I've put our sixty eight piece Nativity scene out again, as I try to do, every Christmas. However, some of the figures are now also permanently displayed in my garden gallery as they appear in the painting from 2019 'The Wasp and the Ring' Can you spot them?
Both the models and the painting appear on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts.
Happy Christmas!
I've just been sent a list by the Norris Museum, of possible paintings they might use in my exhibition next year. My task is to send them dimensions, so they can begin to see how many can be fitted in the gallery.
One of the paintings the Curator hopes to include is 'Snow Angels and No Angels'. This comprises of fifteen small paintings, celebrating some important female members of my family. Although they should be seen in a horizontal line I have never been able to manage that as our small cottage.
They seem dotted about, but in fact follow a path around our house which mirrors the journey I made in 2008 discovering the Eleanor Crosses from Harby to London.
The first 'Snow Angel' is our second daughter Fay, who was stillborn. You can see this canvas on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts and all fifteen on the PRINTS FOR SALE page on my website.
Last week I did the final tour of my pop-up gallery foe this season. Usually, I reopen again in April but things will be different because of my exhibition at the Norris Museum. So my next tour could be September 2024!
I had a lovely couple for this booking and apparently I was part of a present. They were old friends and one had arranged to take the other to the Old Fire Engine House for lunch, then onto me.
I hope I measured up to expectations but I did get a nice Email afterwards
The 'Small But Perfect' exhibition is launching at the Babylon Gallery in Ely tonight. There are apparently 300 works of art, all hoping to be sold before Christmas.
I've just put one tiny canvas in - a preliminary study from my 'Dreamtime' series (see my latest Facebook and Instagram posts)
I'm not sure anyone will want a picture of a disintegrating Victorian puppet theatre, but you never know.
The idea came from a nightmare I had in Lockdown about being trapped inside a toy theatre and I couldn't get out.
Recently I've been making an inventory of all the fifty five family paintings I've produced over the years. Notes on the first thirty nine were covered in the tour guides I'd written (see picture on latest Facebook and Instagram posts) but after that it was all a bit spasmodic.
Some paintings had quite detailed notes written about them while others were missing.
I wanted to get everything up-to-date for two reasons. One, to give the Norris Museum information should they require it for my exhibition next year. The other was more practical. To make it easier for my children to sort out my stuff after I've died.
I still need to number each picture though, otherwise they will have great fun trying to match the canvas to the title!
I've finished (I think) my current painting 'The Counsellor'. Giles has put the eleven preliminary canvases produced during its creation, onto my website on the WORK FOR SALE page.
Prices range from £40 - £60 and who knows, someone might like one for Christmas?! They show my experiments with colour, texture, composition and trying to work out how I was going to make the final piece.
You can also see a selection on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts
Our contribution to the Window Wonderland event last weekend was to put examples of my shadow puppet collection on display.
When I took part two years ago, I used some of the smaller puppets from various parts of the world. This time I displayed three larger ones from Java, Indonesia and India respectively.
I also snook in the Laurel and Hardy puppets I had produced in 2014 in preparation for my painting 'The Rashamon Effect.' Partly to give a sense of scale (these figures are small in comparison) but also because its lovely to see them back- lit for a few hours.
You can see our window and the painting on my latest Instagram and Facebook posts.
