Haka Powhiri

I have made a few tentative steps towards preparing for my next painting about Leo going to work at the other side of the world.

Last week I made some drawings of the old beams in our 300 year old cottage (laid on the floor so I could look at the ceiling) to represent the UK and I will contrast these with a structure of a Maori Meeting house to symbolise New Zealand.

‘Haka Powhiri’ is a chant of welcome when newcomers come ashore and maybe the title of my new painting – we’ll have to see how it develops.

Return Of A Hero

The Morris is back. It’s been away at the garage having the brakes and steering improved. I’m so glad it’s been returned for the reopening of Ted Coney’s Family Portraits as it is usually one of the stars of the show. It certainly looks very smart with it’s new/old Camping Club badge from the 1950s.

The gallery reopens on 26^th April by the way, with bookings taken from the 18^th. I can only take six visitors at a time so maybe you had better get organised. You can book online, by Email or phone.

Which reminds me, I must start getting all the rooms ready, as having the Morris back on site, is only the beginning of all the jobs I need to do.

Bicycle Thieves

I like to keep thinking about the subject of my next painting, while working on the current one. Although I’d already thought of a title – ‘War Babes’, the story has now moved on, and I’m thinking of changing it.
Originally, I was going to depict three female victims of the second world war, my mother and two cousins, who were all pregnant and had to get married because of the conventions at the time.
I wanted to contrast them with three newer, female family members who aren’t married and see no need to be, but have children, to show how things have changed.
I then saw a film entitled ‘Bicycle Thieves’, set in Italy in 1948 which gave my idea a further twist.
As well as telling the story of an actual bicycle been stolen and its aftermath, the film is also trying to get across how a whole nation’s lives have been taken away, by the events of the war.
I feel my six relatives, by being not married, but having children, may, in their different ways have had their lives stolen, too. Much more so, than their male partners.
And the theft of a bicycle in my painting? Well my 1940s bicycle has been stolen , but luckily I managed to get it back.

The Long View

I’ve tentatively started working on my new canvas for the current painting ‘Against The Light’. It’s a long, thin painting, displayed horizontally. I started by dividing it up into different sections, so the two sides of my relative’s natures can be shown. I’ve stained parts of the canvas with a warm, reddish brown colour to show the jollier side of their personalities and the other, a colder blue to represent their darker side. Although I will be tracing some of the design onto the canvas, I also want to try and capture some of the softer, more translucent shadows by working directly from the real thing, to give it a feeling of spontaneity. You’ll be able to see the results of how I am progressing (I’ll keep photographing it at regular intervals) in a few weeks time on the NEWS AND REVIEWS page of my website. I’ll keep you posted .