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I've just got ready to go with Kev to collect Richard at 10 to 11 and I'm just about to come out of my studio door when I see him walking up to it; he'd texted Kev earlier to say 'I can come home !!' and Kev, having been up early with Isaac, went straight away to collect him.
Kev has also picked up a lot of croissants in various shapes, sizes and fillings so we all enjoy Richard's second breakfast of the day.
Sheila comes to collect my little painting that she has bought from the Starart exhibition and the Indian miniature.
Richard lies down on the sofa and sleeps much to Isaac's amusement who keeps pointing and saying 'shooos' to R's shoes which he's taken off and put beside it.
Richard spends most of the day in bed, realising that he probably was rather high on the anaesthetic yesterday, which made him feel he could do more than he should. he does get up for the dinner before Henrietta,Kev and Isaac return to London and I walk my Mum back home.
In between taking Richard's breakfast and lunch, I try to get some work done on the two paintings that are due to go up to London for next weekend.
I'm painting on the kitchen table like days of old so have to make occasional forays to the studio to collect more colours and as i cross the Lane I bump into Sue, our neighbour, who comments on how successful the Starart auction evening was (Mike, her husband, bought her the etching of Lilies) and says she has noticed the reader offer that the Weekend Magazine did on the newspaper prints for the Star College; then adds 'and the piece on the auction at Christie's in London' which was news to me. She kindly returned with the cutting a few minutes later and there were reproductions of the three works going under the hammer on Thursday in the 20th Century British Art sale at Christie's South Kensington. I imagine it's from when Anita (the editor of the Echo) came for coffee and Richard showed her what an auction catalogue was like. The article has quotations from William Porter head of the department and a wonderful headline about buyers 'flocking in' to purchase the painting with two carved seagulls perched on top of the frame. Mike from HPL delivers the Christmas cards
Looking after Richard and working on the two paintings for Nadine's Cork Street exhibition.
Ditto
Phone the post office and discover that the package with the two paintings will be too large to next day delivery! so set about finding an alternative!
DHL collect the two paintings at 7.45 am on their same day delivery service -it's expensive but the package is there by early afternoon.
At 12 noon I set out for the village to meet BBC Radio Gloucestershire who are doing an outside broadcast from Bishop's Cleeve. It is a bit nippy so pop into the store to pick up some bananas and bread. I'm still early and meet a couple, he's in a wheelchair and 90 in May and she has a lovely gnome-type hat on, they've come from Puller Court the sheltered housing accommodation, particularly as they were hoping to meet his favourite BBC radio presenter who as it turns out isn't there as he is with Radio Bristol. As he is blind the radio acts as his source of information as well as entertainment and he sees this particular presenter as a friend. My piece is just talking about what I do and where my work can be seen. The presenter is a lovely bubbly young man who was at school here before he studied at Gloscat and the University of the West of England.
Richard is beginning to feel much better and is up for longer and longer each day. I walk into the village and go shopping with my Mum, buying her a new four wheel shopping trolly from the excellent ironmongers where I also find two lovely jelly moulds, one in the shape of a white rabbit the other a pink pig; I love old fashioned ironmonger shops. When I buy newspapers for a new newspaper painting my Mum mentions that she had seen the piece in the paper on me today; so again in surprise I thumb through the Echo and there is is on the auctions page 'Bidders find a desirable treasure in PJ's Attic' referring to the Christie's sale where 'The Attic' which is quite a small work painted and originally sold in 1988, made the second highest price for one of my works at auction. Some people mistakenly think that artists put their own work into auction but of course it's the purchasers who for some reason or other need to realise the money (in this case I know the painting was given to the purchaser's granddaughter who wanted to raise enough money to go travelling. Having said that, since the new EEC ruling on 14 February 2006, droite de suite or artists resale right means that the artist does get a tiny percentage. I happen to be a trustee and director of ACS, one of the two bodies that administer this.
I work further into the newspaper painting I had started three months ago, sharpening up the papers and giving the heads and hands more form.
We contact Parcel Force to get them to come and collect two framed prints of A Good Read that have been purchased as part of the Starart Appeal.
All day long we wait for Parcel Force but they do not appear.
I've taken Richard his breakfast in bed and am painting in the kitchen on the most recent newspaper work, when I hear the post come. I am distraught to find that amongst it is a card saying that Parcel Force have come although the time box has not been filled in to say when . I have been working in the kitchen especially so that I will hear them and checking the door every few minutes so how they could have rung or knocked without me hearing them I do not know. I make two or three phone calls but am told they now won;t come back until tomorrow.
No Parcel Force again. We ring and are told that the booking has to be done again. We are now going to have to pay more to get a 24 hour service.
Hurrah! Parcel Force do collect today.
More work on Wallace and Madge's commissions.
Sunday 16.12.07
ditto
I notice on my Bank statement that there have been a couple of automatic payments from the Bridgeman Art Library and I wonder in anticipation which works have been reproduced in the last quarter.
Am most distressed to receive a phone call from Mr Gilbert, the recipient of one of the two Good Reads that were sent out with Parcel Force on Friday. The print has arrived with the glass smashed and the frame damaged by the broken shards. he says that even though it was covered in Fragile tape he thinks they have laid it down and dropped a very heavy parcel on top of it. I am upset but he is a sweet man who says he will deliver it back and collect a replacement that I will have made up for him on the 28th.
An e mail from Margus of the North (the Estonian Ambassador)who has just spotted The Explorers or The Angel, the Tiger, the Putti and the Lamb' that Richard has recently put on the website and wonders if he might be third time lucky with acquiring an angel and tiger painting as the others had sold before he could get to them.
I have been worrying about the other print that went out with Parcel Force and not without cause as we hear from Lise Noakes' husband that their print likewise had shattered glass on which he had cut himself. I am full of apologies and say that we will send another.
Call from the Great Roberto asking if he and his sister patricia can pop in en route to Devizes to drop off a Christmas gift from Toyah (who is in pantomime) and he. They are not here for long but it's great to see them.
Later Gill Henry arrives with three Habitat frames for copies of the 'A Good Read' newspaper Starart print offer, two of which will replace those carelessly broken by Parcel Force. It's very fortuitous as Sam from Cleeve Picture Frames arrives whist she is here with a framed print of 'Locals' that Barbara Mapstone has purchased for the Starart appeal; Gill has very kindly volountered the delivery since Richard isn't driving yet. Then John who makes my frames appears with two beautiful new ones; we persuade him to stay for a cup of tea and mince pie.
Fastway collect three prints two to deliver to the Forest of Dene and a replacement for the Noakes' in Gloucester.
Peta Hoyle comes to collect her Starart print which she is giving to Sarah and John, her two children. When I tel her the story of the two disasters delivered by Parcel Force she says that they had recently dumped several gallons of equine sperm in her hall, not even waiting to see if they were expecting it, which they weren't as it was intended for another address. And that at Highgrove where she works as a guide, Parcel Force will dump boxes of quite valuable goods for the shop by the door and not wait for anybody to receive them.
Coincidentally the King Crimson CDs arrive from Amazon, one wearing The Trickster and the other The Moneylender from my Trickster and Evangelist triptych. But even more exciting, a box of Nathan's about to be published Short Films...how to make and distribute them, just in time for us to give a copy or two as Christmas presents. Also the statement fro the Bridgeman showing reproductions in Italy, France, the Unted States and Germany.
Today I put the Christmas tree, (which has been patiently waiting in the garden for the past ten days) up. Then another spell in the studio; throughout December I have been working on Wallace's commission and also a larger piece for his sister Madge and her husband Eammon who will be coming to our party in a weeks time.
Henrietta, Kev and Isaac arrive early evening followed by Nathan and Rebecca who are on the London train that gets in at 5 past 7. Isaac is of course the centre of attention during our family supper; he so enjoys the interaction with everyone especially now he's beginning to put words together.
Tuesday 25.12.07 Christmas Day
My sister arrives from John Donne's old house in Blunham; my Mum is already here. Isaac of course had his stocking very early. We commence on the present exchanging before the Christmas feast. Some wonderful books pass hands; Henrietta and Kev have given me the catalogue from the Tate exhibition of Louise Bourgoise and from Nathan and Rebecca a reproduction of William Morris' Canterbury Tales. Unfortunately we bought the third volume of John Richardson's biography of Picasso for Howell which Gill had also got for him. We gave Henrietta the Freida Khalo Diaries and Nathan the collected Hans Christian Anderson book and dvds on Basquiet, Munch and the original remastered Nosferratu. And for Gill, the Ted Hughes Letters and his Collected Poems. My sister is intrigued that we get an e mail enquiring about the price of one of the paintings during dinner which is rounded off by the Christmas Pudding that Richard has made to Betty's (of Harrogate) recipe and flambéed by Nathan. As usual during the evening we play cards and word games.
Isaac is still having presents to open periodically, including the Tiger chair and easel that we had got for him; the first thing he wants us to draw on the side with the roll of paper is a tiger. Nathan chalks in a very nice monkey on the reverse for him. Isaac enjoys naming everyone around the table. Most of my energy is probably spent on pushing him on his tractor, carrying logs in it" s trailer for the fire whilst Nathan skateboards alongside us. We again play cards in the evening after a very nice meal that Richard has prepared, particularly the aubergine terrine for the veggies amongst us (it was almost as delicious as the nut roast shepherds pie for dinner on Christmas Eve) with it we open the large treasured bottle of Chianti Classico from Frank Grace's vineyard in Tuscany; the general consensus is that it's superb and Gill says this is just about the right year to open it. Frank and Judy own three of my paintings, the last one was a commission, after which they presented us with this splendid bottle which was vastly superior to the ancient 40 year old Rioja that we opened yesterday, ( a present from another dear collector ) that we had unfortunately let go past its prime.
Today my sister returns home and Kev takes Isaac to his parents for the night to meet his cousin, uncles, aunts and grandparents etc. I am shocked to hear on my studio radio that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated
Mr Gilbert comes to collect his print; a sweet man who had cared for his father for ten years before losing him last year. We sit and enjoy a cup of tea and mince pie before he leaves with his new print in its new frame.
Kev arrives back with Isaac in the afternoon; they've had a lovely time and Isaac has even more presents!
We all enjoy a vegetarian lasagne before another round of cards.
Nathan and Rebecca return to London by train. We look after Isaac while Henrietta and Kev do some shopping.
Henrietta, Kev and Isaac leave early afternoon and we prepare for this evening's party. We are holding it today instead of New Year's Eve as my Mum has her cataract operation tomorrow afternoon. Her friend 90 year old Tommy from the Club and his son Bill are the first to arrive. The house soon fills up with friends and neighbours and of course Wallace and Madge who have driven up from Exeter. After Richard's bangers and 'nips we make our way over to the studio where Wallace gets the second viewing of his commission in progress and Madge her first. I am really pleased as they both seem excited about their paintings.
Richard takes my Mum into the hospital for her cataract operation this afternoon. I don't go as I don't want to give anyone in the hospital my cold which has almost gone now. The staff nurse from the ward rings at about 4.20 to say that she can be collected in an hour. R spends the evening with her; she's in good spirits and feeling well. I see the New Year in working on one of Karl Monday's commissions, Richard arrives back a few minutes into the New Year having seen it in with my Mum. Then over a glass of red wine some nuts and cheese I discuss and dictate a piece about my ideas for the Bishop's Breakfast Group "Celebrating of Gloucestershire's Elders" and Richard sends it off as e-mails to various members.
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