Badde Manors postcard featuring in Sydney Review of books

Anna Couani a writer from Glebe, in Sydney got in touch with me recently via my website to ask for permission to use my Badde Manors painting for her essay about Glebe and surrounding area in Sydney Review of books. I use to know her partner artist Hilik when he use to sharpen knifes that I used in the kitchen at Badde Manors. Hilik sharpened them on the back of his motorbike. I still own a chef knife I bought from him. I liked the smaller chef knifes as the weight of the big ones wore down my wrists. Hilik features in my painting above along side everyone who worked at the cafe and the locals who came in. My painting also covers a piece of social history at that time. The Tent Embassy in Victoria park, also protester on roof about stopping uranium mining, the Internet cafe on the street, performance artists, famous musicians, actors and film makers as well as Danny Sebes as a boy with an gelato in hand and now he owns his own gelato shop in Roselle. I feature as the Egg lady as I made the breakfasts at the weekend. Look out for Anna's essay called "Beauty is underfoot wherever we take the trouble to look"

 

 

 

Charity dog calender paintings

My Tigra dog painting features in a 2018 dog calender of rescue dogs for the Super SightHound Rescue dog charity in Norfolk. To buy a calender which raises cash for the charity contact Super SightHound rescue on facebook. If you would like me to paint a picture of your dog in and outdoor landscape scene please get in touch via my website contact form.

Paint out Norwich 2017

Whoopee ! I won Paint out Norwich landscape competition with my painting of Norwich train Tracks heading into the city called Keeping track of time.  The painting was done in 3 hours on the first session on the Monday morning. The area we all were painting was around the train station. I found a steep path beside the station and followed it up to a road beside the tracks. I kept looking to see if there was a view but it was over grown with apple trees and bushes all along till I got to the first bridge where there was a tiny car park of 3 cars parked up against a railing so squeezed in to get a good view of the tracks. Capturing a sky line of the football ground all the way to the station and the castle. The tracks proved quite complicated to paint so I had to quickly work it out. The leaves on the trees were yellowing with start of autumn. There was a slight rain splatters so the start of the picture I hid the work under a cotton sheet that was in my bike trailer to protect my picture frames. When I had finished the ink on the paper I lit up my blow torch and dried it. This was the first time I had ever used an industrial blow torch and was frightened I might set fire to the whole picture. I raced back to base with the painting in my trailer which was thankfully all down hill on my bike. Three judges decided straight away that this was the winning painting from over 200 paintings on show from excellent painters around the UK. The painting was on show at Norwich Cathedrals Hostry in October and now hangs in my home with a rosette stuck to it. Paint out Norwich our selling the works on line if you would like to buy the competition paintings. My all year round landscapes are for sale at Gallery Norfolk in Norwich and Cromer galleries.

Gallery Norfolk Norwich

Here is a painting of Elm Hill in Norwich.
This summer I have been painting landscapes around Norwich city for Gallery Norfolk. The Gallery is at the top of St.Giles number 60 next to the flower bed and Bethel street intersection. If your looking for my Cromer and North Norfolk paintings go to Gallery Norfolk in Cromer which is at 3 Church Street Cromer
Norfolk. Both Galleries open from Monday to Friday 10 am to 5pm. 

Fish Paintings by Emma Hill

Last week I helped my cousin Emma Hill put her show up at the NNUH. Its a fantastic must see show of paintings of Fish.

Emma Hill was born in Norfolk and currently lives by the sea on the North Norfolk Coast.  She studied for a Foundation Degree in Art at what was then known as the Norwich Art College in the 1980s.  Since then, Emma has continued to create her art whilst at the same time raising her son.  Emma paints in acrylic on canvas and paper.
In her present artwork, Emma explores her growing fascination with fish and in the process is seeking to create an aquarium in the surroundings through artistic means.   Emma herself finds fish beautiful and very calming.  She has started to paint fish from seas and rivers from all over the world.    The very recognisable logo for the Cromer Crab Company was also a design of Emma's.
This exhibition at the NNUH will be Emma's first in these surroundings as a solo artist.  The artwork can be seen on level 3 of the centre block.