Mooch Focus - Danny Cawley

On first glance the place is an outrageous mess. Its like a paint factory where a series of small explosions have gone off. Canvasses are laid out flat on the floor all in varying stages of drying and they cover most of the available space. Dannys studio is big though, it needs to be. This was my 1st visit to Danny Cawleys studio in east manchester. A room in an old mill that artists rent out because no one else could put up with the lack of heating. I entered slightly out of breath from climbing the 4 flights of stairs.
Stepping through the maze of canvasses on the floor and you start to see order in the chaos, beauty in the mess. The smell of paint is really strong, oil based, emulsion and spray paint cover the canvasses. The odd squelch of carpet is because of the water he uses in the process. This also explains why he work flat.
This is one of the great things about the artist Danny Cawley that is so far removed from the typical view of an artist. Sat next to the middle aged watercolourist sitting with easel en plein air, Danny looks, sounds and paints very differently. The art is abstract, bold and urban and is a reflection of Danny himself. A former graffitti artist he challenges what we consider to be "Fine art". It doesn't whisper, It shouts. It doesn't mince its words, It tells you as it is.
Going to the same school and growing up in the same neighbourhood as Liam and Noel makes me think that Manchester is a great breeding ground for creative brains. His swagger and manc accent says "I don't do art bollocks". I know what he means. He does it his way and he does it purely to get the best result. Tear up the rule book and paint how you want. If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we always gotten.
Danny takes me through the paintings that are stacked high all around his studio walls. He clearly loves what he does. He is borderline going full time but for an artist thats like stepping off the edge of a cliff and you are at the mercy of the fickle art market. I point out that Lowry alway held his job as a rent collector throughout his life even when he became well known.
I came away from the studio impressed, having selected some great work to display with the gallery.
I meet a lot of artists and see a lot of work. I look for the right attitude because to succeed as an artist you need to be mentally tough and damned determined. How else can you take being constantly judged in a few seconds by hundreds, if not thousands of people. So coming away from the studio I was impressed as much by his determination as by his art.
Danny perhaps arrogantly said he is a name to watch out for in the future. With most artists I would discount this as naive bull. But with Danny I believe he has the trousers to match his mouth. Watch this space.

Suits you sir

It's a scene only in dreams/nightmares. You turn up to work without your trousers or worse still, completely naked. This is the feeling I had last night, only less intense and I didn't break into a cold sweat.
I went to a young professionals networking BBQ. It was held in the courtyard of a solicitors and being my 1st time I have been hadn't a clue what to expect. Made up of mostly of accountants and solicitors there was a sea of smart shirts and dark suits. Most had shed the small strip of material tied around their neck to signal they were out of intense work mode and just into casual work mode.
Naturally I stuck out like a sore thumb. (Why do sore thumbs stick out I wonder). Jeans and trainers are my uniform now and I left smart stuff behind blue chips and corporations 2 years ago. For me I only wear suits for weddings and funerals and am glad of it.
The gallery is a relaxed and easy going place and a suit would give out the kind of signals that say serious, formal and worst of all, unimaginative. For the accountants and solicitors it shows they are responsible, reliable and professional, which is great for their business, but not for mine.
Standing out if you're an accountant, bad. Standing out when you run an art gallery, good.
Viva la revolution.

A busy gallery owner?

My Inlaws were up for the weekend. I gave them the tour of both galleries, which should have been a proud moment for me. It was capped by “Are you sure you don’t want me to bring you a paper or something”. Gutted. Coming from my mother in law she had obviously taken pity on me and felt that I can’t possibly have enough to do without her help. It left me trying to convince them that running a gallery doesn’t involve waiting for people to come to you all day.
Every word from that moment sounded hollow, fatuous and left me feeling like a schoolboy again. I was saying too much which only heightened the demeaning arch of her eyebrows. Keep it simple Smith. If you are late for work it sounds better if you stick to one reason rather than “the train was late and my mobile battery died and the dog ate my watch and and and”.
Anyone who runs their own business knows that if you wait for people to stumble your way, you ain’t going to last long. The nature of an art gallery is that you don’t have huge numbers of people coming through. But then you don’t need huge numbers because what we sell is higher value than the newsagents on the corner.
We are starting to trial Sunday openings at the triangle so this is a time when I need to take on staff because no one can work 7 days a week. Any extra time is spent searching the mills and art studios, going to degree shows and networking events. How else can I be a specialist in emerging talent?
Mooch art Oldham street is also named the “Gallery of dreams”. It’s on my business cards and makes people smile whenever they read it. My take on “field of dreams” isn’t because of a penchant for cheesy 80s films. I loved the phrase “If you build it, they will come” and they have and do come. Artists all over the world sent material to me, and the gallery really is a beacon for attracting people who paint. Every now and again, not often mind, I see an artist who makes my week or even year. An artist who blows my mind with their talent and who still hasn’t a clue just how many people would love their work if they knew about it.
Don’t get me wrong, for every diamond there are hundreds or thousands of lumps of coal. Recently I have founds a few diamonds and It leaves me with a sense of enormous well being.
The next exhibition should be very very interesting. If you come along to Oldham street you will be able to see these artists before they are officially unveiled.

So am I busy? The answer is very.