Helnwein and Hopper

Back to the painting... This one is entitled Gestalt. I spent longer than I normally would on this painting. It was an idea that required a laboured look... so I laboured. Technically there were some diffficulties (which was good)... Stone can be problematic. The duck is there for the protein content. This one is slightly inspired by the work of Edward Hopper and Gottfried Helnwein - Helnwein has also visited Hopper paintings in his own work, most notably, 'Nighthawks'. I have used Helnwein cues in my work in the past: Rocket Lollies and ducks. I've always liked the absurd or unusual, especially when used in a fine art context as a departure from the classical. I feel Helnwein and Hopper have this quality, both in their own way.

Advice from Gordon...

While in Japan for the G8 summit, Gordon Brown has urged the UK to stop throwing food away, in order to lessen the blow of inflated food prices. In the UK we throw away around 30% of the food we buy. So we can assume that John Prescott threw away £1500 of food on expenses in 2006... thus lessening the blow of spending his own money and burdening the taxpayer. The fat bastard... In fact, isn't Prescott Bulimic :)... so he'd have hueyed some deliberately too... After delivering his piece Gordon sat down to a six course working lunch and dinner (the meal after Countdown but before Newsnight) was reported to be eight courses. I bet he's been saving up for that all year. Anyway, on a lighter note I have asked the North Korean Embassy if they could ask Kim Jong Il if he wants the portrait I painted for him. See below.