Upwards and onwards as my piano teacher use to say
The last time I wrote I had been diagnosed with Tennis Elbow. It makes painting difficult. I can only do it for a short time so progress is very slow.
However this has given me time to step back and think and put other things into action. It has always been important to me that my work is accessible to not just the art world. As much as I love the fact that those who have a background in art are more likely to get what my work is about, and to perhaps appreciate the subtleties, I like my work to also be able to reach others.
With this in mind, I organised an exhibition called ‘Exhibit A’ in the Chelsea Library Gallery in the Kings Road with 3 other colleagues. I designed the poster for this one – made up of images of work from all the exhibiting artists. It was well received and whilst it did give me some arm pain, the work we installed was relatively small and I had a lot of help. All in all it was a great experience and went very smoothly and happily.
For something completely different – I recently completed an illustration for a friend to use for a book she was self-publishing on Kindle. She has commissioned me to do the next 2 books of hers as well, and thankfully is patient enough to wait on account of my arm and other college commitments. Whilst I can honestly say illustration is not my forte, it was a good experience and I am delighted to have been asked to do more. It has made me think about how to stretch myself further and to try other avenues to use my art. Just to have a go really.
Back to my painting – I have mentioned previously I have been exploring the focusing of small areas within my actual paintings. Looking at the connection between paintings, the dialogue, enhancing and investigating from a different point of view. ‘Eyecandy’ grew out of ‘The Proposition’. The painting illustrated here is not complete, but it’s on its way. Dig deep and you will never know what you may find.
