the original format before it went all gallery end , was the best !! when it really was Artists saying fuck off we don't need your gallery ... engaging in a necessary illegal activity , flouncing unjust laws , and using the image as a medium to convey actual ideas actual message , and bring a little art and provocation of thought into the minds eye of the passer by ..... and even the so and so Hearts such and such ... well everyone has to start somewhere .... and who isn't beguiled when you see something like that ... who was so and so , and how the fuck did that carve that , this far up this tree ?? or whatever x

I think we will do this again ..... Hooray for the Free Spaces !! 

Not your usual Artsy Fartsy Nonesense x

The Age of The Charlatan ???

you know , I have tried to summarise our current times in a few glib notations before ...

I coined the notion of ' obsessive compulsive acquisition ' and I believe was the first to suggest that it was an inherently societal symptom ... one that would be extremely difficult to withdraw from !! and that from it the larger connotation of an actual epoch or identifiable age could be defined , but as what ?

the age of madness ....
the petroleum age .....
The Plastic Age ....
the age of the logo ....
the corporate age ....
the dawn of the ' brave new world ' .....
the age of the recreationalist ....
the age of celebrated and even rewarded mediocrity ....
the digital age .....

there are so many that are rather fitting , but don't quite encapsulate the full spectrum of complex interchanges and balances of cultural/ societal / economic and psychological trends that have become more and more apparent ... and personally I would consider far more concentrated in recent decades

' The Age of the Charlatan ' though , I think that might be the closest that I have come to covering all aspects of the spectrum ... for the sake of a loose overview anyway ....for now !!

coca cola , mcdonalds , the Disney company , 20th century fox , bbc ' news' , Donald Trump ( although as a notion anything since Nixon fits here ) Monsanto , Theresa May ...... and every tier of the echelon and hierarchy above and below these obvious pinion points

it just kind of speaks for itself ...... no wonder they tried to stuff that ' keep calm and carry on ' crap down our throats ..... and it seems to have worked !!! we have all been totally sucker punched by the over paid and under talented charlatans of this world ..... and its definitely well overdue for an overhaul x

Drawn to the Valley 2017 ..... pffft ,I am the Valley !!!

' Maker Evening of It' IMPROMPTU AUGUST 2017

Please Note that due to unprecedented demand the Shibari evening sip and sketch on the Saturday 19th is now fully booked , but don't worry , I have had a little word with the models and we will do a reprise on Tuesday the 22nd ..... get in touch if you want to come along x x x