MARCH 2024

Friday 1.3.24

Royalties statement from the Bridgeman. Interested to see that my corrugated painting Masque has been reproduced in an article on infections.

Saturday 2.3.24

Jenny Hopkins comes with her daughter Kate  who Jenny had given one of my paintings left to her by my lovely collector Rita Peters who sadly died a few years ago. Jenny had been such a good friend to her and Rita decided to leave her paintings to her. Jenny kindly gave one to the Museum and some to family members - Kate had the Zoo which she noticed had some marks or discolouration on the surface, we think perhaps from rainwater that came through a velux roof light into her office where it hangs. Jenny and I have remained friends though we originally met through Rita. Jenny sadly lost her lovely husband Graham, who was a pharmacist in Cheltenham, at the beginning of th Covid pandemic. He was a delightful man who used to have the pharmacy in Montpelier. Jenny presented us with the most beautiful bunch of flowers and we sit and have tea before examining the painting. I think I can clean and repaint in the offending areas before Kate returns home on Monday. So I’m very pleased with myself when I eventually finish doing that by 3am and decide to varnish it tomorrow. Then …

Sunday 3.3.24

… only to discover when I’ve done so that there is a small dent on the top outside of the frame which I put a little more varnish onto but it doesn’t fill it. So when Kate comes I tell her I can repair the little dent but it will take longer to dry so she decides to pick it up next time she is down

Work on Paul’s big badger commission and am quite pleased as I’ve managed to move it along quite a lot.

Send images to Ellie for the art fair

Monday 4.3.24

Send images to Florence for the announcement card they would like to do.

E mail from a writer who has been commissioned to write a book on Extraordinary Cotswold Women and I’m very touched as he’d like to include me.

Recommence work on a three dimensional painting I started in January.

Tuesday 5.3.24

I seem to have a lot of e correspondence that has been building up. To Alison the Director of the RWA who ‘phoned me two or three weeks ago who has been an amazing Director having been instrumental in raising a huge amount of money for the RWA’s redevelopment. She has worked incredibly hard to achieve it and given her all but due to unforeseen health problems that occurred last year she feels it is now time for someone else to take the reins. But she’s having one final fund raising appeal as they get no public funding from Arts Council and Bristol City Council have cut their small grant. She has enlisted the help of Bonhams who will auction paintings by a few higher end artists donating their 25% commission and foregoing the sellers commission. There will be about thirty five works and she has already approached the estates of Bert Irvin and John Hoyland who have each agreed to let them have a work. She says I am the first other person she has approached. The auction will take place on 22 August when the works will be exhibited in the Academy.

A nice note from Roger at SPG saying that the images of small works that I sent for their web site are excellent and he’ll put them on in the next couple of days.

Then write to Helen to apologise for not sending her an image of a painting she had hoped to put on her website but Ellie chose it as one of the seven paintings she’s showing at the art fair towards the end of April so I send her an image of an oil that I’ve almost finished and enquire how she is. She’s been off for some weeks with a health issue but will be back next week and says the painting is lovely and would like to include it in her Spring exhibition.

Wednesday 6.3.24

Today’s the day the Chelsea Arts Club charity auction exhibition opens and will at some time go onto their website for online bidding.

E mail from Florence with a proposed image and text of a business card from their designer, to see if I approve.

Richard shows me that the SPG have now put images of a few of my small paintings and a profile on their site.

Thursday 7.3.24

I’m thinking I must clean my palette as most of the oil paint I originally squeezed out on it from the often long-unopened tubes have now been used up or dried up. I’m so touched when Richard pops his head round the door whilst I’m doing my exercises and enquires whether I would like him to clean my palette; it’s telepaphy again. We often find we have shared thoughts. But the price he pays for scraping off all that old paint then oiling it, is coloured fingers. But it is such a joy to squeeze fresh worm-like coils of shiny oil paint onto the palette  and here again I have a little help from Richard when I can’t turn the tops on these paints purchased many years ago often from Cornelissens.

Friday 8.3.24

It’s International Women’s Day. I feel so fortunate to be here in the UK where women are equally esteemed but feel particularly sad to think of those in Gaza.

Still working in oils to complete a set of paintings I started at the beginning of the year. It’s wonderfully fluid when newly squeezed out onto my clean palette.

E mail from Florence confirming the dates of my next London show.

Saturday 9.3.24

I’ve had two particularly interesting e mails in the last couple of days. One from a young doctor who tells me his parents first met at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in front of and whilst looking at one of my paintings, Playing for Time. Curators at the RA from the description his parents gave him that he relayed to them, tracked it down as being one of mine. He’s keen to have something of it to present to them for a special anniversary. The other is an e mail from a man in Ireland who was looking for something to give to his wife of thirty eight yeas for Valentine’s Day and whilst on holiday in Spain, he spotted All Dressed Up one of my 3D painted mannequin sculptures on the Bonhams auction site. He recognised it as being one he missed some time ago. So whilst walking along the beach in the rain, he unbeknown to his wife although he was with her, managed to buy it. They have only just received it “…It is so much nicer than we expected. We love it sooo much! It’s hard to believe we have it after all that time, proof there is such a thing as serendipity! …” This really made my day; it had originally been purchased by Theo Waddington for an exhibition I showed at his gallery in Boca Raton and the Palm Beach Art Fair round about the time of the Millennium. It is always good to know where a work ends up or is currently living.

Sunday 10.3.24

It’s Mother’s Day and I count my blessings to have two beautiful children who are both successful and happy in their careers. A lovely hand-made card arrived from Henrietta yesterday and a parcel the day before which turns out to be a book published by Tate called Motherhood on paintings on the subject from their collection. A wonderfully diverse collection covering every aspect of motherhood from the divine through embryonic mothers , new mothers, artist mothers, nursing protective mothers including Dorothea Lange’s Migrant mother from 1936 to gieving mothers including Kathe Kollowich woodcut The Mothers of 1921 to proud mothers including Aliza Nisenbaum, Susan, Art, Keerthana and Princess Sunday in Brooklyn. And Divided mothers including Dorothea Tanning’s Maternity 1946.

In the evening receive a lovely long call from Nathan in New York and then one later from Henrietta in London.

Monday 11.3.24

Trying to finish off three of the oils’ tops and bottoms.

Some beautiful photographs arrive in the evening from Nathan in New York, some being of the amazing sets he’s creating for Armani, a vast area where the floor is being painted red by a woman with a broom-like squeejie. Some beautiful cityscapes against a clear blue sky and one of the New York Public Library.

Tuesday 12.3.24

Whilst Richard is carrying over a painting from the studio across the Lane he bumps into John who he persuades to come in for a cup of tea so that he can tell us about his overnight stay in hospital where they were checking him out, all before he drove to Solihull to see  his daughter Kate and grandchildren who all then went to see Wicked in Birmingham.

Wednesday 13.3.24

There’s a large lion in the porch when we come down, wrapped in cardboard and bubble. I’m not going to open him until tomorrow as I’m

working at finishing the paintings to take up to London next week.

Thursday 14.3.24

Today I unwrap the large - so called small - lion that has arrived from the hospital trust. Richard takes photographs of me bringing him in, unpacking him on the table etc.

What’s App message from Martin who is in Estonia which brings back many memories of the two exhibitions that Dr Margus Laidre organised for me there.

In the evening we went up to the National Star College for a dance celebration, in some of which the University Dance students have collaborate with the Star students. It is as always so moving, especially to see the sheer joy on the faces of Star students. So nice that Ian and Maeve are there and it’s the first time they have been to one of these - last year they were away in Australia.

Friday 15.3.24

E mail from Florence to say the cards have arrived from the printers and that they look very smart, that they are looking forward to seeing us on Monday when we deliver the paintings.

Saturday 16.3.24

Working hard putting the finishing touches to the paintings we are taking up on Monday.

In the evening ‘phone Gill and Ian to say how sorry we are to hear the sad news that Ian’s sister Hilary died last night in a Sue Ryder hospice that she had been transferred to a week ago as they could no longer manage her pain at home. She died peacefully with John her husband, Ian her brother and her eldest son Chris who had come from Scotland to be with her.

Sunday 17.3.24

Trying to finish off the six paintings for the Portland Gallery and two for Helen at the Brian Sinfield Gallery but call it a day at about 11 so that Richard can finish packing them lightly because five are in oil so I’d like the air still to get to them to help them really dry. .

Monday 18.3.24

Set out for London just after 1 with everything on board. The traffic’s a bit bad in parts but still manage to get to the gallery before 5, where Florence and Jasmine greet us. Florence helps us lift the paintings downstairs where we lay them out and look at them. They are going to send out an e notice on Thursday to say that they are now representing me.They have had some very nice cards printed for me to give out too.

We then drive over to Blackheath arriving about 6.30.  After we’ve unpacked we go next door where Henrietta has prepared supper for us, a rather wonderful spaghetti in a tomato and prawn sauce. We get to see Samuel briefly; he has been doing very well in his mock GCSEs - all A, some A* and for Chemistry A** which puts him in the top 3% in the country for that. We feel so pleased for him as he had been self-motivated to do his revision. We see Kev briefly when he returns from football. When we go back to the flat Richard and I start thinking about the images I’ll be using for my talk at SOAS. Fabio, the dean, has suggested we send images in advance so that the technical department can upload them in readiness for Wednesday evening. I’ve said I will do so tomorrow night.

Tuesday 19.3.24

We spend the day planning the images in an order that will be appropriate and I work out roughly what I will say. In the evening Henrietta comes round to accompany us to the dinner that Hiroko has invited us all to at Bentley’s fish and oyster restaurant. Richard kindly drops Henrietta and me off and as I am getting out of the car hear someone call “PJ” and it’s Professor Masa with his lovely wife Keiko. Richard drives off to find a parking space and Hiroko and Eiji appear. I haven’t seen them since my last exhibition inJapan in 2018 so we share many hugs and I introduce them to Henrietta. Though Masa and Keiko did know her as they had lunch at her house. It is a lovely upstairs dining room at Bentley’s and Hiroko’s other guest, a friend of hers for many years who used to work at Christie’s but now runs the London office of a Japanese gallery, was already there. It’s a delightful evening with lots of Laughter including when Hiroko persuades Henrietta to have a raw oyster (which we’ve never been able to do). I’ve brought books, particularly with reproductions of Deadline which is in the Morohashi Museum’s collection of which Eiji is the Director and Hiroko and Masa are on the board. Masa and Keiko arrived by Monday morning, Eiji a little later and Hiroko only this morning as her flight had been delayed. She is an amazing young woman, she has thirty seven companies as well as her own sports foundation for children so after the dinner is going on to the Cafe Royal to meet other friends …

Wednesday 20.3.24

… and even though she doesn’t get back to the hotel ’til 1.30, is up by 4am for zoom meetings with her different companies.

Spend the day going through my mind with what I’m going to say - Richard sent the images to SOAS last night via We Transfer.

Henrietta comes round for half four and we set off arriving at SOAS in good time. We’re greeted by Professor Sartona Suzuki a very vivacious professor of modern Japanese history who I had met when she came to my private view in October with Dr Fabio Gygi who is chair of the Japan Research Centre. They do a very witty introduction using  puns on AI. Masa is first up as he has masterminded this Course on art and creativity for business people. He does very well and on one of his power point pages there is a large image of Masa’s Tiger, a painting I created for him last year. Hiroko has said he uses it all the time which I find very touching. Hiroko’s up next and is accompanied by a translator which is surprising as her English is so brilliant - she has frequently given Ted talks and such. There is then a musical interlude with a female folk singer and a virtuoso gottan player who plays a piece written by his Japanese teacher. It’s a lovely performance in which the singer gets the audience to join in.

Then it’s me. Richard comes up to operate the visuals and I have to think on my toes and ad lib as the first ten images haven’t come through. But I start by showing Portrait of the Artist watching her two Children grow. My voice comes out good and strong and I quite quickly feel I have the audience with me, probably helped by the fact that I’m not using notes so can engage directly with them and get several laughs too which is aways encouraging. I tell them that this painting is a part of The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum’s permanent collection and that currently it holds centre stage in a semi permanent display entitled ‘well known people of Cheltenham that  the painting we can see to one side is an Angelica Kaufmann portrait of the one of the founders of the Cheltenham Spa and below that thee is a portrait of Dorothea Beale founder and first head of Cheltenham Ladies College.  and the portrait of Fred Archer the famous Cheltenham jockey. They really love the story of my Paris exhibition that sold in its entirety to Mr Teizo Morohashi and how he invited me and Richard to come to Japan to visit the Museum and for me to give a lecture whilst they were staging their first exhibition of my work. And were fascinated too by the series of commissions from the company in Saudi Arabia who also sent me to Japan to observe the people and the culture for a series of five commissions and a to Jeddah and Ryadh too; again to study the people and culture but this time a series of ten commissions. The audience were interested to hear that one of those, The Carpet Seller was presented to the chairman of Toyota as that is how the company started when, fifty years previously the president’s father imported four Toyota cars into Saudi Arabia . They were so successful because they didn’t corrode in the salty sand that it became government policy to offer the bedouin who came into the cities a Toyota car in exchange for their camel. The audience also liked my finale  where I showed my Sumo wrestlers who I said felt like a symbol for the two great strengths SOAS and the Morohashi Museum of Modern Art, coming together to establish this new course.

After me came Monica, a German professor of Japanese art & designspecialising in woodcuts who I discover also knows Dr Martin Bailey. At the Cheltenham Literature Festival  she helped with the display of Japanese woodcuts that had influenced van Gogh which is what that particular book by Martin was about. She was speaking about curating particularly an exhibition she is putting together at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

At the reception afterwards, which was serving sushi and saki, Eiji gives a speech in which he generously mentions me. There are lots of people who come up and kindly compliment me on my talk and ask if they can have a selfie with me, both British and Japanese. Also a nice man from Thailand who does an online news blog in which he says he is going to mention my talk.

We are whisked away in a taxi for another rather grand meal at the Spring restaurant in Somerset House, where we are joined by Rosina Buckland, curator of the Japanese collections at the British Museum. During the meal Hiroko gives me a beautifully packed present by one of her favourite Japanese designers, an exquisite set of chopstick stands  each inlaid with a gold moon.

Another wonderful evening. We go back to SOAS in a taxi with Fabio and Sartona to pick up our car. It’s pretty late when we get back to Blackheath

Thursday 21.3.24

Today’s the day the Portland Gallery are announcing that I am now represented by them. I have written and exchanged e mails with Matthew and Tiffany thanking them for ten years of the happy relationship we have had. They are now in the midst of packing up and their big move a little further down Pall Mall. It is all very amicable and Tiffany congratulates me on now being with the Portland and says they are great fans of Jamie, the director.

Set out down the A2 to visit Nathan in his house by the sea in Ramsgate. on arrival we go up to his beautiful first floor office (which has a balcony overlooking the sea) and admire his recent BIFA Award on the mantelpiece complimenting the MTV award for Adele’s Rolling in the Deep music video. We then walk down to the harbour with Nathan skateboarding with Bea on the lead, which she loves, often holding the lead in her mouth as she likes to feel she’s pulling him along. We walk along the sea front and around the town before deciding to go to the bistro at the end of jetty passing a flotilla of boats in the harbour. It’s a beautiful walk . I have swordfish, Richard stuffed aubergines and Nathan burger and chips.

On our walk back we pass the house where Coleridge used to stay and another that Dickens stayed in. Nathan makes us a cup of tea and we chatter a while before we make our way back.

Isaac and Samuel come round to the flat to say ‘goodbye’. It’s always so good to see them, now handsome young men; Isaac eighteen and Samuel sixteen.

Friday 22.3.24

We have almost finished packing the car when Henrietta ‘phones and invites us round for breakfast. Richard eats his croissants with cherry jam whilst Henrietta and I have fresh fruit, blueberries and raspberries with yogurt and muesli. Whilst we are sitting there chatting Richard gives out a yelp of joy as he’s just spotted on the Portland’s site that they have sold the Street Party - The Seven Ages. Five minutes later he notices that Returning the Lion to the Library now also has a red spot on it too. Then there is an e mail from Florence saying they have had a very good response to the e meil they sent out announcing that I am now represented by them and that lots of people have said they are interested in my work and that they also made two sales this morning, Street Party and Returning the Lion to the Library, so they are really pleased. She’s also had a long chat with Paul in Australia who has said he very much likes On the Brink and Milk for the Tiger, two of my new paintings in oil although he’s holding back at the moment his opinion is very meaningful to me. I’m currently working on two large commissions for him in my studio where I also have two other paintings he has purchased.

We bid our farewells and set off in good time, we think, to drop off two paintings to the Brian Sinfield Gallery en route back. Unfortunately there are long hold-ups as we wend our way through Epping Forest but the Forest is so magical with its still bare and gnarled skeletal trees and a river flowing through part with  many fallen trunks and branches that look almost serpent-like lying on the ground. Little puffs of white hawthorn coming out in the foreground. Later there are some wonderful skyscapes with what my Mum used to call a mackerel sky. We hit another hold-up due to a second accident on the M25 which rings home just how dangerous the roads are. I ‘phone Camilla at the Brian Sinfield Gallery who is manning it today and tell her that we sadly won’t get there until half an hour after they close. She kindly says she will wait - it then moves to a quarter to six! I ‘phone to apologise and say I can’t ask her to stay any later but she very generously offers to continue waiting so am truly grateful when we get there. It’s the first time I’ve met Camilla and am struck by how nice she is. So Ricard and I are feeling pretty pleased with ourselves as we make our way back through Cheltenham to Bishops Cleeve since we have completed all our tasks. Back home to start work again. Manage three or four hours on a small interior for the SPG who need images of the paintings before Easter Sunday!

Saturday 23.3.24

Book our tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Working further into a small interior for the SPG.

E mail from Christophe, a filmmaker who wants permission to use an image of my painting Masque on his T-shirt in the film.

Sunday 24.3.24

We go out to buy Easter eggs. It has somehow crept up on us and I don’t want them to have sold out.

Nathan rings.

Working on the second tiny painting for the SPG which I had started just before we left for London.

Monday 25.3.24

Manage to begin a new third painting for the SPG; I’m really allowed up to six but think I’ll only just about manage to get three done, like last time.

Tuesday 26.3.24

Richard’s busy fixing some new weatherboard onto the outer front door when he hears a familiar voice  it’s John, the brilliant friend who makes our frames. He also works at the Everyman on sets etc and is at the moment putting the finishing touches to the wooden cases for costumes and wigs for the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which goes on tour this Sunday and which we will see the final performance of on Saturday evening.  John had kindly given us a voucher towards theatre tickets at Christmas and this seems so appropriate as Samuel is covering it for his GCSE English Literature. And it has the amazing Tweedy playing Bottom. Not his first acting role as he was also in Waiting for Godot last year but he doesn’t seem to be with Gifford’s Circus this year.

Wednesday 27.3.24

A payment arrives for Artists’ Resale from ACS. R sends off Easter parcels. I’m back on the third of the small paintings although the charity lion lurking at the bottom of my studio stairs keeps trying to attract my attention. But he has to bide his time until I’ve finished these since the SPG have so kindly made me a member, I do want to try and live up their expectations.

Thursday 28.3.24

Beautiful half barrel of Spring flowers arrive from Gill and Ian and a big box full of Easter surprises from Nancy and Peter Simmonds and family.

Still burning the midnight oil on the three small paintings for the SPG.

Good Friday 29.3.24

Today I manage to put in two trays of violas in the garden and do a bit of tidying up. It’s amazing what havoc the winter storms etc can cause. Always lots of deadwood to collect but some lovely surprises, like the potted palm I thought I’d lost two years ago, sprouting new leaves from the bottom and the size of the ferns that have survived and flourished. I remember the tears I shed whilst creating my Crucifixion painting for St Michaels & All Angels at this time of year almost four decades ago. Sadly persecution and violence still persist and seem to be on the increase

Saturday 30.3.24

Henrietta Nathan Samuel and Bea arrive at about twenty past six just in time for us to set out to the Everyman. Richard parks near the taxi rank at quarter to seven so we walk briskly to the theatre as need to get there in good time for curtain up at seven though it actually goes up at ten past so we are in better time than we thought. The set (which John will have helped to make) are the beautiful and both Richard and Henrietta comment on it. We are particularly keen to see this performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Samuel is studying it for his English Literature GCSE. But it’s also a new experience as Tweedy The Clown from Gifford’s Circus and the Everyman pantomimes, is playing Bottom in this and also recently played in Waiting For Godot. So he often appears between scenes doing his very funny clownish sketches - he’s particularly well suited to the role of Bottom. Henrietta comments that he plays it in a very Tweedy way which we think probably makes it a lot more accessible to a very young crowd but have to say the whole of the audience seem to respond to his funny, sometime verging on the vulgar humour. When Richard and I discuss it later we think it’s probably very similar to the bawdy performances at the time Shakespeare wrote it and was often played by Will Kemp. Tweedy often brings into it other very famous lines from Shakespeare such as “My horse, my horse…” and a large stuffed horse gets thrown at him on stage which he manages to animate in such a way that it looks as if they are wrestling. Richard and I also comment later on that the tangled love story of Lysander, Hermia, Helena and Demetrius is somehow more apparent than the two times we’ve seen it at The Globe. There’s a half time interval when we have ice creams - I try for the first time ginger and honey, Samuel has salted caramel and Henrietta and Richard, chocolate. Samuel is concentrating and he does thank me for taking him.

When we get home we have a supper of gravadlax and pommegrate salad

Easter Sunday 31.3.24

Richard takes photographs first thing of the three small paintings to send off to the SPG.

Beautiful e mail from dear Margus and Tiina in Estonia. He always writes with such sensitivity and compliments Richard on the new website.

Henrietta and Nathan are out walking Bea when Kev arrives with Isaac, who had been to an eighteenth birthday party last night. Kev takes him and Samuel out straight away to play football; they are both good players and have inherited the passion for the game from Kev. Henrietta and Nathan arrive back and we chatter whilst helping Richard prepare the dinner. The boys arrive back just in time to watch the Arsenal match and the dinner has been timed to coincide with that ending. Richard has roasted two chickens with red cabbage, roast and mashed potatoes, carrots and beans as Isaac in particular likes simple traditional food. Followed by fresh fruit salad with brandy snaps and ice cream. I’d also put some crackers out so there was a fun game of miniature badminton across the table between Nathan and Isaac that lasted several minutes and much laughter.

Then the big Easter egg exchange, starting with the wonderful box that Nancy and Peter Simmonds had sent where the boys did particularly well. The most beautiful (Cadbury’s eggs inside ) knitted chicks with hats and adorned with flowers etc. And the boys also got a bigger egg with mini eggs in and a bar of chocolate each. Then we exchange our presents - I had bought some rather beautiful German printed tin eggs for each of them in which I had put £20 notes and marzipan filled eggs for H & N, a blonde larger egg for Kev and the boys had Kinder rabbits. I had a beautiful silk scarf from Henrietta, which echoed the one I was wearing and which she bought me several years ago. The boys then go off to do more revision whilst we sit and chatter. Such a delightful way to finish the month.