Thursday 27 October 2016

Finally Made It

Fifty two years ago I tried to visit the newly opened Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol but, as typically disorganised students, we arrived just as it was closing.
Now Max and Sarah have moved to the area we were finally able to visit the gallery last weekend.
We went to see an exhibition by the sculptor, Daphne Wright and I picked up some interesting references that could help me with my next painting, 'Forget-Me-Nots'.
I made a sketch of some very faint drawings on white paper, mounted on a white background, surrounded by a white frame. This presentation could be useful.
Wright had also produced a video piece of an elderly woman making sounds, showing the gradual deterioration of language through Alzheimer's disease.
I hope to do the same in my painting, but using the disintegration of objects to represent memory loss.

Thursday 20 October 2016

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

When visitors come to do a tour at Ted Coney's Family Portraits I always tell them that if they see a seat while I am talking about a painting, then they are very welcome to sit on it.
There is nothing worse than feeling tired while looking at art and I always want people to feel relaxed and enjoy the experience.
I had a lovely couple the other week who said they felt so comfortable that they could easily fall asleep.
That was not quite what I had in mind. 

Wednesday 12 October 2016

The Proverbial Bus

Giving my lecture was like the proverbial bus. I don't get asked to do it for ages, then I end up doing it twice in the same week.
I gave the talk about my work entitled 'On The Edge' to two W.I groups recently and I think they went down OK. (Look at the Art Lecture page on my website, if you are interested)
One member she said she felt very moved by the description of my painting
 'For You - In Loving Memory' which came about after the still birth of our second daughter. The same thing had happened to her daughter over fifty years ago.
And as she said 'You never forget'
 

Friday 7 October 2016

Not Going Anywhere

Yesterday, I attempted to cycle to the station in Cambridge, only to find that another bike had been padlocked to mine. In the end I had to abandon it, as I was working at the cinema in Ely and the show was about to start.
I was worried because I had heard of a scam whereby someone clamps your bike, so that they can steal it later. I thought how  ironic it would be, if my bike were to be stolen in the year I did a painting entitled 'Bicycle Thieves' (which you can see on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page of my website). Although the painting is about marriage, I had used my old bike to make studies from, to form part of the image.
As luck would have it , it turned out that the culprit was an old colleague from school, who had forgotten to tell me  what he had done, having nowhere to chain his machine to.
 (Cambridge is like that)
Two bottles of wine later I had quiet forgiven him and now my bike can be in it's usual place at the end of the lane when visitors arrive for Ted Coney's Family Portraits on Sunday