<<Le créateur littéraire
fait donc la meme chose que l'enfant qui joue; il crée un monde imaginaire,
qu'il prend tres au sérieux, c'est-a-dire qu'il dote de grandes quantités
d'affect, tout en le séparant nettement de la réalité.>>AUGUST 2007
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Preparing for the Toronto Art Fair
E mail from Miranda to say they've sold the new little Lion Rider (which R took it in on Tuesday) that I had originally painted for the Fosse Gallery, which seems to be closed at present as I think Sharon must be away. The weather is warm but changeable so we are very pleased that when we arrive in Gloucester for Bishop Michael's At Home, it's fine and everyone has congregated in the beautiful garden with the carved lace- like upper edge of the Cathedral tower and roof tracing its silhouette between the trees. As we get there Alyson and Edward Gillespie are posing with Tim Brain (Chief Constable) and his wife for a photograph - Tim has been much featured in the national and local news recently making daily reports on the flood and water supply situation in Gloucestershire. Mark Hurrell Managing Editor of BBC Radio Gloucestershire kindly thanks me for doing the recent radio interview and offers to cover the forthcoming charity exhibition and auction, Star Art, for the National Star College Appeal in October.
Ian Mean, the editor of the Citizen is also full of wonderfully helpful ideas and will give it support and for the event.
R met Mr Mudway at the Gardens Gallery to discuss the logistics of adding a marquee for the Star Art exhibition and auction (on Friday 12th October).
In the evening we again drive over to Gloucester though this evening it takes much longer as there are big traffic hold ups, so we arrive at the Bishop's palace rather later. Wonder when we arrive to a smaller than expected gathering, whether others have had the same difficulties and turned back. It rather nice having a smaller group as it gives longer to chat to people. I'm delighted to see Andrew North, Chief Executive of Cheltenham Borough Council, there. It's interesting discussing the Bishop's Breakfast with him and Bishop Michael, as well as trying to achieve objectives it does give a lot of opportunities for heads of very different organisations to meet and the opportunity for a cross fertilisation of ideas.
Phone call from Rachel who happens to be in Bishop's Cleeve at the moment, to see if she could collect the little painting that Myrtle had bought from the Brian Sinfield exhibition. It's rather unfortunate really as I'd just got Richard to take it out of its frame so that I could add a little more. So I suggest that R takes it over to Bussage when I've finished the little extra I'd wanted to do.
Work on a couple of pieces for the Toronto Art Fair. Still very busy yesterday I heard from Nadine who has asked me to reserve the Hat Shop till she returns from Paris early next month. And the International Art Consultants have sent a long list of the works they want to present to their corporate client later in the month.
Parcel comes from Didier at the Paris branch of the Bridgeman Art Library containing a French book which reproduces Leonardo.
I pick up message from Alistair in Jeddah saying he hates to put pressure on me as he knows we must be busy with exhibitions etc. but wonders when the cards reproducing Pilgrim Sisters; Pilgrim Brothers; Camel Herdsman; The Coffee Pot Seller will be ready as MJ wants to send them out to friends for Ramadan which is at the end of the month. I phone him back and explain that although the printers print for all the major London museums and galleries, I wasn't happy with the thickness of card (it seemed too thin)or the way they had been packed so they had printed them again for me and were presently scoring and folding them
We drive to Burford for lunch at The Bay Tree with Jane and Roy who recently returned from Minorca; Jane's looking really good and although she tells me she's getting a bit forgetful but I don't perceive any deterioration, she does in fact seem very bright and had brought photographs of Maxine's wedding to show us.
This week's serialised late book at 12.30 am on Radio 4 is 'The Death of Sigmund Freud: Fascism, Psychoanalysis and the Rise of Fundamentalism' by Mark Edmundson, which reminds me that a week or two ago I'd also received a copy of 'L'inquiétante étrangeté' by Freud in a bilingual German and French text which uses my 1988 painting Five O'clock Cowboy on the cover and inside, above a quote thus...
<<Le créateur littéraire
fait donc la meme chose que l'enfant qui joue; il crée un monde imaginaire,
qu'il prend tres au sérieux, c'est-a-dire qu'il dote de grandes quantités
d'affect, tout en le séparant nettement de la réalité.>>
The cards and the envelopes arrive for Saudi Arabia in two very large separate lorries, an hour apart, they can only just squeeze down the lane and all the branches of our trees move and sigh as they edge past. After I inspect them, R then puts another layer of packaging around them. Whilst he's doing this I receive a call from a man who says "This is a voice from your past." I recognise it immediately to be that of Theo Waddington. It's such a joy to hear him sounding so witty as he was badly injured in a car crash in 2004. He asks about things we've been doing and I mention the forthcoming Star Art exhibition & auction which he most generously says he will contribute something to - he and Heather will go through the picture store. He now has a specially adapted car.
It's extraordinary that the packages have already arrived in Jeddah via Paris and Dubai although Thursday and Friday are their weekend so delivery won't be until Saturday.
I've been working on another painting for Sharon at the Fosse Gallery , and a smaller one for Brian which he had requested for the mixed show he's hanging this week. R delivers them both during the afternoon as we'd spent the morning composing letters for the Star Art exhibition. Brian's just sold one of my Paper Tiger etchings to the Japanese doctor who bought a very large painting for his children's hospital in Japan from my first exhibition with Brian in 1997.
Wallace rings 10.30 pm; he'll come to the Star Art exhibition and auction on October 12th. We chat for an hour or so about life and art.
It's still gloriously sunny and I am back on the paintings for the Toronto Art Fair.
We spend the morning with me dictating letters to Richard, who types them on his laptop, to artists and dealers asking if they would be kind enough to donate either a piece of work or a small drawing on the enclosed A5 water colour paper, for the Star Art exhibition that we are organising as part of the National Star College's 40th anniversary appeal to raise money towards a new creative arts centre.
Back to work on the paintings for the Toronto art Fair in the afternoon
Call from Margaret at Art for Offices, checking on the list of paintings they are wanting for the presentation to their corporate client next week. She wonders if it would be possible for them to be delivered on Friday as she will need to hang them at the beginning of next week.
Phone call early afternoon from John Brandler friend and dealer from Essex. He asks me to tell him about the letter and then proceeds to give me lots of very useful advice. It was he who organised the exhibition for Dogs for the Disabled and others that I have contributed to. It so very encouraging talking to him. We write several more letters.
Mark and Vivienne Axtell-Powell come to supper and to collect Brides which they bought from my recent exhibition. he was familiar with my work from hanging it at the Great Roberto's for whom his firm does a lot of building and renovation. Viv has a beautiful little florists shop in Pershore.
R comes into my studio very excited as we have just received our first
donated work in this morning's post. It's a beautiful and moving head study
by Anthony Whishaw RA; it has great presence and we are delighted with it.
I met Anthony at the RWA some years ago when we were both on the hanging
and selection committee. He was a Rome scholar in the 50s and then got a
Spanish government scholarship; shortly after he came back he did a series
of paintings of the Last Supper and the crucifixion which hang in Christ
Church, Kensington. He has a really good web
site which also includes two TV films, one from the 60s and one from
earlier this year.
Phone call from Mike Baylis at the Highworth Press to say he and Daphne will be delighted to donate the catalogue for the Star Art exhibition and auction-such a wonderful and generously prompt response to my letter of yesterday
R comes in again very excited as today we received a most delightful
little water-colour from Mary Fedden RA, a beautiful red anemone surrounded
by butterflies.
R's hired a big van to take the paintings up to London the International Art Consultants.
Henrietta, Kev and Isaac arrive early evening. Isaac's full of energy and now rides the car manoeuvring it with his feet on the ground as well as pushing it
We eat early evening before Henrietta, Kev and Isaac take my Mum back to London for the week. After they go I recommence work on Time Piece which I bought back to do a little more to, before Richard drives it over to Burford to be shipped to Yorkshire.
Sharon of the Fosse gallery rings to say that she'd had an e mail from the Mayor's office in Athens saying they would like to buy the small work I'd painted with them in mind but as she hadn't heard from them (they were on holiday) she had sold it to someone else on Saturday!! Trying to finish the works for the Toronto Art Fair so that they can be photographed in the morning.
Still working on the last Toronto piece!!
E mail from the Toronto gallery asking if I might also have another piece featuring either gambling, eating or similar.
Working on commissions and start new painting for Toronto. Phone call from Leonard Manasseh; the dear man says he's got a piece he createed on the back of an envelope that's just the same size as the paper I sent him would that be suitable if he sticks it to the card; I say Yes Please, it sounds perfect. We chat for some time and I invite them here to tea next time they are passing through Cheltenham I got to know Leonard when I was on the Council of the RWA where he had been President.
E mail from Karl and Sharron Monday to say how pleased they are with with Time Piece and does it have a history?
R collects my Mum from London.
Message from the Toronto gallery who would like to use all the paintings that we sent images of, even though they are larger than they had originally requested.
A very helpful and informative e mail from Karl and Sharron re the Star Art Exhibition and Auction Karl is an internet whiz kid and first came across my work at a charity auction (Dogs for the disabled) from which they brought several works including pieces by Grayson Perry (and his daughter) Craigie Aitcheson, Mary Fedden. Write more letters to artists and dealers for the Star Art exhibition.
Drive up to London to collect Nathan and Rebecca from his studio (where he is tidying up after his party of last night) for a Birthday meal over at Henrietta, Kev and Isaac's. After a lovely evening we leave at about 9.30 pm to drive them back as they and we have been invited to join Athenasias who shares the same birthday celebration. A lovely group of young people all sat around on sofas and the floor in a big circle. Athenasias, like most of his guests is an artist. They bring out two lots of cakes with two sets of candles for this double birthday.
We look after Isaac for most of the day, taking him to Greenwich Park in the afternoon so that Henrietta can prepare work for when she returns to school. Whilst he'd had his sleep in the day we managed to complete and address some of the Star Art letters written on Sunday.
Phone call from the composer Martin Kiszco; he's off to the Toronto film festival next week but in the meantime he's going to have a go at recreating part of a score for the Star Art exhbiition. We discuss which of his works it should be from - he's just written the score for the film 'The Killing of John Lennon' but feels because of its title it might not be such a saleable piece as doing something from the score he wrote for The Battle of the Sexes, the BBC Wildlife film presented by Daivd Attenborough.
Back at work in the studio. We manage to do a few more Star Art letters for today's post. After dinner we e mail sixty fellow members of the Royal West of England Academy
We're very excited to receive a beautiful coloured drawing of a bird (probably a heron) with a star in its beak, from the great Quentin Blake who was the first Childrens' Laureate and Professor of Illustration at the Royal College. it is such a coincidence that when I turn on the radio at 11.30 am he is presenting a programme on Herriman the American creator of Krazy Kat who inspired and was admired by artists like Picasso, Miro and on the same programme Fiona Rae. It's an exciting day as we also start getting replies from RWA Academicians, Stuart Geddes, Julian Meredith, Nicholas Turner and Cynthia Lear all offering wonderful donations of work.. A call from Rob Whittle; he and Sandra (art dealers) are going to donate a drawing they have bought by John Huggins the sculptor and a signed book on his work.
More replies from Royal West of England Academicians, the President, Derek Balmer and Lucy Willis are both generously donating works to the Star Art event. Then a lovely e mail from Michael Craig-Martin saying that he will get Alan Cristea, his print dealers to send us one of his screen prints.
Also very nice card from Harriet Bridgeman with an update of what is happening at ACS (the Artists Collecting Society of which I am a Trustee; it's an organisation for the collecting of artists' resale rights. They were formed last year so that DACS would not have a monopoly and charge only 15% commission (as opposed to the 25% DACS charged). Such luminaries as Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and Howard Hodgkin have all signed up with ACS.
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