JULY 2024

Monday 1.7.24

Return to the horizontal painting that I’ve been contemplating through the past week and remove the horse and rider as I had also started another upright painting that features them. I thought they distracted too much so gradually  paint them out, filling their space with trees, sky and grass and focus on the small child who is central to the composition who I struggle with trying to give her a plausible stance, seated as she is quite high up.

Tuesday 2.7.24

Continue building the foreground as well as working on the recession.

Wednesday 3.7.24

In Motion - Art and Football arrives from Germany and their Football Museum and am delighted to find that apart from the full page reproduction of Armchair Supporters (in the Leicestershire museums services collection for schools and colleges) there is a large-ish reproduction on the opening essay of The Adoration where I have much larger group of people in a pub or club watching a football match on the television screen. Richard points out that I’m one of the few artists who concentrates on the spectator or audience as the prime subject. We then discover two more of my football paintings in the catalogue towards the back where both The Big Match that was originally commissioned by the bookmaker Victor Chandler for one of his clients and then bought by Sir Michael Parkinson at auction and Saved! which I gave to John who makes all my frames and constructions

Thursday 4.7.24

Go down to the old school to vote in the general election.Well organised with two sets of polling booths for different parts of the ward.

We walk back home up the Lane but don’t pass any other people we know who have voted or are going down to. All the polls have been predicting a landslide vote for the Labour party and it is high time we had a change as this Conservative government seem to have taken the country in a backward motion and their in-fighting has made things even worse with short lived Prime Ministers like Liz Truss, escalating mortgage interest rates and generally making us more unstable. And Boris Johnson taking us out of the European Union which has of course not proved to be successful having alienated us and decreasing the GDP, let alone being unable to support the health service in the way that junior doctors and consultants would agree to. The list goes on. Somehow they seem to lack the humanity that is required to make life better for those families on low incomes and those who need care such as the disabled. I know it’s not easy for any government to achieve these but they did squander huge amounts on what turned out to be unusable PPE, the Rwanda non-scheme and bullying civil servants. It won’t be any easier for the opposition as whichever party is in there is only really the same amount of money.

Whilst working in the studio, listen to the election results until about 3am when it’s pretty certain that Labour have gained many seats and really pleased that the Liberal Democrats have too.

Friday 5.7.24

We buy all today’s papers for a possible newspaper painting. There does seem to be a new optimism in the press; one really good thing that Sir Kier Starmer has done is to make James Timpson, CEO of Timpson shoe repairs and key cutting business who has over the years employed hundreds of ex-prisoners

Saturday 6.7.24

There will be  a lot of happy boys like my two grandsons Isaac and Samuel this evening who will have been watching England play Switzerland in the Euros and England won on a penalty shootout. So are through to the semi final on Wednesday evening, the match that will decide whether they will get into the final. That’s the amazing thing with sport, the luck on the night is so important as all these players are their counties best

Sunday 7.7.24

Putting a concentrated effort into the Allegra and the Bear painting so that it is more fully resolved before continuing with Byron on his horse.

Monday 8.7.24

Spent much of my studio time mixing up new large quantities of colours which is an essential component in starting new works. Still trying to bring all the elements together on the vertical painting with horse and rider.

We send off Paul’s two small paintings in one of Richard’s custom made double cardboard boxes though by ten to five we’re beginning to think we can’t be on UPS’s list for collection today when R comes up to tell me they have just been so the pictures are on their way to Western Australia.

The Family that Paul bought from the Small Paintings Group exhibition at Mandell’s and Bottom which he bought from Mark in Stratford.

Tuesday 9.7.24

Have been contemplating Dr Magus’ upright commission and decide I should make a start on the basic composition which I need to elongate on this structure. Richard cuts me a beautiful triangular base on which to place the circus painting as it felt too flat. He uses his Japanese saw and cuts it painstakingly by hand for a perfect finish. I’d been thinking about it for some time.

Wednesday 10.7.24

Whilst doing an hour or so in the garden clearing up dead wood and emptying pots that have filled with water, I point out the beautiful orange Hawksweed ‘Fox and Cub’ to Richard growing in the lawn. While the earth was quite wet on Wednesday I had eased some up with the roots intact and planted them in one of my pots and they are still standing proud and looking beautiful today . The lawns look exotic with a wonderful showing of deep purple clover which echo the pinks and mauves in the large hydrangea heads that are now blossoming around the garden and either side of the front door. I had really just gone out to pick loganberries to put on my breakfast but I‘m always captivated by the will of the garden to offer up things of its own volition like the brilliant orange Hawkweed.

Then up to the studio where I mix two pots of red - cadmium light and the other more crimson to differentiate between the reds on Dr Margus’s painting.

Over tea we discuss amongst other things, England’s match against the Netherlands and it’s only seven minutes before the Dutch team score their first goal. They contrast beautifully in their orange jerseys with England’s white tops. Harry Kane scores a penalty from the box. But it’s not until the 90th minute that Andy Watkins who Gareth Southgate had brought on as a substitute for Kane, scored a brilliant long goal to take England into the final against Spain on Sunday. Hurrah!

Thursday 11.7.24

Today we’re off to the National Star College for a special afternoon where we’ll have talks by the different departments within the College such as education, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, the mental health and well being with a rather sumptuous display of cakes and strawberries on each table and fresh lemonade made by the students. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny afternoon so it is rather apt that we are in the grand marquee where next week’s awards ceremonies will take place.

One of the main things that everyone has been told to do is to remind us to take the bronze sculpture back with us to have engraved with this year’s winner of the PJ Crook Award which has now been going for twenty years. I ran a competition at the University for a bonze sculpture to be designed and cast for the purpose which turned out to be the last bronze cast in their foundry which sadly they don’t do anymore, I imagine due to health and safety. Last year John made a new wooded base for it as the three brass plates had been filled with the award winners’ names over the nineteen years. So the engraver attached three new brass plates on each of the three new facets.

On our way back receive an e mail from Jane Ware telling me that there is a picture of my lion on the front of the Gloucestershire Echo. Once I’ve made a call to the engraver I’m back working in the studio on a family portrait I try it out on three different sizes and proportions to see which feels most comfortable; having started to get likenesses on a smaller one discard that for a wider horizontal structure. Richard cycles down to the village to pick up some copies of the Echo.

Friday 12.7.24

John arrives this afternoon with his special orange carrier bag out of which he miraculously draws ten of the most exciting miniature frames which he has very cleverly made from recycled timber. Some new very beautiful shapes including gothic and romanesque, triangular and rectangular and one with added additions on the front. Ten in all they are exquisite; he loves to invent new shapes for me. So one miniature frame might take him two or three hours to make which he does before he starts work each morning.

Saturday 13.7.24

Nathan arrives early evening. He’s driven all the way directly from Ramsgate. It’s a belated birthday visit as he was filming in Norway at the time. It’s such a joy to see him and his beautiful Boxer Bea. We say we had thought of cooking a stir fry using some of the Poon’s ingredient such as the chilli vinegar he had sent for Fathers’ Day and the wonderful boy takes over cooking it all. Though finds our Aga rather lacking in intense heat. He recently taught himself to cook Ramen and with the help of a pressure cooker has got the process down to two days. I think he’s cooking this for his friends when they come down for a birthday bash in August. I have to say the stir fry is very good and considerably hotter than those we normally have and exceedingly tasty with toasted sesame seeds on top of the noodles. He’s also very fast.

Over dinner he tells us he’s recently started riding again and rather likes the idea of going on a trek across Mongolia! though probably not this year.

I ask if he’d like to come to Venice with us but he’ll probably be filming in Singapore at the time although will be there only a week or two later as the film Harvest he was working on this time last year in Scotland, is being premiered at the Venice Film Festival which is really exciting.

Sunday 14.7.24

We sit outside in the little courtyard in the warm sunshine after Nathan and I had been playing ball with Bea in the garden. She’s so fast and vigorous that she manages to lose her security tag in the process. Richard brings out scrambled egg, avocado, tomatoes and gravadlax. Nathan and Bea leave at about 2 after he’s taken her for a run on Cleeve Hill. He’s going to gig at the Barbican tonight taking Jai who he will meet there.

Monday 15.7.24

Working on the commissions this week

Tuesday 16.7.24

Drive into Cheltenham for the opening of the new LINC charity shop in Winchcombe Street. It’s their second shop as the first one in the Bath Road is so successful at making money. It’s a huge space as it has three floors and a basement for storage and the upper two for clothing, books and bric a brac. Wallage arrives shortly after us as he was in Cheltenham today to meet the outgoing treasurer of the Friends of The Wilson but had used his time to also visit the Paragon gallery and the Holst Museum where he tells me the set of small paintings I made to celebrate the centenary of The Planets is now hanging in the reception area. The chair of the trustees of Linc opens a competition to guess how much money will be taken this evening when the tills open for half an hour. My guestimate was a long way out, they actually raised a wonderful £330 in that short time. I bought two coronation mugs from 1953 for Richard as it was the year he was born and also an Edward VIII mug. Seeing my purchases the Chair tells me she had donated them !

We drive home and Wallace joins us for supper where Richard has made a Cranks nut roast shepherds pie. It’s a lovely evening and he leaves about midnight.

Wednesday 17.7.24

Jane visits as she has just been to see her Doctor as she thinks she might have an infection in her new Knee as it is still swollen he has given her more antibiotics we give her the other half of the nut roast to take home.

Back to the commissions. Call from Martin.

Thursday 18.7.24

To the Alderman Knight School to sand off the weathered paint and repaint Pantomime Horse. It’s lovely to talk to many of the children and staff while doing so. Though we spend the day there we still need to go back next week.

Collect the trophy that has been being engraved in Tewkesbury ready for tomorrow.

Friday 19.7.24

Up to the National Star College for the awards ceremony. Richard drops me off before he goes to park so I’m carrying the newly engraved bronze sculpture originally created and cast by a student called Tristan in the Fine Art faculty of the University. Although since everything went digital the college now doesn’t have a separate photography department so it has become their ‘Capturing Art Award’ which today I will present to Eleanor White, an amazing student who gives creating art her all which likewise gives fulfilment to her and helps her both psychologically and physically also with problem solving etc.

Saturday 20.7.24

Back on the commissions

Sunday 21.7.24

Richard drives up to London to deliver my painting for the summer exhibition at the Chelsea Arts Club whilst I start a new small painting of Byron’s beloved Boatswain and recommence on a small newspaper painting started last year.

Newsflash on my ‘phone says that President Biden has decided to withdraw from the Presidential race and endorses Kamala Harris; phew! must be such a relief for the Democrates.

Monday 22.7.24

Continue on both Boatswain and the small newspaper work trying to resolve the latter’s composition and the players within it.

Henrietta rings in the evening from the train on her way back from visiting Nathan in Ramsgate. She said it had been a very nice afternoon and that they did the walk to Broadstairs with Bea which we have previously done with him. They had a drink in a pub and then had a dinner before she set out on the train.

Tuesday 23.7.24

We’re back off to the Alderman Knight School and en route call at our favourite greengrocers, Arnolds to collect flowering plants to take to my Mum’s grave as it is her birthday tomorrow.  Pink Dahlia for her and busy lizzies for my father and Henry’s graves either side of hers.

It had rained earlier this morning but is now set to be sunny for the rest of the day. Clare is surprised as she didn’t think we would come due to the rain but it is now bright sunshine and hot as I’m standing on my stool painting higher parts on Pantomime his back feels hot enough to cook eggs on. We make good progress but the caretaker is waiting to leave at 4 so we have to stop then. We will need another trip certainly for the varnishing. We’d arranged with Clare that it would be Thursday but discover when we return home that the weather forecast suggests rain on Thursday so it might have to be Friday.

I sort out some ceramic pots from the garden in which to stand the plants and we set off the  cemetery which is so beautifully quiet and laid out with trees of many different types. We pass a bench with two little ceramic dogs sat either side and there’s also an unopened bottle of beer placed to one side. It’s always touching to see the way that people remember their departed loved ones. As I give the three headstones a bit of a wash and brush up Richard reminds me that last night he had mentioned the old black blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson who I decided to look up on You Tube and the song he was singing was Keep my Grave Clean where he says “..dig my grave with a silver spade.. pull my coffin with two white horses in a line.. lower it in with a golden chain..” There’s a link to a version by BB King which he sang at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011 which is a bit mesmerising and I find myself watching it for rather longer perhaps because it seems wonderfully appropriate for my visit to my parents’ and Henry’s graves.

Returning I spend time placing the new canna and geraniums and a lovely red dahlia around the garden then a little more in the studio on the small Boatswain painting.

Wednesday 24.7.24

Today is the 24th, my late mother Jessie’s birthday.  My sister Gill arrives about 1pm after driving down from Blunham in Bedfordshire to put flowers or plants on our mother’s grave. It’s so good to see her. She’s bearing a beautiful plant for us with large daisy like heads and we have bought her a tall yellow canna. I’ve already laid the table cloth on the circular table in the little courtyard but the sun has not yet made its way through the cloud. We walk round the garden and discuss various plants many of which she has bought for us, like the two hostas that have sadly been eaten by snails, who have also feasted on the sunflower leaves though luckily not on the beautiful yellow face. The agapanthus that she gave us two or three years ago has just come into bloom. We decide to eat in the garden; Richard has cooked haddock with spinach and we open the lovely bottle of rosé that Clare gave us yesterday along with a card thanking us for our friendship and being ‘part of the Alderman Knight community’ where they ‘really love Pantomime Horse’.  We sit and chatter over R’s fresh fruit salad and ice cream, coffee and cheese. Always a joy to see her but the time as usual goes much too quickly.

Then back to the studio to try and do more to the Boatswain painting.

Thursday 25.7.24

The forecast says there might be rain so we decide not to go into the Alderman Knight School today to work on Pantomime. I start a new big rectangular painting

Richard points out to me that the Lion I painted for the Cheltenham & Gloucester hospital charity is on Instagram and currently at Arabella’s Little Buckland Gallery.

Friday 26.7.24

We drive to Tewkesbury to the Alderman Knight School today and work for a couple of hours finishing the paintwork. We had hoped to varnish but decide we need to let the paint dry properly - will come back again on Monday.

Back in the studio working further into the big bear painting I started yesterday evening. Mix up a new colour for the base of Midnight (my Black horse) who will be installed at the Alderman Knight special school during the holidays.

Saturday 27.7.24

When Richard is cutting the ivy that has started to encroach on the first floor windows of the house I pick loganberries, raspberries and one blackberry that has already ripened.

When we are having tea in the garden, Richard tells me he saw some beautiful Hydrangeas when he was shopping so he cycles back down to the village and arrives home shortly afterwards with two exquisite plants, one in each of his two panniers.

Whilst working in the studio, Henrietta rings as they are an hour away from their destination in Devon where all Kev’s family meet up at holidays. Kev’s parents started it when they bought a large apartment there though now Henrietta, Kev and the boys stay at a local camping site (which has a swimming pool etc) where all the youngsters stay with their parents, often going on wonderfully long walks as well as trips down to the beach to swim or play cricket etc.

Sunday 28.7.24

Still working on the composition and expanding the big bear painting.

I’m so pleased the weather is brilliant for them all in Devon.

Call from Nathan. He’s off to Singapore on a new job in a week’s time but has an interview for a possible film on Tuesday.

Monday 29.7.24

We’re off again to the Alderman Knight School, this time to varnish and as predicted it is the hottest day of the year so far. Richard starts on one side and I start the other as being life sized, Pantomime is such a large sculpture to cover. Clare comes out just before we start; she’s a delightful person who manages to keep staff and children very happy. We finish in about an hour then after another chat and saying goodbye to Clare we drive home via a garden centre where we pick up some pots for the hydrangeas and a few little plants. Then after brunch in the garden we go over to the studio to give Midnight the black horse that I am presenting to the Alderman Knight School, a coat of varnish. We just manage it with what we had left from Pantomime Horse. As the varnish is made from two components, varnish and catalyst it doesn’t stay liquid for long but the brushes are still flexible but once dry it is supposed to last for twenty years and its glass-like surface is anti graffiti etc.

Then more in the studio.

Tuesday 30.7.24

Terribly sad event yesterday when children at a dance class were stabbed. Two died yesterday a five year old and a seven year old and today a nine year old succumbed to her injuries. Others both children and adults still in a critical condition; the perpetrator was a seventeen year old boy who the police have in custody. One cannot begin to imagine the devastation that their familes, friends and community will suffer and tonight to add insult to injury, there have been what police believe to be right wing riots setting a poice van on fire. The poor police will have suffered so much emotionally it seems wicked to treat them and the community in this way, they think it is because of false information giving the wrong name and linking it to terrorism has been circulating on social media. Life is so fragile and mankind is it own biggest enemy.

Wednesday 31.7.24

R comes up to tell me that I’ve just had my monthly statement from the Bridgeman and although last  month I received a payment from the German football museum for their large book on Football In Art, I’ve just received another payment for almost four times as much, perhaps because they are publishing it in both English and German editions. It is a very large and handsome book. So it seems appropriate that in the evening I paint two little portraits of Saka on a small newspaper painting called Winning Weekend that covers both the election results and England managing to win the semi final of the Euros which I’m hoping will be in my exhibition in October. Then I go onto the bigger bear.

I can’t believe we’ve now completed the seventh month of the year and still so much to do.