Phil Irish

So, here I am publishing to the internet.

I am working as Artist In Residence for the City of Kitchener.
The studio is very public, where people can watch me at work. So I thought that I might as well reveal all, so to speak, on the internet.

Let's see what happens.

So here's a glimpse of what's happening at the studio.
One of the first things I moved into the studio was my trolly, with paint gear, glass window pane for mixing, and all the shallow shelves for holding the tubes of colour. I built that thing years ago, in my first rented studio. This structure has come to define "studio" for me.

Also, in the picture, the sketchbook. I am always collecting ideas, writing, sketching, pasting stuff in. Those books (I have a full shelf of them now) are, to me, the seedbed of all I work on. They become denser, and richer, as spontaneous jottings attract more developed ideas, developing together though layered annotations and sketches. These books are about trusting the ideas that come.

Another thing: when I first moved in, the walls were a mid-tone, warm, neutral shade. That, with the bad lighting, made my eyes feel like mush. I was a little depressed, until I painted the whole place stark white, and brought in a couple of lights. Hello clarity! Now things are vivid. It was a tedious task, but well worth it.