Back Of An Envelope

I really did write my speech on the back of an old  envelope. The occasion was the opening of the Eastern Region's taster exhibition at the Babylon Gallery. I guess they had asked me to open it because I had also been invited to write the introduction to the Open Studio booklet for the event which runs throughout July.
I hope I judged the mood of my speech correctly, as it was a very hot night and there were about 200 people crammed into a small space.
I made the speech very short (hence the envelope) and attempted to be as amusing as possible.
I told them the old story about the first time I did Open Studio and a lady said at the end of her visit 'I really like your curtains!'. A bit demoralising for any artist.
I also recounted the tale of how I stuffed plastic packaged breadrolls  into the oven in an attempt to clear the kitchen before another visit. We then wondered what the strange smell was having switched the oven on hours later, to have supper.
You can now read my Open Studio booklet introduction and all the recent articles surrounding Ted Coney's Family Portraits on the NEWS ANDS REVIEWS page on my website.  

Show Off

I really have got a lot of media coverage for Ted Coney's Family Portraits this week, which will hopefully boost visits and publicise my Virtual Tour.
Last week I was on Radio Cambridgeshire and had a three page spread in CAMBRIDGE magazine.
This week I had the same article but with different pictures in a double page spread in both the CAMBRIDGE NEWS and the ELY WEEKLY NEWS.
I've also been promised a piece in SPOTTED IN ELY - an online newspaper, next week.
I must be careful, I might start believing all the nice things that are being said about me and that would be fatal.

Singing In The Choir

I was there to promote my new Virtual Tour but I hadn't expected to share air time with five jolly ladies from a local gospel choir and the Three Degrees.
Radio Cambridgeshire hosts an Arts programme every Monday afternoon and I had been invited to take part to talk about Ted Coney's Family Portraits. Although the choir and I were both in the building we were told to expect two of the Three Degrees (are they famous, the name rings a bell?) to talk by phone.
Thankfully, no Degrees ever materialised as I was beginning to think that with five talkative women who were there to promote a concert for charity, I would never get a word in edgeways.
Interestingly enough, one of the five was also an actress in Downton Abbey, but she seemed very modest about this and her involvement had to be teased out of her by  Jeremy, the interviewer.
Infact, he was very fair to me and did ask me lots of questions, but I politely declined to sing along with the choir (who turned out to be a lovely bunch ).
Hopefully you will be able to hear the programme from the NEWS AND REVIEWS page on the website, soon.

Inside Glossy Covers

Do you remember me telling you about being interviewed  a year ago, for a possible article in Cambridge magazine ? And a photographer coming at Christmas to take pictures of the house and paintings, causing  me to take down all the cards and hide the tree? And me wondering if Ted Coney's Family Portraits was not quite sleek enough for such a glossy paper?
Well I needn't have worried, as the said article is in this months copy. All three pages of it.
Mind you, I did argue that a magazine that specialises in articles about the Arts, small businesses and the home, had in me,  all three in one story.
Pick up your free copy today. For those of you who don't live in Cambridgeshire, we'll put it on the website, soon.