Light Over Dark

Last week, Hazel and I went to the big Watercolour exhibition at Tate Britain. There are lots of wonderful pictures there (as well as some rubbish in the last room) and I got some new inspiration for my latest painting 'Dear Reginald Owen'. Instead of working up the Hollywoodland section in pale sepia tones (inspired by the photos of the 1930's) I am going to experiment with painting the first layer in very dark browns (I am still keeping with sepia at the moment) and then moving onto light , more transparent colours for the subsequent overlays. I am going to try burning oranges and cold blues for these two, though it might be a terrible idea, but one can only experiment. Whatever happens, my aim is to have started on the actual canvases by the time Ted Coney's Family Portraits reopens in April.

Popping - Up All Over The Place

This week I received my copy of the new Ely guide, where I am advertising
Ted Coney's Family Portraits for the first time. In it, I revealed my new strapline 'Ely's first pop-up gallery'. I also rang Paul from Honest Ideas to ask him to change my strapline on the posters and flyers before getting them reprinted ready for the opening. Sadly, the Good News Press who did the origional printing has gone out of business, so I need to find someone else. I will also contact Chris at The Internet Marketing Company to change the news item on my web-site to ' Reopening of Ely's first Pop-Up gallery is Sunday is 17th April. Book now'. The W. I. will also get the pop-up treatment as I have got an ad in their handbook as well.

The Morris at 8o

I am relieved to report that the Morris Minor passed it's MOT with only a front headlight bulb (which luckily I had) needed. Ofcourse, the brakes needed tightening and the exhaust pipe needed welding but at least I didn't have to hunt around for any spare parts this year. Just as well because the Morris will be 80 in July and I want to use it, to maximise on publicity for
Ted Coney's Family Portraits (especially as I am using it in one of my paintings - see my last blog) - and hopefully make some mony for charity as well. It's first outing will be on Eel Day at the Jubilee Gardens fair. I then hope to do my usual Rides Around the Quad for £1 for charity (which I did on it's 60th and 70th birthdays) Only this time, I am hoping I will be allowed to take people for rides around the Maltings roundabout at Aquafest .

It's Simultanaity!

In the last two weeks I've really tried to make some of the decisions about my latest painting 'Dear Reginald Owen'. I've decided it will be made up of six small canvases (I've even bought them, so no going back) with the images going across all of them in a continuous sweep. I had thought I would start with Hollywoodland houses at one end , gradually changing into our house in Great Shelford and the houses we looked at in Bury St Edmunds and finishing with Ely. Over that I intended to lay an image of the inside of my Morris Minor (which is a time machine moving from 1930's Hollywood to the present day). However, an idea stuck me at 6am this morning that may push my idea of simultanaity even more. I have decided to lay three layers of happenings over each other (Hollywoodland, our house-hunting and the Morris Minor) to show that these events are happening at the same time. I actually discovered the Hollywoodland material (which I believe, belonged to a cousin of my mother's who was trying to get into films in the 1930's) while we were house-hunting a few years ago. And the Morris Minor? Well if it's a time machine it can be in several places at once, can't it?