it's Summer (allegedly) and I'm trying to have a rest hence the painting- a- week has been put on hold, although I have just painted 3 walls of my youngest daughter's bedroom in a fit of madness, so I can't say I haven't painted.

here's an old drawing; another version of the scrapyard. I think I have done three versions although I think I gave away the painting. this was done in squares with different pencils mostly while watching telly.


talking of telly I ve just bought

2 Dandy Wahol cds for 50p each from a charity shop and listened to one while I painted the aforementioned bedroom. Interesting: you will know the group even if you don't know you know, unless you don't have a tv, as one of their songs was used repeatedly by a car advert,(which by sheeer coinsidens has just come on! not the advert-the song) I wonder if some clever groups write songs with the possibility in mind of being taken up by an adverising company. Speaking of which, Donovan's Sunshine Superman advertising beer? has the old hippy sold out?

But back to the Dandy Wahols; an interesting mix, I was going to sayan eclectic mix but I don't know what that means (but it sound good) they appear to my refined ears to comprise of:

35%Stone Roses

25%Iggy Pop

5%Moody Blues

28%Lou Reed

3%All About Eve

11%Smashing Pumpkins (you may know these from a guest appearence on the Simpsons- the one where Homer becomes an opening act for a music festival, letting canonballs be shot at his belly.)

2% Rolling Stones

1% David Bowie

This is another photo from my best day this year
back in April or May I can't remember but it were very nice. Magical even. Sometimes it's great to be alone in a lovely place.








Artists I like include Georgia O' Keeffe Edward Hopper, everyone likes these 2, I' ve never heard anyone say otherwise. I got a little book of paintings by Alison Watt(s?) worth a look and have just bought, but not yet received, from ebay a book on Richard Diebenkorn, there is a picture by the same at a current and very well worth visiting exhibition at the Shipley Gallery in Gateshead, it features many very well known names such as whats'hecalled, only joking; Picasso, Matiisse, Freud, Hockney, Riley, Richard Estes, Chuck Close, Paula Rego (who I find scary) Jim Dine (lovely picture of paintbrushes)

There is also a good exhibition close by at Gateshead library, a group of local artists showing work based on the local derelict docks. Check it out, then you can go to Saltwell park for an ice cream.

my spellcheck sems two be knot workin!

Well, our big picture was done on saturday and a marvelous time was had by all.
about 53 artists from 9 classes painted Seurat's la Grande Jatte in 12inch squares starting 10 am and finishing at 3 pm.

the mayor and his deputy came and stayed most of the afternoon chatting and hopefully being impressed.

the picture is up now at the Linskill centre if anyone wants to see it.


I'm putting up some new paintings, a drawing and a couple of photo's at North Shields library this morning (mon), exhibition lasts 2 weeks.

well, the brief flirtation with fame is over, last 2 postings :no comments! I thought I'd peaked at 4 comments one time then made the humbling discovery that 2 of those were my responses to 2 comments.

but on to the business of blogging, and the discovery of the day is that it is very difficult to get a fly out of your eye using your knuckles.

And the day began so well, the sun was shining, a nice bike ride along the coast, then the short series of unfortunate events began with a tangled bicycle chain and thence very oily black hands, but after a little wrestling with dirty metal, off again to Cullercoats where I wanted to see if anything was visible south of Marsden (not todAY)

then a close encounter with a kamikaze fly (they always target eyes or mouth!) hence the dilemma, how to get a fly out the eye with knuckles for if I used my fingers I would surely end up looking like Alice Cooper.

Later a second fly flew in my mouth: ah, the joys of a summer morning.

the painting is an attempt at pointillism in acrylic. A view from the Quarry in Whitley Bay

Both a bit unfinished, folds, oil, landscape acrylic.

not at all feeling witty today, been awake since 5, got up at 5.45, had a brief quiet time, went for an hour and a half bike ride took some photos of poppies. Got cold (this was before the sun came out.)

sold a painting this week which always cheers one up.

well, still not wit or wisdom so that all for now, except to say I can't stand the word serendipity and think anyone who uses it should be exiled to a lonely island where they cannot bother the rest of us. They may take a dictionary and a tape recorder in order to converse with themselves until the batteries run out.

bought crest of a knave, by Jethro tull this week off ebay, one of my favorite songs is on it: she said she was a dancer about a bloke trying to chat up a woman at a bar in Moscow.

it concludes with the memorable lines:

I so I stole one kiss. It was a near miss.

She looked at me like I was Jack the Ripper.

She leaned in close. 'goodnight' was all she said.

So I took myself off to bed.

which despite the poor grammer, surely a few colons or semi colons would be nice: however a great lyric, nobody could deny.

weel I said I was going..........................................................