MAY 2006

Wednesday 3.5.06

R needs the help of Eddy, Wayne and Roger,to lift the triptych into the van. Eddy had worked out a rather good way of carrying it - doors closed and on its side, bearing the weight on ropes slung underneath. At the Museum it was an even greater problem as it wouldn't fit into either of the lifts so it had to be carried by six member of the museum staff plus R through the museum and up the stairs to the gallery which sits at the top of the building. R said they were wonderful, people from different departments all specialists in their own areas, helping to both carry and hang the pieces.

Work all day and night. It's actually 8,30 Thursday morning when I finally go to bed after Richard has taken the paintings to the photographers, he then delivers these to the Museum to be hung.

Friday 5.5.06

R's already been to the Museum once in the morning. We arrive in good time at about 6.15 pm, just before Dr Margus and we are escorted by the Director of Gloucester Museums and Heritage. He guides us through the Museum, much of which is looking particularly magnificent having been repainted and re-lit. As we enter the exhibition I suddenly become aware of Robert's marvellous ethereal Soundscape surrounding the paintings which have been beautifully arranged and hung by Richard and Nigel. Toyah arrives. We have time to go around the exhibition before the photographer and then the guests begin to appear. I'm very pleased as Toyah likes the Altarpiece triptych and feels that it's almost as if we are looking at the angels through a veil. Soon the gallery is filling up. My Dad's old gambling friend "Jimmy The Taxi" arrives and introduces himself; at about the same time I become aware of a pretty woman smiling as she watches us out of the corner of her eye - it's Carol Holt who has come all the way from Leicestershire, she who had instigated the wonderful correspondence with 30 or so children from class 3 of the Pochin School and is also a fine printmaker in her own right. This is the first time we have met. The gallery's very full now ; lots of wonderful familiar faces like Myrtle who used to teach at the Star College and Peter Horne who is the Appeals officer there and melissa who has come with Ross. Suddenly it's time to speak: the Director first followed by the Mayor. Then H E Dr Margus Laidre The Estonian Ambassador with his wonderfully perceptive opening speech which is generous to both Robert and I; after which Toyah speaking of behalf of Robert explaining that he is on tour in America with the band REM and adds that he had not told her that we were borrowing some of the paintings from their collection so it was bit of a shock to find the bare walls when she got home. I'm last - my big thank you to them all, a finale presenting Margus with a King Crimson t shirt The Power to Believe - two men in gas masks taken from Fine de Siecle printed on the front. How blessed I am to be surrounded by so many friends including, from student days, Maureen, Joyce, Janet and Michael Shinn who taught us. Chris Taylor looking beautiful in a very glamorous outfit with Martin who tells me they have just purchased a couple of Andy Warhol prints and dear Wallace who has loaned all three of his paintings (back at the house he leads a tour of my studio). Nice piece in today's Echo and also the Citizen.

Saturday 6.5.06

Feeling a little frayed at the edges today after the weeks adrenaline output, so assessing the large commissions.

Sunday 7.5.06

Back on form today doing some finishing off on the two Jeddah canvases - also add jockey in blue to Karl Monday's large horse racing commission.

Monday 8.5.06

R's prepared another large canvas for the Hajj series. Have been studying reference material for these and also for the Stack's commission. It's always daunting when confronted by huge white canvases; pristine and gleaming with the purity of the gesso. It feels almost criminal to make a mark on them after all R's preparation,. However I do draw in with a brush in pale terracotta coloured paint, hundreds of heads on the first canvas.

He delivers a painting and some framed posters to Cleeve School in readiness for the opening of the new Sixth Form block and Drama Studio on Wednesday.

Tuesday 9.5.06

I have decided to use full length figures in the foreground on the second of the Hajj canvases. All very pale at the moment. Over dinner decide must start preparing speech for the opening on Wednesday. The Head had phoned in the afternoon and asked if I could talk about how I got to where I am as inspiration for the students.

Wednesday 10.5.06

Most of afternoon spent pacing up and down in studio practising what I'm going to be saying tonight and timing myself; there's always a danger that I'll cut it too short or make it far too long. I never take written down notes as prefer to be spontaneous, it keeps it lively and sometimes I surprise myself by saying things I hadn't planned though can't afford to go off at too much of a tangent as the timing will collapse.

Mikhail from the Echo phones to say they haven't got a photographer available for the evening; would I be able to go back next day to have photographs taken with the students? So I agree.

When we arrive am impressed by the look of the new gleaming white building. We're met by the Head Allen McConaghie who takes us on a guided tour around it ; there's a wonderful theatre studio on the ground floor and a well designed open metal stairway winds up through the building where lots of the internal workings large silver insulated pipes etc. (a la Pompidou Centre) are exposed. Films by the students were showing in one room. The whole evening is going to be devoted to the arts. There's also an impressive display of student work from the art department, lots of Bacon, Liechtenstein and Warhol influence and a rather splendid Surrealist chair. The roof terrace study area is particularly beautiful imagine the students will spend a lot of time here in the good weather. The musicians are superb.

I speak from half way up the staircase to people below and above me and hope that I'm getting it right. I'm presented with a beautiful hand-tied bunch of flowers, the perfume from the lilies pervades my studio still.

Thursday 11.5.06

Arrive back at the school 2.15 and chat with Allen the Head until the Echo photographer arrives. An amiable man with lots of good ideas for the photographs. The students are wonderful vibrant young people, rounded up quickly for the photo session and are the creators of a lot of the exhibited work. By the time we finish the buses are arriving to take the students home and Allen is worried we might get trapped so we make a speedy departure with painting and posters on board.

Duties now discharged I am back at the easel.

Friday 12.5.06

Working on all fronts.

Saturday 13.5.06

R's been over to see Brian Sinfield ; he rings me on the way back and says I'm on the cover. I'm not quite sure what he's talking about to start with but he explains it's the Weekend magazine who have not only done a nice piece on the bibs and tuckers page showing Margus opening the exhibition at Gloucester and guests at the private view. But have also put a big photograph of me sitting in the studio in front of paintings, on the cover. A minute later he's on the phone again saying "you're on the billboards too". I look down at my paint spattered clothes and laugh at the thought. The Gloucestershire Echo and Gloucester Citizen have been very generous in their coverage; I guess that means I'm really going to have to put them in my next newspaper painting.

Sunday 14.5.06

Tom had popped round in the week with some blossom from his Indian Jade tree for me and invited us to go and have a look at his garden. So I had arranged that it should be this afternoon. It's totally fascinating, full of all sorts of wonders including some superb Hostas, an apple tree that bears seven different varieties of fruit and many other exotic species that we had not come across before. The planting is also designed to attract wildlife, there are two ponds. In the greenhouse he presents us with a magnificent cactus he has grown form a tiny offshoot of the original. There is a curious construction in the garden that I take to be for barbecuing; it is in fact a kiln that he has built but has not as yet been able to get a temperature high enough to fire clay. Inside the house we see a container in which we imagine a stick insect lives but no, it's a Mexican bird eating spider waiting for the ten eggs she has laid to hatch!! He lost this 10 inch spider recently for three days but found her in a corner in the kitchen. When we ask about how he picked her up to recapture he tells us that he puts small piece of bacon on his hand. This will sound all the more remarkable when I tell you that Tom has Parkinson's Disease so his movements are jerky and not easy to control. He's amazing, a real fount of knowledge. Richard spots a beautiful tapestry with minute stitches in progress - it's the Old Testament - "In the beginning...." he tells us he won't be able to do it for much longer as he's losing the use of his left arm. In the garden we had also noticed a powerful telescope with which he observes the sky at night its connected to his computer.

Monday 15.5.06

Call from Lee in New York; she really loves the Adam and Eve Garden painting and calls it a masterpiece - is disappointed when I tell her it's sold but commissions a similar work. She also liked Paradise Regained and even the Ascent which she felt was a museum piece.

Tuesday 16.5.06

People will think I have shares in the Gloucestershire Echo as there's a mention on the front-page of me opening the new Sixth Form centre and drama studio and a full page inside with a couple of nice photographs; one of student with their work, me in the centre holding the piece and another of the head and I standing in front of the beautiful new building talking. They have written it up very well with lots of mentions of the students excellent work and their names

Wednesday 17.5.06

Some time on new Sweetshop painting and the rest on one of the two large Hajj canvases.

Thursday 18.5.06

Set off for London and make appointment to see the small studio that I'm looking at tomorrow. Spend evening with Henrietta and Isaac; he looks beautiful when she comes out to meet us in a little green sun hat. he closes his eyes in the sunlight and I notice how long his eye lashes have grown and when Henrietta removes his hat his hair looks fairer also. Although he still looks very like his Dad, he's changed and now also looks a lot more like Henrietta.

Friday 19.5.06

Richard collects Nathan to come with us to look at the studio. This is the first time I've seen it. It's very compact by comparison with my home studios but should allow sufficient space to set up a couple of easels.

Poor Isaac has had his second (booster) immunisations today so is feeling a little out of sorts. Nathan adores him and we both help Henrietta bath him. He loves the water and kicks with his legs all the time. Later we take Nathan to dinner to discuss the film (and other projects) it looks very good indeed when we see it on the screen.

We don't arrive home until 5.30am.

Saturday 20.5.06

Brian Sinfield rings to discuss dates for my exhibition next year which we think again will be in July.

Sunday 21.5.06

The Hajj canvas consumes most of the day with short interludes on other pieces in the evening. Rose has popped a cutting from the echo through my studio door a rather good black and white photograph from the opening of the Sixth form Centre with me talking to the brilliant young keyboard player Robbie Moore one of the trio Blue Label who are students there.

Monday 22.5.06

Visit Judy and Peter Crouch to discuss camel commission they have also invited my Mum. Judy is the daughter of our dear late friend Bob.

Tuesday 23.5.06

Work through the day and night finishing two paintings enough to be photographed for Brian Sinfield's catalogue.

Wednesday 24.5.06

I'm back Working into the large full figures on the first of the two Hajj canvases and a little to Karl Monday's horse commission. R has now also prepared a second canvas for me with the Stack's commission in mind; this one's primed in white gesso, the other in unbleached titanium -it gives me two possible options

Thursday 25.5.06

Joyce and Janet arrive for lunch around one. We reminisce about our shared student experiences which although a long way off still seem quite vivid. It's our combined birthday luncheon, Joyce's birthday having been yesterday, almost midway between Janet's and mine. It's interesting that often one or other of us will remember an incident that perhaps the other two won't. It's always such a joy to see them both.

Friday 26.5.06

E mail from Robert Fripp re. the paintings he is having from the Paradise exhibition.

Early evening there's a phone call from the alarm centre asking if we can go to see Lyn Horne as she's fallen over, her alarm has gone off twice but there's no reply. I run down the Lane shouting out to Richard who is cutting the grass, as I go. The door's unlocked - I run through all the rooms calling "Lyn"; I'm upstairs when I hear Richard's voice and Lyn's coming from outside. it seems that she had toppled over when pulling up a weed from the garden and had asked a passing man to pick her up. From his description, it sounds as if we had picked him up from my studio drive when he's had too much to drink after a funeral about a year ago.

Saturday 27.5.06

A day of mixd light varying from grey during a morning of rain to brilliant sunshine early evening when I have to draw the curtain across my studio window to stop its reflection on the canvas I am working on and the heat on my back.

My Mum and my sister Gill come to dinner. Gill's taking her up to stay with them in Bedford for the week. Tomorrow afternoon they will have an open garden for the Red Cross .

Sunday 28.5.07

Sweet shop, circus and commissions

Monday 29.5.06

ditto

Tuesday 30.5.0

Sweetshop and commissions.

Wednesday 31.6.06

Phone message and e-mail from Toyah asking for instructions as to where St Michael's Church is and saying she is bringing Nick Park and Martin Kiszko as surprise guests for Robert's performance tomorrow

I'm working on a small painting that I started a few days ago to celebrate their joint birthdays and 20th wedding anniversary.