Today's portrait hand-over

This is a portrait which has been in my studio for a while. I will keep the name anonymous. Today it made it into the hands of a new owner; a proud parent.

Success!

The Gallery opening last night was great. High five to those who managed to make it,
I feel the love. The evening landed me with a portrait commission, and concluded in a private showing for some friends. All in all.. success!

..unlike my photo uploads, which are having technical difficulties. I will yell and resolve the issue using violence if necessary; so come back soon!

Gallery Opening at the Sea

Hello darlings!

Tonight is the opening at Shoreham Gallery, located on the high street of Shoreham-By-Sea, which is- actually by the sea. So I have two new paintings ready to be revealed to the world. Or all the people who turn up because there is free wine. I am looking forward to the responses, because the work is among the most garish and contemporary in the gallery, just because that is how they came out. The subject of youth and tiny little people in a huge, jungle-like world allows me to paint in vibrant colours because it reflects the nuances of said characters.

That's all I shall say for now.

If you are in the Shoreham-By-Sea area, come around for some FREE jazzy live music, WINE and food, and wine. All FREE. 7-11pm. I shall be baking up some goodies to bring along.. so here's a free tip- stay away from the cupcakes.

Banksy in Sussex

Woah! This is too big not to blog about. According to Creative Choices:

Notoriously secretive graffiti artist Banksy may have sprayed his latest work in the Sussex town of St Leonards.

Sunseekers in the area spotted a spraypainting of a child building sandcastles with advertising for Tesco drawn over them.

Banksy was thought to have been in the area for the birthday of fellow artist Ben Eine. (You're right, I have no clue where that is. And I live in Sussex.)

Humm.. Here's a link to Ben Eine. He sprays canvases of Care Bears. I'll let you decide..

And here's a link to an article about one of Banksy's most striking moves. Worth looking at. There are lots of pictures, like I promised.

Ireland

Today a stranger restored my faith in old ladies. She was just the type of woman I wanted to take home and adopt as my grandma; with a warm Irish accent and a kind heart. Who wouldn't want this lady to be their nanna? We talked a little about how she had loved living in South London before her lonesome move to the country, and I tried to stand on a long piece of plastic that had latched onto her tights, trailing behind her as she shuffled along. At the risk of the whole operation going wrong and ripping a giant ladder in some sweet old lady's tights, I decided to just tell her and we laughed loudly after her slow assessment of the plastic tag-on.

Today in this stranger's home country (far from our laughter and in harsh contrast), a boy found a home-made bomb on the edge of his school playground and carried it to his teacher without losing his hands, legs or face. Because a few people want a war.

It makes me think of Donald Miller and what he writes about another well-known attack on innocence:

" I remember feeling hopeless at the death of truth and seeing truth as this whispering weakling in the corner, a wallflower, having no say in the global conversation, having no guts to step forth and negotiate peace. I got sick of the emotionalism, the feelings that replaced the thoughts... we were living on sentimental cliches. Our country had become a team and we were wrapped up in whether or not we were going to win the game against them. It was like the World Cup, except with guns..." (Miller, p 77, Searching for God Knows What)

Miller talks about how war is complicated and ugly, about our need for compassion. In a book written around A.D 60 it says: I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true,

noble,

reputable,

authentic,

compelling,

gracious - the best, not the worst;

the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together for good, will work you into his most excellent harmonies...

I don't mean to be heavy, it's just been on my mind. Thanks for reading. I promise next time there will be more pictures ;)