Another Year

 Our Christmas card this year was of my painting 'Another Year'  (you can see it on the PRINTS FOR SALE page on my website).

Using the image of Ely Cathedral, the painting told of another terrible year which finished with a ray of hope. My mother and sister-in-law died within a week of each other and this is symbolised by the gathering dusk. The dawn welcomes the birth of two Coney granddaughters about a year later.

Lets hope the role- out of the new vaccines is the start of a better year for all of us.

Happy 2021 !

Christmas Is For Giving

I was excited that the Cambridge Independent newspaper had agreed to do an article on my Virtual Tour and showed how serious they were by sending one of their photographers around to take pictures to go with the piece. He took shots of me with the Morris Minor and with my painting but  they never appeared!

This was disappointing as I wanted to do a big push before my  NHS Charities Together appeal finished at the end of the year. I'd hoped students and colleagues from my Cambridge days would know I was still alive and doing stuff, from the renewed publicity.

However, since then I've received two generous donations through the post, so I've not been forgotten completely.

Happy Christmas!

The Caganer

 I've just been setting out my 60 piece nativity scene as part of our decorations for the festive season. New this year is a serpent and jackal to accompany King Herod - and a  Caganer.

My nephew sent me the Caganer from Spain . I've had one in the shape of a shepherd for ages but this statue is a celebrity - the painter, Manet. Apparently, it is a great honour to be chosen to take on this role and is an old Catalan tradition.

A Caganer symbolises good fortune to the agricultural community and should be placed at the back of a nativity scene to ensue a plentiful harvest in the following year.

I've been using  nativity figures recently in my current painting The Wasp and the Ring' to symbolise the birth of  a grandson. I used the holy family, with angels and  Herod's soldiers to represent the good and evil he will face in the future.

Forget- Me- Not

 In a normal year, this would have been my last weekend of tours for my pop-up gallery until April. Except ofcourse, there weren't any tours  because of the pandemic.

However, I promoted  my Virtual Tour instead - which you can still see, available from my website www.tedconeysfamilyportraits.co.uk 

Looking back at my NEWS AND REVIEWS page I see that I had an article in Velvet magazine (I wonder what happened to that?) in the 2020 section in expectation of opening. I am photographed with my  painting 'Forget- Me -Nots'.

We certainly won't forget 2020, that's for sure.

Polytych

 At an art study day last year, the lecturer showed us a multi-panelled altar painting  and described it as a 'polytych'.

It made me think that my 37 panelled oil painting 'Limners' could be called the same.

As it's based on an advent calendar, I've just started opening it in the countdown to Christmas. You can see the picture on my website (www.tedconeysfamilyportraits.co.uk) on the PRINTS FOR SALE page.  There is also a good story about it on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page if you scroll down to a feature in the Cambridge News from December 2005. It made the front page .

Third Time Lucky

 I've just re-joined Cambridge Open Studio (type my name into their website to see my page) with a view to displaying my paintings under their scheme in July 2021.

I tried to join two years ago but missed the deadline for registering my membership. Obviously I was all set for this year until the whole event was postponed because of the pandemic.

You can read the section of a new book about my involvement in  Cambridge Open Studios on the NEWS AND REVIEWS section (News 2020) of my website. 

I was one of the original members 37 years ago and this inspired me to open my pop-up gallery.

Not In My Bubble

 In my next painting I'm trying to decide how to represent the family as individual objects. Previously I'd  invited everyone to choose their own object (see my painting 'Pharaohs and Mortals') so didn't want to repeat that again.

In 'No More Twist', I had shown each person as a character from early 1950s  Children's T.V.( which can be seen on the PRINTS FOR SALE page on my website.)

This time, I was pondering whether to symbolise each person as a coloured pencil - possibly half sharpened with the shavings coiled around.

 However, my latest idea is  bubbles. I like to idea of  translucency and been able to see through (more on that in another blog).  Bubbles equates well to the fragility and transitory nature of life which is one of the themes I want to explore in the painting.

When I was discussing this with my three year old grandson (I need  his help with blowing bubbles) he laughed and said rather perceptively 'Grandpa, I'm to big to fit into a bubble'.

Translucency

 I've been working on my current painting 'Eggheads' every day, recently. No other distractions because of lockdown! The painting depicts we three brothers and our male decedents in each generation.

There are three clown faces - the Whiteface, The Character and the Auguste, and each one represents the genes of a brother and their dependents. 

I 'm now painting over the top of every face with translucent colour to show how each one is different according to their DNA. Ofcourse I'm showing this in a symbolic way.

 Having made a drawing of the clown's face in a right angled mirror, I then take the drawing and place it under the mirror and make another sketch. This is repeated it until I have a drawing for each face which is ever more complex and divided.

Confused? You should try doing it.   

Candles and Mulled Wine

 I know it's not Christmas yet, but before the start of the second Lockdown there was mulled wine by candlelight in the lane,  to cheer everyone up in the winter darkness.

As I'd opened the  gates and illuminated the garden gallery, studio and garage, some neighbours sneaked in to look at the latest paintings. However, I think they were more interested in my 1931 Morris Minor!

Not the engineer though, who came to fix a new waterpipe under the paving stones in the yard several days later. This was his third visit and he always seems keen to discuss the progress on my current work.

With no tours, one has to take compliments from where ever they come.

Squaring The Circle

I went into Cambridge last week to meet up with Johnathan to discuss the framing of my latest finished painting 'The Wasp and the Ring'.

As it's another circular canvas, I was keen for it to have a round frame as well. The subject matter is set in a night sky so I thought a charcoal grey frame might hint at  a telescopic view.

However, when Johnathan revealed the cost of my last circular frame, I was persuaded to have other ideas. I've had several circular frames made in the past and these have been outsourced  to someone with a machine for cutting them cheaply.

As this is no longer possible, the new frame will be a square though  the inside could be made  more rounded with sections of wood.

Altogether Now

 I've got two pictures in the latest exhibition at the Babylon Gallery in Ely!

It's entitled 'Altogether Now' and my modest works were made during lockdown for the 'Postcards In Isolation' series. They have been part of an on line gallery for a while but this is the first time they have been exhibited for real.

One  had been displayed upside down and the other, with the text cut off from around the edge! Never mind, it's nice to be part of something. Who knows, they might sell (they are very cheap) and if they do, I'll donate the money to the NHS Charities Together appeal which I'm collecting for at the moment.

The postcards both use flowers (gathered on our walks) in different ways and might form the idea  for one of my next two paintings.

Not Guilty ?

 Clandon Park has been it the news recently because of its links to the colonial past of one of it's former owners, who was Governor General of New Zealand in the 19th century .

There is a maori meeting house in the grounds of  this National Trust property , which we saw quite by chance  on a trip there .

Apparently, the meeting house was saved from destruction and given as a gift by a grateful nation. On the day we visited it was being  used by Maori  from North London for their  Hakari or traditional feast.

Seeing the meeting house gave me an idea for a painting as our middle son was working in Auckland at the time. You can see my painting 'Hinaki' (which means eel trap) on my website (THE TOURS page) where I used some of the  decorations to symbolise my feelings about the separation between us.

Keeping It Small

 I've just been rereading 'The Miniaturist' - a gripping tale set in 17th century Amsterdam, about a young woman who is given a dolls house. As the story  unravels, she is given figures and objects for the house by a mysterious miniaturist which foretell what will happen to her and her family.

Several years ago I made a painting about my mother's cousin entitled 'Fools Gold'. I used a dolls house to hint at the strange, claustrophobic world in which he lived.

You can see the painting in my PRINTS FOR SALE page on my website and the dolls house on my Facebook page. Though I don't claim any magical powers!

Chinese Whispers

 My painting 'Who Stole The Toothpaste?' has been framed. Normally I would have gone into Cambridge to discuss the colour but all that had to be done over the phone. I suggested 'a toady green' for the frame to one of the staff as Mr Toad (from The Wind in the Willows') is central to the painting.

This apparently got changed into 'a turdy green' by the time it got through to Rita who does the colouring. Anyway, it looks fine to me and you can see the results if you google my news story in the Ely Standard or Spotted in Ely this week. I'm using it to further my quest to make money for the NHS Charities Together appeal through sales of my Virtual Tour, preliminary studies and a gift card featuring a drawing of my 1931 Morris Minor.

Indian Summer

 We took advantage of the hot weather last week to spend a couple of days in Worthing.

After a long walk to Shoreham (well, long for us!) we sat on the beach and while Hazel did some beachcombing I made a little drawing in my sketchbook.

I picked out some elderly couples sitting on their beach chairs taking in the last rays of summer. With the pandemic getting worse, it did seem like a poignant moment.

Like Show Business

 I witnessed the enactment of John Martin's theatrical display of his work, at Tate Britain in 2011.

All the lights were put out and then dramatically switched on again to show some of his blockbuster paintings just as they were displayed in the 19th century.

 I've been reading his catalogue again recently and realised that this presentation may have influenced  the use of lighting on my tours (when the pandemic allows me to do them again) This works particularly well when visitors enter one of the rooms in complete darkness except for the lighting in the dolls house and puppet theatre. Once the room lights are switched on, you see the paintings which were inspired by them.

In my Virtual Tour (available from my website:www.tedconeysfamilyportraits.co.uk for 99p, with all proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together appeal) I fly back in time to 1930s Hollywood in my 1931 Morris Minor to discuss one of my paintings.

And  you can't get more theatrical than that!

Hitting The Headlines

 From the burning down of the Crystal Palace in 1936 to the present day pandemic, I have used evocative newspaper headlines in my current painting 'Eggheads' to denote each generation.

My painting about brothers, starting with my father and his half brother, shows four generations of our family through the male line. I wanted something to denote the passage of time and the headlines seemed an immediate way of doing it. Luckily I had collected reproductions of old newspapers which I recently rediscovered in our loft.

Hopefully you will be able to see this painting in progress on my new improved website, soon. 

Almost Full Circle

 Thirty six years ago I opened our house as part of the Cambridge Open Studio scheme. This gave me the idea of doing guided tours around my work and formed the basis of Ted Coneys Family Portraits.

This summer I was to have taken part in open studios again as well as reopening my pop-up gallery in the usual way. However, the pandemic meant that everything was cancelled.

A book has recently been published about the history of Cambridge Open Studios and as I was one of the first to take part I was interviewed for my memories. You can read my contribution on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page on my website in the NEWS 2020 section.

I see that an early visitor diplomatically said how much they liked our curtains!

A Movable Feast

 Feasts, meals and last suppers have always been used by artists as interesting subjects for their paintings. My contribution so far is 'In Three Our Kingdom', which you can see on my PRINTS FOR SALE page. It also forms part of my Virtual Tour and both can  be viewed from my website.

We have just got back from our annual holiday in Sheringham and as usual, I was tasked with organising a meal out for 25  Coneys on the Saturday night. Not an easy thing to do in these socially distanced times. A reunion in our usual pub was out as I knew the room would not be big enough for six separated families.

I had arranged  instead for us to have a take-away in the garden of our rented cottage but I kept getting phone calls from anxious members of the family wondering if we might get busted as an illegal rave?

In the end, the pub came up with a splendid solution, to put up a marque in their garden with tables a metre apart. 

 I'm sure there is a painting in there somewhere.

 

Nothing New

 My children bought me David Hockney's 'The History of Pictures' several years ago for Christmas. While I was teaching I only had time to dip into it but during lockdown I managed to read the whole tome. 

It was fascinating to see how, during the Medieval period, stories were told in a series of images all in the same picture. This carried on in Renaissance times and  right through to strip cartoons of the 20th century, though these were often divided up in a more formal way.

I have used this device in my painting 'Who Stole The Toothpaste?' where Toad is seen three times but all on the same canvas. You can see it on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page on my website - www.tedconeysfamilyportraits.co.uk 

Zoom Quiz

 We've just done another family quiz on Zoom with each family unit allowed to ask three questions.

As I was keen for all my family to try my Virtual Tour  (with all proceeds going to NHS Charities Together appeal - see www.tedconeysfamilyportraits for details) I gave notice beforehand that my questions could be found when they watched the tour.

My three questions were:

1) One painting is called 'In Three Our Kingdom'. Which famous play does this quote come from?

2) In the painting 'The Rashomon Effect' what was the name of the object belonging to my grandmother?

3) In the painting 'Dear Reginald Owen'  what was his profession?

Please don't send me the answers but hope you enjoy the film

With Amber Eyes

 I've been reading Edmund De Waal's ' The Hair With Amber Eyes' during Lockdown and was struck by how he used an heirloom to write about his family/and world history  over a hundred year period. The netsuke collection - tiny Japanese figurines, were passed from generation to generation, often, in very difficult circumstances.

One of our family heirlooms, a collection of material from 1930s Hollywood isn't nearly so impressive but it does make for an interesting story which I try to show in my painting 'Dear Reginald Owen'.

You can see and hear about it on my Virtual Tour of four  paintings, which is available from my website - www.tedconeysfamilyportraits.co.uk    . http://tinyurl.com/yjasdnu     It costs 99p via Paypal and   all the proceeds will go to NHS Charities Together appeal at the end of the year.

Over To Babylon

The Babylon Gallery is opening on 1st August (thank goodness!) with an open show of artists work. I submitted two of my preliminary studies for my painting 'Who Stole The Toothpaste?' and they were accepted. I don't sell the final pieces and it is away getting framed, anyway.

My preliminary canvases are relatively cheap and I've sold quite a few over the years - one of my fans has a whole room of them!

You can see the final painting on my website - in the NEWS AND REVIEWS section but you 'll need to visit the Babylon to see the studies which are for sale.

Same Difference

I've started work on my new canvas 'Eggheads', after experimenting on smaller, preliminary studies for several months.
After laying on a grey background, I've started painting the clown's faces to show myself,  two brothers and our children and grandchildren.
Using three distinct types of clown -  Whiteface,  Character and  Auguste to represent us,  I've painted each generation the same, to denote the different families.
At the moment,  the faces are all in monochrome but will paint over the top in transparent colour later, so that every member of the family looks slightly different.
Sounds complicated? Trying to get all the faces in each strand of the family to look the same was difficult. Wait until I start the next stage
p.s. You'll be able to see the painting's progress when my improved website comes on stream later in the summer.

A Great Fan

Hurrah! Our wonderful, local art shop has reopened at last. I bought a cloth bound sketchbook ( in preparation for my next painting), and some double nought brushes.
I also purchased a large fan shaped brush to use on my latest picture - 'Eggheads' (more on its progress next week). After experimenting, I intend to lightly 'feather' over the grey background with white oil paint to make the surface more alive. That's the plan, anyway.

Virtually Open

Last weekend would have been the beginning of Cambridge Open Studios of which I was planning to take part .
 I was going to open the downstairs part of the house, including my new garden gallery.
Instead, we had a lovely weekend with children and grandchildren and the gallery was used as a playroom for building Lego and Duplo creations.
Since the new gallery was finished in March there has only been one occasion to show off paintings (during a pre lockdown party) but it has proved very flexible in other ways.
I have used it as a drawing studio for  experimenting with mirrors for my latest work 'Eggheads', an  extra food store and a place for protecting plants against the frost.
As for viewing  pictures, my Virtual Tour will have to suffice for the moment.

The Tank Engine Man

The Reverend W. Audry was known as the 'Tank Engine Man' through his books about railways for children. I've been re -reading his biography  and have been reminded about a painting I did several years ago using Thomas and some of the other characters from the series.
In 1993 I did a painting entitled 'Young Lives' about the ten Coney cousins of our children's generation. In preparation, I instructed them to collect all the ephemera of their lives in a large envelope which was then used to represent them.
The picture comprises of ten DNA structures  used rather like railway lines, with Thomas and his friends moving the material up and down the line.
Audry's characters each have one personality trait, so I have used several for each cousin to try and symbolise their multi faceted personalities.
You can see the painting (its  long and thin) in the photography section of my Facebook page and it's amongst the images showing my retrospective  at the Babylon Gallery.
My three year old grandson is coming this weekend and he has been promised a  play with my collection of Thomas and the other models.

Postcards In Isolation

Our local art gallery has been closed during the pandemic but very active in organising projects for its followers to enjoy.
One of them 'Postcards:Together In Isolation' aroused my interest and I decided to have a go.
We have been taking daily walks, mostly along the riverbank  and I decided to collect flowers and press them. I had a vague notion that I might use the shapes to represent different members of the family in some future painting.
For now I have produced two postcards of drawings using the flowers in black and white for the gallery project. The first one was simply  flower heads all linking together with a bit of spidery writing around the edge. The second drawing is more sparse. It's made up of a series of mechanical dots, regularly spaced out. The last ones, gradually forming into a flower. We have seen alot of diagrams and charts during this emergency. Maybe my drawing is trying to offer a bit of hope?
You can see them, along with many others, if you google Babylon Arts, Ely. Both mine are labelled 'Untitled'

Zooms And Drones

Before lockdown I had only a vague notion what Zoom and Drones were.
We have had several family zoom sessions since then and I have also attended some zoom meetings.
I had an idea that I would do a painting based on a 'Cabinet of Curiosities' in the future with the family being represented by objects of some sort. I still like this idea but see the composition also making reference to a zoom format with nine rectangles to divide up the cabinet shape. Time will tell.
And Drones? My neighbour now has one and I arranged for him to deliver some sweets for my grandchildren who were sitting in the garden and visiting for the first time since Christmas.

Going Virtual

Offering  my Virtual Tour (99p per view) to the NHS Charities Together appeal is beginning to gather apace.
I was on Radio Cambridge to launch it and again on Cambridge 105 radio  last night to encourage listeners to take part.
Photographs and stories of me with my 1931 Morris Minor have also been in two local papers and on several digital platforms.
I reached over 2,000 people on my Facebook page and you can still see the screen shot of me flying back in time to 1930s Hollywood in the Morris if you click on the photography section.  This part of the film explores my painting 'Dear Reginald Owen' and how I came to discover a stash of historical material from that era.

Safety First

When I first set up Ted Coney's Family Portraits over ten years ago, I was visited by a health and safety officer from the Council before I was allowed to open to the public .
One of his recommendations was that we  fitted wireless smoke alarms  on both floors of the house and I was happy to do this as it made us feel alot safer.
I was reminded of this the other week when I realised the alarms were out of date and the rechargeable batteries had stopped charging. We have new ones fitted now and  have promised myself to test them every week.
I was always greatful for the H.and S. Officers' other advice. He could have insisted that I had emergency lighting fitted on a rather gloomy landing. When I explained that I never left my visitors to wander around on their own, he recommended that I keep a large torch near at hand.
I always check the battery before each tour.

Supporting Tourism

I've just had two letters printed in the newspaper this week, both bemoaning the lack of support from the Council for local tourism.
When I set  up Ted Coney's Family Portraits eleven years ago, the City had a vibrant arts community which I could connect to.
It still has, but I sometimes feel the City and District Councils could do more to help.
One of my letters was about the proposed cancellation of the Christmas Lights Switch-On in view of the pandemic. My suggestion was to put the lights up anyway, without a grand opening, as this would cheer everyone up.
My other letter was about a planning application for an out of town shopping centre close by,which they approved.
 In the coming months we will need to get visitors into Ely - not drive them away!

Last Soap Standing

When the pandemic began there was a big rush to buy soaps, hand gels and cleaning materials. Thankfully things have calmed down a bit,but at the time I felt the need to lock my newly acquired Christmas present in a  cabinet for safe keeping.
My brother had bought me a bar of soap in the shape of the  character 'Mr Turnip'. It had cost him a £1 (he told me gleefully) and dated back to the 1950s when I watched the puppet as a child on television.
I am always keen to add to my collection of objects that have inspired me in my painting and you can see two examples on my PRINTS FOR SALE page.
'The Enigma of the Chinese Mask' and 'Diamonds' both use my childhood memories of Mr Turnip to say things about family life.
I have promised my wife that if our backs are against the wall then we'll have to use the soap.

A Toady Green

Johnathan rang to say that he had finished making the circular frame for my painting,
'Who Stole The Toothpaste?' (you can still see the painting on my NEWS AND REVIEWS page).
Normally, I would then go to his workshop to discuss the colour of the frame but ofcourse things are different at the moment.
I do have great faith in Johnathan's judgement as he has been making frames for my pictures for nearly forty years. So I said 'make it a toady green' and then followed it up with 'maybe a toady greenish grey'.
He promised to deliver the painting at some point but said I won't be able to open the package for the 36 hours.
I can't wait.

More Than The Repair

Have you seen the T.V. programme, 'The Repair Shop'? I avoided it for a while as I imagined that it would be like watching paint dry!
However, during lockdown I was tempted and now am thoroughly hooked. Yes, you do see a bit of  repairing but the most interesting thing for me is the stories behind the objects and the emotions they evoke in their owners.
That is why I use objects to tell  family stories in my paintings and sometimes use them almost as symbols for things I want to show.
An example of this was using the puppet Muffin the Mule to represent my brother in my painting
 'David's Journey' but also see him as an icon of the 1940s.
You can see the painting on the PRINTS FOR SALE page on my website.

Eggheads

I've been  making experiments for my next painting using clown faces and called 'Eggheads'.
The title comes from the fact that all new clowns have their make-up verified by being painted on a ceramic egg.
I'm using the faces to represent different brothers in the family and  gradually splitting the images  up to show the changes from one generation to another.
Recently I've been making drawings from a photograph of a face laid under a right angled mirror with the effect rather like a kaleidoscope. After each drawing I put that under the mirrors so the next one becomes more complex. I have also  started to paint them on small  canvases to try and work out the colour scheme. I quite like the idea of painting the faces over a dark background as this gives the images more depth.

Families Apart- Together

I've been making paintings about  families for over 50 years, so  obviously they are very important to me.
While the present situation  of self isolation is hard I've been struck by how modern technology is helping us all get through it.
We've had several Zoom meetings with our immediate family - children, their partners and grandchildren, which has been lovely.
We have also had two with all strands of the Coney family together. That's 11 families and 29 people! From Seattle to Skipton, Sydney to Spain,  all talking at once and waiving to each other.
I can't help thinking that when this pandemic is  over, there is an idea for a painting in there somewhere. 

Keep Going and Carry On

I had planned to open my pop-up gallery this Sunday for the first of the new season 's tours but because of the pandemic, this is obviously postponed for a while.
Still, you can always try my VIRTUAL TOUR (see my website) and if you do, I'll donate the fee to our wonderful NHS.
In the meantime, I'll carry on painting - but more on that next week.

On With The Show

During lockdown I've been doing puppet shows for my grandson on Zoom. I performed
 'Sooty's Magic Show' and 'Muffin's New Friend' which I think he enjoyed (well, they didn't switch it off).
The puppets form part of my collection of objects I've used in some of my paintings - which you can see  on the PRINTS FOR SALE page on the website.
Muffin the Mule appears in 'David's Journey' and Sooty in 'Offrenda', both representing different members of the family.
My puppetry skills aren't great but these are challenging times.

Serves Me Right

It was my birthday last week and a friend sent me one of my own cards -the gift card showing my 1931 Morris Minor (you can see the drawing on the PRINTS FOR SALE page).
Her excuse was, because we are all confined to our houses, it was the only card she had, having bought a few from my Artist in Residence event last summer.
At least I didn't feel too guilty displaying it with the   other  (six) on the mantelpiece.

Garden Party

Last Friday we gave a 'Lockdown 'party in the garden for our immediate neighbours. Everyone brought their own glasses and we all kept well apart. It was also an excuse to show off my new garden gallery (only one person at a time as it's not big) before it is requisitioned for more practical purposes like storing essentials etc.  My latest paintings and related objects were on view.
We all drank each others health and it felt like the night before the war.

In Lock Down

What a difference a week makes! Not only is Open Studios postponed for a year but I will have to delay the opening of Ted Coney's Family Portraits until life becomes more normal again.
Just to get  our priorities right, Hazel and I rushed out to buy more canvases to keep us painting during the long haul.  I know I should have been buying toilet rolls - as I do use rather alot of them in my painting for blotting, rubbing and cleaning.

Full Circle

Twenty six years ago was the last time I took part in the Cambridge Open Studio scheme, having tried it first ten years earlier when artists just opened their homes on a random basis.
I have decided, as well as doing the tours,to open part of our home again this year during July . This is because I have  a regular supply of preliminary studies available (which sell better when visitors see the finished paintings as well) but also with our new garden gallery open, there is more to explore downstairs, besides the studio.
My Open Studio page is up and running on their website. Just type in 'Cambridge Open Studios' and write in my name.

Opening Soon - Hopefully

As you can see from my NEWS page, Ted Coney's Family Portraits reopens for a new season on Sunday 19th April. You can book a tour from 1st April and I just hope the spread of Coronavirus doesn't stop the event going ahead.
Ever the optimist, plans for getting the displays ready continue. Last Saturday we put up the new display cabinet in the garden gallery and I've already started arranging the objects in there.
It felt good to get out the knitted boats made by Julia and put them near the painting they appear in,
'If The Boats Come In'

Makes Sense

I'e recently been to see an interesting exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Entitled
'Feast and Fast', it discusses the art of food in Europe from 1500 - 1800.
I'd already got a vague notion about a painting I want to do in the future based on a cabinet of curiosities using  objects chosen by members of my family to represent them. The Fiztwilliam show gave me an idea to develop this further.
I came across a piece of work which used the five senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
The idea of linking each object to one of the senses could help to define them  and give  more meaning.

Send In The Clowns

I've been experimenting with  ideas for my next painting about brothers,
using the three types of clown faces - Auguste, Whiteface and Character to represent us.
 Continuing the images into the next two generations I intend to gradually divide the faces up to suggest how the genes continue, but in different ways.
I photocopied the three different clowns several times, cutting  up and rearranging them  in formal and informal ways.
My next experiment will be to draw the faces in angled mirrors. I hope to acquire some masks   as having 3D images should make it more interesting.

Wheels On My Wagon

My 1931 Morris Minor is just back from having it's M.O.T. (it passed!) It also had a new coil and plugs replaced. While in the garage the Morris's spoke wheels were sandblasted and painted and the tyres replaced.
The car is an important part of my collection and a great favourite when shown on the
Ted Coneys Family Portraits tours and is now ready for the reopening in April.
 It appears in many of the paintings including my latest one 'Who Stole The Toothpaste?' which you can see on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page.
There are lots of pictures of the car in the photographic section of my Facebook page.

In Touch With Angels

I've started my new work 'The Wasp and the Ring' and over the last two weeks have been painting angels. They are very small and  you should only realise their presence when you get up close.
I am well aware that they could look rather naff but hopefully I can pull off my idea successfully. From a distance you think it's a constellation in the sky.
You can see the results in a few weeks time, when I've got a bit further.

Shades Of Grey

If you  looked at my website recently,j you will have noticed that the picture at the top right of each page has changed.
 Quite a while ago we had our house painted a light grey to bring together the 1750 building and the modern extension. With all the building work going on behind us it was impossible to capture a decent photograph at the right angle to show our house in front of Ely Cathedral.Once the new houses had been finished I managed to gain access and take the prefect image.
It's already out of date though, as since I took the photo, our fence has also been painted grey.

The New Hang

It started with Richard's aeroplane. It was important to get this in the correct position in my new garden gallery and then place  'Airlines' (the painting in which this object had been used),beside it.
Part of the converted garage has a higher ceiling, so this was an obvious place for the plane, giving it room to swing gently  when the air catches it.
Having decided on the top line, we then proceeded to hang the rest of the paintings in the space, allowing for a new display cabinet which should be arriving shortly. This will house objects and ephemera  which inspired the paintings.
Can't wait to set up the 1940 wedding cake again!

In With The New

My painting 'Who Stole The Toothpaste?' is finished and you can see the final version in my
 NEWS AND REVIEWS page on the website.
I filed away all the related material in my studio (including the Edwardian toothpaste pot) and set out all the new stuff to begin painting 'The Wasp and The Ring'. I like to have all the related ephemera, drawings and preliminary studies around me when I work. I've now completed nine small canvases so I feel reasonably confident in starting the final painting.
Or, as I used to say to hesitant students,  'If you don't start now, you never will!'

Share Your Bath

'Share your bath with Mr. Turnip - it'll be fun!'. That's what the advert said, but it was 1950.
My brother gave me a bar of soap this Christmas in the shape of Mr. Turnip, who was a puppet on T.V, during my childhood and I was totally fascinated by.
Although not a collector for it's own sake, I have always been keen to show archive material which has a direct bearing on my painting. I was delighted to receive this present which had survived in it's original box, even though his face was partly missing.
I used Mr. Turnip in two paintings - 'Diamonds' and 'The Enigma of the Chinese Mask', both can be seen on my PRINTS FOR SALE pages.

New Circles

 One of my favourite/most useful Christmas present this year was a small table for my new garden gallery. I had asked my children if they wanted to club together to buy me a circular glass topped one and they did exactly that. It's quite small and will fit in beautifully.
I can use it to display related art books or ephemera on when I reopen the tours in the spring.
Happy New Year!