Election Special!

A brief lull after the month-long hurly-burly which is Brighton&Hove’s mammoth Artists’ Open House. Time to draw breath, take a critical look at things and update this blog and other things. Brighton Festival is launched, the town is full – and it’s Election Day.

I’ll do another update after next weekend, by which time my other exhibition, at Pelham House, Lewes, will have ended. Instead of lots of words, here are some pictures. First, my Election Special, Show of Hands. Based on prehistoric cave paintings, but a universal theme. Sold on the first day!

Here are some close-ups of the detail: acrylics, inks, pigments and dyes on marouflaged board.

And something quite different – and much smaller. Little paintings on reclaimed cedar blocks made specially for the Open House. Local scenes, semi-abstract, mixed media.

Brighton Glimpses: mixed media on cedar blocks.

Jill at the Wolf 2015

Tree, Starlight

What’s the positive expression of that? It’s always ‘disasters come in threes’. Things do cluster, it’s true, but the good things as well as the bad.

I happen to have a lot of things on at once or overlapping at the moment; life seems over-busy. Much better, though, than the times when there’s not much to get you up in the morning. Busy but bored is the worst!

Pelham House PV

At present, I have an exhibition running jointly with wildlife artist and printmaker Mark Greco. It’s at Pelham House, Lewes. The ceilings are high and the rooms spacious; the pictures beautifully hung by the curator, Dan. Private View was on Sunday, almost the first warm sunny day down here – it was a miracle anyone was willing to head indoors for an afternoon do. Thank you all! The show continues till May 12th – plenty of time to go if you find yourself in these parts.

But the overlap with the Brighton Festival – and Artists’ Open Houses – means having separate work available for that. I’ll write more about Open House 2015 at the Wolf at the Door in my next post. In the meantime I’m delivering a painting to the Mall Galleries in London on Saturday for the New English Art Club Open exhibition All being well they’ll hang it but it’s also a good excuse to see some exhibitions before Open House takes over our lives.

The day after Artists Open House ends we are off to Cornwall to deliver some paintings to another exhibition at an exciting new gallery, Terre Verte near Launceton. More of this very soon – a fascinating topic, lovely location and pleasurable excuse for a short break. The downside: a separate lot of work is needed for that, so it can’t really be shown in Brighton meanwhile. All of which means, get your skates on, Jill.

Working on ‘Magna Carta’

Nicholas Bowlby Gallery

I had an interesting if short day in London yesterday. It was mainly to visit the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, to see work, look at galleries and recharge the batteries. Also, I must admit, to visit the gallery where my own work is on show till tomorrow night. (Nicholas Bowlby Gallery, Stand F.11, in case you get there.) Unfortunately in getting my work ready for the show I managed to break a couple of toes – carrying a large picture, I crashed inbto a table.

There’s not much you can do with damaged toes except strap ’em up so I limped round Battersea with some inappropriately summery sandals, the only footgear I could get on. Lots to see as susual – too much to take in – the usual kaleidoscopic mix. It was great to meet Gillian of Mayor’s Parlour Gallery, which recently showed (and sold) a piece of mine. She was presiding over a sparkling neon-light exhibition in the foyer.

Mayor’s Parlour Gallery at the AAF

First, however, I had the excitement of visiting a childhood friend who’s living in – but will shortly be leaving – the flat, right opposite Battersea Park, which was lived in by the painter Francis Bacon in the 1960S.

Very little has been changed in it since then, although his former studio, where we sat, has been turned into a sitting room. He had the most peaceful view over the trees you can imagine.

mixed media on handmade paper

January and February were meant to be quiet. Time to catch up, paint, semi-hibernate. And to update this blog.

Not a bit of it! It’s been punctuated by visits, funerals, travels, reunions, deadlines, decisions, and now a couple of broken toes.

They were broken yesterday in the service of art, while rushing around getting pictures ready for a visit from the gallerist who takes my work to the Affordable and other national Art Fairs. A delightful man, he comes and goes in a whirl so I need to have everything strung, labelled, signed, and ready with all the paperwork and packaging.

I’d only just got back from a trip up north so it was all a bit touch and go. I won’t go into the gruesome details of how I tripped… At least there’s a bit of a breathing space as I now have to do nothing further for the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea next week (12-15 March), at which there will be six new pieces of mine on show with the Nicholas Bowlby Gallery. By the way if you’re an artist you can get in free on the Friday.

My next exhibition will be shared with the wonderful artist Mark Greco. This will be at Pelham House, Lewes, for six weeks from April 1st (hmmm) till May 12th. This is a gorgeous setting and my work will be in the Atrium. There will be mainly local subjects plus abstract paintings. The Private View is on Sunday April 12th – do ask for an invitation.

And meanwhile there is Artists’ Open House (after a year out) here at the Wolf at the Door during the month of May. Pared down, quality not quantity – more news soon. And a very exciting exhibition coming up in Cornwall for six weeks from June – again, more details very soon. And then there’s the Green Tree Gallery in Borde Hill of the lovely gardens: busy times ahead.

Here’s a piece only just finished – not sitting quite right in its frame yet. Whole piece above, details below.

detail from Quiet Sea

Circles on squares (handmade paper)

From cold January to bleak February, low point of the year. A time to add colour to life, if ever there was one. Part of me would love simply to hibernate. That not being feasible, I temd to take refuge in warm bright colours, open fires, highly-seasoned food, dark red wine…

This was made with smallish squares of handmade paper and a very limited palette of red, orange and blues. The colours pop predictably as the hot and cold colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel. Or that’s one way of describing it. Often I strive for subtle shades but sometimes there’s no substitute for vivid pulsating colour. I wonder whether anyone will feel like putting this on their wall.

I’ve also been working on a large piece to do with prisoners’ graffiti in the noneteenth century. I compared scribblings on the wall by French prisoners in a manor house in Normandy with those in a debtors’ prison in Spitalfields. It’s touching to see some of the same images and proccupations. More anon, but here are some pictures of the work in progress. I used to feel shy about exposing any work that wasn’t finished and ready, but now I’m more comfortable about making mistakes – and owning up to them. Again a limited palette, qite similar in fact, but with very different results. Again on handmade paper, but this time using pigments, wax, and oil paints as well as acrylics.

Prisoner graffiti

A burst of colour

Last year: a rather mixed year for me and the Wolf at the Door. Still dogged by insomnia and the aftermath of building works. Nevertheless plenty of high points, and I continued to paint in fits and starts, though less consistently than usual. I organised and took part in a two-artist exhibition, Sense and Serendipity, as well as the Chelsea Fringe, and various group events plus the Affordable Art Fairs in March and October.

We have just put out a Wolf at the Door newsletter and you can find fuller details there:
http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=aa78a774291446d353b9fc70a&id=9f8fb279b2&e=f40b95a139

It seems more important to look ahead, and various prospects are heaving into view despite a lack of the usual forward planning.

Two of my small Brighton Glimpses are in the exhibition Deep East Winter, in London’s East End:
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And some older pieces are on sale at the Naked Eye Gallery in Hove.

Snowy Pavilion

Two Spring exhibitions in prospect: one near home, one in Cornwall, both look like being really interesting. More soon !