A detail from ‘Waste Not’, recently completed
This seems like a suitable image for Christmas! a) the colours are festive, b) it’s just been bought from me as a Christmas present, and c) this is the time of the year when we all create the most enormous amount of waste with our discarded packaging.
Medieval people carved patterns on their church pillars, the Victorians had their cast-iron manholes – while our major contribution to adorning everyday items is, in my view, the plastic meat or veg tray!
Enough of that. I am indeed obsessed with patterns. Recently I was asked to do a pecha-kucha ( timed talk, lasts five minutes precisely and includes fifteen slides or images) – quite a challenge. It all happened at the Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, for the wonderful Blue Monkey Artists’ network. Five minutes flat to say what your work is about. (I’m not even sure what art is!) But when it comes to it, I think my work is all about patterns. So is life, science, the universe…but that’s for another time. This piece was full of patterns, and it can be hung in any direction as a result.
‘Waste Not’, recently completed
Although the lighting here is patchy it does show the 3-D effect of the cast shapes. I made another piece on these lines (sold a while back) which deliberately gave the impression of being made of metal. A sort of joke.
As it happens, both of these paintings were bought by people I’ve become very fond of, and that leads me to say that people don’t always realise how pleased artists are when people like and buy their work. Not just for the money either, but because we all need to move work on and clear our minds (and our houses) for new work and new ideas. If we sell through a gallery we don’t usually know who our purchasers are.
Our youngest visitor.
But our buyers feel like family – so thank you, everyone who’s bought work from me in the past, and a very Happy Christmas. And the same to everyone who visited and visits us and looks carefully and courteously at our work, even if they never buy anything!