Altogether Now

 I have never been able to display my painting 'SNOW ANGELS AND NO ANGELS' as it was intended, in one long horizonal line as we just don't have the space for it.

However, when staff  from the Norris Museum came to select paintings for my 80th birthday exhibition, they promised to make this happen.

You can see all fifteen pictures which make up this work in my show 'Every Object Paints A Picture - works by Ted Coney' in St. Ives, Cambs. until 22nd June. There is also a short video on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts.

Happy Families

 Last week Hazel and I ran two family workshops to run alongside my exhibition 'Every Object Paints A Picture' at the Norris Museum in St Ives.

The workshop was entitled 'Your Object- Your Story' and each child and parent was asked to bring a favourite object as the theme for their  painting . You can see some of the results on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts.

To start the workshop, we took everyone to see two objects and two of my paintings in the gallery. When I asked for any questions, one little boy asked me if I had made the marble statue of Oliver Cromwell which stands permanently in the corner!

The Bigger Picture

 Last week I did my first pop-up Artist in Residence event at the Norris Museum, to run alongside the exhibition.

As you can see from the photo on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts I am working in a much bigger space than I normally do at home. There is hardly room to move in my tiny studio, so to work in their meeting room was a real bonus.

I managed to talk to quite a few visitors during the day while starting the first of five (small ) canvases which will make up my painting, OLD WIVES TALES.

I wonder if my work would get bigger if I had this studio, permanently?!

Curtain Up

 My exhibition at the Norris Museum has begun!  You can see from the photos on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts there was quite a crush at the Private View last Thursday evening.

At the last minute I was asked to make a speech - which I kept very short. At that point I knew no one had seen the exhibition (not even me!) so I just mentioned one painting that  was on the poster.

I explained that we opened 'Limners' one window each day over the Christmas period with the tradition  of asking  guests to take on this task. I gleefully (as they were  at the Private View) spoke about my  grandchildren who always complained  that they would have preferred chocolate.

You can't please everyone.

Topsy- Turvy

 Its been a topsy-turvy few days. My latest painting THE COUNSELLOR has been framed and I felt it looked great. However, something bothered me about the image until I realised that the left hand canvas was upside down ! (see my latest Instagram and Facebook posts)

I was then contacted by  the Norris Museum, as they wanted to show me that  the first painting - ANOTHER YEAR was up in the exhibition. Unfortunately, the top of the picture was  the wrong way round! Ofcourse all these things are fixable - can't wait to see  what happens next.

By the way, I'm 80 today so happy birthday to me.

Attention To Detail

 Two large vehicles arrived last Tuesday to transport my paintings and objects to the Norris Museum for my forthcoming exhibition.

They were accompanied by four  museum staff who spent the day taking down pictures and objects and packing them carefully away. Each object/painting was photographed before packing, with a description written as to its condition and title.

 When I mentioned how impressed I was with their attention to detail, the Curator laughed and said 'It's what we do'.

In My Own Image

 The first article (hopefully there will be more!) about my up coming exhibition at the Norris Museum is out now in the Ely I magazine. You can also see it in my latest Facebook and Instagram posts.

The photo to accompany the article was taken by my wife. Since then we've had a visit from the Norris's official photographer who spent about five hours here on Monday. He was very painstaking and professional as he took photos of me, the paintings and objects.

I know I'm very difficult to photograph as I often close my eyes at the wrong moment but hopefully there will be a few, looking wide awake.

Give Us A Clue

 I'm currently experimenting with ideas and ways of showing  images in my new painting - 

 'Old Wives Tales'. There will be five canvases, each one to represent my grandmother or  her four sisters. The women all had a personal tragedy in their lives which I am trying to suggest  with one object (or small group of objects) in the painting.

I'm currently working on Beatrice, the eldest sister, who lost one her  sons when he was a young man. You can see my efforts so far on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts.

Home

 We've recently seen a wonderful theatrical experience at our local arts centre.  Entitled 'Home '  its about what happens to a family who have to face the threat of flood waters rising  were they live in the fens.

The writer/director of Temper Theatre who inspired the production, used to live in Ely but left home after school to study drama in London. He only returned to the area during Covid to be with his parents in lockdown and was inspired by the history of the fens during his enforced incarceration.

The show has already been seen in London, Cambridge and the Edinburgh Festival and will currently be touring China  

Search Continues

 I always keep scraps of ephemera (postcards, magazine clips etc.) for inspiration, in a folder ready to start the next painting.  This happens over the course of about a year.

Recently, I've just stuck all these bits  (you can see them on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts) on to the drawing board while I begin experimenting for my current work 'Old Wives Tales'.

One thing I haven't found yet is a painting of a scrap of paper I want for reference. I've looked through  Dutch old master catalogues and googled 'paintings of paper' but no luck so far.

 Any Ideas?

Too Damn Big!

 I've recently taken some more of my postcards (of my paintings) to sell at the Babylon Gallery. This includes the drawing of my 1931 Morris Minor (see latest Facebook and Instagram posts). I am hoping to take another batch to the Norris Museum when my show opens there.

Although the Morris does appear in the painting 'Who Stole the Toothpaste?' which will be displayed at the Norris, the actual car won't be one of the objects I'll be including in the exhibition.

There are no entrances big enough to get it into the museum. A pity, as it was such a hit when I drove it into Ely Cathedral a few years ago.

Shaping UP

For Christmas I received some oil bars to experiment with, for my  painting, OLD WIVES TALES.

You can see the results on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts.

Working on preliminary canvases, I found that using a shaper (a semi hard, rubbery tool) to push the  paint around seemed to work best.     I am looking for a slightly out of focus effect for the house in the background. Not quite there yet but I'll keep trying.

Planning

 Yesterday I visited the Norris Museum to meet Claire and her staff to discuss my exhibition, which takes place from late March to the end of June. Exciting stuff!

I watched as they laid out thumbnails of my paintings in the gallery to try and work out where each one would go. They have to juggle this with  placeing the display cabinets, as my objects will be an integral part of the show.

We also planned  events to run alongside the exhibition. A talk by me, workshops and a pop-up studio showing my latest work-in-progress all look possible.

Anselm Kiefer

 Last week we went to our local cinema to see a documentary film about the work of Anselm Kiefer.

I worked out that we are about the same age but there the similarity ends! In his work, Kiefer confronts his German heritage after the second world war in giant, monumental pieces using mixed media.

His studio reminds me of an aircraft hanger and he uses a bicycle to move around it!

The film 'Anselm' is a powerful insight into the way he works.

Everything In Place

 I'm now working on my new painting 'Old Wives Tales'. After making drawings of the dolls house from different angles and the messages pegged to a washing line, I've now collage them together.

You can see the results of these compositions on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts.

There will be five canvases, each one to represent my grandmother and her four sisters. They will be all linked visually by the washing line.

Real Families

 I'm so glad I got to see the 'Real Families: Stories of Change' exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum last week before it closed. There were some fascinating images of different sorts of families on display.

One image that caught my attention was  'Business Page' by photographer, Larry Sultain. You can see it on my latest Instagram post.

I was considering using the image of an old newspaper in a future painting and this was an unusual and telling way to convey information. My ideas are to muddled up to discuss now but we'll see how they sort themselves out  in the coming year.

Good News -And News

 There's good news and other news.

 The dates for  my 80th birthday exhibition at the Norris Museum have been confirmed. 30th March - 22nd June. It's title is probably ' Every Object Paints A Picture - works by Ted Coney' 

My painting 'DREAMTIME'' (pictured in my latest Instagram and Facebook posts) is one of the pictures chosen.

 This is the same painting which has just been turned down by the Babylon Gallery for an exhibition celebrating Wicken Fen. Although in the early stages I made studies of the fens and collected plants for the painting I can quite see why it was rejected.  All those memories of Lockdown are buried deep in the painting as the image of the disintegrating Victorian puppet theatre took over.

You can see the early stages of DREAMTIME on the THE  COLLECTION page on my website.

Small Is Beautiful

 Among my Christmas presents this year were some more objects for the dolls house.

From TVs to toilet roles, you can see them on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts.

This miniature house and its contents are going to feature again (last used  about 20 years ago) in my latest painting 'Old Wives Tales', so maybe I'll make drawings of these new items soon.