Dandies at Norwich Pride

Norwich Dandies will be at Norwich Pride this year!!

Saturday 28th July in Chapelfield Gardens we have a white marque and inside will be a relaxed art tent for people to chill out and colour in or Dress, paint, pose in our hand made costumes. 

Cromer Summer show 2018

Holkham Beach painting

North Sea Painting


From the 21 July to 7th August my new Coastal landscape paintings will be on show at Gallery Norfolk in Cromer. Various sizes of work from small to gigantic all done in Dip ink pen and Watercolour. The Gallery is open from Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. Gallery Norfolk frame my work beautifully. Work is for sale framed and unframed. Due to me winning Paint Out Norwich last year these works will fly off the wall.

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.

Dandifest 2017 is coming!

Norwich Dandies are preparing for Dandifest 2017.

If you would like to submit work in the festival have a think about the different themes. We have collaborated with Golden Bees from Australia and looking for submissions for a buzzing bee exhibition.
Also joined forces with Eaton Park cafe for a bicycle picture/painting to adorn the cafe during the festival.
1 square foot show will spread across Norwich in shop windows. Works no bigger then 1 square ft.
International postcard art exhibition which will be in a gallery window on St. Augustine's.
Local and International celebrity portraits show in Yarmouth Library.
Bird painting, photo, wall sculpture. Which will raise cash for Wing and a Prayer and the RSPB. This show is on at the Bridge Gallery at the Birdcage pub.

NNUH Winter exhibition

Painting above of Wiventon Hall which featured in Normal for Norfolk television series earlier this year.

New exhibition at the NNUH hospital of my paintings stretching down the corridor of level 2 and at the end and beginning of level one. Show is on for next few months. Here is a brochure with half the paintings. In total there is 60 paintings on the 8th of December is the Christmas Fair at the NNUH with free parking. Exhibition is open for patients, staff and visitors of the hospital.



 

Paint out Norwich

Paint Out Norwich 2016 this year I was acccepted into the biggest east Anglican landscape competition and my mother Marian was too. I went off in the mornings to a more challenging views and she arrived on the bus from Cromer at lunchtime to paint together in the afternoon to do even more challenging views. Like having two canoes lashed together and both of us canoeing and painting views from the river.
Painting above is the train station in Norwich early in the morning looking intensely at all the lines of steel and cast iron can be mind blowing.  Takes along while with the quill pen to get the marks on the damp paper. I choose the station because it was pouring with rain and its a sort of awning which is ok in the rules. The staff were amazing and I had a good view of the old part of station and the trains through the modern smoked glass.
I would like to go back there later and paint other views.
Exhibition of all the paintings created at Paint Out Norwich as well as my mothers paintings and all the contestants work in the event is held at the Hostry in Norwich Cathedral.

Paint Out Wells

Today I got accepted onto the Wells Paintout Plein air landscape art competition. Held in Wells-next-to-sea from the 16th to 18th September 2016. 

Sunrise and sunsets painting through the whole weekend with an Exhibition on the Quay on the Sunday the 18th.

Nominated for Norfolk Arts Award

Some jolly news I got married to Robert at Norwich Castle on Tuesday and got nominated for Norfolk Arts award the same day so a fantastic wedding present. Its an EDP public vote so please do vote for me. Its just a click beside my name on the EDP website http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/vote_for_your_favourite_individual_solo_arts_practitioner_in_the_2016_norfolk_arts_awards_1_4676830

Norwich Dandies tour first stop NNUH Hospital fete

This Thursday at 4pm the NNUH hospital fayre the Norwich Dandies will be there

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.

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. 

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.

Dandfiest the movie

The Norwich Dandies are proud to release this short film, which includes the performance poem My Mental Helmet, on World Mental Health Day. Let's all be a little bit kinder, less quick to judge, more accepting of difference… our own lives will be enriched. Have a look at the movie here. Vote for the Norwich Dandies who have been nominated by the people of Norfolk for Art award

Vote for the Norwich Dandies

Photo with permission from Ruski 2014©

Norwich Dandies have been nominated for the EDP Peoples Choice Arts Award 2014. Vote now for Norwich Dandies in the medium arts category. This year Norwich Pride has been nominated for the large festival so vote for that too. Click here to vote on EDP web page scroll down and click on voting that is highlighted. 

Norwich Dandies have been doing some great events this year and next year will totally amazing and put Norwich on the map, move over Cotman. Check out what the Norwich Dandies have been up to on there blog. 

Pride without Prejudice 2014 exhibition

I will be showing new work which I making this week and I will be drawing Partner Portraits of couples or friends for Pride. With the hope of borrowing them back for an exhibition next year.

Launches 21st July 7-9pm Private view all welcome

Open daily 10am to 5pm (sunday 11am -2.30pm)
21st July -2nd August at St.Margaret's Church of Art on St. Benedicts street, Norwich, Norfolk, England.

My work that I will be making hopefully will turns some heads.

New Views Norfolk 2

My work is now in The Gallery in Cromer and in a new exhibition New Views Norfolk 2. 

Here is two of my paintings framed by Polly at The Gallery. They are drawn on the beach in Cromer only recently. I also have a selection of mounted pictures. As seen on i-witness by Archant news here.

My parents went to the show as they only live up the road from the gallery. I used there beach hut while I was painting the beach views.

Jim O'Hare is a fan of Paul Brommers work which is also displayed in the exhibition.

Here I am with my two paintings on the wall. One is of a fishing boat and tractor and the other is of the pier on the other side which rarely gets painted. 

The Private view filled out with people and there families.

Here is Granny Marian O'Hare with her grandson Malachy 

The Gallery has a great range of works from ceramics to sculpture to prints and oil paintings. Living and dead artists work.

The work is mostly of the Cromer area which is in North Norfolk in England. 

My work is painted in dip ink pen and watercolour

The outside of the gallery which is an amazing looking building in Cromer

Looking in the window at the art

Catherine Metcalf works at the gallery and helps hang, frame and sell the art. 

The gallery tattoo

The exhibition is on till the 2nd August 2014