Vispo: Break Down The Barriers / Normal thinking in the arts

Break Down The Barriers, RTomens, 2025

In the shop 

 

An A5-sized piece for a change. I haven't worked this small for a while. One obvious advantage is that density in type can be achieved more quickly than in a larger space. You may notice that the black is heavier due to a new ribbon. This makes me ponder how much use I should try to get out of a ribbon. Perhaps I should change them more frequently. Then again, I've seen many pieces in books which are light in terms of blackness and it doesn't harm the overall effect. The temptation is always to get as much out of a ribbon as is possible before weakening the impact too much. 

'Normal thought' has to be placed in context, of course. I just liked the phrase when it leapt out of a short story. Normal thinking in one context may be abnormal in another. Normal is subjective, I suppose. Making visual poetry isn't 'normal', but does that make it abnormal? Artists like to think of themselves as not normal compared to those who don't make art. The romantic notion of the artists as 'crazy' outsider on the fringes of a 'straight' society dominated by common people who do normal jobs and rot their brains consuming normal entertainment - hah!

Scratch the surface of some artists though and you'll find they think very normally about certain things. Normal, that is, for the arts. Yes, there are supposedly 'proper' ways of thinking regarding some subjects in the arts community and woe betide anyone who thinks differently. Thinking outside the designated box could get you blacklisted. Ironic, eh? These people pride themselves in being 'individuals', not boring 'normal' people, yet they hold common beliefs that are the expected norm when you're an artist. There are rules in this world of 'rebels', you know. Don't break them! 

It's impossible to avoid groupthink, of course. Unless you're worldview is one-in-a-million on every subject you will find people for whom your ideas are normal. Yet to me, it is still unhealthy for groupthink to exists in the arts. Are artists not individuals? Do they not hold a diverse array of opinions on various subjects, just like non-artists? In my experience, no. Or rather, they may not dare reveal their thoughts on certain subjects for fear of being cast out. 

Breaking down the barriers of 'normal thought' as imposed on us by others, be they ultra-conservative or 'radical', can only be healthy for society and us as individuals.

Vispo: Oh No Not Again! and It Ain't Watcha Do / Painting and visual poetry - the use of paint and type

RTomens, 2025

 Purchase in the shop

Is there a dichotomy between paint and type? Anything can be used in a mixed media piece but rarely do typed letters and paint meet. Perhaps they are not supposed to co-inhabit a space. It was never destined to be in the history of art. They argue with each other and paint has the upper hand, being flexible regarding the size of the brush stroke and tending towards the stronger, bolder mark. Type is type. A comparatively puny mark unless overtyping is applied, which requires at least three layers to match, say, one thin line of paint.

I reached for the acrylic paint a few days ago, wanting a change regarding marks made on paper that I would type over. I commonly use carbon for mark-making since it is more akin to type and less obtrusive.  The paint marks are random, expressive; mindful of typing to be done. But it's easy to get carried away with paint. It cries out to be spread around. Sometimes there really is too much paint for my liking. Screw that up, chuck it in the bin. I have made pieces in which the 'marks', shapes, blocks of colour, usually black, dominate the page, allowing only a little room for type, but I think they confuse people. They see neither a 'proper' painting nor a visual poem. 

Oh No Not Again was created from another piece that was copied, altered, printed in layers and typed on again. Here is it's 'mother', originally called It Ain't Watcha Do.

RTomens, 2025

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The drag marks made by the brush immediately suggested vapor trails or, perhaps, comets? Fireworks? I filled the trails with letters, but as you can see, they are almost invisible. This is a good example of the battle between type and paint. To try to draw the viewers attention to the fact that there is type on the page, I added red type too. I found myself trying to fill the spaces between the trails, but the poor old Olympia struggled to make itself 'heard'. Paint was shouting too loudly.

I'm not displeased with either the original or its offspring. The offspring is possibly more dynamic, definitely more colourful, but the original tells another story, one of the battle between paint and type.

TTFN!

My latest booklet: Back To Earth / My Trumpet, Miles Davis and The Art Rut

Back To Earth...back to reality? Heaven forbid, reality being so...(insert appropriate text according to outlook).

24 pages of art so relatively slim by my usual standards but as you know, it's all about the quality, not the width. And it's full of quality visualisations from the typewriter - it is! I'm blowing my own trumpet because no-one else is going to, are they? Or are they? Perhaps out there in the online universe someone is, at this very moment, blowing my trumpet for me. Heh-heh. I tried blowing an actual trumpet once. You can imagine how painful it sounded. I've nothing but admiration for anyone...no, not just anyone, anyone who blows a trumpet in a style I enjoy. Like Miles Davis, of course, but you know what he did, he started playing fast and smart Be-Bop in the commonly recognised hip style of the day, but never one to rest on his laurels, two decades later he could be heard yelping, squealing and barping (not a real word, is it?) along with his cutting edge crew of musos moulded to his own sound/vision. 

Dare I say (yes I do) that I have an affinity with Miles Davis with respect to my typewriting? Pretentious? Perhaps, but I thought it, now I'm committing it to the screen. I mean, like him, I'm always looking for new ways to say something with my visual poetry. I'm not saying one should always 'make it new', just that I like to move on and around themes, ideas, methods. I revisit some, expand others, test new ones and so on. We all know the Art Rut. An artist hits on a style then does it over and over again. I don't care. Carry on. It's not always to the detriment of the work. It creates a familiar style and as with, say, Warhol prints, if you like that style, it's good.

I suspect people like the familiar. Yes, in the sense of finding the avant-garde difficult, but also familiarity with an artists's style because it's instantly recognisable therefore somehow comforting...reassuring. The problem with an artist varying what they do is that the viewer, liking one style, may not like another and therefore gets grumpy, disappointed. Oh well...

All that said, I've been told I have a recognisable style. I can't second guess how others view all my work. I was, however, just a little disappointed, thinking 'Oh no, I'm predictable!' I can't tell when I'm making all those marks on all that paper...I don't get an overview, just something like one when, as happened recently, a collector visited and I had to go through the boxes, choosing a selection. Then I look back and sometimes think 'Damn, that was a good one!' If a piece really strikes me as great, I might think 'I should do more like that'. Sometimes I try but, you know what? You can't go back. In my case, perhaps the typewriter used broke forever and has been chucked away. But more...profoundly(?), it seems to be impossible to actually do it again because I've changed, somehow. 

Anyway, here's my latest booklet, inspired by science-fiction, all quotes coming from old sci-fi mags. If you'd like a copy, it costs £10 and is in the shop. 

TTFN!

Vispo: Zig Zag Wanderer

Zig Zag Wanderer, RTomens 2025

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Captain Beefheart, right?

I did zig zag and wonder where to go next with this one having initially created the zig zag lines. Later, I added the inked straight lines, just a few, which turned into a lot. Then I left it, unpublished, for a few days. I kept looking at it, not totally satisfied. This morning I added even more inked lines. Perhaps I got carried away. Whatever, I was happier with the result, so I sent it out into the world.

Have a look in the shop. It's only money, not even cash, just a number in your balance. You won't miss it but you will own an original piece of visual poetry! 

Three Vispo Pieces / How Much Art? - SSD

 

Wait And See, RTomens, 2025

Buy it here

Nothing Means Anything Anymore, RTomens, 2025

Buy it here

Anti, Anti, Anti, RTomens, 2025

Buy it here

My Shop Is Now Open!

 

Me, Me, Me, RTomens, 2025

I've just opened a shop. 

More items will be added over time so I recommend bookmarking the page because one day you might walk in and see that piece which screams 'BUY ME!!!'

Yah never know!

My work wants a good home. I hear it whimpering from within the boxes 'Please get us out of here...please.'

Thanks for looking.

TTFN

Collage for sale: Mr Average (collage/painting)

Paper collage and acrylic paint, the background is from an old newspaper pasted onto 200gsm art paper and painted yellow with the main image collaged onto it. 21 x 29.5cm on 200gsm art paper Free postage!

Prices

Europe £50.00 GBP Elsewhere £60.00 GBP

652 - Geometric Abstract drawing for sale / Slave to Spotify

I drew this a couple of days ago. The colour in the picture above is truer than in the one below, due to the light in the room. Having looked at the photo I noticed the Webern box set. Remember playing records? Perhaps you do. It's been ages since I played that set, or any other albums on vinyl, for that matter. Yes, I'm thoroughly modern these days, a slave to Spotify. Part of me resents its hold on me. After all, the sound on the Wharfedale speakers is far superior to Alexa. But, as you know, Spotify has a seemingly endless selection whereas my collection has dwindled considerably over the years. 

We used to joke about kids being so lazy that they could never manage to actually get up, place a record on the turntable etc. Well, I've almost become as bad. I play albums via Spotify that I have on vinyl or CD. CDs seem even more archaic than vinyl in a way, never having been revived the way vinyl has - as far as I know. Now streaming has knocked out all competition.

Whilst drawing what I've called '652' I was listening to Kraftwerk. Their sleek modernist electronics seemed to suit the look of what I aimed to make. I like to think they helped in some way. Perhaps tomorrow I'll create a lot of frantic squiggles because I chose to play late Coltrane (Free Jazz). But I doubt it!

 Size: A4 on 200gsm art paper. Price: £50 + £2.50 postage

Typewriter art for sale: Keeping Out Of Mischief

RTomens, 2020

 

This typewriter art is for sale. price: £55 + £250 postage. A4 size on matt coated photo paper (120gsm)

Another in the 'precision' series of visual poetry typewriter pieces. As much as I like to improvise, let the words evolves under my loose guidance, I'm becoming more enamoured with controlled creations. Perhaps the title is apt. I'm acting as if I'm...in control? 

I do my best to keep out of mischief but, you know, it's hard. Part of me still wants to knock on doors in our street and run away, as we did when we were kids. Trouble is, these days, with the amount of gentrification around here, they probably have cameras. So I'd be walking down the street and someone would say "You knocked on our door and ran away!". Imagine the embarrassment. 

Typewriter art for sale: Rack My Mind / Precision in art (and life?)

 

This typewriter art is for sale. Price:£55 +£2.50 postage. Size: A4 on matt coated photo paper (120gsm).

Please note: the real colours are slightly different to those in the photo and scan. The deeper red in the framed shot is truer, the background is actually off-white.

A while back I began to explore a more precise way of constructing shapes with letters including simple geometric shapes. The circle is eternal, isn't it? I keep on returning to red too. The circle and frame are printed and their clean precision, in a way, set me a challenge of getting closer to precision myself. You know, in retrospect, this series could be a subconscious drive to create order in my life. By which I mean that somewhere inside me is an orderly, organised person just crying to get out? Maybe!

Collage: This Year's Model (1958) / Punk style

RTomens, 2021

This collage is for sale. Price:£50 + £2.50 postage. Size: A4 on recycled art paper (140gsm)

Isn't she lovely? As Stevie Wonder asked. Talking of songs, the title for this collage came from the Elvis Costello album of the same name and he got it from knowing a lot of pop culture history, obviously. In retrospect, it was odd that Elvis and his Attractions should have such a 60s look to them, but then there was also The Jam, of course and Blondie members had that preppy 60s look too. At the time I don't think we really took much notice, by which I mean we didn't necessarily get the references or care. 

Nothing much surprised us regarding the various 'looks' during the Punk era since style was in freefall and post-modern before the term took hold. You could go high end (Kings Road) or DIY (yes, that school blazer with pins) or Undertones anti-style (any old jumper and jeans). Being the style junky that I was, I thought The Clash were the best-looking of the lot - slogans stencilled on jackets! In tune with their musical influences, they would fuse 'now' Punk with Rockabilly, quiffs, leather etc. The music wasn't bad either.

This Year's Model started with a fat man. I liked the image but suddenly wanted to slice him into three parts (call it drastic weight loss) and having done that opted to use just the chest and stomach. I had a nude model, laid her underneath and saw the her legs seems to fit just right onto the fat man, making his trousers double as a skirt. The head is from another photo and the background consists of three layers of print. If he/she had ambled on stage carrying a guitar in 1977, I don't think we'd have blinked an eye - just another crazy Punk rocker! 

Concrete Poem: Breach Of Security (for sale) / observing politics / 1984: Orwell's grubby future

RTomens, 2021

 This typewriter art is for sale. price: £45 + 2.50 postage. A4 on Ivory paper (90gsm)

Careful...don't get too political! You can interpret this typewriter art any way you like. I made it this morning, first by drawing the random lines, then adding random letter 'bursts'...and as I did so, an intentional inward 'attack' pattern in mind suggested an invasion of the two inner spaces. The darker space is blue and looks more blue in the original but came out dark in the scan, unfortunately. 

It's hard not to be aware of politics these days and in particular at this time. There are, of course, several levels of awareness, from the casual observer of headlines to deep analysis and biased thoughts. I'm not sure that those two can be different at the end of the day. I rarely read anything that doesn't display a bias one way or the other. Sometimes what's not said displays the bias. Just as spaces in art can mean as much as objects, the same applies to the media. 

I am an interested observer of American politics, as much from a sociological viewpoint as a purely political one. If that makes sense. The fanaticism, allegiances, actions and sloganeering of the various tribes fascinate me. Likewise UK politics, of course. 

Big Tech power, censorship, shadow banning, figures silhouetted by flames from burning buildings, prayers held at rallies, reverse McCarthyism, fringe figures in mad costumes catapulted into the limelight, conspiracy theories, masks to hide identities, masks to signal virtue, masks worn in genuine fear, defiant maskless faces...reality is, as they say, stranger than fiction. 

Talking of fiction, I'm rereading Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. I bet it's a hot seller these days and probably has been for years now as each new generation discovers it. I hadn't read it for over thirty years. One thing that struck me this time was the grubby, very English nature of the environment. You can tell when a film was made, roughly, even when it's set in the past or future. We laughed the other day at Shirley MacLaine's false eyelashes in Two Mules For Sister Sara. She was very 'fashion forward for the mid-19th century. 

Likewise, Orwell's time of writing (late-Forties) is all over his future vision, from the general deprivation to the dilapidated, bombed-out buildings. This, intentionally or otherwise, is partly the genius of his unique take on science-fiction. By setting his future in a time of war he was able, naturally, to mirror his own post-war environment. The rest, his creation of a totalitarian world, is history, as they say, literally and in the literary sense. Street cameras were once looked on as being very 'Big Brother', but Orwell's greatness in the novel was to go far deeper than surveillance to the point of rewriting history and controlling minds.

Whilst it may be a cliché to constantly refer to Nineteen Eighty-Four in relation to any authoritarian measures, we'd do well to be wary of those today who would rewrite or erase history and control the narrative via the mainstream media. 

Booklet: Rearrange Yesterday

I rearranged yesterday in booklet form. I mastered the past and made it new. The old newspapers, found in the Kentish Town Oxfam shop, entranced me...their textures...folds...creases and, of course, the news they carried. But I had no time for reading the articles. Instead, there was an idea to explore so I set about choosing parts, some random, some with obvious potential. I collaged, cut up text, enlarged images etc until I felt I could do no more. The potential in the pages was endless but I know from experience to go with the flow of a project, keep going until exhausted (not having exhausted every idea). What I chose and why is a matter for the subjective 'I'. The idea was not to linger on one page for too long in an attempt to make it a stand-alone piece of art but to create a compendium of images, the whole being greater, perhaps, than the individual pages.  

It was made primarily for my own pleasure, but since it was going to the printers anyway I had a few more copies done in case anyone wanted to buy one. Here are the details. The price includes P&P.

14.8cm square
80 pages
Full Colour
Signed

Prices

UK £14.00 GBP Overseas £16.00 GBP

Print for sale: Escapee

Escapee, RTomens, 2019

Print for sale. 15cm x 21cm. Original, not a copy. Price: £30 inc p&p. Contact me: rtomens(at)gmail.com if interested.

Print for sale: Totem

Totem

Size: A4

Print on handmade paper

£75 + £5 p+p

Signed on the back

For Sale: Enchanting Actress

Enchanting Actress, RTomens, 2018

Enchanting Actress

19.5cm x 29.5cm

Acrylic/Pen/Print on art paper 

Signed on the back

£180 + £10 p&p 

Shipped worldwide

Collage/Print For Sale: Topology Of The Body

Topology Of The Body

A4

Vintage/various papers

Paper collage/print

Signed on the back

£170 + £10 p&p 

Shipped worldwide

Original Print For Sale: Letter Bomb

Letter Bomb

A4

Canon Matt Photo Paper 170gm

Original Print

Signed on the back

£135 + £10 p&p 

Shipped worldwide

Collage: The Spectacle - now available to purchase! The art of buying art.

I've opened a shop. Feel free to browse. More items will be added, of course, but for now there are three recent paper collages.

'Support living artists' is a popular mantra (among artists, usually living ones), which is easy to say and not so easy for most to act upon. Buying art is a kind of luxury, for sure, yet to own an original piece is something special, isn't it? 

Artists wrestle with the question of pricing, unless they're very professional in having agents/gallery support. You may have noticed that art in galleries tends to be on the expensive side. That's because most gallery owners take a hefty cut. I prefer to sell direct, thus avoiding having to charge more in order to pay someone else. 

The Spectacle contains text by Guy Debord, hence the title. It combines both paper collage and print techniques. 

Thanks for looking in and TTFN

The Shop Is Open!

Step This Way

All prints professionally produced, packaged and posted worldwide by The Printspace
Feel free to contact me with any enquiries.
More prints will be added regularly.