CHEAP PAINT-SHIELDS ROAD

When i lived in Bristol they used to say you could get anything on the Gloucester Road, and in my experience that was pretty much true. It used to be a similar story for Shields Road when i lived in Newcastle as a kid. I wondered if it still held true. I went to explore and returned disappointed but for a tin of cheap paint from wilko's. I guess Chilli Road or Heaton Park Road are the places these days. Progress ay! So this paint is heinous. 

work in progress destined never to be finished 2007

                                                                                                                                                                         It is just so shiny it's unbelivable and so unbreathable too. But i will persevere with it cos now it has my curiosity. I want to discover it's properties and potential. Watch this space.

REVIEW

The good thing, or one of them is that i get feedback and reviews on what i am doing, my process, my current work, possibilities, ideas etc etc. Vici from Arcadea was in just before spain. A guided  tour of all of the above. Whilst its great it's also exhausting. It's that tsunami again. But it challenges me to keep abreast of what and why i am doing things, to reflect on things, to try and do all that without becoming totally introspective and self referential and disappear into my own naval in a trance. I am fortunate to have everyones input, insight and professional provocation. 

FITTING IT ALL IN

It's that old thing. You either have the time or the money, rarely both. When this residency was first mooted the year was looking like a desert road - long and empty. Now, in the midst of it things are leaping out, rearing up out of nowhere. For a start you can wipe 2 weeks out the calendar for xmas and new year. A couple of weeks after that i was in Cromarty helping my partner installing some work and the opening of her exhibition. Then i have just returned from a mercy mission to Spain. In amongst all this I am trying to complete the compilation of the book i took on when the waygood got delayed. So where does this fit in. Well, thankfully now it moves closer to the top of the list. Whilst not at the studio it is pretty much on my mind. Which is good. However it is also frustrating. Just before spain i had intended to go into the studio. However, I was unbelievably snowed in again. The second time this winter. How often does that happen in these days of global warming. Oh yeah and in amongst it all you have all the mundane life maintenance stuff to do. Sounding like a whinging pom its time to stop.

PARQUET

                                      Parquet in Progress