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Thursday 1.4.04

Interesting post this morning with cheques from The Bridgeman Art Library for reproduction fees in both Europe and the USA. Again quite a lot of French books. There's a reproduction of LEONARDO in their newsletter advertising their image download facility. Also some material from Abigail at the Catmose Gallery on the gallery (which opened last May with the Arts Council exhibition of the Saatchi Collection gift) and a statement of the exhibition account from Robert Sandelson gallery for the London show., In the afternoon we have a visit from John who used to be one of our neighbours in Pine Bank (whose children used to come to Nathan's parties). Richard discovered in a conversation with him recently that he currently works building sets for The Everyman Theatre and used to teach woodwork and immediately had the idea that he might be good at making my frames and constructions. He seems keen on the idea and I would particularly like him to make the alterpiece triptych as I feel he would be very sensitive to it's purpose. So am much heartened.

The cat in the Office has now become a boxer dog.

Friday 2.4.04

Richard answers the door in his pyjamas at 10.30 (what a strange place to have a door) to the postman who as usual teases him. A package from Frank Grace with copies of the San Francisco Chronicle and the Steubenbille-Herald-Star (which his father owned) for inclusion in the painting he has commissioned through Robert Sandelson's gallery. Also a newly published book on the vineyard and winery that he and Julia have created in Chianti.

Saturday 3.4.04

When looking through newspapers researching for one of the newspaper works, we discover an article on Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. It relates to a programme on groups twenty years on. Holly has a painting commissioned by his partner from Robert Sandelson's gallery in the late 90's.

Really pleased as receive e mail from Frank Grace agreeing with an extended time scale on his commission as the original date would now only be six weeks away.

Whilst talking to Henrietta on the phone I mention the estate agent who had been to value the properties - he had been at the same school as her. He had commented that we were obviously people who liked projects after he had valued number 80 on the Friday and The Old Police Station on Monday; so by the time he got to my studio house on Tuesday afternoon and saw all the works in progress he was even more amazed and said "you certainly don't lead boring lives do you." which made us realise how lucky we are to live the way we do.

Sunday 4.4.04

Work further into the mirror reflection and the figure on the chair in the Office.

R sows perpetual spinach, carrot and chive seeds. He is also making good progress on his painting of the Siad Business School as well as nearly finishing the plans for the new building work.

Monday 5.4.04

Of course we had been in bed when a parcel had arrived at 8.05 on Saturday morning so R collected it from the post office today. It's from DGM and has two of their latest CD's bearing images of two of the paintings WAITING on Shogunai, the Japanese edition of Happy With What You Have to be Happy With and THE OUTSIDER on EleKtriK. There's also a dvd of EleKtriK but we haven't seen that yet. Coincidentally both paintings are in the collection of Professor Ken and Nancy Simmonds.

Have turned the reflection back round to the normal in the Office as it echoes more effectively.

Tuesday 6.4.04

More to Office. R finishes the plans and delivers them to the planning department.

Wednesday 7.4.04

R goes to London to collect my Uncle Les and Vera via a visit to Robert Sandelson's gallery and then Nathan.

Work until 4 am on the Office so that R can take it in to be photographed tomorrow morning.

Thursday 8.4.0

The Office goes to The Darkroom for them to make a transparency and do a scan. Work on the Gossage's commission during the daylight hours then onto the new interior and still find I work until 4am.

Good Friday 9.4.04

A glorious day. R takes my Mum, Uncle Les and Vera to Gloucester where they spend time by the River Severn watching four masted tall ships and others passing through an opening bridge.

It seems sad to think on Good Friday that the war in Iraq that had officially finished one year ago is still raging there seems to be utter chaos with battles in Faluja and other cities where Iraqis have taken back control. The Sunnis and the Shia Muslims (normally enemies) have banded together against the American and allied forces. The whole thing now seems out of control and three Japanese humanitarian workers have been taken hostage with threats to kill them if the Japanese don't withdraw their support. I imagine pressure must be mounting on President Bush with Condelleca Rice being publicly questioned on whether the American government had had prior warnings of 11th September attack.

Saturday 10.4.04

R takes images of the new interior, the office, late night movie and chess game over to Brian Sinfield to see if he has a preference for the advertisement he's putting in the RA magazine. He seemed to like them all but thought that the new interior might well be the one, which means I need to finish it enough to be photographed on Tuesday.

Sunday 11.4.04

Call from Henrietta to wish us all Happy Easter from Canada where she and Kev are skiing with friends. My sister Gill is also away skiing.

Working out the floor on the new interior until the evening when my Mum, Uncle Les and Vera, Rose and her husband Richard all come for dinner. Call from Nathan in the evening to wish us a Happy Easter too.

Go back to work on the interior till 4am.

Monday 12.4.04

A couple of weeks ago I was interested to hear a short programme on radio 4 about an American couple who started a jigsaw puzzle company, using a Jackson Pollock painting, Convergence, which they called "the most difficult puzzle in the world. This puzzle really took off and even increased the number of visitors who went to the Albright Knox Museum in Buffalo where the painting hangs. Wentworth Wooden Jigsaws who have made puzzles of two of my paintings try to make their puzzles difficult by not having corner shaped pieces at the corners and by having some straight edges within the puzzle itself so that you can't rely on it being part of the outside edge.

It's 4am again before I call it a day, working on the interior. R reassures me that my strange working hours, might seem bizarre to most people, but other artists like Picasso and Giacometti also shared the nocturnal working habit. I suppose this is due to the latter day miracle of artificial lighting.

Tuesday 13.4.04

Don't seem to achieve quite as much today although do have a nice time with Uncle Les and Vera and my Mum. Am able to bring out some photographs that my cousin Rita had sent to my Mum which included a copy of a tiny and somewhat damaged photo of my grandparents. It was the first time I had ever seen a photograph of my grandmother who sadly died when my Mum was 11 and Uncle Les was an infant of 2 1/2. It's therefore very moving to watch Uncle Les as he looks at the photograph as it's also the first time he has seen an image of his mother. My Mum, having been a little older, has always been able to picture her and remembers in great detail things that she wore, as well as the way she looked.

Wednesday 14.4.04

R drives Uncle Les and Vera back to London via the Royal Academy of Arts as Vera's brother's company had laid new wooden floors in the recently opened Fine Rooms and Uncle Les had also helped. Vera's brother had been introduced to Prince Charles at the recent opening. After dropping them off he goes to visit Nathan and Sofia who had had a very good days filming yesterday.

I spend the day on the Interior which R does a mock up of the page for the RA Magazine. It doesn't fit as well as the Office which means that i still need to make a couple of changes on that so it's 6am when I finish.

Thursday 15.4.04

R goes to the photographers for 8am. I do more to the Gossage's commission and a few little bits to the Interior though Richard has put a large sugar white arch top construction frame on one of my easels, confronting me each time I pass.

Friday 16.4.04

Have now got several primed canvases on easels waiting for beginnings. It's a bit daunting to start with and I find myself painting the bottoms of Office and Interior and getting out the 'fridge painting as it's easier. But as the day wears on, find the courage to attack the construction.

Saturday 17.4.04

Phone call from Tony Whelpton to say that Perspectives is now out and the interview is also on the Cheltenham Arts website.

Continue on the new construction - at the moment I'm toying with the idea of a hat shop.

Jane and David from Australia arrive for upper about 8 for dinner. They have sold their houses in Canberra and moved to 29 acres in Tasmania (which has the cleanest air in the world but also a hole in the ozone layer). It sounds idyllic; wallabies and kangaroos, David's had to fence the 2 acre garden to stop them hopping over the balcony. Wonderful indigenous wildlife, though this does include jumping ants that can set up a fatal allergic reaction and poisonous snakes. They say you get used to looking out for these in the same way as looking when you cross the road. The population of Tasmania seems to hold a large proportion of artists, writers and creative people who've wanted a healthier and more relaxed lifestyle. Jane and David haven't decided how to use their land yet but are currently contemplating an olive grove or possibly almond trees. It's currently grazing a herd of cows that belong to their nearest neighbour who's in his mid eighties - a lovely old boy, he also cares for his wife who suffers from Altzheimers. They say he dresses her beautifully each day as if she's going to town; he gives eye to their property while they are away.

Sunday 18.4.04

Call from Henrietta as she and Kev are driving back from the airport after their two week trip to Vancouver and the skiing resort of Whistler.

Copy of the interview that I did with Tiz, the Italian journalist/musician comes through the internet; he's gong to send the actual magazine by post with his two latest CD's.

Not sure in the light of day whether to continue with the hat shop idea or revert to an earlier one - antique / bric a brac shop, so do more to another piece started before the London show that is perhaps going to be a demonstration. The woman in the 'fridge has now come out [ into a cafe ].

Monday 19.4.04

Nice invitation to Robert Sandelsons Tamara de Lempicka watercolours and works on paper show to coincide with the Royal Academy exhibition.

Whole day and evening on the cafe.

Tuesday 20.4.04

Phone call from Brian Sinfield asking if we can send an image to one of his clients via the net. Call from Robert Sandelson. Then another call from Brian asking if ON TRACK is available as he has a client who's interested in purchasing it so phone Robert again to check that it's there. Call from Professor Ken; they've been in Florida for three weeks.

Wednesday 21.4.04

R drives up to London to collect ON TRACK but when he's almost there I get a call from Britta to say it's out on consignment in someone's office with a couple of my larger works. But she kindly offers to send someone in a taxi to collect it and replace it with one my other small works so luckily it's there when Richard arrives having picked up up art materials from Cornelissens in between.

I'm trying to get into a largish supper painting. Nathan rings and we chat for quite a while so listen to see if there are any messages; oh dear I've missed one from yesterday from No9 the Gallery. They have a client wanting to know if THE HOTTEST DAY is available; it's 6pm but luckily Lee Benson is still there. By the end of the evening manage to have something slightly more tangible on the canvas.

Thursday 22.4.04

Invitation from Alain and Michelle Blondel to the opening reception to the Tamara de Lempicka exhibition at the Royal Academy in todays post. Also dvd, King Crimson's "Eyes Wide Open" from DGM in San Francisco; wearing a reproduction of my painting, THE OUTSIDER.

The supper painting is beginning to take shape and absorbs most of the day.

Friday 23.4.04

Lovely e mail from a musician and songwriter in New York who has just seen an image of the King Crimson CD "Happy with what you have to be happy with".

Wonderfully sunny day.

Popped into Cheltenham to the Museum to see Sophia the Exhibitions Officer to discuss the 2006 exhibition there and the possibility of a tour. She's just come back from Vienna to collect a chest that the Museum had loaned. Then to Cavendish House to pick up a few items and a couple of jackets; which is quite a rare event for me.

Back to the easel on the supper painting.

Gill, my sister, rings to find out details of our visit there on Sunday.

Saturday 24.4.04

Several calls from people wanting to rent the pavilion as our current tenants are leaving to buy a house. I feel really bad telling them all that it's already gone as the couple who came to see it last week have decided they want to take it and are excited about doing so.

The supper painting makes considerable progress as often happens in the early stages when large expanses or scenarios are painted in or out.

Sunday 25.4.04

We set out for Fairstead in Essex 11.30am arriving at my sister Gill and Howell's just after 2.30. It's a glorious day and their cottage and garden look beautiful. We spend time watching a pair of ducks swimming on their pond and coming to the door to be fed; later they will probably come with their young. The year before last it was ten tiny ducklings who all grew as large as the mother within a very short time; she managed to keep most of them although last year only one survived, probably the others were taken either by a fox or a moorhen. It's lovely to see Gill and Howell; his studio is full of paintings, many of which are based on his childhood in Killermarsh in Derbyshire. We take photographs of their large collection of Staffordshire figures as reference material as I may use them in my antique shop construction.

In the evening we drive to Cambridge to Hotel Felix. After we've checked in we take a walk down to New Hall, one of the womens colleges of the University and which houses the most extensive collection of womens art in the country.

Monday 26.4.04

It's beautifully sunny again. After breakfast and giving Richard a rapid haircut, Professor Ken and Nancy arrive exactly on time. We sit over coffee and chat before going down to New Hall where they are donating my painted construction RADIO PRAM. We are met by Dr Aya Soika, a lovely young German woman who is curator of the collection, who after we have unpacked the piece, takes us on a tour of the college and it's wonderful collection. This includes Elizabeth Frink, Maggie Hambling, Anna Maria Pacheco, Bridget Riley, Gillian Ayers, Eileen Cooper, Sophie Ryder, Mary Fedden, Nicola Hicks, Valerie Thornton and many more. Although modern, the college is both beautiful and spacious, housing about three hundred undergraduates and a hundred graduates, in stark contrast to some of the newer universities where the intake of students is much higher. The vice-president joins us for lunch, taking time first to look at RADIO PRAM telling us that like my father her husband had also been in the RAF. We feel really privileged that after lunch Aya phones the curator of Kettles Yard and arranges for us to go round the exhibition space and house even though it is officially closed on Mondays. It's the collection of Jim Ede who used to be a curator at the Tate in the twenties and thirties; it's especially interesting that the house was his home for many years although bought specifically with the idea that it would be a place and resource for students to enjoy looking at art in an informal context. There are a huge number of the primitive Alfred Wallis, who painted on bits of wood or cardboard seascapes and ships. He was much encouraged by Ben Nicholson and Winifred Nicholson; there are several of their works also in the collection and a couple of very beautiful Christopher Wood's also lots of Gaudier Breska [Jimmy Ede was very important in distributing Breska's works to museums and collections). It's a very stimulating experience.

We then walk down and sit at a riverside cafe and watch the punts passing by. Professor Ken takes us on a tour of St Johns and Trinity Colleges en route back to the cars at New Hall.

Tuesday 27.4.04

Sad to hear on Radio 4's Front Row (7.15) that Hubert Selby jr. had died earlier today at the age of 75. Nathan visited this amazing man when he was in Los Angeles almost ten years ago (and took this photograph). He'd lost several ribs to TB when he was young and only had one lung. Although small and frail of body he was a man of great strength who wrote 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' and 'Requiem for a Dream'. He seemed to be quite a cult figure to the young. Nathan said how kind of him it was to allow him to visit when he knows how important creative time is. He says he was rather in awe and became quite tongue tied but HSjr chatted on and made him feel quite at home; which was unlike the response that John Mortimer got after his succesful groud breaking appeal against the obscene publications conviction for 'Last Exit..' when HS on meeting him and being told he had saved his book just said "Oh yeah."

"I knew I wanted to do something with my life - I knew the alphabet so thought I'd become a writer"

He also said that he knew that before he died he's think two things;

that he would regret his entire life and also that he would like to live it all again.

Start a small corrugated newspaper work and take supper party a little further.

Phone call from Wallace who had also visited Kettles Yard in Cambridge with his sister Gretel and thought it was wonderful. he had recently been to see the El Greco exhibition in London and thought that was stunning.

Wednesday 28.4.04

Have an idea for a large canvas which R gets out for me and a related smaller corrugated piece; although don't manage to get into it until my business manager from the Bank arrives to see if there are any other facilities I require.

After he's gone I contemplate the large canvas but haven't formulated enough of an idea to commence. It's very difficult once your concentration's broken to pick up the threads; however do make a fairly good start on the corrugated piece.

Two very good obituaries, one in The Times one in The Independent, on Hubert Selby Jr. Interestingly he was put on the same experimental drug, streptomycin (for TB) as my Mum had which had toxic side effects - like him she reacted against it and although she was only away from us for two years he was in hospital for three. By the time he came out he was addicted to morphine; it was during his time there that he began to read.

Thursday 29.4.04

Both phone lines are dead. Call British Telecom who say they are working n it now so it should be done very soon; "How soon is that?" I ask, "Tomorrow." So she diverts calls to my mobile. There are two lorries, a roller, a digger , a lot of men and red and white barriers. It's amazing how not having the internet due to the lack of telephone line, one feels quite deprived at not being able to send and receive e mails.

After a day of contemplation, manage to start putting more onto the huge new circus canvas. By midnight it's looking possible.

Friday 30.4.04

We drive to Worcester for an early birthday luncheon party for Joyce that Janet and David are giving in their beautiful home. It's a lovely day, Janet has gone to great lengths preparing such delicious food. We do lots of reminiscing about our days as students together. And share stories about our children and mothers.

It's growing dusk when we leave. Do manage a little more on the new large circus painting when we get back.

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