APRIL 2005
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Add more comics to the Manga canvas painting a sumo wrestler and other characters on the covers. It's now looking much fuller. Probably helped by the fact that I'm painting on a coloured ground [ rather than the more light-reflecting white of the pure gesso ] I've tinted it with burnt umber and indo red to make a pale terracotta. I did this a lot in earlier works which means I have to work harder on building up and layering lighter facets. Repaint the frame on the Camel Keeper triptych, patterning with a triangular motif similar to that used on Arabic rugs and camel bags etc.
Beautiful spring day, sunlight fills the studio whilst I work, particularly on photographs on the newspaper painting. R has already started putting in the mastheads and text for me.
In the evening we have dinner with Ros and Eric Shaskie who have also invited their friends Sue, regional fundraiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind and her husband Martin. It's through this charity that she and Ros got to know each other when they both independently used to visit and assess the needs of the visually impaired and regaled us with stories of some bizarre encounters and situations they had occasionally been placed in. Sue had even once been kidnapped by a volunteer who decided God had sent her to him. We also exchange fund raising ideas. Eric recalled various experiments that their son, who is now senior lecturer in Chemical engineering at a Scottish University, used to get up to as a boy. Such as blowing up the strawberry patch in their garden and equipping a model he had of the QE2 with explosives, causing fish, ducks, pond weed etc. to make a rapid ascent from the lake he launched it on. Ros had prepared a wonderful meal, particularly designed to accommodate our non-meat-eating habit.
Death of the Pope announced today. Poor man had looked to be in pain and discomfort since his recent operation. Huge crowds of pilgrims have filled St Peter's Square at the Vatican for the past few days. Some wonderful photographs in the press. having been Pope for twenty seven and travelled so widely years he had amassed a huge public following all over the world.
Dear Eddie our builder is patiently taking down part of the wall on the new gable end as the pattern we had designed for the brickwork looked too asymmetrical as it grew up each side of the old circular Mission Hall window. So have worked out with Eddie a new design.
Brian Sinfield rings to see if I have another smaller painting to hang with the two he has hanging at the gallery for his mixed exhibition. To start with I can't think of anything but Richard reminds me of a small work I had bought back recently.
Big bash on the Camel Herdsman, the Manga and the newspaper work.
R takes the three new works to the Darkroom to be photographed as I'd only allowed myself until today on them.
Call from Rob Whittle saying he has sold The Witness to my collectors the Taylors, who they thinks will allow me to borrow it for the Japanese museum show next year.
Working on the big yellow taxi and the painting of Lady Shizuka inspired by the Festival of the Ages in Kyoto. It's nice to be back on these canvases after the interlude painting the Camel Herdsman, the Manga and the newspaper which are now almost resolved.
Late call from Heather, who works for Theo Waddington in Ireland. She says good news and bad news. Good news is that Theo is recovering well; bad news is that he has been in hospital after he and Vivienne were involved in a car accident with a tractor. Vivienne suffered shock and trauma but no major injuries but poor Theo seems to have come out with broken and fractured bones and has been in hospital since the 14th of last month. He is still on his back with limbs in plaster. But Heather feels he must be on the mend as he's now on the phone from his hospital bed, organising things. It seems there's a bit of a difference of opinion with the gallery in Florida, about one of my paintings [ that I suppose has just been sold ], as to whether I own it or Theo does. We eventually discover that they are both right. After Richard researches the archives we see that there had been two paintings of similar dimensions and format one of which Theo had bought but it then came back to me instead of the one that was still mine after Theo and I had done a trading deal [ so I presumed we'd swopped ]. All's well that ends well.
Student Claire and her mother Rosemary come to interview me during the afternoon. Whilst they are here I spot Richard measuring outside and explain to them that I am hoping to build onto my studio particularly to gain more north light and extra space. In the evening I'm back on the big yellow taxi.
R buys a full set of today's papers as there is big coverage of the Pope's funeral in all of them plus much on Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, who marry today in a civil service. And the Grand National, something for everyone!!!
I spend this beautiful Spring day working on the Lady Shizuka canvas particularly the feet of the young men pushing the huge cart on which she sits with her attendant, then into the faces of the crowd beyond. Towards the end of the evening I finish filling the jar of jelly babies for the Sweet Shop.
Add more sherbet fountains to the Sweet Shop and work on the faces of the children looking in, during the day. But later transfer to the Fish market to add a second red wheel to the cart in the foreground.
E mail from another student asking questions for her dissertation.
Some final refining on the Maiko and Geiko canvas before R takes it to the Darkroom to have a transparency made in the afternoon. I then do a drawing on the postcard supplied by New Hall, Cambridge for their tombola the moneys going towards employing a curator to care for their collection, which is the largest collection of women's art in the world (after the Women's Museum in Washington).
Then later I work on both the Lady Shizuka canvas and the Fish Market.
The Fish Market has to be at the photographers by 4.30 so spend day working on it, refining. Then read a couple of chapters of Cressida Connoly's The Rare and the Beautiful, as she and Charles will be at the dinner at Robert and Toyah's tomorrow. It's a fascinating read; three of the sisters having been lovers and partners of many of the major creative figures between the two wars in the first half of the last century. Mary married the poet Roy Campbell and later became the lover of Vita Sackville West, Kathleen was the lover and later the wife of Jacob Epstein, their daughter Kitty married Lucien Freud after he'd had a long term affair with the youngest Garman sister, Lorna, who when she met Freud was still engaged in a six year affair with Laurie Lee - all the more surprising since she was married with two children, having a third by Lee who her husband agreed to bring up as his own. By coincidence R has brought home a copy of The Guardian because it has a picture of a new self-portrait by Lucien Freud at 82, with the naked model clinging to his leg. It goes on exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery next week.
Later paint chocolate ginger in the ginger pot that R's just carved for the Sweet Shop, then back to the big yellow taxi painting.
Do a little in the studio before setting out to the National Star College. An exciting event, they've won their second Beacon Award, last time it was the Creative Arts Department for the mosaic fountain project, this time it's the RM Award For Leadership in Learning. It's well deserved and we can remember the excitement and nervous anticipation before the assessors were coming in.
Then it's onto Robert and Toyah's for dinner. He's already showing Cressida and Charles the garden. Toyah's been busy preparing the food; she looks beautiful and very slender. When I ask about a three inch tutu that Alistair from the Darkroom has read that she will be wearing for a performance later in the year, she goes and gets it to show me - it's exquisite, tiny black net skirt and frills on the shoulder straps with a tight black velvet bodice. She designed it herself and it's just back from her dress maker. likewise the delicious dinner's is to Toyah's own recipe with lots of wonderful chat about Cressida's book on the Garman sisters and Toyah's Diary of a Facelift. The first edition of 35,000 has already almost sold out and it's going into a reprint. Charles hadn't realised that part of his business, The Real Flower Petal Company, which makes biodegradable confetti had supplied the Charles and Camilla wedding last weekend. In between courses we have a further tour of the house. It's very interesting to see their eclectic collection of paintings which range from early eighteenth century portraits to a group of large abstracts he's recently bought from an artist in Argentina.
Home by midnight and after a walk I put in another three hours in the studio.
E mail from Tempest Radford the art consultants asking where two of the newspaper works are as their client is ready to see them. They are of course both out on exhibition one in New York !! but after a couple of phone calls I reply that they can be available by the end of next week - he'll arrange for someone to collect them.
Last bash on the Street Scene before it goes to the Darkroom at 2.30, when I return to The Lady Shizuka, Festival of the Ages canvas.
Eddie our builder, has been on his own for the past couple of days as Les is off. It's fascinating to see the structures for the small windows rising out from the roof on the lower part of the building. He's hoping to under felt that end of the roof so that when it rains they can work on the interior structure.
Send e mail with images of the three Japanese works to Alistair. We're quite surprised when an almost instant reply tells us that he's unable to open the attachments because he's travelling, probably in the Far East as he says good morning and it's still only 1.30am here.
Added two birds and a banner to The Lady Shizuka painting breaking up the large green area of trees. Also worked into the chairs that she and her companion sit upon on the the large colourful cart and the shapes that their kimonos make whilst doing so. The colours are still quite flat and unbroken although this will change as I gradually work across the surface of the canvas adding more texture and tone.
More progress on The Lady Shizuka canvas during the day. Later I start to paint the wings on three of the processing figures on the White Heron Festival at Asakusa, the fifth work in the Japanese series.
Phone call from Julian at Tempest Radford to arrange collection of the two newspaper works early next week, so hope the one is back from New York in time. Later in the day call from another shipper who at first I think is going to give me the tracking number for the work that's coming from new York. But in fact it's another one who is wanting to arrange collecting the three Japanese paintings early Wednesday morning, so it will just allow time for the art history group from Cheltenham U3A to see them when they come tomorrow.
The White Heron Festival occupies all of the day. In the evening a final working of the yellow taxi painting - Remembering Kyoto.
R had gone off first thing to the Darkroom for them to re-shoot Remembering Kyoto, the yellow taxi canvas, as the lighting hadn't been quite right.
Tempest Radford, the art consultants, ring. They have another client interested in the work and want to know if I've got a large wide newspaper canvas, which of course I haven't. But R sends them images of a couple of smaller pieces.
It's after 2 and I'm getting a bit concerned as the group from U3A haven't arrived. I know they are going to the church to look at the Rood (my crucifixion painting) first. Then one of them arrives. The phone rings and the rest of the group are waiting in the church for me to talk to them about the painting. So we jump in the car and it only takes a couple of minutes to get there. I'm surprised that there are more of them than I'd thought, all sitting looking up at the Rood which hangs high above the chancel arch. I talk for about fifteen minutes before we all walk back up the Lane, apart from two or three members who have slightly more difficulty walking - they travel back either in Richard's car or with Tess, one of the younger members. Richard makes everyone a cup of tea on our return whilst I talk informally and answer questions about one of the paintings hanging in the old studio at the house. We then cross over the road to the newer studio where I continue the talk. they are a most wonderful receptive audience and the questions they ask are both intelligent and pertinent. Then they all process back down the Lane.
Our neighbours Richard and Rose had requested a look at the three Japanese paintings before they leave tomorrow morning. They are still in the studio when Jane phones. She and David have been back from Tasmania for a couple of weeks. She asks about the Japanese and Saudi Arabian trips. It's always good talking to her as she's probably better travelled than anyone else i know. We talk about their house in Tasmania which she says feels very large and minimal (not much furniture) by comparison with the house in Naunton which feels very full. the barn owls are nesting there again and I tell her about the ring collared dove who's sitting on a nest that looks much too small and much too low, in the honeysuckle outside my studio and the blue tits who have taken up residence in one of the two entrance pillars on the studio drive. They're playing in the toy symphony again at the Hales Abbey Festival. Arrange for them to come to dinner on Friday.
Stay up rather late again putting a few last finishing touches to the three paintings.
The shippers come to pack and collect the first three Japanese canvases. The young man tells Richard that the crate is already made to accommodate them on their journey to Jeddah - they will be going off tonight.
I go into the University at 2pm. Gail, head of art at the Star College and Sue, head of photography, are already there with James who is head of sculpture at the University. It's really nice as he remembers Nathan being on the Foundation Course there he says there was something about him. He remembers his work distinctly and is pleased to hear that he got a first, went to the Slade and is now teaching a short courses in film making at Central St Martins. We are shortly joined by Dan, Dean of campus and taken to room 36 where the maquettes and bronzes are exhibited on plinths. It's really quite moving to see the concepts and imagination with which the students have produced the work. It's very difficult deciding upon the most suitable piece for the photography award as apart from the aesthetic criteria, the way that it could be handled by a student in a wheelchair was a major concern. Dan says that they will take us on a tour of the campus to look at the different departments, sculpture being first, which is fascinating and ending up in the media department which was opened in 1993 by David Putnham. Here we see a student taking photographs in what looks like a fashion shoot; then into the television department where they're filming a sequence. Dan explains how they are shortly going to extend the facilities in this department and in a couple of years time they are planing major new building on the campus. Gail mentions that one of her students is coming to the College to do textile design and that she is concerned that the textile department is housed on the top floor and does not have adequate access for a disabled student. We then go back to look at the works having chatted only briefly about them whilst on the tour. It's very hard but we select one that Sue feels her students would particularly relate to and will be able to handle. It's nicely animated, feels young and I hope will make the students smile.
Back to my studio to continue work on the final two Japanese canvases.
We're just replying to an e mail from Tempest Radford the art consultants who are asking what the price would be for a new newspaper work when the phone rings and it is Tom Tempest Radford. I explain that the painting is actually out on exhibition at the moment. He says that doesn't matter, he will wait; we agree a price and he says to send the invoice. They are very good at paying.
I work into the two rows of lanterns and on other parts of the White Heron Festival canvas.
After dinner I mix up new colours for the first of the Saudi Arabian commissions.
Last week I'd drawn a postcard for the charity auction at New Hall, Cambridge and this week I've received one via John Brandler's gallery for the charity Dogs for the Disabled. So I spend the afternoon drawing a large somewhat cartoon-like growling dog on the card and paint in the background area around it. Also today an e mail from Sue Davenport the fundraiser for Guide dogs for the Blind asking if I'll donate a work for a charity auction they have on the 5th November. There's also an invitation to the masked ball where the AUction will take place but I reply that whilst it is a privilege to be able to create things for charities, fulfilling these sort of commitments doesn't allow much time for socialising so we wouldn't be able to go to the ball as well.
I also paint some shadow on the White Heron Festival canvas.
In the evening Jane and David, recently back from their home in Tasmania come to dinner. Lots of conversation about the forthcoming election; like me they are very anti-Blair after the Iraq war and concerned that there hasn't been a lot of discussion about the government's stance on whether they would back Bush if he went into Iran. There had also been huge antiwar demonstrations in Australia but John Howard was still re-elected as of course was Bush. My problem with the Conservatives is that I have been turned off by Michael Howard's statements on immigration and gypsies or travellers; they come across as almost racist ( which is sad as he is the son of Jewish refugees) and interestingly their ratings went down in the opinion polls shortly afterwards. I like the Liberal democrats policy on education and the fact that they are honest enough to say that they would raise the tax level rather than doing it by stealth via National Insurance or similar. Ladbrokes put the likelihood of Charles Kennedy becoming Prime Minister at the same odds as his newly born son Duncan 100/1. We all seem to feel that Minges Campbell would perhaps come across as a more tangible leader. We also exchange stories about Tasmania and our recent trip to Saudi Arabia and the paintings I will produce.
It's nice to be working on the first of the Arabian canvases. By the end of the day I have five readers, four of them in gutras, the fifth is a woman with the black scarf. The papers themselves are interesting in that two have green outer pages and others have the traditional white but often with a sheen or silk finish. David had pointed out how good the printing was and that clarity of the photographs is quite remarkable. I also paint the embroidered patterning on Lady Shizuka's kimono.
The composition on the new Saudi Arabian work is gradually creeping up the canvas. The readers now number ten. It's exciting painting male heads covered in kufiyyahs (the small white skullcap), ghoutras and igaals and females in the black scarf or hijab. later I move back to the Lady Shizuka canvas, patterning her attendant's kimono and painting ribbons running through the sleeves of the white robes that the men pushing the cart are wearing.
Phone the shippers. The painting is still at East Midlands Airport.
Work solidly on the new newspaper canvas.
New newspaper canvas
ditto.
Eagle Global Logistics finally deliver VALENTINE'S DAY, which although it's condition is good, seems to have moved in the frame revealing a small white strip of gessoed canvas, so needs to be taken out and painted around the edges. It takes until dawn
Julian arrives from Tempest Radford late morning to collect VALENTINE'S DAY and 24th SEPTEMBER. I apologise for not having the new piece ready but promise to send image as soon as it's completed. I move back onto the WHITE HERON FESTIVAL AT ASAKUSA as I've promised to send an image of this to Alistair and MJ on Monday.
Cheque arrives from Rob Whittle for the painting he has recently sold. Work into the wings on the White Heron costumes - it's quite complicated where they overlap - and start to pattern their turquoise silk trousers and also the mace bearer's red silk trousers.