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sketch

this is a beginning of an idea

musician iii

musician ii

musician

blake iii

After Blake

Of course Blake suffers a lot in representation, he’s invariably the madman more whimsical than genius or the failed commercial artist – key impressions I took from this show. Never is he given full credit as the great philosopher or painter, though the poetry seems better respected than owt else but still this is carefully compartmentalised and the politics are dismissed as utopian gibberish… his was a keen brain, with an open and vigorous intellect, Shakespearean in comprehension – and kind.

Blake was a great philosopher, poet and painter. It’s a joy to see his art on display – & seeing as so much is in public collections it should be available all the time. How about lending out to churches around the country? Many rather beautiful art space were once churches…

[I’d also like to remind everyone he was working class.]

recliningNUDE

bird

this image just keeps changing – maybe it’s stopped

blake ii

Cerberous – after blake

In drawing this show really shows Blake’s deftness of touch – almost as loose as your Picasso’s or Modigliani’s. The complexity of the colour is phenomenal moving between rich nuanced contrasts, elegant understatement and sophisticated fiery hues…

[There was a lot to see and all laid out equably; reliant on the Tate’s bumf for context. I’m afraid I didn’t read the bumf. My mate did and he wasn’t impressed.]

hand / face