Poppyland Band at Sidestrand church

Poppyland folk music band had there first gig at Sidestrand church in North Norfolk last Sunday evening. Sidestrand church was moved in from the coast line 100 years ago and it is now just 50 metres from the coast again, as England is loosing its edge with the rising tides.
Eddie Anderson and friends have set up an archive group as this village needs one urgently. Bertie Anderson wrote some fantastic songs and music for the evening and when she started doing so she was pregnant a year ago and now she has a baby girl named after the area called Poppy. In the sketch done in red fineliner felt tip pen above I have captured the whole band that managed to fit it self in the area of the pulpit and a few I noticed were balancing themselves on the edges of the church walls.

Eddie Anderson films the band from the church pue on the left hand side.

Annie who I couldn’t fit in the first picture. Here she is playing the fiddle to a song called Sallybeans. Sally Beans was a lady who lived in a cottage near the sea, off Shucks lane and she use to help the smugglers hide there hoards. My Granny Verily Anderson owned the house and named it after Sally Beans.
The evening had a full house and I am pleased that some of my friends from beyond Norwich came along from the Wildlife Trust after they had cleaned a part of the Broads river.

Unexpected monkey in the bagging area

Earlier in the year I got invited to show my work on Ten minute drawings group on facebook which is run by local Norwich artist Andy Merrit. I returned the favour and invited Andy to show his work at Dandifest 2015. Then discovered Andy is into Green Screen movie making.
 So I asked if he would show me how it works. So we made a film in his Green screen studio in Norwich called 'Unexpected Monkey in the bagging area'. Andy spent several weeks editing the film. Here it is.

Indepentent living Event

On the 15th October 2015 I will be Graphic Reporting at this important event run by Equal lives. The event will showcase service, organisations and companies for people in independent living. Shelly Telly from the Shelly Telly Crew will be helping me. Runs from 10am to 3pm in The Willow Centre in Cringleford Norwich.

Ceramic Tux penguin

Anonymous Quacker kindly said they would make ceramic TUX penguin’s. Profits from the sale of the Ceramic TUX penguin goes to refurbishing old computers for the disadvantaged. They are 7 and half inches high and 5 inches wide (19cm x 13cm) They are for sale at 105 pounds each. All the money goes to bigger memory for the old computers. The computers get completely wiped and then get Linux program put on them which is free to run and get upgrades. The person who refurbishes the computers does it completely for free. The famous artist who remains anonymous who makes the Penguins makes them for free too. The profits go to the memory upgrades or bits the computer might need. There is still lots of people out there who cant afford to buy a computer or the programs and then this can be catch 22 for getting work which is done on line now or writing CV or being computer literate for a job. I am one of those disadvantaged people and all the computers that I have had over the last ten years have been given to me. I have a hand me down Mac with Linux on and a hand me down lenovo laptop with Linux on. I don’t claim any benefits from the state but earn very little money to pay bills and the rent. I grow my food on allotment that I rent from the council. Being an artist is not easy I work day and night. When I do sell a painting the money goes back into buying more paint or paying a bill. Get in touch through my contact page on my website if you would like to buy a penguin.

Graphic Reporting on dementia

 

Last week I went along to a big meeting about Dementia with all the people that have something to do with the care side from across the County. 

The next day I drew up the notes and Sabrina came along to help me colour in the reporting. This was the biggest event yet with 50 people at the meeting. This time I did the actual reporting without Sabrina and Shelly. But I wont be doing that again. I am going to only do the Graphic reporting with a team.  

 This was the biggest event yet with 50 people at the meeting. This time I did the actual reporting without Sabrina and Shelly. But I wont be doing that again. I am going to only do the Graphic reporting with a team. As its very intense listening and converting ideas into pictures and it really helps having friends there to help me. 

One of the comments that someone had said was that 'All carers need a wage' because most carers are family members and its not fair that they are doing a tough job with no money coming in.

Ten metres of drawing for this event and here is a tiny section. 

Dandifest Highlights at the NNUH

Some of the work from Dandifest 2015 in Norwich has gone up at the NNUH hospital on the 2nd floor for a special exhibition. The work was randomly picked to go in the exhibition and was everything I could hang in a day. Next exhibition I would like to print out photos of the larger works from Dandifest and show them. But this will have to wait till next year when I have more time. This exhibition will be up till November.

Goob signed sketches on exhibition from Q & A

Sketches of the Goob film Q&A in Norwich Cinema city are now framed and on show the Silver rooms Community hall in Norwich on Silver Road. Make an appointment with the Silver rooms to take a look round. 

The Goob is an award winning film made in Norfolk using real Norfolk actors with the Norfolk dialect. Its a fantastic film that stars Sean Harris. Sean now stars in Mission impossible films. The sketches were signed on the evening of the Q and A at Cinema City in Norwich, UK.  The DVD for the Goob will be out next week from the 21 September.

Houghton Hall Sketches

Houghton hall sketches of a Servant. I started working at Houghton hall in 2013 for the Houghton Revisited show, which brought back all the original paintings that once hung there before they were sold to the Hermitage in Russia. The rooms were brought back to there glory of the 1700's. Each day I look after different rooms. When there is quiet times so I fit in some sketching of the rooms.
This year I was brought back to Houghton Hall for the 'James Turrell show" Which is very modern art light show that is placed in different parts of Houghton. Sometimes I am looking after the light exhibits and other times I am i the house looking after the paintings in the rooms.
I have put all my sketches together and they are now on show at the NNUH hospital in Norwich on the 2nd Level corridor. I have mounted about 20 pictures and some are unmounted. They varied in size one picture is made up of lots of pictures where I have tried to draw the whole rooms and joined all the smaller sketches together together. If your in the NNUH it is an opportunity to see a piece of Houghton Hall. Houghton hall is open this year till the 24th October and well worth a visit.

'En plein air' Cromer beach paintings

 

My studio on the beach in Cromer a photo taken by Sally Hart who was on holiday and practising her photography. 

      

This painting done in ink and watercolour has Cromer church in the background. These paintings posted here are A4 but I paint up to A1 in size. I also paint other beaches on the coast line but mostly Cromer.

 

This one has a piece of Cromer pier, Davies lifeboat and the town. You can buy my paintings at Gallery Norfolk which is opposite Merchants place, just up the slope from the Rocket House cafe.

 

 

This painting has the whole pier, the lifeboat and Cromer.

 

This one has a some pier and no boats. 

Poppyland band

 A new band has been formed and has new songs about Poppyland
My Cousin Bertie Anderson Haggert has written lots of songs about the North Norfolk coast and they will be played this Sunday 20th September at Sidestrand church at 7.30pm. 7 pound on the door and there will be refreshments. The funds from the door will go towards the Sidestrand archive group. I heard the songs being played for the first time last week at the Vernum arms folk night and they were fantastic definitely Christmas number one chart topper.

Sidestrand church was moved in from falling into the sea and because of the coastal erosion it wont be long before it might fall in again. Its a cute little church and some of my family are buried there. I have rung the bells once for a wedding in the early 1980's with my brother when we were over from Ireland.

Gallery Norfolk Summer show 2015

Gallery Norfolk has a Summer show of wonderful paintings by local artists.
My work has featured in the show this year with my beach paintings. Mostly of Cromer beach but also Overstrand and Sidestrand.
Whenever I get a chance to go to the coast I go by train with my bike. I get off at Gunton station and ride through the countryside and stay in my cousins house near my family. Every sunny day I ride into Cromer and set up on the beach to paint. This year my folks bought me this trailer so I can take a chair and stretched paper on board and all my paints down to the beach. Its really a children carrier but it does the job of taking all my work.

Last year I started beach painting as a break from city life. I done a dozen pictures and then took them up the slope by the Rocket House cafe and the life boat to Gallery Norfolk which is just on the left on the main street.

Catherine who works at the Gallery was delighted with the art and took it out the back to show Polly who owns the gallery and also makes picture frames. Polly said she would trial them to see how they go.

Polly frames some of the work for the show and then the others are mounted and unmounted sitting in racks.

The work has done very well and selling better then any of us expected.

'En plein air' beach painting can be very windy. But worth being outside catching the rays and fresh air. I look forward to the next sunny day to wheelie on down to the beach on my bike. The art works are all for sale and prised very reasonably for people to take home an original work from there holidays as a cheery memory to help them through the long winter nights.

Ships Wheel Art

This year for the Cromer and Sheringham Crab and Lobster festival the theme for artists was a Ships Wheel. Shops in Cromer and Sheringham sponsored wheels that artists painted and they put them in the window for the whole summer. Gallery Norfolk asked me to paint a wheel. I imaged being at sea and the seagulls that followed the boat reflected on my Ships wheel on a sunny day.
I painted the gulls on the beach in Cromer on paper then painted them  on the wheel. Exhibiting the seagulls along side the wheel in the window. On the 30th August all the wheels came together at the front of Cromer pier and were auctioned off for charity. They made a record amount of cash this year. All the charities will be local ones that need help.