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Saturday 1.9.07
Yo-ho-ho!!! Today's post brings the most marvellous little painting of Cut-Throat Jake by John Ryan who created Captain Pugwash, with a lovely note saying thank you for asking him and telling me that he is now 86 and that his eyesight's not so good, neither of which you would guess from this splendid little picture painted, drawn and dated yesterday 31st August. I met John eleven years ago in Rye where he lives and works, when he came to the private view of an exhibition I had at the Art Gallery.
A very encouraging e mail from Eileen Cooper RA, generously saying she will send something next week for Star Art Exhibition. Also nice note from Ros Cuthbert RWA offering to do the same. Write more letters to Artists.
Two more wonderful responses, from the wood-engraver Colin See-Peynton and the other from Maxine Relton RWA. Spend all day writing more Star Art letters .
Phone call from Henrietta, her students have all done really well in their GCSE and A level grades Art and Film studies.
A beautiful little painting, Boy with Elephant, arrives today, sent by the artist Eileen Cooper; a wonderful work.
R collects Henrietta and Isaac
A lovely vibrant acrylic, Orchids and Damsel Files by Ros Cuthbert RWA arrives
Today an exquisite little study of a lily by the self taught Cynthia Lear RWA.
It's always so exciting when one of the Star Art stamped addressed envelopes arrives as there's no way of telling what it contains before it's opened and today's has a wonderful little work by Ken Howard, painted in Spain near La Zaratoga. Also a marvellous minimal drawing by the sculptor Ann Christopher
En route back to Greenwich we call off at Nathan's shared studio in Hackney where he, Naoko, Florian and Sam, are exhibiting their work. We are hugely impressed by the amount of work Nathan has managed to create and the concepts behind them. All their works look very accomplished. Later we all sit round for a Chinese take away.
More letter writing and e mailing whilst we are here staying with Henrietta and Isaac until Kev returns from his mountain trek in the French Pyrenees with his father, Uncle and brother in law
R goes to Federal Express near Tilbury to send a photograph to Lee my New York dealer; he has a nice time as he returns via the Woolwich Ferry. Meanwhile I am painting on the small corrugated work for Rob Whittle to take to an art fair.
We return home to a wonderful collection of post; two Special Deliveries that Eddie our builder has brought in, one containing three original Alex cartoon strips (from the Telegraph) generously donated by the creators, Peattie + Taylor with an encouraging note and some fliers for the Alex-Live on Stage which will run at the Arts Theatre from 11 October. Tickets from www.alexcartoon.com. By coincidence in the same post one from Andrew Birch of Private Eye (YBAs) and The Guardian (Hot Air). In another of the packages my Mother had brought in over the last couple of days, a beautiful life drawing by Nigel Casseldine with the bonus, as it had been taken from his figure book of a similarly beautiful study on the reverse. Opening another parcel we find a lovely little oil in warm mellow colours "view of Windmill Hill" by Nicholas Turner. From a cardboard tube we with draw a beautiful etching by Lucy Willis, Low Tide II, which shimmers with the light reflected on water and then a captivating etching by Maxine Relton RWA; quite fascinating. And we have had an extremely nice e-mail from Waitrose saying they will be pleased to donate the champagne and elder flower cordial. How very generous everyone is.
Phone message from Lee in New York to say she has received the photograph of the painting and sent it onto her client. R meets Rob Whittle with two of my paintings that they are taking to an art fair in October - Rob gives him a framed John Huggins drawing and signed book on the artist's work that he and Sandra are kindly donating to the Star Art exhibition. On his return R goes to the Post Office to collect the Special Delivery sent by the Robert Sandelson Gallery a very nice colourful lithograph of a nude by Ivon Hitchens. E-mail from the Loch Gallery showing the layout of my page in the catalogue for the Toronto Art Fair. I phone Theo Waddington in Ireland as Vivienne had left us a message whilst we were away; although he has made a good recovery he still gets rather exhausteed after trips to London etc. The dear man says he's going to sort something out for the Star Art exhibition and auction and he phones me back an hour or so later to say would we like one of Sir Peter Blake's Babe Rainbow, screen print on tin that has now become rather famous, like his Sgt Pepper cover for the Beatles.
How wonderful to receive a drawing from the sketch book of Sir Anthony Caro thought to be the most important sculptor in the world (see last weekends Financial Times) and in the same post "Clash" an exciting three dimensional print by my artist friend Carol Holt. Jim Beale delivers a beautiful abstract painting by Derek Balmer (President of the RWA).
Out of the envelope delivered today I with draw a beautiful baby's head immediately recognisable as a Mary Cozens Walker by its intricate stitch work on a painted background. R goes to discuss prices with Brian who generously donates a large Indian miniature and a pastel by J Mackie plus four frames. On his return Im still working on a piece that he then delivers to the Royal West of England Academy -it's sending in day.
There's a little tap on my studio door; it's Rose my neighbour bearing a tube given to her Richard whilst he was trimming the bank, by a postman this morning, having received no reply at the house. I carefully open the tube and there within a rolled wood block print Arctic Nocturne. I am amazed by the superb craftsmanship, it's so finely detailed all over and R comments, on how beautifully printed it is; he knows from experience the difficulties with making woodblock prints. How amazing that the postman should deliver on a Sunday! I'm busily painting away on two or three small works as my contribution to the exhibition and a larger one for the auction. In between creating the Star Art Website www.starart.uk.com Richard has sorted out some prints from a wood engraving he did of the Bodleian Library gate with all the Oxford College coats of arms as one of his donations.
James Castle the sculptor, who taught Nathan on the Foundation course and was also very helpful with the the photography award bronze by Tristram Tyler whom he also taught, has sent a wonderful 'Fish with Book' study for the Star Art exhibition. Also a tiny spiral print from Denny Long, beautiful in its minimal line.
Later Jim Beale, who is on the selection and hanging committee at the RWA, delivers the Simon Quadrant Small Crucifixion. Beautiful low key colour, primative and moving; he has an exhibition opening in Cork Street with James Huntington Whitely at the end of the week.
Most of the day R and I spend putting the catalogue together.
A very nice little gouache entitled Buddies arrives from Dennis Lewis RWA; he has painted it especially. It's inspired by a patchwork fair they went to in America, these two clown-like figures make a lovely happy little painting.
We're still working at 1.45 am when an e mail arrives on the Blackberry; it's from Karl and Sharon who have already discovered the Star Art web site and say that one of my paintings Journey past the mountain, caught their eye and they would like to add it to their collection.
I've spent the whole week working on small pieces for the Star Art exhibition and R takes two of them back in to the photographers to be photographed again as I've added, in my normal way, a little more to them since Wednesdays photograph.
We go to Jane and David's for supper. We'd postponed at a couple of times so it seems quite a long time since we saw them at my private view in Burford Jane's fresh blackberry mouse is mouth wateringly delicious.
As we are working at the computer on the catalogue designs, the mobile phone rings and it's Sallie Thomas who has just discovered the Star Art website after reading about it on my site. She's contemplating buying either my little Fisherman or the Mary Fedden. She phones back a couple of hours later saying she has discussed it with the family and they have decided on the Fisherman. Having now sold two of the paintings I have made for Star Art I decide I had better paint another couple particularly as we could do with one for the back cover of the catalogue. So instead of having an earlier night it's again 4 am. Richard has been working so hard on both the web site and the catalogue that it's absorbing all his time too.
R receives a phone call from Gerald Balding (son of the horse trainer Toby) to say he's coming to deliver the Peter Blake "Babe Rainbow" that Theo and Vivienne Waddington have kindly donated to the Star Art exhibition. He's a wonderfully entertaining young man (especially when he saucily twirls his moustache) who is the ring master at Gifford's Circus of which he was a founding member. He's also a puppet maker and puppeteer as well as having been an elephant trainer with a circus in the US for five years. He studied graphic design but after suffering from toxo plasmosis ( contracted from animals ) that infected his eyes, he now paints on a much larger scale, murals and paintings of the circus. Theo is godfather to his nine month old daughter Elizabeth.
Richard comes over to the studio as we've just had an e mail from a dealer in Cheshire who would like to buy the Mary Fedden and my Parlour. When I speak to him on the phone a little later I discover that Sallie Thomas has told him about the Star Art exhibition and web site.
Rest of the day spent checking the catalogue. We stay up until after 5 am finishing it and the invitation card.
Richard drives to Swindon to the printers, with the discs he has compiled for the catalogue and invitation card. Meanwhile I've been working on the newspaper painting for the Star Art auction. On his return I ask if it would be too late to have a transparency made (for the website and catalogue) of , my little poker players painting as the digital image we have taken isn't really sharp enough. So after I've spent a few more minutes on that he takes it into Cheltenham to the photographers. Call from Mike Baylis at the Highwporth Press ( who are donating the catalogue and invitation card ), to see if we'd received the proof of the card as a PDF. I tell him yes and that we had approved it - he hadn't been able to open Neil (who is overseeing the project)'s Mac.
The most beautiful little watercolour by Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RA, the Queen's Limner and Painter in Scotland, arrives today; she has painted it especially on the piece of wateercolour paper I sent. I immediately think that we should put it on the back cover of the catalogue so am able to move my piece onto the inside page with my others paintings.
A 'phone call from Leonard Mansseh RA the architect (he designed the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu). The darling man is asking me when his piece, created on the back of an envelope for Star Art, needs to be here. This conversation feels familiar; he's off to Italy with a group of architects tomorrow so is next week alright . I explain that it would be in time for the exhibition and website but the catalogue has just gone off to print and it couldn't be included in that unless it arrived tomorrow. So he says he will take it to the post right away. During the evening we receive an e mail from David Cobley RP, RWA asking if it's too late to e mail an image for Star Art. He's about to have an exhibition at the Art Gallery in Bath so it is very kind of him to find the tine. David has painted Ken Dodd for the National Portrait Gallery and The Princess Royal; I met him some years ago at the Royal West of England Academy.
I've been waiting with baited breath hoping that Leonard's piece arrives safely today and it does, perhaps helped by the 'Fairly Urgent' he has written on the envelope; we can now include it and the David Cobley. We are running rather over time but Mike Baylis has said we could have two extra pages and that the timing will still be OK if Richard drives the disc with these and the revised cover over to his printing firm in Swindon this afternoon. Meanwhile I continue work on the new newspaper painting for the auction. When Richard returns he also has the invitation cards which they have now printed.
Up until 4 with R adding to the website and me putting the invitations in envelopes and labelling them.
Oh joy of joys, Richard comes rushing over to my studio with a large brown Special Delivery envelope. I can see he's excited by the expression on his face and as soon as he put s it in my hand I understand why. It's from Aardman. Dear Nick Park has somehow made the time to create quite a large waterolour and ink painting of Wallace and Gromit. It's very kind of him as I know that this 4 Oscar winning modest man has set up foundations for children and must, like many of the artists, be inundated with requests from charities.
Richard phones the printers yet again and we rearrange and redesign the pages to include this marvellous new piece.
Phone call from Howard Phipps, the eminent wood engraver arranging to send one of his print. I tell him it will still go on the web site and there will be time for us to frame it before the exhibition. We have a very interesting and enjoyable conversation about where and what we studied he (painting and I printmaking ) we do also share some friends and colleagues at the Royal West of England Academy. His mother lived in Cheltenham until about ten yeas ago so he does know about the National Star College.
We send out about 200 invitations today.
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