A lesson in perspective.
I was invited to a 1000 acre private estate yesterday morning…the owner’s personal wealth is over 100 million pounds.
He came across in our chat as a thoroughly decent chap and I came away feeling slightly overwhelmed by the extraordinary wealth of just one person. How on earth does one cope with such responsibilities?
…he seemed to manage OK…
Looking forward to a few days in France…putting plants in our meadow etc. and painting etc. The phone hasn’t really rung for about 10 weeks…the recession has hit my small garden business hard…we built a small pond and that’s about it. I placed an ad in the local paper for restoring neglected gardens then fended off time-wasting clients who thought a days skilled work is worth about £20…that’s Portsmouth for you. Work is now coming in…
Press night at Yes, Prime Minister in The West End last evening helped me put things into perspective…and Adam Venus, friend, actor etc. gave me his family business details…small world…www.jacksonsart.com
Anyway life is good…no money…but time to think about what really matters.
Into The Woods…superb. We were fortunate to have the best seats for the Press night at Regents Park open air theatre on Monday. With the remnants of man-flu, parked the car and took the train from Weybridge thinking it wouldn’t rain…met up with Emily at Baker Street and had a voucher meal for two for £10 sitting outside for a delicious Italian…then an easy relaxed walk through the park.
I do feel inspired to paint because the performance and the natural stage set…trees…took us into another world. The bar was packed at the interval so despite the dark chilled air I stopped hugging Emily for warmth and bought us ice cream which helped to raise my temperature a little. I kicked something on the concrete floor and found a rather nice brooch. Alison Steadman, the actress, returned to her seat next to me and was very grateful as the brooch was a special gift to her from many years ago.
The evening was rainless and magical.
We left the private party early to catch the last train and were in bed just after 1am and up again at 6am to give Emily a lift to the station…I was knackere* but Emily does this every day…unbelievable. She’s working on Crapp’s last tapes with Michael Gambon and other plays…and I’m digging a pond through concrete for a client…oh the glamour…painting will have to wait.
I’m not placing new work on my website…it’s been a while since I last updated the artwork…and that is so not important to me. I don’t feel I’m depriving anyone of anything…I’m just creating for me.
I’m striking a balance and it seems to be working…
…working towards an exhibition but I do not know which gallery to approach. The Salzburg gallery approached me and I think this is always the best way. So many galleries are up their own *rses…it’s a little frustrating…I have total respect for a gallery when they lower themselves to approach an artist to exhibit…because they actually like the work and think we can work together.
I recently asked the Salzburg gallery owner a direct question after she promised me so much and has so far delivered so little, ‘Should I stop painting?’ Her reply was very encouraging but I do feel I have been taken for a ride. The experience of driving to Austria with Emily and Smartie, our Sealyham terrier, was a beautiful experience and made it all worthwhile. We stayed with a number of friends and met some wonderful artists, including my cousins’ friend whose studio was in the same road as the gallery…incredible and one of endless and constant coincidencies.
I paint and create because this is where my heart is…exhibiting and selling has never been important…but having sold 2 pictures recently to people who love what I do is encouraging…it helps tp pay the bills.
Seeing galleries full of *rap is a concern. I spoke with a fellow artist the other day and was told something that made me sit up and realise how fortunate I am.
Galleries are constantly closing or taking higher and higher commission. I just don’t want to exhibit because it’s all weighted away from the artist. I’ve wasted so much time in the past exhibiting in galleries when I could have been painting instead. The whole gallery set up is wrong…it’s for salesmen or saleswomen and this is anathema to me. Things change however…it’s not all bad…in fact, it’s all good.
'Graham's response to landscape is contemplative. Creation becomes a challenge as every mark is considered as the aesthetic process unravels towards sublime resolution. Graham's preoccupations are undoubtedly formal, but his technique relies on more than simply a conscious arrangement of shape and colour. Graham aims to intuitively distil the essence of his visual experience in a much more unlimited way. Landscape provides the ideal motif; unrestricted by figures or buildings, an exploration is permitted which ultimately pervades pure creation.' Sally-Ann Schilling. MA History of Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Art Historian and former Lecturer Tate Modern, London
