What do Robert Good and Jayne Good have in common? (Apart from our surname – we are not related as far as we know).
I was introduced to the world of Bob Ross by a friend, and I was hooked. Bob Ross was an an ex US army officer who delivered kitsch art demonstrations in a soothing, reassuring and always positive voice. In the current pandemic he has become a cult figure as people look for ways to reduce their stress and anxiety.
Jayne Good is an accredited Bob Ross instructor, teaching people to paint in the Bob Ross style. I was fascinated to find out that such instructors exist, and wanted to find out more. Does Jayne think that what she does is kitsch? And is it creative to teach everyone to paint in the same way?
Jayne discusses positivity, pleasure, and the importance of quality biscuits.
Links:
Robert Good website
Something To Do With Art – Jayne Good
Next week: What do Jayne Good and Tom Hackett have in common?
What do Lizz Brady and me Robert Good have in common?
Lizz Brady is a fanatical Everton FC supporter, going to matches whenever she can and riding the highs and lows of victory and defeat. In the context of her own mental health, I am intrigued to find out how she copes with being so affected by something that is completely outside of her own control.
I am a Spurs fan, but more of the armchair variety. I follow them closely and get frustrated by their many failings (e.g. against West Ham just a few days ago), but find myself unable (or unwilling?) to invest so much emotional energy into their fortunes.
There are not too many artists that I know of who are also football fans, but there are many links between art and football (“The Beautiful Game”), and in our conversation we discuss a few of them.
Links:
Something To Do With Art – Lizz Brady
Robert Good website
Next week: What do I have in common with Jayne Good (no relation)? Hint: it’s not the surname… :)
What do Ellie Breeze and Lizz Brady have in common?
On leaving Cambridge School of Art, Ellie Breeze co-founded the Motion Sickness art collective as a means of staying connected, and also to create opportunities to show work and to make things happen in her own locality.
Lizz Brady also formed her own collective, Broken Grey Wires, to provide a support network for her projects about positive mental health. She has since gone on to curate exhibitions featuring work by both emerging artists and also established names such as Pipilotti Rist, Gillian Wearing, Martin Creed and David Shrigley.
It was great to hear their stories about making art happen and the benefits that their approach can bring.
Links:
Something To Do With Art – Ellie Breeze
Something To Do With Art – Lizz Brady
Next week: What do Lizz Brady and me, Robert Good, have in common?
What do Alban Low and Ellie Breeze have in common?
Alban Low is a professional illustrator, working a signature calligraphic style for album covers and specialising in impromptu portraits of jazz musicians. He tells me how he has two distinct approaches to his work, depending on the commission. He also describes how he was once invited to sketch in the dissecting room at Guy’s Hospital. This episode is not for the feint-hearted.
Ellie Breeze paints in oils, drawing on material from old family photograph albums to capture lost moments with humour and insight. In this episode I learn the fate of a large double portrait of the bride and groom at their wedding in the 1970s. Her work has been selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries and has also been shortlisted for the Marmite Prize for Painting.
And what do Alban and Ellie have in common? They both work figuratively in 2d.
Links:
Something To Do With Art – Alban Low
Something To Do With Art – Ellie Breeze
Next week: What do Ellie Breeze and Lizz Brady have in common?
What do Ahmed Farooqui and Alban Low have in common?
Ahmed Farooqui told me how he turned his house over to art – creating Space36 in which he invited artists into his home not just to exhibit there, but to explore anything and everything they found of interest over a period of several months. I found Ahmed’s willingness to challenge himself and make things happen refreshing and energising.
For Alban Low, art is about inclusivity and possibility – organising group shows in which anyone and everyone can exhibit, and frequently taking his art projects out into the street. I wanted to find out how that compares to the curated and selective approach, and was surprised and intrigued to hear Alban say that he would like to see 90% of art take place outside of established gallery settings.
And what do Ahmed and Alban have in common? They both want to see more art in alternative, non-gallery spaces.
Links:
Something To Do With Art – Ahmed Farooqui
Something To Do With Art – Alban Low
Next week: What do Alban Low and Ellie Breeze have in common?
