The Doctor Will See You Now

Kill time and ditch those plans to go shopping for that special outfit and come on down to the Doctors doll hospital, for a similar price you could be swanning around in one of my surgery sculptures.

Distressed wabbit or something equally spookee, you will look the part for any occaion as was I at the Grimm Grimm Ball last week at the Chelsae Arts Club, the theme was the Brothers Grimm, do you know what I went as? Can you guess what it is yet?

Well this was a hat for Jan Passey, but for my outfit you should keep a closer eye on that Wabbit.

Print Biennial

All aboard the skylark, then, for a spectacular trip to our mill for a print off! Neeta (Anita Burrows) is busy as a bee cleaning and sorting the spaces in the mill for her Print Biennial starting on the 1st September. She's pulled out the big guns with her new (bigger) studio (Mangle Print Studios) and has visiting artist from Germany and Denmark and peeps have booked on from all over the country!

So come on over and let your inner artist free, or just come for the open studios and tea and cake: next weekend 1st and 2nd Sept, 11am till 4pm.

I, on the other hand have had a week of thinking, the work is starting to come together now I've had time to settle into my own studio, that is apart from a leek in the roof, twas soon sorted though!

It's a very exciting time for me with the Witches (paintings) soon to be going to London, things like this can put one off ones work. Okay, I might not have actually done much paint to canvas but believe me the work is in my head, big time thinker below, watch out for that glove!

1612

HE HAS DONE IT!

My friend Phil and Pendle Hill have been the talk of the town around these parts for some time. He's been in local and national press from the beginning of the year, he only wanted to put 1612 on that hill for the 400th anniversary of the Pendle Witch trials, it shouldn't make a difference, it shouldn't get in the way, but it does in the lives of local folk! It was going on, it wasn't going on, he could do it, he couldn't do it, so you know what he just went and did it! And we all commend him, even people that say they didn't want it must appreciate the hard work? No maybe not, grumps and critics ought to have a bad mood forecast at the top of the hill, gloom and scattered cynicism all round for the next few days but I am tickled pink. He only has til Wednesday, then it's off, what a shame, would of been nice to have a month!

Witches Galore

There's a Tidal wave of Witches in Pendle and for once you might say it's not a bad thing! My show has been greatly recieved (and still two days to go) books, sculpture and talks all on the positive side of what happened in 1612 and roll up roll up, last week Anita Burrows turned a ordinary library into a exciting situation by openning a show of a oridignal prints by Paula Rego in Colne, courtesy of Marlborough Galleries, London.

Anita with the prints

All mill folk turned up for the event and even John B popped in from Silverdale to grab a butchers, John below with three of the prints

PSST! I have moved back to my own studio but lets keep that on the quiet side as who knows what will go wrong next, Hey lets hope NOWT.

Picnic peeps helping me move back in, below

Witches in Pendle

And so to the last show of my Witches inspired paintings in the North. The cream of Pendle gathered to sip Red Witch cocktails and view the work and also learnt a thing or three about my four day walk and camp last year.

I'm going to give myself 5 stars for refreshments, you can never have to many canapés, and with the wine, eye-rollingly sweet muffins and Witches brew to boot I think everyone had something to their taste!

The Telegraph did a super write up on myself and the show, so lets hope lots of folk now know and call in!

Well can't stand here catching flies, more paintings to paint!

Groove is in the Heart

To the capital I went last Thursday, only just dropped the holiday bags and off I went again, the groove in the heart of this place was colour colour colour!

John B and I started the mini adventure with the preview of Bert Irvin's wonderful show "Fidelio" for over fifty years, his work has been predicated on conviction that non-descriptive colours, shapes, brush marks and without recourse to illustration, his paintings seek an engagement with that mysterious presence that animates nature and all living things,and as usual we were blown out of the building with a super hit of colour and presence!
The show was packed so we went again the day after for a more personal view,

The evening carried on through the streets of the city were we came upon a familiar face, Louis Vuitton has moved up a gear with the help of Yayoi Kusama, my god that lass works hard, even through the night, we came upon her still doing the windows,

John in Kusama world, look at the colour!

The rest of the trip (well after a night at the club) was spent taking in the art, our day was packed with visits to galleries and of course stops for tea and cake

my eyes fixed on the cake! I arrived home that night to find the Xmas box I'd been sooo waiting for and  I'm now back to work with lots of new colours, brushes     and new mediums to try, with compliments, Winsor and Newton!

One more thing! The poster has been up for two weeks now, hope you can all make it this Saturday, Pendle Gallery

 6.30 - 8.30

See You There!

Holiday

Yeah, had a good time