Popping Up With The Archbishop

I am going to be Artist in Residence at Primavera, Magdeline Street, Cambridge when
 Ted Coney's Family Portraits closes in December, until April 2013. It is a prime site because it is opposite Kettles Yard and on a very busy crossroad for tourists. Clearly, I shall have to get all my preparation done for my next painting, before then, so I have the canvases on the go. There is also room to diplay some of my finished pieces, so need to think carefully about what those will be. The committment is to be working in the gallery one day a week, so will be moving my studio there for the duration. As 'Ely's First Pop-up Gallery', I like the idea that I shall be 'popping-up' in another location over the winter. And the Archbishop? Well, the gallery building is owned by Magdeline College and the Archbishop of Canterbury will be taking up residence in the house directly opposite as the new Master of Magdeline at about the same time.

1984 And All That

It was in 1984 when we lived in Great Shelford that I first opened our house to the public to show off my family paintings. I only charged 40p then (I now charge £3, but you do get a guided tour) and only answered questions if asked. The beginings of what I do now were there even then, because I had a little super eight film which was played every half hour. I now show a looped film as visitors enter the hallway, made up of super eight, video and DVD images. Why all this nostalga for the past? Well, I was part of the Open Studio movement back then and this year I have returned to advertise Ted Coney's Family Portraits in the Open Studio booklet. Ofcourse, the paticipating artists are only open during July whereas I keep going until December, so I am rather hoping people will hang on to their booklets and keep visiting me. I had my first guests yesterday, who were following the Open Studio trail.

Twenty Years On

I've just been to my brother, David's 70th birthday party and I am reminded of his 50th birthday because that was the beginning of a painting I made, entitled 'David's Journey'. You can see it when you visit Ted Coney's Family Portraits. I portrayed a labrynth as a symbol for his life and  used Muffin the Mule to represent David and all the other animals from the same TV programme to represent  members of his family. I used Muffin partly because I was interested in the symbolism attached to animals but also because David and Muffin are about the same age and Muffin was very much an icon of the 1940s and 50s.
Well, I am about to use Muffin again in my next painting, this time for my son Leo.  There is a Charles Darwin twist in the new one, but more about that next month when I get going on the preparatory work.

Across The Divide

In Ely we have a wonderful shop called the Ships Chandler and I have long wanted to buy something from it if only I had an excuse. Anyway, I was passing the other day and saw some tiny white sailing boats in the window and I went in and purchased one. I had used another small model boat in my painting 'In Three Our Kingdom' but it had got lost in the move from Great Shelford. In the painting it is used as a symbol of death - sailing to the other side. I used it to symbolise Richard's death and his lack of interest in earthly goods. I also used another boat, this time sailing in the air, rather like in the Norwegian churches, as a reference to Arthur in a painting after his demise - called 'Encore!' You can see these and learn more when you next visit Ted Coney's Family Portraits.
P.S. My next but one painting, which is in the planning stage, also uses sailing boats and Julia is knitting me some. This painting will have a slightly jollier theme - all about hope and arrival.

Not Asleep, But Resting

I've been working on my current painting,  'Another Year' today. Not on the canvas to begin with, but making colour sketches on paper, to try and work out how I am going to do the background. I tried two ideas, to help me decide how the colours could fade one into another and how they could match up with the images in the main circle. I then came indoors to look at my books on Turner and Monet and they had all the answers. Although I had fallen asleep infront of the T.V. last night while watching a programme on Turner,(annoying presenter) something must have sunk in, in a subliminal way. To try and convey light falling on different surfaces what better artists to study?

Two Wheels On My Wagon

Yes, I really did go out on two wheels in my 1931 Morris Minor, when I left Ely Cathedral last week after attending the Business Exhibition there, to advertise my gallery, Ted Coney's Family Portraits. They decided after doing a bit more measuring, that rather than going out through the back entrance,  there was a real chance I could go out of the front doors! However, it was decided to put a plank over one of the pillars so that I had two wheels on the ground and two much higher up. This meant that I was steering at a 45 degree angle with about an inch clearence on either side. To add to my embarrisment, the car wouldn't start and although I would have rather enjoyed ringing the AA ('I've broken down in Ely Cathedral') the staff seemed very keen to get rid of me. In the end they bump started the car along the pavement. I think my exhibition was a great success, although, understandably, people were more interested in the Morris rather than my paintings - I had two prints showing two paintings involving my Morris and a series of pictures to show my current work in progress 'Another Year' - which shows images of Ely Cathedral (which you can see on my website, News and Reviews page). You can also see one photo of the car in the Cathedral on my Facebook page - more to follow

A Jubilee Blog

Yes, I really did have tea with the Queen last week - but along with 8,000 other people. Hazel , Max and I had a great day, eating cucumber sandwiches and drinking iced coffee. We managed to see most of the Royal Family close up thanks to Max acting as our human periscope. He could see over the heads of everyone else and direct his tiny parents to the best places to stand. It made me think of the paintings I have done over the years, involving the Royals. ' Family Funeral' was a tryptich painted as a responce to Churchill's funeral, with the Royal Family on one side of the coffin and my family on the other. 'Prince, King, Exile' didn't involve my family at all but showed what happend to Edward VIII once he married Mrs. Simpson. 'The Puppets Dream' is a painting about a dream I had many years ago, showing Princess Anne reviewing the navy. She fell into the water but emerged moments later, still waiving and hat still intact. She is real while Hazel and I appear as puppets. You can still see that one today, when you visit Ted Coney's Family Portraits.