Anselm and me

Behold and hurrah! I have been included in a new book of all things to do with drawing and painting, by Kate Wilson. My page here, with my drawing on the left, followed by Anselm Kiefer, also included are worked by my good chums Annie Attridge and Alison Harper.  I am so proud to be included with an amazing set of artists, Kate did a great job of putting it all together and she does go right through the alphabet to include artists whose names begin with other letters than just 'A'!

The covers, one for America and one for England, not sure which one is which though, Kate did tell me but my mind has gone blank.

wellies

It was raining stair rods on Sunday, there was no respite so I was at the private view for the Cafe Gallery in wellies along with a lot of other soggy people as well. 'Bleikur' is the smallest pink sculpture

Free Painters and Sculptors

All welcome!

You are cordially invited to the Private View of The Free Painters and Sculptors Open Exhibition 2014 at the Featuring the Roy Rasmussen Awards   2nd December 6-9pm   The Menier Gallery | 51 Southwark Street | London SE1 1RU  | United Kingdom www.meniergallery.co.uk Featuring:   Alex McIntyre James Reynolds Simon Burder Kevin Keating Alexandra Harley Janet Scott Susan Absolon Lori Endo Anna Cocciadiferro Jody Little Will Barton Maria Pierides Anette Sykes John Parfitt Zoe Landau Konson Noel Condon Bruni Schling Owen Legg Andy Gashe Rachael Bailey Bettina Reiber Marco Alessi Ann Kopka Rhiannon Salisbury Caroline Cary Pasquale Cesare Camilla Bliss Richard Goldsmith Charlie Taylor Pete Murry Chuck Monroe Rob McSweeney David Davies Pete Roseman Christopher Sacre Roy Osbourne Dijana Bekvalac PIKY Clare Gordon Sally Ward Gabriel Parfitt Roy Rasmussen Debbie Reynolds Trinidad Ball   Sally Buchanan Joanna Ciechanowska   ABOUT THE 2014 FPS OPEN  The FPS Open is an annual event that brings FPS members and guest artists together to create an exciting and inclusive exhibition of the UK's best new and established artists.  The event is open to fine artists at any stage of their career and there is no restriction of concept, style or material. This year will again feature the coveted Roy Rasmussen Award for best in show, although this year it will be particularly poignant as Roy, an original founding member who was integral to the success and longevity of FPS, sadly passed away in May, aged 94. To honour the occasion we will feature a retrospective display of his works as part of the exhibition that will illustrate the truly unique and pioneering talents of the internationally renowned sculptor. Roy Rasmussen's 'The Prisoner' ABOUT THE FREE PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS FPS is an artist lead organisation based at the Menier Gallery that supports and promotes artists to develop their work on their own terms. The group builds long-term relationships with artists and promotes the dialogue and exchange of ideas within the visual arts through annual exhibitions and events. Established in 1952, FPS was originally associated with the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts). Founding members featured many high profile and influential artists, including Roy Rasmussen, Lyall Watson and Maurice Jadot. FPS played a significant part in the establishment of abstract art in the 1950's and 60's and was the first of a number of post war movements that freed artists from the orthodoxy of rigid and purely technical judgements.  This ethos continues today and we welcome applications from talented artists at all stages of their career.     FLICKR | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | BLOG Lead Curator and Exhibitions Manager: Gabriel Parfitt | info@freepaintersandsculptors.co.uk | 07786865356 Graphics: Mike Garland | me@mikegarland.com General: info@freepaintersandsculptors.co.uk | www.freepaintersandsculptors.co.uk

CPG

With several lights deciding to stay asleep on a grey and gloomy day at the studio, I have not been able to do much and certainly nothing requiring a good light. I didn't even feel that I could scrabble around in the semi-darkness continuing with the great clear up/sort out which has been a major activity recently.  I have therefore taken myself off to the Cafe Gallery to deliver 'Bleikur', a clay sculpture with the parts bolted together, for the 30th Open Exhibition. This is an artist led gallery which organises an annual show of small work which is crammed with an exciting and eclectic mix. It is set in Southwark Park so Polly got a good run too, mostly with pugs, after we had safely delivered the sculpture.

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If you are in the area, the private view is on Sunday 23rd November so please come along. The show is on until the 14th December. 

Southwark Park, London SE16 2UA 

www.cpglondon.org

small and big

Last night was the wonderfully packed out private view for the Discerning Eye exhibition at the Mall Galleries in central London. My scorched wood sculpture 'Esclise' is on show and was photographed for the catalogue. With such a throng I did wonder to begin with whether my sculpture really had been selected as it was difficult to see through the crowds. However I did find it eventually and Esclise shares the plinth with Thomas Adam's 'Rock Study no 2'. It was good to meet up with some good friends and lovely family who had traveled down from Wales. As the photos from last night just shows a sea of heads,  I thought I would pop back today to see the show properly and take photos.

All the work for the Discerning Eye has to be a maximum 20" so the Anselm Kiefer show at the Royal Academy is at the other end of the scale, enormous work that is quite overwhelming in scale and swallows you up in the rich and complex textures.  

I was serenaded by Big Ben for the short walk from the Mall to the RA 

The Brancaster transcript

 http://brancasterchronicles.wordpress.com/
I was invited to take part in a series of studio discussions earlier this year. These have been a brilliant opportunity to really hone in on the paintings and sculptures presented by the artists;  we have had some extremely thought provoking discussions about the particular works as well as ideas and thinking that affects abstract art more broadly. This has been so successful that more are planned for next year. The link will take you to a transcript of the discussion about my two sculptures.

large boots welcome

 The small areas of clear floor has been extended! I now have enough clear space for someone with large boots to be able to walk about; no one can actually walk all that far, mind you and maybe it is just small steps but nevertheless, steps can be taken in relative safety. Still some way to go……

  

disaster zone tidy up time

It has been a quiet few weeks in the studio, quiet in as much as there has been little sculpture and a lot of sorting, clearing, chucking out and generally trying to make the place easier and more spacious to work in. It had not been hugely successful until yesterday, I kept pulling stuff off shelves, opening boxes and creating more upheaval before getting fed up and working on a piece of stone. I made myself stick to the clearing yesterday so that I can work inside in the cold weather and get some new work under way. The results so far are…….

 Polly admiring a bit of floor

 another clear bit of floor

That is it, as a percentage of the overall floor space this is not a lot, certainly still in single figures, but progress nonetheless!  The rest of the space looks like a disaster zone but will be super tidy next week. Really, it will………

the humdrum and the plans

Back in the smoke, symposium over and it is back to the 'busy' of regular life. I had a fantastic time in America, the symposium sculptors were amazing and I met some wonderful people. It was lovely that so many people that I met in previous visits turned up at CAI.
College is starting, some short courses are under way and the long courses start properly next week which is  always exciting, new students, fresh ideas and plenty of enthusiasm to start the new term. Meanwhile back in the studio it is turmoil, I dare not show photos of the studio as it is now, far too embarrassing! I think I will "just sort out this bit, get only part way through and move back to the sculpture. Today I found a small bronze that needed finishing so that was the end of sorting out for the day, I worked outside and listened to geese flying overhead.
I am meant to be having a massive clear out, I have promised myself that sculptures will be boxed, labelled and stored and I will be organised…..that is the plan anyway. It is always good to have a plan

Do not eat the soup

I am running a short 'taster' course in carving bone and horn, these needed cleaning up so out came the handy camping stove into the back garden. Polly the ever attentive spaniel thought her birthday and christmas all at once but she was the only one who was keen, the smell was so vile I thought I would have the environmental health team round - either them or the police thinking I was boiling up human body parts!

Hot news

The Discerning Eye, a major exhibition of smaller works has accepted 'Esclise' to be shown at the Mall galleries shortly! Just when I thought I had my feet back on the ground after my trip to CAI in Massachusetts, I find myself flying again

Chipmunk city

Out in Wyoming and up in the Curt Gowdy State Park close to Cheyenne and a vertigo alert at 7000' above sea level; chipmunks under our feet running everywhere, hurrah, deer, big birds, cactus, decomposing and crumbly granite and quaking aspen.

 bear scratch marks possibly, on the aspen

 lots of sky and space!!!

 

 spot the deer ears 

 big rocks

 a view

 very big rock

 

 cactus

 big bird with white tummy

wrestling granite, the closing

It has been a great three weeks, the sun has shone on four artists wrestling granite in the fabulous Contemporary Arts International, Acton Massachusetts. The closing ceremony brought in some lovely people and it was so good to see so many friendly faces from my previous visits to New England. It perhaps is not a 'closing' but a gathering of friends before the next time we meet. I thank all those able to get along and make the day so much fun. 

                 The stone ready to move

in position in the "New Archaeology" underneath, Andy Moerlein's 'skull'

Yin Peet, director, Viktor Lois, artistic director, four artists-: Alexandra Harley, Andy Morelein (US), Wu Te He (Taiwan), Tamás Mosonyi (Hungary)

www.contemporaryartsinternational.org

andymoerlein.blogspot.com

email Te He gogogoart123@yahoo.com.tw

www.mosonyitamas.hu

last day

Last day and it is off to the quarry for a little light dusting and re arranging the furniture.

From this, my stone is at the base and had to be moved so I was not working directly beneath Andy Moerlein, to this …….

 and all done. Three glorious weeks in excellent company, great food in a beautiful setting. Perfect.

fun in the quarry

I was going to call this 'Fun with  4" grinder' but thought better of it. Not much left to do and the closing knees up is on Saturday

 Washed …..

  …… drying out a wee bit, the stone is quite warm so it didn't take long

 A really poor photo of a woodchuck in front of the rock pile, Tim de Christopher's 'man' is in the background. I stayed and watched the woodchuck patrolling ziz-zag across the grass for as long as I could bear the mozzies, but as soon as I moved it shot away into the rock pile.