also a hand puppet carrot

or it could be a nice bit of quirky advertising for the local MP at election time..

I have just returned from a week in Ulverston, a small market village south of the Lakes district. I was shown absolutely amazing hospitality by the director of Printfest, Janice Benson. I was given a tour of the surrounding areas including the coastal road all the way down to Barrow in Furness, an area which historically was a working town for the nearby ship yards.

The residential area there is somewhat dodgy to say the least but the architecture reminds me a little of Edinburgh tenements. I loved the carparks in between which had cars, boats, caravans and wheelie bins in the parking spaces!
Our tour ended on a baltic, yet beautiful beach which had an unusual backdrop of the hilly Lakes District in the distance.

There was a few Edinburgh look alikes, for example Ulverston has an Arthurs Seat but with a light house on the top, it’s called Hoad Monument, complete with sheep. Perhaps we should think about putting some sheep on Arthur… it would certainly add a more farmy feel to the city!

So the point of the week was to be completely inspired by something and document it with some initial sketches, etc. I was quite overwhelmed with all the fab subject matter to be honest, but I had to go with what made me go WOW… so I did. As to what that is you’ll have to come along to the Printfest Exhibition on the 5th/6th May where I’ll be unveiling the commissioned print.

There will be over 40 printmakers exhibiting that weekend, all with their own exhibition space so you can speak directly with the artists and vice versa. It’s the only all-print exhibition in the UK, gotta love that! I will be there no doubt, not only exhibiting my new ‘locally inspired’ work but I’ll be doing a screenprinting demonstration and an artist talk in that time.
On the final day of the residency I did a demonstration at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal. It went very well, the members of the audience were having fun, I know because I asked them and they said yes

www.breweryarts.co.uk/

The town of Ulverston is completely embracing Printfest which will be held at the very beautiful ‘Coronation Hall’. There will be a Printfest Art Trail too which is over 18 shops taking part by displaying an exhibitor’s print in their shop window. There is a handmade linocut map which will guide you around the tiny town so you can identify all the work on the trail. Cool idea. I have submitted a framed print of the image that’s on the flyers…. you can see the flyer below, as photographed on the inside of a toilet door. What a classic, you must admit it’s going to get women looking at it…I hope there was one in the mens too, an all women audience at an exhibition isn’t ideal

I even got involved with the publicity side of things and was featured in the local paper, twice, not to mention a little radio slot on Radio Cumbria which did a feature on me walking into the local chippy, called the Chippy Bank, (to pretend) to order a fish n chips and a pot of mushy peas. My favourite was when the woman behind the counter pretended to wrap up the fish and chips in midair and then proceeded (to pretend) to put the money through the cash register and it beeped constantly on her.

I have a stunning print to get on with now…hope to see you at Printfest!!
www.printfest.org.uk/

I am very pleased to announce that I have been voted ‘Printmaker Of The Year’ by Printfest UK!  Classic, UK’s Printmaker of the year is an Australian!!

Printfest is an annual printmakers exhibition held in the village of Ulverston near the Lakes District. It aims to promote printmaking as the wonderful medium it is, through it’s diversity of mediums (ie wood cut, lino cut, etching, lithography and of course screen printing) as well as educating the public on how printmaking works. As Printmaker of the year I will be demonstrating silk screenprinting during the Printfest weekend, held on the 5th and 6th May, with a private view on the 4th. I will also have the opportunity to exhibit my work that weekend alongside 40+ other printmakers. Wow!! It sounds like printmakers heaven! Aside from that I will also be involved in a residency, based in the Lakes District in order to design and produce 1 limited edition print which will then be used on the promotional material for Printfest 2012. While currently researching the surrounding area I can see there’s a diversity of fantastic subject matter to draw, from green lush fields, mountains and not to mention my favourite…realllllly old architecture!!

To find out more about Printfest, the exhibition or the organisation you can visit www.printfest.org.uk/

After my down time in Australia I had a couple of stopovers on the way back to Britain….

First stop, Singapore, the Switzerland of Asia where the friendly english speaking taxi drivers offer both a safe haven from the heat and humidity and an opportunity to ask anything you’d like to know about the culture, the food, the people, the buildings, anything you fancy.

then onto Vietnam

There is a million and 2 distractions in Vietnam, such as the beautiful vege and rice fields

the local made and distributed food

the beautiful French architecture…look, it’s Notre Dame de Vietnam!

the beautiful locals..

the intriguing weasels that are responsible for making the world famous weasel coffee…

I learn’t how to make traditional Vietnamese food..

as well as the local rice wine..

..while appreciating the stunning wall textures of some 16th century chinese and Japanese style architecture

Vietnam is a visual treat but if I were looking for a relaxing, clean, tranquil place to put my feet up and ponder about the world, then this wouldn’t be the place to go. Vietnam has a system of organised chaos which with it brings creativity in places we wouldn’t expect, and limits that have been pushed beyond our expectation.  I was inspired by the colours of Vietnam as well as the coast line and the fishing villages with their blue and red fishing boats that head out during the night. The boats can be seen in the image below, beyond the couches by the sea.

There may be a Vietnam series in the pipeline!!!

Well well it’s already 2012. I didn’t make any new years resolutions this year but I’m starting to think I should have. It’s still the first month of the year so I’ll go for it. My mission for this month was to start my new web design. I flew to Australia at Christmas time with a plan to stay for the summer months and what can I say…up til now there’s been distractions…. ..

I’ve been visiting this…
…swimming in this…

Walking over this……

watching a LOT of this…
in particular for this amazing player..

riding on a few of these…

celebrating Australia Day by eating this…

and enjoying the local wildlife

but I thought if I posted my mission onto my blog then I’ll make it happen so safe to say Watch This Space!!!

The results from the kids were really amazing, they drew and cut out some very cool designs, we had a dinosaur (which was going to be called (Tyranoscreenprinterex),a dainty cat and even a native New Zealand birdie to name a few. Creativity seems to come naturally to kids..I think as adults our education replaces creativity in many ways, like our ideas are becoming too mainstream and jaded as we get older. I think that’s why art school is so important, it encourages a ‘mainstream idea’ clear out in the creative side of the brain to make room for the new creative ventures ahead.

So as well as demonstrations I also gave an artist talk which to be honest became a pro screenprinting monolgue instead. I think the people watching my talk learn’t more than masses of information about the nitty gritty cool workings of  the screenprint process, and probably wondered whether I even took a breath….you can see the passion radiating from my expressive arm action in the photo below, check it out! You’d think I was talking about something politically racey but no, it was about the UV exposure unit! Great stuff!

http://www.affordableartfair.com/battersea/visit/157/Times-&-Admission

So i booked a flight to Paris. I spent 3 days getting myself reaquainted with the city which was fabulous. I took a 30 page sketch book with me, with a mission to filling every page with drawings…but Paris is one of those cities where you can’t walk around anonymously…well I can’t anyway. …if it’s not the people, it’s the bird population..

One afternoon I stood drawing the Seine from the south bank when two guys came up to enquire how much it would cost for me to draw the both of them with a Parisien backdrop… I’m not sure whether they really wanted a drawing or to practise their English…perhaps they were just very friendly Frenchies. Either way I opted to take photographs after that.. lots and lots of them! 

I found myself returning to Montmartre, my favourite part of town, every day I was there. There was a lot of quite cool street art in Paris too…

a wee bit of stencilling, nice little touch

but my most inspiring ‘sight’ was the Georges Pompidou centre…I love that inside-out building more and more with every visit…I just think it’s super super cool yet extremely stylish.

Georges Pompidou Centre

Cutting edge, a bit raw yet classy all at the same time. Very inspiring. There’s a retrospective of Edvard Munch on at the moment so I went and checked that out while I was there and it worked out to be a bonus that it was on the top floor so I was able to get a glimpse of the view out over Paris, it turned out to be a nice little detour!

I think this photo would be one of my favourites..it’s a wall pertaining to a school which has an eclectic mix of phrases/words in different languages. The kidies were chasing eachother in front of it, I just think the wall makes them look so tiny.

I have proofed the Parisien artworks already and am very happy with the results. I’ll post some images once I’ve completed the final pieces. Watch this space !

La mezquita

Me in the Mezquita

After I plugged my batteries in to be recharged I then took up an opportunity to visit Berlin. Berlin has been on my list of places to visit for at least 4 years now, but something, or somewhere has always seemed to take precedence. Well it must be said that the cityscape of Berlin is the most ugliest i’ve ever seen in Europe, even though it has perfectly good reason. Saying that though I compared Berlin to a rose garden….it looks ugly and messy from a distance but as you get closer you begin to smell the roses and then one deep wiff of a rose gives off such a lovely fresh aroma that it feeds the soul. You need to participate in a city like Berlin, it’s very interactive, there’s a lot of very exciting creative and social ventures going on like an invisible network of brightly coloured cables running all over the city, crossing over eachother and interlinking on the way. I met some very inspiring people and saw some very inspiring street art.

some streets are highly decorated

This beautiful mural is at the start of a very groovy street

I love a bit of street humour art

I checked out the Berlin modern Art Gallery which had a superb, varied selection of Germany history artworks including a section on the Dada movement as well as very contemporary installation pieces. A nice mix. I liked the range of books they have downstairs in the bookshop. Apparently photographing in the gallery is subject to a €2 fee at reception… also quite a modern concept I thought.

Berlin has quite a lot of quirk!

When I heard of an opportunity to participate in an art residency program/ exchange between Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop and Swansea Print Workshop in south Wales I thought it sounded like a great idea. I applied and was accepted alongside another 3 artists from Edinburgh printmakers and 4 artists from Wales. As the exchange, the 4 Edinburgh artists spent 10 days in Swansea and vice versa. It was a fabulous experience, particularly working so closely with the 3 other artists. We worked extremely hard to adapt to the sometimes frustrating limitations of the equipment and processes in the Swansea workshop. Saying that Swansea is an artist run studio and a very well run studio at that however it took a little time to adapt after coming from edinburgh printmakers where we carry on with our work in a familiar environment. The trials and tribulations of working in another studio had it’s ups and downs but the greatest part of it was that we all embarked on a new art form or technique that challenged us which we all overcame with success. On a social note we wanted to attempt a little ‘Come dine with me’ experience where we have in-turns to cook and be hosts in our temporary homes, which were all located within a short walk from eachother. Unfortunately it was a unanimous decision to opt out and cook in pairs instead as it’s less stressful. i must say I was looking forward to be scored for my cooking skills, I even made an italian ice cream before the trip in preparation but I’ll save it for another competitive occasion

As a result all 8 artists have produced a small body of prints based on the theme of IMport/ EXport and will be exhibited in both Swansea and Edinburgh. The work will be exhibited at Edinburgh Printmakers in September, the opening night being the 8th Sept. A catalogue has also been made, complete with a Welsh translation. I wanted to include the word ‘day’ in my artist statement so as to see the welsh translation which is spelt Dydd…. Welsh is the most ridiculous looking language I have ever seen written in my life. It’s as if the vowels were highly taxed and therefore only used when it’s utmost necessary to do so. I learn’t a little pronunciation which I must say even though it still sounds very foreign, it’s not at all ridiculous like the spelling. One of the highlights for me in Swansea was the friendliness of the people, they reminded me of country folk in Aus, just really chilled out and open to chat to anyone. It was like a breath of fresh air. It was an amazing experience, here’s a few more pics of the two artists books I made from my sketchbook.

I drew all my sketches on the one side of the page in my sketchbook and on the reverse I

screenprinted little bits from

the edition pieces so in the end I ended up with a collection of sketches and collaged screenprinted

layers which introduced colour and texture to the pages. I then stitched all the pages together so as to

create a concertina where you can open up the entire book and have it sitting on a table. One side of the

concertina will be predominently  black and white sketches and the other layers of colour. these images

show the books as they look when opened out.

I’ve compiled a selection of screenprints and lithography pieces from my Parisien, London and Edinburgh series. I’ve screenprinted a design directly onto bookcloth and hand bound it all into a unique A3 portfolio.  I’m really happy with the portfolio so fingers crossed it will capture the imagination of a cheery, perhaps mildly eccentric, highly motivated and enthusiastic Italian gallery owner (I imagine it to be a woman with big hair). I would love the opportunity to draw snipets of Roman architecture and streets with a view to presenting them to the Roman people. .

a little sneak preview inside….Fingers and toes are crossed!!*#**! I’ll keep you posted!

I find it interesting how people see different things. What sparkes inspiration for one person may be completely different to the next person. I never used to get so much inspiration from nature. Inspiration is like taste buds, always changing. I find natural forms completely overwhelming at times, like the fist fulls of palms below…. so creative yet indearing

although it must be said, I still don’t like olives!

It was only last weekend when I was running on crunchy shrubs in the sunshine, and creating quirky shadows with the trees. Nog the dog is seen below sitting in the truck. Energetic Nog likes to jump up a lot, to give you hugs but on this occasion Nog’s muddy big feet made me run for my life away from him, so he got put in the truck. After spending time on the farm I’m well inspired to draw some more beautiful highlanders, and perhaps the odd chook as well!! Watch this space!! Thanks to Lynda and Roy for being so fabulous!

With being away the past 4 winters I haven’t had the opportunity to enter my favourite of all the Open Exhibitions, the VAS exhibition which also shows alongside the SSA exhibition annually, at the RSA Gallery on the mound. I love this exhibition purely for the consistantly outstanding work it shows. This year I decided I would submit a work on boats and so headed to Dunbar which coincided with an invitation I had to visit a friend local to the area. I was shown around the old and new harbour but particularly liked spending some time walking along the old harbour. I found this gorgeous big old beautie in the new harbour which when I saw it made my decision straight away as the winning composition for the entry piece. I drew up the composition on site and completed the piece on my return to  Edinburgh. I’m pleased to say it was accepted into the exhibition which was exhibited this Feb/March 2011.

I thought I’d embark on a new hobby, which surprisingly doesn’t divert too much from my real job…but one which I have been meaning to do for a little while. Book binding. I figured it would be a lovely extention of creativity from the screenprinted image or text. I’m into my second semester now and loving it. The class is also very enthusiastic and creative which is a bonus. My teacher Susie Wilson is a printmaker, well known for her beautiful little book creations. She has inspired the class to take our books up one or two creative notches. The overall results are fantastic. The images  are of 2 books I did last semester. …hmmm, pink is my IN colour at the moment….a bit hard not to notice…

What can I say, commissions are an absolute joy. Working with clients to develop a piece of work which has great sentimental value is a wonderful experience. I’ve had the pleasure of working on commissions of a highland bull and cow named Billy and Nana, rooftop views from Eton Terrace (above), a lovely old golden labrador named Batty, the Oran Mor in Glasgow, Inverleith Park (below), the Glasgow Stock Exchange building and Ramsay Garden to name a few.

Both the Inverleith Park and Eton Terrace Rooftops were made into a limited edition of screenprints, so have been added to my collection of screenprints available to buy.

These will be added to my website soonish

154-156 Blackfriars Road

SE1 8EN (near Southwark tube station.)

Introducing THE Laughing Gravy’ pub, newly renovated with new owner John making an absolutely fabulous job of it. As icing on the cake John has invited me to exhibit the London series  as a permanent exhibition on the walls. They look just stunning in the space, and more importantly they are for sale. You can contact John on 02079981707.

All four artists that exhibited in the Skylark summer exhibition at the OXO tower were chosen in the top 100. They are as above, moi Kelly Stewart, James Hobbs, Sara Sherwood and Clare Johnson.

Well well, yes I know it has been a loooong time since my last post. Things have been a happening..except my blog obviously. Well without further adue, here is my ‘London Lives’ entry image. I flew back from my Italian make shift holiday (there was little relaxing being had to be honest…too many small villages to explore which I did like a mad woman), to attend the Top 100 entries exhibition held at the Bankside Gallery. It was a fabulous evening…well, wine + artists always = fabulous fun.
This image as well as the rest of my new London series of prints will be on exhibition and for sale at the Laughing Gravy pub on Blackfriars Road, near Southwark tube station. Further details in my next blog

So my first screenprinting demo was just fabulous, I would be more than happy to do that again in the future!

The other great news I received yesterday was that of an art competition that I entered last week, themed ‘London Lives’. The competition was in conjunction with the guardian newspaper and Cass art supplies. The aim was to create a drawing or painting of London in a way which represents London to the artist, and in a format which can be reproduced to fit on the Blackfriars Bridge (which you can see in the above photo, it’s the red bridge beyond the wharf). The top 200 entries were announced  yesterday at midday and I was on the list!! I must say that I love the process that the competition has taken to announce the winners, it reminds me a lot of Charlie and the Chocolate factory with the golden ticket…it’s the anticipation which adds to the fun! I’m chuffed to be in the top 200 but I will be even happier if it makes it through to the second round which is next Friday when the top 100 entries are announced. All the top 100 entries are invited to exhibit at the Bankside Gallery, next door to the Tate Modern. The winner of the entire competition gets their work hung on the bridge for 12 months, as well as a solo exhibition and £1500 worth of art materials, not bad !! I’ll keep you posted….and if you don’t hear anything then that means there’s nothing to tell! Fingers and toes are crossed!

Photos of me doing the artist talk in the gallery are on their way, they were kindly taken by the organiser of the summer exhibition, Gill, whom by the way is the most positive, bubbly and efficient person (apart from my mother) that I’ve ever met. It was a pleasure to have worked with her on the late night Friday shift at the gallery. A big thankyou to the superwoman herself! We all need superwomen role models in our lives!

‘Westminster’ original silkscreen print 2010

I have just completed my new series of drawings on LONDON!! I have been wanting to draw London for years, it’s an exciting city jam packed full of the most stunning architecture.  I’ve spent the past few months working on a range of original silkscreen prints which will be launched at two concurrent exhibitions. One exhibition will be in conjunction with the Skylark Gallery, at the  Oxo Tower Wharf on London’s southbank (details below), and the other at the Marianne Newman Print Gallery in Sydney. Both are due to open in the next fortnight…. the reason for my lack of blogging in the past few weeks. I have attached the poster for the London summer exhibition if you’re willing and able to attend.  If the exhibition is anything like what the organisation has been so far then I’ll no doubt give it the 5 stars! Fantastic stuff!!

I will also be doing a series of artist talks on both the 29th and 30th July at the Oxo Tower before heading back up the road to assist the Edinburgh Printmakers Gallery with printmaking demonstrations at the Traquair Fair on the Sunday in the Scottish borders. The Traquair Fair runs over the weekend of the 30th and 31st July and promises to be just as amazing as it was in previous years to the relief of all the locals who make this such a creative and lively event. I’m looking forward to it. The Edinburgh Printmakers Gallery have been invited to exhibit work by it’s members as well as run a series of workshops and demonstrations in screenprinting, etching and monoprinting. Two exciting dates for the diary!

For those based in Sydney, the details of the Sydney exhibition titled ‘The Darwin Method’ (in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and also in relation to the artists method of making observations and recordings of the physical world around us.) are detailed in the fliers attached below. I will be exhibiting with two other fabulous Sydney based Aussie artists. I would appreciate everyone who goes so you can fill in for me, unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the opening…it’s a wee bit more than a train ride away!

This photo shows the front viewing window with all the 24 mini prints pinned up on the backwall, and the contributing artists names written on the front window. I heard Bristol was creative but even the lady who owned the B&B I was staying in had her own printmaking studio at  the back of her Victorian tenement in the heart of Clifton Village. In addition to that I met her friend Deenagh who was looking after the B&B and she was also a painter…such a creative little hub of a town. …perhaps it’s got something to do with the architecture,…check it out…wowee, it’s called Royal Park Terrace, just beautiful. Talking about creativity, even the mesh fences I found in Bristol were inspiring…just beautiful isn’t it…what a beautiful green that is. By the way, if you click on the images you can view them full size! Enjoy

Here’s my favourite, an old tudor style mansion with geese running about the grounds and a garage which the boat drives straight into. It looks like something from a fairytale storybook.

I also managed to visit an artist run studio/gallery space which was part of an annual 3 week gallery/open studios event around Oxfordshire. I visited one called Artspace which consists of converted old barns that sit amidst lush green countryside. The grounds themselves are sprinkled with sculpture work and intertwined with fluffy chickens that roam around freely, using the sculpture as if they were furniture in their own loungeroom.

You can click on the photos to see the full size versions.

Artspace runs every year showcasing a large range of artwork from over 80 artists. It’s a beautiful English day out..we took the liberty of taking our own English House and Garden photo (above). www.barngalleries.com

London was great, I’m getting used to the crowds a bit more now but I will never get used to the tube..the way it just stops somewhere random and you have to sit there waiting in the train for up to 15 mins or more, as if time isn’t an issue. No one seemed to bat an eyelid when time was put on the shelf and schedules were flung out the window. I had an appointment with a London publishing company and was an hour late of which they replied, ‘yeah that happens in London’…so either people in London are always stressed out and late or completely chilled out because lateness is an everyday event. Either way I did have a very productive week signing up with a publishing company who are interested in making a series of prints and canvases from my animal series. As a printmaker myself I am a little concerned with having reproductions made from my work when I spend so much time and energy in educating people of the difference between an original print and a mass produced one. Saying that however the exposure will be phenominal with the work distributed to over 35 countries worldwide.

So favourite building in London on my recent visit would have to be this one…………situated in Marlybone, just off the high street…I stood staring at it on the street as if it were a Ron Mueck sculpture or something.

I had my fair share of luck too… I went to check out Scottish artist Barbara Rae’s current exhibition at the Adam Gallery on Cork Street, which was just fabulous. I arrived last thing in the day at about 5.30pm, with 30 mins til close and Barbara herself was there in the gallery. She was also down from Edinburgh which was just such amazing timing and co incidence. We spoke about Edinburgh printmakers and she kindly signed my book (pictured below) The book is just beautiful, I feel priviledged that I was able to tell her so in person too.

So all in all, a great time had in London, and of the two capital cities I say this…

London..a great place to visit,  Edinburgh..a great place to return.

I would like to thank my great friends Nicole, Steve and Celestine who made my trip so enjoyable.

Check it out…. this is a photo on page 3 of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland annual review 2009 book. Edinburgh Zoo celebrated it’s Centenary year last year and so had a Society Centenary Reception of which certain people were invited to attend, as pictured. That’s Edinburgh Zoo Chief Executive David Windmill with no other than Princess Anne and Sir David Attenborough in the middle (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  standing in front of my chimpanzee canvases which were commissioned by the Zoo to hang in the new boardroom at the Budongo Chimpanzee enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo last year. I have images of the canvases on my website under ‘private collections’. As a huge fan of David Attenborough and his stunning nature programs I’m stoked that he was actually standing in the same room as my Chimp canvases..I hope he liked them…I wonder if he commented on them

In this world of new fangle ideas, new technologies and fast paced electronics it’s very difficult to keep up. Obviously I’m talking about those that don’t prioritise Ipods, iphones, ipens, play stations blah blah blah the list is endless. And obviously I’m talking about myself who has been forced to move with the times by my friends who have kindly upgraded my music system from what it was 5 years ago when I had a cassette walkman to then a CD walkman, then an MP3 player which held all of 36 songs, and then more recently my sister bought me an ipod to put my music on. It’s a very pretty little thing but everytime I go to press play it seems to of ran out of battery…and then of course you need the cables to plug it into the wall or the computer. I walked into a sony shop last week to buy an apple cable and the guy just looked at me and very kindly told me that it was a sony shop that sold only sony products….I left the shop feeling like an old lady, but really you  don’t need to be old to not understand these things, because I’m not old and I definately don’t understand these things. First things first, I got home and pulled out my old cassette walkman, still had my Prince tape inside. Although I couldn’t find the headphones so I put two and two together and fused sony and apple by taking the headphones of my ipod, and whallah it worked perfectly. My huge shoebox of old home made casssette tapes are making a comeback!! Welcome back cassette tapes, I missed you all…sometimes it’s best to go back to basics!!

Well it’s been the most surreal week of my life I must say, almost one surreal thing per day for an entire week. It all started Tuesday morning when I attended my first meeting of the week with my accountant and spilt a pot of hot earl grey tea all over his paperwork. (my paperwork is at least smelling fragrant now alongside all the other paperwork in his filing cabinet. )

By Wednesday I was having difficulties resolving an image I’m working on so I went to a contemporary dance performance and about 10 minutes into what was a dimly lit, quiet performance I picked up my bag of Jaffas (round orange flavoured chocolate balls) at the wrong end and they all bounced their way down the wooden floor of the aisle, every last orange one of them.

On Thursday I attended a spanish animation afternoon of which only about half a dozen people turned up because that was the night when the hot weather valve was switched on and every man and their dog were out in the meadows soaking it up. The animations gave me clarity and resolution with that image I was trying so hard to resolve . ..so nice surreal.

Then by Friday I thought I was featuring in my own film when after a long day in the studio I decided to meet a Spanish friend of a Spanish friend for the first time and while we were sitting outside at a cafe  in the Newtown my handbag got pinched from under my feet so we spent the rest of our evening in the police station..bad surreal.

Saturday came and went… in came the great weather and out went my work schedule. My day turned into 9 hours of making up for lost BBQ weather in the meadows with 20 million other people as the meadows was transformed into the Glastonbury festival for the weekend. Surreal with a capital S. So yesterday was Sunday, the last day of the ‘S’ week and low and behold I had another BBQ …this time at a friend’s new house near the Pentlands. The surreal moment came when I was cycling through Viewforth on my way home and I saw one of my favourite, if not my favourite comedian walking down the road. I was bowled over, and by Sunday I had well and truely overdosed on surrealism that I didn’t know what to do, so I stopped for a coffee and cycled back through Glastonbury on the way home.

I have been kindly asked to post the image of the drawing I was commissioned to draw of the mountain in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands, which I wrote about in last month’s blog. So here tis.  An original drawing of watercolour, pencil and pastel on watercolour paper 56cm x 76cm. The drawing is due to arrive in it’s final destination in Ireland today or tomorrow. As is the majority of commissions that I get, they are a pleasure to do, from start to finish….but particularly this one which took me to a remote, raw part of the Scottish Highlands that I had never been to before. I went in search for a distinctive looking mountain called Liathach which is famous amongst keen hillwalkers, such as my client. I had a rare glimpse of this beautiful mountain under bright blue skies and t shirt weather conditions. I spent nothing short of an hour and a half driving around in search of the ultimate spot to draw from. I drew my initial sketches and a preliminary drawing outdoors, my drawing board leaning against a huge boulder, my water bottle standing in the shade to keep cool.  I had to keep reminding myself of where I was as I stood standing in 17 degrees, in Scotland wishing I had packed my sunscreen. Liathach… .a wonderful experience, great opportunity, and a very successful outcome, if I say so myself.

I then went to visit one of the only open access print studios in the country for screenprinting, it’s called Megalo. I would like to thank Jo very much for showing me around the print studio. It was a joy to meet her and talk all things screenprinting for a few hours with someone as passionate about it as myself…vegetable oil,emulsion and exposure units were some of the fabulous topics we covered. I look forward to keeping in touch and sharing more printmaking comparisons in the future.

On the drive back to Sydney we stopped for a cuppa at the huge Merino sheep in Goulbourn (it’s part of that bizarre Aussie’ big’  sculpture phenomena, if you haven’t heard of it then check it out, there’s the big prawn, big mango, big lobster and the big banana, just to name a few) . We then continued on and stopped for a little sketching out in the back of beyond. When I’m drawing outdoors in the Australian bush I am constantly reminded of the work of Fred Williams, then I get inspired.

So all in all, the  Canberra trip was a mixed bag, of French masterpieces, bad architecture, outdoor sketches, print studio visit, shocking architecture and hillarious sheep sculpture, not to mention the uninspiring architecture. I’d just like to dedicate this post to Rachel who made that 3 hour journey (there, and back) to Canberra with me harping on about Canberra’s unique architecture. With thanks

An exhibition to remember, a weekend never to forget is the best way I can explain this past weekend. I was invited by a gallery owner named Anita, from Basel, Switzerland to attend an exhibition of a German artist Alexander Befelein of whom I bought 4 etchings of a couple of years ago. Anita has since kept me up to date with his new book release (15 years in the making) and current exhibition opening of Befelein’s new work in her gallery in Basel (actually in the countryside an hour south of the city of Basel). The invitation included accommodation in her house/gallery which offset the cost of the Luftansa flights so I just went ahead and booked it (thankfully the ash cloud cleared away in time). On arrival, at about 8.30pm on the Friday night,after 2 flights, 2 trains and 2 buses, which of course were all bang on-time, I stumbled upon the house.. .. .I felt like I was in a movie as I stood in front of a beautiful 10 bedroom mansion house fit for kings, queens and stunning artwork as I had the priviledge to live with for 3 days. I finally met Anita, Anita’s husband Jeff, her friend and artist Anne Marie and the artist himself. I sat up in the kitchen on the first night with Jeff and Alexander, talking about all things random like biltong, castles on volcanoes and the Tuscany’s best wines.

The next day I insisted on making lunch for everyone including an Italian buyer, Michaeli who had driven over that morning from Zurich to have first pick at the exhibition. I had limited ingredients to work from which included frozen vegetables, eggs, fresh pasta and potatoes with trees growing out of them, and to top it off I also had strict instructions not to cook meat (Anita’s vegetarian),or with garlic, (Anne Marie was alergic)…sounds like an impossible mission but I managed to rustle up a lush Spanish tortilla, a vege pasta (using wine and random swiss herbs from the cupboard for taste) with salad. We all sat out on the back terrace to eat together on what was such a momentous ocasion, the exhibition opening of Alexander Befelein. The exhibition went really well as expected, the artwork looked just stunning, I was beside myself with joy. Alexander and his family were also staying in the house and so drove back to Germany the following day after he kindly signed one of his books for me (thanking me for lunch and great company,ohhh) He had wondered if I was going to cook Kangaroo eggs for lunch…hmm interesting concept, …what are these europeans like!

I couldn’t help myself and ended up taking home not only the book but 3 more etchings of New York to add to my collection, I just love them!

So all in all I had such a warm and fuzzy weekend, one that reminds me yet again just how fabulous people can be. Anita and her husband Jeff are such beautiful people, it was an amazing opportunity and experience to have spent the weekend with them and Befelein’s work, in their home. I’m going to sit up tonight and enjoy my new book, accompanied by nothing short of a tonne of Swiss chocolate.

Well well we have discovered the world of blogging, well I have yes. I must admit I was influenced by watching the classic movie Julie & Julia while on the flight from London to Sydney last Christmas…fond memories of laughing out loud while having being asked if I wanted chicken or noodles for my next plane meal…and thankfully you can pause the movies these days so you can take the tray and not get all caught up in the headphone cables while keeping one eye on the film.

So yes I will be including regular events and trips that I manage to always have sitting up my sleeve. We’ve got some jolly great ones lined up. ..but firstly a little brief story about last weekend. It was a flawlessly sunny weekend in Britain last weekend so it must be mentioned. As it turns out I had a fabulous commission lined up which involved me driving up to Wester Ross, in the Scottish highlands to draw a mountain. This was a special mountain, and what made it special was that my client who had previously lived in Scotland but is now living in his home town of Cork, had trekked to the top and so wanted my rendition and creative impression of it. Wester Ross is one of these places jam packed with bald treeless hills and dotted with shrubs in  ochres, warm yellows and dusty purples.  It’s tucked away in a land pocket to the west, above the infamous Glencoe and below the picturesque seaside town of Ullapool. The most abstract part of the weekend was standing out in 17 degrees drawing the mountain as it stood in front of me, my only fear was sunburn and that’s an abstract Scottish thought itself. Drawing in the highlands listening to the gypsy kings banging out some Spanish guitar sounds and the odd flying insect that landed on the edge of my brush cleaning jar ( I wondered if they were actually curious to see what was going on or whether they saw it as a nice place to park up for a wee rest. Anyway the wind picked up so I packed up. 3 days, 650 miles and 360 photos later I got home absolutely knackered.