What's going on ?

Is it me or are things looking a bit dark ?

If you factor in coastal erosion, credit crunches, house sales in free-fall, fuel prices sky-rocketing, staple foods costing 50% more than last year, Slippery Gordon trying to fuck us over for EVEN MORE road tax, people organising the disappearance of their kids for money, more child abuse in Jersey, a Bristol teenager on remand for alleged terrorist offences, some retards STILL using mobile phones while driving, not to mention the lack of security in our voting system, the lack of an effective opposition in Parliament and my aching head and back.........it's hardly worth getting up in the morning.

In other news, I have been chained to the easel for several days. On the whole I'm very happy with the results and have delivered a good number of finished pieces to my fabulous framers.

Norfolk Open Studios starts on the 17th of May, so everything needs to be done and dusted by then.

If you fancy a sneaky preview, the Private View will be on Friday the 16th, 6-8pm.

inspiration means never having to say relax

There is a phrase that describes how I felt while working this evening;
In the zone.
I know, embarrassingly hackneyed, over dramatic, even possibly a little too transatlantic, but I can't construct anything that comes closer to how I felt.

The sheer joy of finding a straight uncluttered connection between eye and brush is hard to beat. All the stupid things went well; the paint felt like double cream, the strokes fell unerringly into place, I didn't care that I was never going to cover every inch of the surface.

Best of all, I felt that for once I was confidently doing justice to the beauty of the model, like kicking a rugby ball and knowing it will find touch, or diving into a swimming pool and knowing that you have hardly caused a splash.

It don't happen often friends, so I'm grinning like an ejit, on my way to making a big G&T, and trying not to think about how I repeat it all tomorrow...........

Hey Paul

The piece of the kids is finished...........................hope you like it or I'm going to look a bit of a tit !

All work and no.........

you know what..........

Mustn't grumble, lots of work, even a new commission, so I hope you'll forgive my lack of posts.

Open Studio's is looming large on the horizon, (starts May17th), so I'm thrashing the canvas' all day and into the evening.

I'm trying to do several pieces at once, but still have to organise the invitations to the private view, not to mention finishing off a ten foot high collaborative installation for another show in July, and two, metre square pieces for a show in Norwich at the end of June.

Relaxing all this art......................what you all up too ?

I have been accused.....

..............of a certain degree of bias in my work.

A certain fellow blogger and visitor to these e-ramblings has noticed that I mainly paint women.

I know that for most of you this will come as a bit of a surprise. But having had a look through the archive, it would appear there is some justification for this observation.

In order to try and redress this imbalance, here's a bloke.

Don't say I never listen to you.

Per Ardua ad Astra

90 years ago today the Royal Air Force was formed as an independant arm of the British military establishment.

Happy Birthday to all current, and retired boys/girls in blue, wherever you are.
Through Endeavour to the Stars.

(I'm at back right, behind the aircraft).