Portrait of a blog

Six Music is saved .

Great great news yesterday, 6 Music has been saved from the chop, largely due to people power in the modern age with  hundreds of facebook and twitter campaigns and is reputed to become a “case study” in campaigning. I think they completely underestimated the passion of minority music listeners.

July 6th, 2010

The Rebel

I watched Tony Hancock’s “The Rebel” on Sunday afternoon. I hadn’t seen it for a few years but it’s still an excellent take on the contemporary art scene. There’s one scene where he’s at an “artsy”  party and the host is submerged as a diver in a 12 foot long tank of water and I’m convinced that that scene played a part in Damian Hirst’s animals in glass tanks series.

July 6th, 2010

Alfresco Gazebo

I brought a gazebo from Tesco for £7.50 and have been painting outside on the yard. I felt a bit like Vincent amongst the sunflowers in a field…well, the Walsall version anyway. But it’s great to have the birds and bees flying around and the breeze in the trees, quite a diferent studio experience for me and I’d heartily recommend artists to get down to Tesco while we still have the weather.

Add comment July 6th, 2010

BP Portrait Award 2010

We went to the dinner and ceremony for this years BP Portrait Award , about 2 weeks ago now. It was a bit more of a subdued affair this year with all the goings on in the Gulf of Mexico. It is, undoubtedly terrible what is happening to the wild life and environment out there but   BP have also been excellent sponsors of art at the Tate, British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, and in my experience at the NPG  they have nurtured, encouraged and inspired a generation of figurative painters over the past 20+ years.

  I was sorry that Mike Gaskell came 2nd for the 3rd time. Another excellent piece. The intimacy in his small portraits almost hint at a new level of realism, they are quite astonishing when you see them in the flesh. I have attached some of my favourites from this years show including Mike Gaskell’s, Mary Jane Ansell, Alan Coulson, Nathan Ford, Thea Penna and Carlos Muro’s beautiful 4 way portrait which strangely has the feel of a Marcus Harvey painting when you seen the mark making up close.

July 6th, 2010