Saturday 1.8.09

I paint in the upstairs studio whilst Richard, Kev and the boys walk into the village to pick up a few bits and pieces of shopping and in true Parisian style they have coffee and cakes on the pavement outside a cafe as a thank you to Richard from Kev for helping with the move. In the afternoon H and K go into Cheltenham and we entertain the boys. The main game of the afternoon is tying a wooden spatula with holes onto a long length of red parcel tape that Isaac lowers down through the bannisters to Samuel who is below with R sitting in attendance on the stairs. A bubble machine I’d bought didn’t seem to be as effective as blowing them through a hoop. Though washable marker pens proved to be a good buy. When the rain stopped we went outside and were delighted to discover that Isaac can now peddle the tractor (that we used to have to push him around the garden on) even though he’d filled the trailer with logs!

Sunday 2.8.09

After a painting session with the boys in my studio, we have lunch for which my Mum joins us, before H,K,I and S set out for their holiday in Devon. I return to work in both studios.

Tuesday 11.8.09

Brian Sinfield rings to say they have just sold a small painting

Wednesday 12.8.09

The International Art Consultants ring to see if I would consider painting a series of six large commissions for an hotel. The client likes the work but the time scale and the price will be the deciding factors.

R’s just finished making and priming a beautiful white corrugated construction for me to send to the Toronto Art Fair.

Thursday 13.8.09

I’m working on the GC commission when the art consultant rings; it seems I’m number one on the client’s list but they wondered if I would be able to paint the works in less time that I had specified and I explain that if I were undertaking it I’d have to do it to the best of my ability - it wouldn’t be fulfilling for me to compromise or make a lesser work. She wonders if I might loan them a few pieces whilst they were waiting to which I agree but when she says they asked if I could make a 30% reduction I tell her I had already given my best price! She mentions the recession and I say yes, I know there are artists who are quite desperate but I have been most fortunate in being as busy as ever.

E mail from Margus asking if I would like to have a solo exhibition in Estonia in April next year.

Friday 14.8.09

When I come down from my upstairs studio, R’s taking on the phone to the art consultant who says the client and interior designers would like a meeting - could I go up on Thursday? I agree to do so (a little reluctantly as it would have been a clear working week).

Very good day in the studios working on the big GC commission and the other two plus the corrugated work for Toronto.

Saturday 15.8.09

Work on the GC commission before going over in the evening to Gloucester to a dinner party at Mark and Julia Hurrell’s. Some very interesting guests including a stone carver, sculptor and his partner an illustrator and therapist; David an architect and his wife who is an eye doctor. Another couple Richard who works at turning businesses around and his glamorous wife who has a  very saucy sense of humour her repartee made for a very entertaining evening. The house is beautiful - late nineteenth century with lots of very interesting Arts and Crafts features and is home to some lovely collections of Poole and Clarice Cliff pottery etc. Julia’s food is as beautiful to look at  it is delicious to taste. They have a half allotment so the yellow courgettes, rhubarb for the fool and mint for the tea were their own grown.

Sunday 16.8.09

Firing on all cylinders to achieve as much as possible in the studios, setting myself tasks to achieve on the work each day.

Monday 17.8.09

ditto.

Tuesday 18.8.09

Receive e mail from the art consultant as she again mentions that the hotel owner who wants to commission a series of works has sent images of Seurat Bathers and a Gaugin as examples of the sort of imagery he is hoping for. I e mail back to say that I don’t do pastiche if that’s what he’s hoping for it would be a waste of every ones time for me to attend. 

Wednesday 19.8.09

Reply from the art consultant saying no, she doesn’t think that’s what they are after. I’m not really keen on giving up most of the day to travel to Surrey but feel I can’t let her down though don’t know how I could possibly cope with the extra work!

Thursday 20.8.09

Richard drives me to Surrey to meet the art consultant, interior designers and the owner of the hotel. I’m a bit taken aback when I have to don a large pair of workman's protective boots several sizes too big, hard hat and long fluorescent waistcoat, to see the sites where the paintings would be situated in the dining room etc. Although they would be large paintings the places look comparatively small in the vastness of the empty space. The river along which it is situated is very beautiful but at the moment I don’t find the building particularly inspiring; I suppose I have come (a little reluctantly) because the art consultant has told me I am their number one choice. But don’t feel uplifted when the owner tells me that my prices are rather more than the artist who is second on their list; he also would want further meetings and drawings. I explain that I don’t work in that way - I like the whole intensity of the creative journey to be on the canvas it’s a dialogue between the painting and the artist where often it suggests things I haven’t thought of. I know that this doesn’t fit in with their expectations as designers have to show plans of everything in advance for the client and builders and decorators to work to. I don’t feel that this is for me especially as I was already feeling over busy; it would be too restrictive and make my life very difficult. It’s all in stark contrast to the Gloucestershire College commission which I am so pleased to return to, to recommence work, painting pipe joints and a monkey wrench in the plumber’s tool box - such bliss!

Friday 21.8.09

Friends of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum Newsletter arrives with the good news that the Museum has now received planning consent for the new development. Also a wonderful grant they have been awarded by the Sainsbury’s Monument Trust of £500,000. Heather, the new chairman (who worked as a graphic designer for Penguin) has beautifully designed and laid out the magazine and has been very generous with my page on the new Patrons; also coverage of my forthcoming open home and studio fund raising event for the Friends.

Continue painting more bricks on the GC commission. As with the plumber and electrician, I do particularly want to honour these wonderful skills on which we all rely.

Saturday 22.8.09

A good uninterrupted day, the sort that I love where I’m really able to concentrate entirely on the work. Also start another small corrugation that R has constructed for me.

Sunday 23.8.09

ditto.

Monday 24.8.09

Big post this morning as Friends of Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum are responding to my invitation in the Newsletter to come to afternoon tea or supper at the open home and studio I am giving as a celebration of the Friends’ 25th anniversary and to raise moneys for the Friends fund towards Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum’s new development. I have asked for donations of £15 for the tea and £25 for the supper - all to go to the Friends’ fund. Richard and I are particularly delighted to receive an acceptance from George and Rachel Breeze as George instigated the founding of the Friends when he was Director of the AG&M.

I’m really enjoying the Gloucestershire College painting now resolving and filling in some of the areas between figures and today paint in a sewing machine behind the model to the centre of the painting as I’m sure the fashion students will use them to help construct the garments they design. Also to one side of the make-up artist, a tray with brushes and pots of make-up.

Tuesday 25.8.09

More acceptances for the tea and supper in today’s mail. Early afternoon go into the Museum for a meeting with Jane Lillystone, the Manager; Anne Strathie, funding officer; Heather, chairman of the Friends and Richard Smith the Secretary, about the Patrons. Then back to the studios to commence work.

Wednesday 26.8.09

E mail from Barbara at the Vaal Gallery in Estonia, making contact. Working in the studios on all fronts.

Thursday 27.8.09

After dealing with the mail and sending out notes and maps to Friends of CAG&M, we set out for London as it’s Nathan’s birthday. The traffic’s not good so when we arrive at the restaurant, LiveBait in Covent Garden, Nathan and Ruth are already there, both looking well. It’s always exciting hearing about the projects they are working on; interestingly we saw a big poster for La Roux en route, who they had fairly recently made music videos for; a couple of weekends ago they were making a large ‘Archimboldo’ type head out of vegetables which was then set on fire, for a group called the Wild Beasts and are currently working on something for Sony Erikson. It’s an enjoyable evening and the meal’s good. We leave the restaurant with me clutching the most enormous bunch of pink lilies that they have bought for me; we then go over to New Bond Street to see Athanasias, Nathan’s Greek friend who is in the process of installing his exhibition at Max Wigram Gallery. We ascend the stairs with Nathan bearing the cake with lighted candles, singing ‘happy birthday’ as its also Athanasias’s birthday! He hadn’t installed much yet, but the pieces he had were fascinating, one particular work that he showed us has three singers projected onto different facets of the sculpture. We were invited to join them and other friends at the Red Lion but decide to head back as the journey can be rather more arduous the later it later it gets.

When we get home I find a message on the answer phone from Lee my dealer friend in New York; it’s from Tuesday when I went to the Museum for the meeting but I’d forgotten to listen to any new messages. It would be too late to ring anyone here but of course in New York it’s still evening!

Friday 28.8.09

Still receiving acceptances to the tea or supper - it’s fun opening the post each day. Some from old friends that we have known for many years, others from friends we’ve yet to meet.

Today I move back up to the engineer who I started to paint on Wednesday and onto the plasterer on the big GC painting before going down and across to the shoe design materials under the fashion designer and on the make-up artist tray. Then back to my studio in the house to work on the other pieces.

Saturday 29.8.09

Delighted to see that Anne and Jeremy Davies are among the acceptances (all always with a donation) for the tea/supper open studio.

An exchange of e mails with Joan at the Toronto gallery who says if the works for the art fair could be there early October they could include them in an exhibition of international art beforehand.

How glorious to be picking and eating Victoria plums straight from the tree.

Sunday 30.8.09

Good day working on all fronts. Listening to Radio 4’s ‘A Good Read’ interested to hear ay Weldon and Henry Porter being interviewed about their respective dystopian novels that have just been published. I remember meeting Henry in the late 80s when I’d been commissioned by the Illustrated London News to create their Christmas cover - a tradition of commissioning artists that went back to Vincent van Gogh. Henry, who’d lived in Broadway, was then editor of the ILN and had a very relaxed attitude - he sat there quite cooly with his feet on the desk. The Dying Light was published earlier this month. He was editor of Vanity Fair in New York

Monday 31.8.09

Whilst working in the studio I turn the radio on for the news and hear that as forecast the Japanese party in power the LDP have been ousted by the opposition DPJ. Japan, the second biggest economy in the world had become frustrated with the current slump and unemployment although they were one of the first countries to announce that they were officially out of recession. I’m particularly interested to hear the interviews with workers at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, one being the owner of a sushi bar, which takes me back to our last trip there in 2005, rising at 4 am to be there at 5 to see the market and its tuna auctions at their busiest after which we enjoyed a breakfast in a sushi bar in one of the narrow alleys that come off the market. Interestingly the painting has since been reproduced on the cover of a book written about it.