No Monty Dom

I've always hated gardening, so it was with some hesitation that I dragged myself into our tiny courtyard garden last Saturday to attack the last of the dead shrubbery which was hanging against our old wall. Hazel has very much taken possession of this space and all I usually do is move pots around under her instructions. However, I would be the first to aknowledge that the garden is very important to the success of Ted Coney's Family Portraits so it does have to look nice, as it is the first thing they see. It is here that visitors hover, while they are waiting for their tour to begin and where I collect the admission charge. Also, they walk through it as they go over to see my 1931 Morris Minor in the garage and back again when they visit my studio at the end. If it is not raining, it is also at the garden table that they sign the visitors book and hopefully, write something encouraging. So as I say, it is pretty important, so maybe I should learn to love gardening more. 

In With The New

Since the beginning of 2013 I've been taking down all the source material for my painting
 'Another Year' from my studio and consigning it to a plastic bag. I am now filling all the pinboards and my easle with photographs, drawings, scraps from magazines, postcards etc.for my new work
'Love That Dares'. This is partly so I have everything to hand when I start painting, but also to inspire me and keep me going over the year ahead. As the painting uses Muffin the Mule (as well as Charles Darwin) I have dug out the material I collected over twenty years ago when I visited the puppet's creator, Ann Hogarth in Budleigh Salterton. At that time I made drawings and photographs of all the puppets that appeared with Muffin for another painting, about my brother David becoming fifty - entitled 'David's Journey'. I am looking forward to using all this material again, but in a different way.

The Fourth Hook

About seven years ago I ordered a puppet dog to use in one of my paintings, but for various reasons it never arrived. Last year I switched to another puppet maker and reordered as I had a definate idea of how I wanted to use the puppet in my latest painting 'Love That Dares'. As I also wanted to display him as part of  Ted Coney's Family Portraits, last March I asked Simon  to put in a fourth hook  (the other three puppets were already in situ) in the ceiling to hang him from.
It was only on Boxing Day evening that I finally got to open him and once the family has moved out of the guest room, I can display him in his alloted space. You'll be able to see the puppet once I start to post the latest stages of the painting on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page of my website, later next month.
 Happy New Year , by the way.

Not In Time For Christmas

I'd like to be annoucing that the new on-line print gallery was ready and that you could still order images of my work for Christmas. Sadly, I can't! Nigel did say that he would get the new improved UKPhotoGallery ready for September but although he is nearly there, it has all been disapointingly slow. My new PRINTS FOR SALE page has been ready for a month now and the idea will be that you can click directly from that to my page in the on-line gallery. Nigel will then do all the printing, posting and payment and all I have to do is sign the print. I'll let you know via this blog when it is finally up and running but in the meantime you may need to go and buy your presents elsewhere. Happy Christmas!

Top Secret Santa

I'v always tried to get as much free publicity for Ted Coney's Family Portraits as I could as I knew it was the only way to get visitors coming.  Even when I write to the newspapers, although I care passionately about the issues I am promoting, I also have half an eye on the image of my name as I know it helps to keep it in the public domain (even if its only. 'not that Ted Coney again')

Well,  all that went out of the window when I was asked to play Father Christmas yesterday at a concert in the Maltings! The children took it all so seriously (as did I) that I couldn't possibly use the experience to promote me or the gallery in anyway.
Was I any good? Well, I was just recovering from a nasty cold which has left me a bit deaf. What with the noise from the concert, the heat of the costume and the shy voices of the children, I had to play an old befuddled Father Christmas just to get through it. Someone did say I was the best Santa the'd had, though.

Regrets - I've Got A Few

Readers of my blog may remember that I was invited to be Artist In Residence way back last summer by Jeremy at Primavera and was due to start about now. Well, after changing his mind
 several times, it's  off again. I was a bit cross the first time, but I guess I've got used to it by now. Am I disappointed? I did see it as a way of promoting Ted Coney's Family Portraits over the winter and I was rather looking forward to meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury who was reputedly living next door. On the other hand, did I really want to trudge into Cambridge every Friday , even if I didn't feel like painting, when I could be working in my nice warm studio here? Jeremy did do me one big favour though. I worked alot harder over the summer planning my new painting, 'Love That Dares',
knowing that I would have to paint it in full public view when I started at the gallery.
However, You will still be able to see it's progress from the comfort of YOUR home, as I will be posting photos , as it develops, on my NEWS AND REVIEWS page, after Christmas.

An Early Christmas

This weekend we had Christmas with all the family. On Saturday we prepared the vegatables and put up the tree. In the evening, ten of us ate roast turkey with all the trimmings and opened presents. afterwards.On Sunday we had more relatives for a buffet lunch. This was because Leo and his partner Paul went off to Thailand and New Zealand today, probably for a year. I did feel a bit sad but I stoically got on with my painting about them -  'Love That Dares', after they had gone. At present I am preparing the canvases with various textures using old rags and sponges. This is because I want to create a camerflague background on which to paint the figures. Life goes on. Tomorrow I am going to another turkey dinner.