SEPTEMBER 2004
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Peter King rings and kindly says we can borrow Arts & Books.
I'm working on the photographs in the Graces commission. Frank's father actually founded the Studebaker Herald Star which he is reading in the painting.
Call from the alarm service centre in Hereford as it seems that Lyn Horne keeps pressing her button. Run down there to find her lying outside on the concrete in quite a distressed state as she's banged the back of her head and leg which are both hurting. we manage to get her inside and phone the doctor. Her poor feet are also really painful; she had been going into hospital to have an operation on them but it was postponed whist she was caring for Barry. We can feel the grief mingled with her pain. We stay with her until her grandson and son in law arrive.
R goes to collect Fin de Siecle, Absent Lovers, Rolinda and Now and Then from Robert and Toyah's. We are borrowing them for the exhibition at the Vale of Catmose College.
Ring Jane, Professor Ken and Nancy's daughter, to arrange for R to collect the paintings that they are kindly allowing us to borrow for the exhibition.
Paint one of the jars that R has carved for me, filling it with sherbet lemons for the Pursports. Am really pleased as R spots it immediately and finds it very convincing.
Cards and posters arrive from Catmose. We are rather pleased with them as they are nicely designed and are reproducing Arts & Books, Peter King's newspaper painting.
Wonderful e mail from Lisa at Artworks saying that the Ark has already been booked out by schools until 2008 and the Beautiful Game until 2007 which seems amazing as they have only had them there for three days.
And another from Martin Bailey who says he has just visited a fabulous collection recently amongst which was one of my smaller corrugated works.
Brian rings to see if I've managed to do or start anything for his countryside exhibition in October as he's just compiling the catalogue. I apologise and explain that as I'd had to put commissions I am working on to one side whilst I was painting the works for my exhibition with him, I am now having to concentrate almost entirely on finishing them. Also apologise for not having got a small work done yet for his current mixed show. He's very understanding. Fill the next jar on the Pursports commission with pink raspberry sweets that I remember as a child; they were rather beautifully formed with tiny spherical shapes over the surface, quite sculptural and were hard boiled sweets.
Do some gardening at number 80 as our tenants have just moved out. I am rather pleased to have caught Thomas Lee who comes to cut the grass at both the house and the studio, who agrees to do the two little lawns there as well.
R picks up the big hired white truck and collects a work from Peter King and another from Brian whilst I show some people round number 80 before painting a third wooden jar, this time I'm not sure whether the sweets are going to be chocolate eclairs or buttered brazils - think it's the latter. Also did more to Descent from the Ark, adding two lions, two dogs and two hedgehogs. Yesterday it was ostrich and leopard.
My Mum arrives back mid afternoon.
Don't get a ot of painting done as most of the day spent preparing some of the works that are going to the Catmose Gallery, dusting down and vacuuming a couple of the large constructions. R's still putting the final CD and book frames together. We carry the works into the truck at about midnight and are joined by a rather beautiful toad who's arrived on the doorstep of my studio. R has to set out at 7am to collect works en route.
Call from Wendy, from the Cheltenham Development Council re the presentation at the Museum tomorrow evening, asking if I can sit on the top table to answer questions about the mosaic mural project which is part of the redevelopment of this centre of Cheltenham.
Back to the Graces commission after planting in the back garden of number 80 and being there for Eddy's cousin Les who has replaced the broken window pane.
My Mum called into my studio after her committee meeting at the Senior Residents Club. Whilst walking her back home we meet a very nice couple with a sweet old lady who is probably suffering from Altzheimers. They had found her wandering up near the railway line and she couldn't remember where she lived. They had found an address in her bag which is in the lane. She turns to my Mum and I and says "Thank you for all you have done for me"; which is a touching insight ito the dilemma as of course it should have been addressed to the couple who had found her. My Mum looks at me as we continue on our walk back to her house and says how fortunate she is as they are probably the same sort of age. It is perhaps one of the prices we pay for living so much longer now.
Package from Elsie Adler in New York with more reference material for the commission I am painting for her.
Well, well, well, who'd have thought that my work would have been perceived as "Modern Art" ?? At the open forum meeting in Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum this evening there were several verbal brick bats hurled in my direction. Rather wonderful really as I'd thought that the preliminary ideas for the seven ages of man might have been rather too tame. So was somewhat surprised when someone in the audience (who were mostly there to raise points or object to the proposed redevelopment scheme of the area, would say that "there's a place for modern art but it's certainly not here". But this was rather knocked into a tin hat by the woman who owned a textile shop nearby complaining that it might attract too many people to the area. I guess the ultimate was when a town councillor who had been objecting to the "modern art" suddenly pointed and said "Nobody said that's what it was!" to my Mother and Child standing in front of St Mary's Church, retorting [ in a rather aggressive voice ] "that is totally inappropriate." So eventually I addressed the meeting explaining that I was rather pleased to be thought of as "Modern art" as I felt I had been invited to draw up these preliminary ideas both because my work is thought to be accessible and because I come from Cheltenham. But that these were just initial suggestions, nothing is written in stone, not even that I do the final paintings, that is was for the community who are invited to have an input and to contribute ideas. The Seven Ages of Man seemed perhaps more appropriate than the Stations of the Cross as it's more multicultural and would capture the whole of the community in its age brackets. Wonderful how art, perhaps more than anything else, always provokes and Oh!! what bliss to at last be controversial!!!
Phone call from Hugh at DGM asking if we can send him an image of The Controller; he's going to try using it as an icon on the new website which will facilitate the downloading of music from particular King Crimson concerts etc. I tell him that some of the CD covers are going to be shown within my exhibition at the Catmose Gallery in Rutland and he describes the new box set of four CDs (the history of King Crimson) where he has reproduced six paintings. On the CDs themselves, Expresso (in the collection of Artworks, Leicestershire's Open Museum); Sunday (the old couple reading papers in bed);The FT (owned by my dealer Lee in new York); a single figure in a trilby hat reading a newspaper from Harry's Bar. On the cover is The First Day of the New Millennium and another vertical newspaper work on the book jacket.
Rework Gus on the Graces commission.
Set off for Rutland early afternoon. It's a wonderfully warm day. Run through my talk in the car on the way. Journey takes longer that anticipated as we have to drive through the evening rush hour traffic of several towns and cities. But manage to get there in time, changing in the car en route. It's a beautiful exhibition space and Abi and her team have done a really good job of the hanging. The head of art from the college, the principal and the CD teacher are all there; Lisa of Artworks arrives with Fergie. I start to give the talk at about 7.15; keeping it fairly informal and chatty. They are a lovely attentive audience. We leave just after 9 for the long haul home, arriving back at about 1am to find messages on the answer phone from Nathan letting us know that he has arrived in Stockholm safely and is at Llassa and Astrid's with Sofia. Also one from Donna at the Palm Beach gallery letting us know that the art works are safe after Florida has been devastated by another hurricane.
E mail from Britta at Robert Sandelson's gallery saying that they would like to show three or four of my works at the British Modern & Contemporary art fair at the Royal College in London next week. I now have the dilemma of having had such a successful exhibition at the Brian Sinfield Gallery, plus two works going to the Artworks Museum in Leicestershire and the other private sales through the year, of not very much being available for other things. I would probably have managed at least a couple of new works by now if I wasn't so busy working on the commissions. But I guess you can't have your cake and eat it. So I'm now staying up late working on square newspaper and Descent from the Ark as R needs to take them up to the gallery on Monday for the transporters to deliver to the art fair for the hanging on Tuesday.
Day spent working on the newspaper work and Descent from the Ark for the art fair. In the evening we go to dinner with Ronald and Margaret in Winchcombe; it's quite some time since we've seen them. One of the stories he told us is of Sir Hugh Casson when giving a talk opening it with "I'm probably the only man here who's slept with Stanley Spencer." and telling the tale of when an arts delegation travelled to China or Russia (Ronald and Margaret couldn't agree on which) it seemed to be over a mis booking where everybody had to share the same bed. Sir Hugh seems to have been a great story teller; at the end of another talk he took out of his pocket a fish paste jar and said to the audience "can you see what that says on the lid? - it says 'push off'; I'm saying that to you."
We are rather late getting back, it's 2,30 am and we can hear the phone ringing as Richard is unlocking the door. I'm in a panic as the only person who sometimes rings us at that time is Nathan and he's in Sweden. As I pick up the phone it stops ringing. I go to the messages and there's one from Nathan left at 1.30 saying he's stranded in Stockholm; he hasn't got his mobile phone or any money, just enough to have bought the phone card that he used for this - can we call him back at the number he gives. I'm in even more of a panic now as the message was left an hour earlier and after many repeated attempts we realise that as he's in a phone box it won;t take incoming calls. We try the operator but she's speaking Swedish. R phones the Stockholm police and gets a very nice policeman who speaks English. who says that they can't trace where the call box is as the phone operating company aren't functioning as it's weekend and the middle of the night., but says that if nathan went into any of the police stations we could arrange to have American Express deliver some money there for him. But of course we don't get another call. We spend a sleepless night worrying.
Still no call from Nathan. R contacts the Swedish police again but he hasn't contacted them however the good news is that he hasn't turned up in a hospital. They reassure Richard that no news is good news. I just keep working trying to stop myself worrying and begin to think that perhaps he and Sofia have fallen out and have now become reunited.
R sets out for London early, calling at the photographers on the way, to have transparencies made of both the newspaper work and the Descent from the Ark. I am working on the Graces commission again.
Early afternoon phone rings and it's Nathan. I'm so pleased and relieved; he sounds well and has had no idea we have been worrying or have contacted the Swedish police. he had thought either his messages and phone calls had not got through as he tried so many times and couldn't think why we wouldn't be home at 2.30 am (which is 3.30 am in Sweden) so alternatively thought we might be away. Apparently he and Sofia had got separated and the entry code number for the flats they are staying in only works during the day. Sofia couldn't understand why he hadn't come back. He spent quite a long time sitting on the doorstep; when some people did go in they didn't let him in - not recognising him, probably thinking that he was just sleeping rough there. He phoned us because it made him feel not so alone. He went back to the bar they had been in and they had his wallet, which he must have left there, so eventually had the money to buy another phone card but like us, couldn't understand the operator. he managed to get a Swedish girl to interpret so eventually got through to Sofia at 5.30 am. Thus he slept a lot of the next day not realising we had got his message and were in a worried state. He's very apologetic and phones back again shortly after to make sure I'm alright.
Sue Bezani, head of photography and Peter Horne, fund-raising director at the National Star College, come to lunch. We are discussing sponsoring an annual photography award. It's wonderful to observe Sue's passion for her job and enthusiasm for the progress and achievement of her students. there are now five full time photography students and thirty others who are studying it as part of their course. Interesting also to hear Peter talking about the plans of the College to develop further. They managed to buy the adjacent farm and are formulating plans for it's development. He very kindly suggests that they might call upon me to be involved. But he also says he's come on a mission, that he has been talking with Helen the Principal and Dr Keith Anderson, chair of the governors; they wonder if I would open the new student residential accommodation on the 7th October. I say I would be delighted to so, it would be an honour. He's very sensitive to not wanting to take up too much of my time but I try to convey that the National Star College has always been very important to me and that i hope it will be a continuing and growing relationship. We have found our friendship with the students and staff to be very enriching.
Wednesday 15.9.04 R went to London to collect my Uncle Les and Vera to bring them back to stay with my Mum. Les is her younger brother. I spend the day working on The Second Kiss for R to take to the Royal West of England Academy tomorrow.
R takes The Second Kiss and the doorway painting to The Darkroom to be photographed before he takes them to the RWA. I'm most touched when he comes back and tells me that Barry, one of the partners, has asked if the doorway painting is available for sale as he would be interested in buying it. So now there is only one to go to Bristol.
This is ridiculous. have just had phone call from Brian Sinfield asking if I still have the doorway painting as he's just had a phonecall from one of my collectors who would like to buy it. So I have to tell him it sold about two hours ago. I don't know why this seems to happen so often.
Whilst R is away in Bristol I start a new canvas. I didn't really have time to take on a new commission but last week got e mail from the Knowles asking if I would be able to do a bar painting fro them - they would like to reproduce it as a Christmas card to send out to their clients. Simon designs rather wonderful sophisticated bars called cantilever and also has a firm that manufactures them. They are such nice people I desided I ought to try and fit it in.
Whilst R takes my Mum, Uncle Les and Vera to Tewkesbury to see the Abbey (and to get the laptop repaired), I work further into the Bar. Rapidly filling the distant background with figures at tables receding into the distance. Fairly rough and mostly monochromatic.
Call from James at the Catmose Gallery to say that they have booked us into the Hornblower, which is in the middle of Oakham High Street.
Then mix a series of colours in jam jars to take to Catmose College for the workshop. It's about 8.00 when we set out; quite wet and windy. Arrive about 11.00pm. R had been rather excited about staying at the Hornblower as he looked it up and discovered that this 18th century building was Rutland's most popular watering hole. We arrive of course much too late for dinner but had picnicked on fruit and cheese on the way down in the car. We are somewhat taken aback when we see streams of lively young people drinking at the top of their voices, imagining that we are going to be staying in the room above the bar. But luckily when we locate the landlord he tells us we are in a cottage at the end of the garden, which is very nice and quiet.
It seems amazing to find the same people [ probably the owner and his wife] as the night before still on duty for breakfast and checking out. It makes us realise what a hugely time consuming occupation it mist be.
The College is quite close and we pass a beautiful level crossing and signal box with a red and white painted trellis footbridge and later discover the signal box is a famous one, having being used by Hornby (model railways) as the pattern for their signal box. Alan, the head of art also tells us that Major Tom Thumb also lived in Oakham and that his cottage is a popular tourist attraction.
We set up in the art room before I do a tour around the exhibition with the students who vary in ages from GCSE to second year degree levels; also a few teachers. The head of art had been keen for them to do portraits as he said his GCSE students learn more in a one day workshop than in a whole term of short periods doing art. He had bought and primed frames and boards so I demonstrate quite broadly two ways that I might incorporate qualities of the frame. Alan is a very good teacher and it's evident from both the work on the walls and the way he speaks to the students that he manages to inspire the best in them.
The day soon goes and thanks to Alan's preparation most of them have a fairly finished piece of work by the end of the day I am most touched as one of the English teachers who was doing the workshop had presented me with a book of poetry written by her students inspired by my exhibition. Alan gives us a beautiful wall hanging that has been printed with gargoyles created by the students in the art room based on self portraits. It had been produced to raise money for the local church; the town council then followed suit and got them to do a similar project for them.
It's a good journey back as it's been a bright sunny day which continues through the evening. We are back home by 7.30pm, which enables me to devote the rest of the evening to working on the Grace's commission.
R's cooked a feast today as we are entertaining my Mum, Uncle Les, Vera and my cousin Rita and husband Raymond who are driving all the way down from Essex. She and Uncle Les haven't seen each other for some years. As well as family reminiscing, some fascinating conversations with Rita and Raymond who have a business designing and manufacturing medical equipment; he often works in close consultation with doctors and scientists when in the process of realising new designs. He talks of the new ways of joining metal which is by stirring rather that with heat and about nano technology; it is almost impossible to visualise the ways of constructing such tiny components. he tells us that a Japanese firm has now made a minute vehicle that can travel through the arteries, cleaning the blood. Raymond is an extraordinary man as apart from this highly technical engineering career he had a career as a professional musician; a double bass player with the Squadronairs and the Ray Anderson Seven. He has such a beautiful smile it's easy to visualise him in the role.
Cheque arrives from Leicestershire Museums Services for the purchase of Ark and The Beautiful Game.
Concentrated effort on the Graces commission; have now taken the ornate pattern over the surface of the bed spread and bed head. Now it's a process of refining as most areas are resolved; though will probably need to rework Frank's head. Commissions are a lot more difficult than painting one's own visions, especially when there are so many personal references.
Spend day decorating at number 80.
We are fast asleep when the phone rings just after 7 am; it's Rose our friend and neighbour who says she's very unwell can we go at once. I fling an overcoat on over pyjamas and rush across [though Richard somehow managed to get dressed in the same time]. She's on the floor leant against the radiator, obviously in distress with a pain in her chest. I phone the doctor and then her husband Richard who arrives back from work before the doctor has called back to see if the pain has lessened after she has used her spray again (which dilates the arteries but also has a tendency to make her feel dizzy). The doctor decides to send an ambulance, much to Rose's distress as she doesn't want to be in hospital for her Richard's birthday tomorrow. I'm impressed by how promptly the ambulance arrives, with two young male paramedics who immediately give her some oxygen to lessen the pain then put her into a chair to take her to the ambulance where they do further tests and treatment for about twenty minutes before setting off and taking her to the hospital. These wonderful teams now increase the survival rate of heart attack victims by this rapid delivery of treatment - a combination of their expertise and the well equipped unit within the ambulance.
R drives Uncle Les and Vera back to London and then calls into the Robert Sandelson gallery.
Phone to see how Rose is; Richard says she's still undergoing tests. he's off to the hospital again after feeding George their boisterous boxer dog.
Rework Bella on the Graces commission and start refining other areas.
R arrives back at 10pm.
Postcards from two special needs students at Catmose College who have been to see the exhibition; it's wonderful to get their feedback. Also note from Abigail saying that everyone thought the painting workshop was excellent and want more (mostly requested by people who don't normally paint).
Letter from Rosina Beech, young jewellery designer and maker, who I have approached to sound out about making a number of pins or badges for students at the National Star College as part of the photography award.
Call from Robert at Robert Sandelson Gallery discussing exhibition ideas.
Aft er dental check up paint jar of humbugs for the sweet shop construction. R is tracing more of the shapes of jars that I have painted in, to carve out of the new jelutong wood that he bought last week. Also work a little into the faces looking in, then onto the Grace's commission.
Package from the National Star College with details on the new accommodation units that I will have the honour of opening on the 7th. It's wonderful that all the monies for this development have been raised through the generous support of individuals, trusts, foundations and companies. The package also included two wonderful Christmas card designs by students; "Christmas Beans" is a vibrant take on Andy Warhol with six baked bean tins in different colour compositions each saying happy Christmas on the label. "Holly" by Stephen Vincent is a beautifully created design from a digital image he took in the grounds of the College.
During afteernoon visit from Nigel; it's his birthday. He's feeling much happier with life at the moment. He's in a new electric wheelchair supplied and maitained by the government. He's also pleased as his Mum has now got a proper bungalow rather than the mobile home where access was very difficult for a wheelchair and this has sliding doors making access easier which means he can come to stay without it being the stressful situation it was before.
R goes with John in hired van to collect the large triptych altar piece that John has made for me, from the workshop. It's very heavy and quite a struggle for them to carry it into my studio, having to negotiate the three brick steps and two arches to get it in through the french windows. It's very beautiful and John has made it perfectly. Even so I can have four changing panels for the predella. It fills the back wall of one of the rooms in my studio.
Paint jar of pear drops on the sweetshop also a little to the faces.
the remainder of the time devoted to more refining on the Graces commission.
In between showing prospective tenants number 80, manage to paint more fully the figure of the schoolboy looking through the jars in Sweetshop then later I'm back on the Graces which I'm hoping will be finished by the end of the week.
Phone Richard from next door to find out how Rose, who is still in hospital, is. Apparantly she was being violently sick last night and this morning; they think it might be the new tablet they have put her on. See him later after he has been to the hospital and he says she seems to be a bit better. Also phone Paul who was going to come and do some gardening for both my Mum and I, to put him off as we all have now got Uncle Les's cold.
We recently had a very nice e mail from two of my French collector friends, Patrick [ a photographer who has taken wonderful photographs in Antarctica ] and Catherine [ who produces and edits stylish magazines]. They are again inviting us to their beautiful house in Provence. We are fascinated to see when looking up their website that they now have a photography gallery and he also runs residential workshops. Sounds rather a blissful lifestyle as the area seems to have become home to many designers, craftsmen and artists.
Eddie comes round to discuss the building of the new wing.
R takes the graces commission out of its frame for me to work around the edges of the canvas and further onto the frame, top and bottom, which are less accessible when it's on the easel.
Statement from the Bridgeman Art Library. Interesting to see that Blackwells have used my painting Tryst on a new book, Moral of the Story by Singer: it is particularly nice as Blackwells was one of the first publishers to use my work on its covers, about fifteen years ago. Again several educational books, including in the USA a Pearsons book on Sociology using my painting of the old couple reading in bed. Also pleased to see that the Bridgeman themselves have used a large reproduction of my painting Leonardo on their news letter, to promote their fully searchable website.
Call from Tom Radford asking what price it would be if Standard Chartered Bank commissioned two paintings rather than the one they had been interested in. He phones back five minutes later saying they would like to commission two. then in the afternoon get a call from Andy Curry who wonders if I would have anything small for her to show at the Affordable Art Fair; also she has a client who has a rather successful racehorse who might be interested in a painting. She had that morning been in the home of someone who had two of my paintings but didn't say who - I must ask.
Working on the Allport's construction, particularly the second figure looking through the jars of sweets.
Call in the evening from Alistair who says they are in London and that MJ would like to meet me for a chat - can I take along a portfolio and a schedule for Japan. He said that the Saudi Arabian was already arranged! I say I would be in London on Friday anyway but they will be off by then. He tells me that I should make every effort as MJ is a frenetic and hugely successful business man and that people often have to wait for years to see him; that he is quite extraordinary and that Alistair has never worked for anyone like him before.
Back to work on the Graces commission, a little more to the two heads and also the top of the frame.
n, a little more to the two heads and also the top of the frame.
Whilst R's in Cheltenham picking me up new bushes and some books on Berlin as birthday presents for Henrietta, to go with a weekend there, I manage to get down from an upstairs room in my studio one of the framed square canvases for the Standard Chartered Bank commission. I am now in a bit of a panic with so many commissions to do and feel I need to get them underway before we go to Japan.
Call from Alistair to see if I've made arrangements for Thursday; I say no but I will be there. I'm not sure whether it should be train or car.
By the end of the evening I've managed to cover the canvas roughly with a composition of heads and newspapers. They had particularly liked the fact that I often use people of many colours and creeds; the Bank is probably better known in Africa and Asia.
A little more to the Standard Chartered Bank commission then go into Cheltenham to do a bit of shopping; Henrietta's birthday etc.
Phone call from Alistair just before setting out for the train, to ask if it would be alright to change the meeting to 5. Then call from Jane Alvarez re. the Seven Ages of Man project. She says everything is still going ahead, that they had a really good meeting and there are a lot of
art appreciators on board who are really keen on my work. I explain that I'm just off to catch the train to London so she's going to give me a buzz next week.
Catch train at 1.30. haven't been on one for ages; first class at this time of day seems to be a little office like with quite a lot of women with lap tops, files and mobile phones. The train is very punctual arriving at Paddington on time. Take taxi over to Cork Street to call in and see Robert at the gallery where we have coffee in his private back room and he gives us a bit of a pep talk on how the prices should be higher.
Then take taxi to the meeting off Grosvenor Square. It's a beautifully arranged house very spacious and quiet. Interesting portrait in the vestibule - looks rather like a van Dyke. Alistair meets me; he has a nice smile and open face. We are joined by MJ in an upper sitting room. he is a thoughtful and perceptive man; we discuss the Japanese paintings for which he has kindly left the choice of subject to me although seems particularly interested in the visit to the Festival of the Ages and the Festival of Fire in Kyoto; also the fish market in Tokyo. The main criteria seems to be that they are colourful. he says he will give us the address of their office there in case we should need any help and that maybe horizontal rectangles would be the most suitable format, although if the subject dictated it, it wouldn't matter if there was a vertical. The paintings are part of the fiftieth anniversary of the company and are to go into new buildings at the headquarters in Jeddah. He's very reassuring on his invitation to Saudi Arabia and says that if we decided against February the visit could be later in the year or even in the next year. That there would be an allocated car and driver and someone to accompany us, also a woman. He said that at the Janadariah Festival there are also women's days where I am sure it would be fascinating to see so many figures robed in black or the men in white. Interestingly while he is looking through the books on my work he stops at the painting of a figure robed in eastern garments against a highly patterned background; I tell him it is in the collection of two Indian doctors in New York. The paintings inspired by the Saudi visit are also to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary.
After the meeting Alistair gets me a taxi and I pick Richard (who has been collecting international papers for the Standard Chartered bank commission)up outside the Royal Academy. He's got a good haul which we look at and discuss on the journey back.
Do two or three hours on the horse painting for the spinal injuries exhibition.