Not Just Mussels and Chips

We've just had a long weekend in Brussels and one of the things I enjoyed  most was Magritte's house, where he lived with his wife for many years. It amused me to hear that although he built a shed in the garden to do his painting, he often retreated to the kitchen to work, as it was warmer. I know the feeling!
We also saw a wonderful exhibition of religious paintings from Siena and I noted down how the artists had pierced through the gold leaf to portray intricate patterns. An idea I want to develop for the shadow puppets in my next painting,
 'Against The Light' .
In the Musee Fin-de-Siecle we also saw some interesting James Ensor paintings and drawings of silhouettes and masks which will also  be useful.
And the mussels? Definitely bigger and more delicious then those you find in the UK. 
 

A Doomed Affair

'A doomed affair' - that's how I began my press release, I sent out to local newspapers.
I wanted to grab their interest so  they would send a photographer to do a press picture to advertise the last tours of Ted Coney's Family Portraits before I close for the winter. It seemed to have worked, because I was featured in two newspapers and one on line. You can see all three on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page of my website in the Reviews and Articles section.
And the doomed affair? It's all explored in my painting 'The Rashomon Effect' which you'll see in the press photos which accompany the text.
 

The Lady Vanishes

Visitors to Ted Coney's Family Portraits sometimes ask me where Hazel is, during their tours around the gallery. Well, as our cottage isn't that big and I use most rooms (including the kitchen) to display paintings, she needs to disappear.
Hazel might decide to read the Sunday papers in our bedroom or do something more creative in her workroom. Occasionally, she will be working at the cinema, if there is a matinee or swopping  books at the Library.
And sometimes Hazel will go shopping to Tescoes, Aldi or Sainburys. There is always plenty to do in Ely! 

Silent Partner

I went to the excellent 'Silent Partners' exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge the other week. It's subtitle is ' Artist and Mannequin from Function to Fetish ' and that sums it up, really
It was interesting to see how artists had secretly used mannequins and lay figures instead of humans in the early stages of the exhibition and then gradually the 'silent partner' had begun to take over in their own right and hide no more.
I suppose because some of my work uses puppets and dolls in place of humans, my work falls into the later category.
My ultimate silent partner is Mr Turnip, a puppet from 1950s television who represents my childhood in the painting 'Diamonds'. He then becomes my alto ego in the painting entitled
'The Enigma of the Chinese Mask'
You can see both paintings on the PRINTS FOR SALE section of my website.
And Mr Turnip? Well, he's on my Facebook page this week.

One Last Look

I've been working on my current painting 'The Rashomon Effect' quite a bit recently. I have been concentrating on the two right hand side images more, particularly the magnifying glasses.
You can see my efforts on my Ted Coney's Family Portraits website on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page, where Daniel has posted the latest pictures of my progress.
Is it finished? Probably not, so I shall continue to fiddle around with it until Christmas.
I know I want to redo the background, so it is perfectly flat and I still want to try and get more 'tremor ' into the upside down bed - the old man's view.
As I'll be closing the gallery for the winter in early December I'll hopefully entice one of the local newspapers to run a story on it, to bring in a few more visitors before the end of the season.

Thats It Folks!

The other week we visited the galleries at Compton Verney to see the British Folk Art  exhibition and very interesting it was too.
I particularly liked the Bellamy Quilt of 1890, which was made by a newly engaged couple  to portray their shared interests and images of the period. These included Queen Victoria and Aly Sloper, a popular strip cartoon character of the time.
I like the idea of using cartoon characters in my paintings also, but perhaps in a more subtle way. I am using the cinema  (though they also appeared in comics) characters, Laurel and Hardy in my next painting 'Against The Light '. They will represent two cousins of my mother's, who were young men in about the same period.
As Laurel and Hardy are going to appear as shadows in my work, I have been busy cutting into black card and  making them as   articulated puppets, so I can change their positions. I am also making a translucent set and will decide which to use, once I have produced some preliminary studies. Watch this space.
 

Dr Who?

Last Sunday I had a party of eight foreign students visit
 Ted Coney's Family Portraits. They were very attentive and seemed interested in everything I said about the paintings.
They were delighted to see my 1931 Morris Minor, so I showed them my latest painting which involves the car - 'Dear Reginald Owen'.
However, I think I may have lost them a bit, when I tried to explain how I had used the car as a time machine, going back to the 1930s.
'rather like Dr Who's Tardis'  I said enthusiastically. Obviously Dr Who hadn't travelled as far as China and Russia, which is were the visitors came from.