Charmed Lives in Greece at the British Museum

The idea of Greece at this moment in time, cast little rays of hope as we made our way through the British Museum security. On an area of fenced grass I saw this seagull doing a little dance. Linda and I had witnessed this before in Bridlington Yorkshire. Apparently worms think it's raining and come to the surface where the dancing bird eagerly awaits. Very clever!! Charmed Lives in Greece follows the lives of artist John Craxton, writer and polyglot Patrick Leigh Fermor and artist Niko Ghika whilst living on various Greek islands. I was blown away by Craxtons paintings and immediately warmed to the islands and the inspiration they provided these creative people. I wanted to go there immediately!! I'd never heard of Craxton until now and was transported by his work. On the train back to Shrewsbury I thought how lucky we are to have such an inspiring capitol. I will now see colour and lines in a different light. Thank you London and John Craxton!!

"Listen to Me" Watercolour with Goldleaf by Linda

Once More to the Capital

Linda and I returned to London on Friday the 16th to deliver the painting entitled Listen to Me. It was a lovely mild day and the South Bank was teeming with people, could it be that spring was in the air? We delivered the painting to The Bankside Gallery; the buyer was going to collect it the next day. Linda and I planned to take in a few exhibitions over the weekend and also check out some galleries. Early Saturday morning we headed across the Millennium Bridge to see Picasso 1932 at Tate Modern. Half way across the bridge we were greeted by the whip-lashing tail of the Beast from the East. How could this be after yesterday's lovely weather. 1932 though was well worth the frozen ears! Subtitled, Love, Fame, Tragedy, it proved to be a busy year for Picasso, who was an artist who actually made a decent living from his work while still alive. Much of his inspiration at this time comes from his secret lover (model) Marie-Therese Walter. In the end though the secret is out and Picasso's first wife and son leave and as the Second World War looms, the world as Picasso knew it in 1932 is lost forever. Thoroughly thawed out at this point we braced ourselves for a trip to the British Museum, but more of that in the next post.

Conversation Between Birds

Over the last couple of days there's been a welcoming increase in bird song to accompany people getting out and about after the freeze. Longer days and milder weather are upon us. Hurrah!!!! Mind you, during the Siberian wind chill days there were exhibitions to attend to in London. For the second year running Linda's watercolour and gold leaf work has been accepted for the Royal Watercolour Society's Contemporary Art Competition. On the 25th of February, Linda and I headed for London with a Conversation Between Birds which we were to deposit at The Bankside Gallery on the South Bank for the competition. The icy fingers of the Beast from the East were most evident as it whistled bitterly about the Thames. After dropping off the painting, we headed to Tate Modern to the Modigliani exhibition. Ahh, warmth... I was completely taken by Modigliani's work. When you're standing so close to the real thing, you're completely transported to another world. How fortunate we are to have these amazing visual connections to the past. Next, we headed towards Waterloo. Beneath Waterloo train station are the Old Vic Tunnels, now known as Vaults, where Sparks a play directed by Linda's daughter Jessica Edwards was being performed in conjunction with Vault Festival 2018. A very moving performance in a fantastic venue. After a very full day, we got the train back to Shrewsbury. On the 28th Linda headed back to London for the Watercolour Competitions private view, which she attended with Jessica. The icy blast was in full swing, which prevented many of the artists from different parts of the country attending. The paintings are on show for two weeks until the 14th of March and available for the public to buy. On Sunday, I met Linda at Shrewsbury train station. On the train journey she had had some good news, Conversation Between Birds had sold!!!! On the back of that, another painting has been purchased. Onwards....Upwards!!!!

Conversation Between Birds Video

Justin the Juggler SunnySide Art Open Studios Summer 2017

Part of the success of Sunny Side Art through Linda's designs is the attention to detail of the buildings and character's that are an integral part of Shrewsbury. Justin is a big part of that visual connection to the town. He openly shares his skills with passersby which makes coming to Shrewsbury a more memorable occasion and that's why he's featured in Linda's illustrations of the town. Justin stopped by to do some juggling in front of the house during our Open Studio's. Play with skill, play with space, play with rhythm!

New Shropshire Towns Beaker and NOISIEST STAIRS in the world