 Thank you to those who came to Colour & Light at Cannizaro House in June. We have had fantastic feedback from Hotel du Vin who felt our ‘salon hang’ brought something new to the space and also lots of interest to all the artists exhibiting.Our next big project as Common Works Gallery CIC is Art in the Park, an art festival happening on 17th September this year. Watch this space… Me (on left) with Katie Preston CommonWorksGallery.org  Passing under Henley bridge 60x38cm framed, oil on canvasOne of my paintings on show at Henley Regatta in the gallery in Stewards enclosure this year. Do go and have a look if you are going to the regatta. |
 If you keep half an eye on the art world, you will have seen that the National Portrait Gallery has reopened its (brand new, Tracy Emin) doors. Despite having been being slightly snooty about the vast expense for something of a vanity project for the new director, I actually think the new entrance looks great and looks as though it should have always been there. There has been a rehang too, of particular note is the female self-portrait gallery. Fabulous. National Portrait Gallery, free. Bathers at Saatchi Yates in St.James’ is a gorgeous show bringing together lots of paintings of swimmers, mostly female. Artists have been painting bathers for centuries, generally as an excuse to paint flesh. There are some fantastic loans in this exhibition; Picasso, Cezanne, Rodin, Hockney, Bougeureau. Personally I’d rather see this than the RA Summer exhibition, also it’s free so do pop in if you are in that part of town.Saatchi Yates until 10 August  Diva is the V&A’s Summer blockbuster. This exhibition celebrates the power and creativity of iconic performers who have stood out from the crowd from the 19th century to present day. From Maralyn Monroe to Mariah Carey a true diva can be both worshipped and vilified but never ignored. Explore the costumes that helped make them here, maybe even pick up some tips if you’re thinking of trying something new… V&A until April 24 Anselm Keifer’s ‘Finnegans Wake’ at the White Cube in Bermondsey is no jolly walk in the park. Keifer has had a life-long relationship with the book which he says reflects his life and he has expressed here it in this huge, dark stormy installation. The weight of his past; memory and war, hang heavy all around you as you make your way through dead trees, machinery and sheets of concrete. The opposite of the Summer Exhibition… White Cube until 20 Aug. I am running two Van Gogh Painting workshops in September. We will be exploring his techniques, colour theory and how to build a painting. It will be lots of fun! No experience necessary. Find out more here. Ox-eye daisy field, Christmas Common. 24x30cm oil on canvasThis little painting is of a field I often job through in Oxfordshire. It is always pretty but is currently filled with wild daisies and looks too gorgeous not to paint! |