A Good Friday

Friday was a good day.

It was my turn to get up with the little one and he didnt stir until 7:45. Work was good. I met with my Nan (76) and her fella Brian(74) and took them to the private view opening of the MShed Museum and spent time with them looking at artifacts and images from Bristol in the Blitz. We sat in the WW2 corrugated iron bomb shelter and they told me stories from their youth, whilst i tried to get my head around how all this could have happened in my city just two generations ago. I took them to see the mural i painted with Andy Council. Nan stopped everyone who walked by and embarrassed me by introducing them to her grandson; the artist. And then she got a round of teas in and we hung out in the cafe.

Linked up with Andy Council and did a bit of live window drawing. Was handed a free beer. Listened to Miles Chambers perform a poem that fired out his feelings on 'his place' in Bristol and connected to a whole load of it. Had a chat with him and he was cool. Was handed another free beer. Went back downstairs to the gallery where our mural is and met Richard Long who was taking a look at our work :-) Had a chat with him and he was cool. And then Jono Motorboy got the drinks in at the Ostrich.

Then returned home, only to find a little package on the table containing these:

Boxfresh navy Puma suedes from Feb 2002 - Perhaps my holy grail of trainers.

Friday was a really good day.

M-Shed opening weekend

(click image to enlarge)

Saturday 18 June 10am – 9pm 

A day of activities celebrating ‘Bristolness’ past and present. Highlights include a Procession of Professions, led by the Lord Mayor and his Mace Escort. Civic, commercial and creative sectors will come together to reinvent a bygone ritual with a contemporary new twist. This will depart Castle Park at 11am and snake through the heart of the city for about an hour on its way to M Shed. Photographers will mark this moment in time for the archives of the future.
We will also be joined by artists Andy Council and Acerone who will be inviting visitors to draw on the windows at M Shed, plus a mass chalking where you are invited to draw your impressions of M Shed outside on Museum Square. Sessions take place throughout the day- drop in, no need to book.
There will also be an affordable programme of walking, talking and performing tours sharing the city’s histories, secret sites and special places throughout the afternoon and evening. See the full programme and booking information
Book your free timed tickets for entry into the museum: mshed-saturday18june.eventbrite

MShed Movie

Try Again

I decided to draw upon some imagery FLX and I produced a while back with dancer and all round athlete Dirty Dave for a painting for this year's UPfest last weekend. Here is a short journey through the stages of the idea...

Capturing the movement trail left by small torchlights attached to Dave's wrists and ankles whilst he jumps from right to left across the gap.

Portrait taken with long exposure of Dave moving into a freeze which is then lit with an off the camera speedlight. We did lots of these..

We revisited the style with a bit more planning - 3 flashes set off at various points during Daves dance pattern. This one remained more or less in one spot, but he did many more which moved across the frame, one of which i used for the painting.

Marking up at the Try Again pub in Southville, very late on Friday night.

Painting filled in and finished on Saturday evening.

Big thanks to all the artists i spent the day with, John the Barman and the friendly locals, and everyone who stopped to say hello...

Another great year for UPfest - good on ya'll for making it all happen.
:-)