1980

Cloud watching

Pale Blue Eyes

And then it started to rain

1981

This is me in 1981 when I was 18 years old and had just completed my foundation art course at Hounslow Borough College. I was on my way to Maidstone College of Art to study printmaking. For the Flashback Friday pool on flickr.

Cildo Meireles

Portrait of Cildo Meireles behind Meshes of Freedom lll 1970s

Babel 2001 (detail)

Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles has an exhibition of his thought-provoking conceptual art and installations at Tate Modern until 11 January 2009. I took some restless teenagers to see the show during half term and we all loved it. There is an entrance fee for over 12s and adults of £8.

"My work aspires to a condition of density, great simplicity, directness, openness of language and interaction."

Complicated

words by David Lynch

It has been a week of words and pictures resonating with me.

A tough week.

The BFI London Film Festival is on from the 15th-30th October.

Autumn light

Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel has a show of his recent paintings at Robilant + Voena, 38 Dover Street, London W1 until May 22nd.
Photograph of Julian Schnabel in his studio in New York, 1995 by Annie Leibovitz.

Lenore Tawney

Lenore Tawney 1907-2007

at work in her New York City studio in 1958

photograph by David Attie.

Rik Snowley

Self portrait by Rik Snowley

1959-2008

RIK SNOWLEY: “ON PHOTOGRAPHY”
I honed my photographic-printing knowledge by working and watching the great “TOP BUZZER”, unfortunately now in exile. I’d witnessed that bloke perform some superb darkroom-deeds, once he even got a photographic image onto cottage cheese…………..MARVELLOUS!
I’m a great fan of photography but desperately try to avoid a majority of photographers. I generally find that they stooge around in floppy clothes, they say things like:”f.11 this and AUTO-FOCUS that”, and as for that other cliché; “What lens did you use?”……….please. Well the lens I use looks rather pleasant, it has a nice purple colour on the front of the glass, and lots of numbers engraved around the outside. Once I added all these numbers together, it came to 80.4, so it must be a good one. The images shown here are a very small sample of the type of subject-matter my lens and I have seen. They are the result of “LOOKING +WALKING”, lots of walking and even more looking, looking until it hurts. When I spy something that looks ideal then “TAKE DEAD AIM AND ATTACK”. When I’m in the darkroom then the sexy bit begins; stinking warm chemicals, expensive photie paper sliding out of sensuous packaging from romantic places, Ilford. I’m standing over the exposing-image for an eternity, waving my hands over areas like a crazed-fool, wishing I’d got the camera exposure right. Maybe I should have listened to those floppy stooges with that “f.11” stuff. Don’t donkey around, just get out there and capture images.

These words were written for an exhibition of Rik's art work in 2001. There is a retrospective exhibition being planned for 2009.

Me

Portrait of the artist by Jamila

I have been tagged by the very lovely Alabama Whirly to reveal seven random facts about myself:

1. I collect odd things from charity shops - today I found this cash receipts and advices ledger from 1933. It is very large and heavy and it might be the beginning of a new era of creative work for me, watch this space....

2. I love stripey over-the-knee socks and tights.

3. My bathroom is full of bicycles (well only 2 but they take up a lot of space - they get used as towel rails!). I ride a Dawes red feather but secretly yearn for an old Dutch bicycle - although I might struggle with carrying it up 3 flights of stairs.

4. I love to listen to music but have never had a walkman or an ipod.

5. I don't like mobile phones AT ALL.

6. I love trees, things made of wood and computers - and wish someone would design a wooden computer and keyboard.

7. I was in a photoshoot for Top of the Pops in the 60s when I was 5 years old with The Shadows for their well-loved hit - London's Not Too Far :) Hank Marvin played the part of my Dad and I was paid in guineas !!

Now I am supposed to tag 7 people (which I always chicken out of doing) but I will recommend 7 blogs to you to have a look at if you don't know them already.

1. red red day

2. little paper bird

3. sweet as a loon bird

4. rag and bone

5. folk

6. Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien

7. Bookhou at home

My heart belongs to Frida

Heart 2006, tapestry weaving, stuffed with wadding and backed with fabric.
I studied tapestry weaving at Morley College last year with William Jefferies. The weaving was inspired by this Frida Kahlo painting. It took almost 6 months to complete.




Frida painting The Two Fridas, photograph by Nickolas Muray 1939. Image found here.

Art and science

Molecular model of penicillin by Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 1945, (photo from Time Out magazine)

Penicillin: A story of Triumph and Tragedy at the Science Museum in London until September 15th. I love this model - which looks like a piece of contemporary art.

Postage stamp featuring Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, scientist.

Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sottsass, founder of the 8os design group Memphis, has a retrospective at The Design Museum in London until 10 June.

Portrait of the artist

I have been tagged by Gooseflesh and Comfies to reveal 7 random facts about myself - so here you are.

1. I collect old lightbulbs

2. I love wearing spectacles

3. I don't like wearing high heels

4. Red features in my work a lot

5. I love the library

6. I like to make things out of wire

7. I find great stuff like my table and chairs in the street.

Feeling hesitant at tagging fellow bloggers I thought I would choose some of my favourite blogs for you to look at. Here are 7 blogs by artists I love to read:

1. Spectrescope

2. Cracknell

3. Art Esprit

4. Susan Kruse

5. dear ada

6. Made by Milla

7. Threading Thoughts

Sasha Bowles

The Mandys (after Hogarth's The Graham Children) 2006, oil on canvas 120x120cms

I did some modeling last year for my friend, the painter Sasha Bowles. Yesterday she phoned to tell me that the painting I modeled for is in the Celeste Art Prize and there is a public online vote. The details of how to vote are here.

Sasha will be showing work at Battersea contemporary Art Fair which runs from 11-13 May 2007.

Natalija Lovett-Turner

Natalija Tile wearing her Latvijan national costume c1930s

Portrait of a Latvijan girl 1990 Gouache and poster paint on canvas board 10x12 inches.

Natalija was my maternal Grandmother. She was born on this day in 1915. She died in 1990. This was one of her last paintings. She painted all her life and was also a prolific photographer, cross stitch artist and knitter. She asked me to wear her national costume so that she could take photographs in colour as she only had b/w pictures. This painting is from one of those photographs.

Perle Fine

Perle Fine - Provincetown, c1953. Photograph by Maurice Berezov

The Storm Departs is an exhibition of paintings by Perle Fine from the 1940s - 70s. The show is on at the McCormick Gallery in Chicago until April 14. I love this photograph of Perle Fine with her work. I do like portraits of artists with their work, as much as I enjoy seeing their studios. I found this photograph in the March edition of Modern Painters.