Open Studio

 I've decided to take part in Cambridge Open Studios again this summer as I had over 260 visitors last year and felt it was quite successful.

It's different from my guided tours of the house in that its free and people are able to wander around the garden looking into my studio, garden gallery and garage which will be set up for another display based on my Morris Minor.

I 'll probably also have the hallway open to show films, photographs and postcards for sale. Last year I opened the french windows so that my preliminary canvases (also for sale) could  be seen. This time I will have my studies from my latest  painting 'Memento Mori' on view as well,

I plan to open the last three weekends in July and if you want to see my Cambridge Open Studio 2022 webpage you can Google it . Click on the Discover section and type 'Coney' in keyword search.

Dots And Spots

Although I am now working on the final picture for my current idea -  'Dreamtime', I do keep experimenting on small, preliminary canvases along the way.

Currently, I'm  printing/painting dots and spots in different sizes to make up the disintegrating Victorian puppet theatre which I dreamt about at the beginning of Lockdown. I am influenced by the aboriginal painter's use of marks as well  as Lichtenstein and Seurat. 

After various experiments I'm using metal grids bought from an ironmongers shop as well as the humble cotton bud.

You can see one of my explorations on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts.

A Step To Far?

 My Morris Minor is back! It's just had its annual service and MOT (it passed) and looking good for this years displays and open studios. It always seems to be the star of the show mainly because everyone seems to have had one in their families at sometime.

The tourist office has just contacted me about the Morris leading the parade down the high street on Jubilee Day. I'm always a bit nervous about these commitments as I worry that the car won't start or will breakdown.

You can see the car on my latest Instagram post, together with one of the many of my paintings it has appeared in . I use the Morris as a time capsule in the painting '3001' imagining that it will be rediscovered in a thousand years time (it was painted in 2001).

Can you recognise any of the objects that I displayed in the picture to represent us?

Name The Frame

 I've just sent off my latest finished painting, 'Memento Mori' to be framed. Difficult decisions always have to be made but  influences on the work were Cabinets of Curiosities and Zoom calls!

The painting is made up of nine small canvases, each one representing different strands of the family (you can see it on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts).

Initially I wanted the picture to have the feeling of being in a cabinet rather than just a frame but as lockdown progressed and we saw more of the family on Zoom, I had other ideas.

We always seemed to be viewing nine rectangles on the screen when making calls and this image became stronger

I left it undecided when  the canvases were taken away, so we shall just have to see how it develops.

For Freedom

 I'm now working on my current painting 'Dreamtime'  having just stained the canvas, Cadmium Red. Once it was dry I started painting in the 'freedom' areas using very loose brushwork with the marks based on some of my landscape sketches from  trips to Wicken Fen.

I wanted to create the feeling of movement so that when I paint the disintegrating puppet theatres over the top (and the animals escaping) it will all be in a state of constant flow.

You can see my efforts so far on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts. 

High Hopes

 I've just posted on Facebook and Instagram, a picture of my painting 'Young Lives' which I made in 1993. It portrays the ten Coney cousins as DNA structures personalised by ephemera they had collected for me over a six month period. Love letters, airline tickets, bills - I got it all!

The picture is over 6 feet tall and I remember it was hell to work on. Often I would put it it on the floor and lay down beside it, while other times I would prop the canvas horizontally on chairs and kneel down to paint.

I was a lot younger then, ofcourse. Nowadays I try to remain seated as much as possible.

New Beginings

 I've finally finished my painting 'Memento Mori and Johnathan is going to collect it next week to get it framed.

I've stuck  up all my new artists and cultural references on the drawing board (see picture on my Facebook and Instagram posts) to inspire me and continued with my experiments for my new picture 'Dreamtime'.

I'm working on two preliminary canvases at the moment and think I'm nearly ready to start the final piece.

Ofcourse I still feel nervous about committing to canvas but I like that edgy feeling when you don't quite know what you're doing ?!