Corfu Spring

Another visit to Corfu, this time staying in the small town of Kassiopi in the North East of the island.

  I met the artist Richard Hewlett who had appeared in a TV documentary about people living on the island. We got into conversation and he kindly invited me to his studio in the hills behind Kassiopi, but unfortunately not having a car I had to decline. So maybe next time!
You can see some of his work at his website www.richardhewlett.co.uk

From sketches that I made I'll continue with my "Blue" series of paintings, inspired by the clear skies and turquoise sea.

Paris weekend

Spent last weekend in Paris, taking in the sights, doing some photography and visiting galleries. Also went to see the gardens at Versailles on the return journey.

The city from Montparnasse Tower



Views of the Pompidou Centre









Notre Dame at dusk

 

Eiffel tower and the moon



Paris street life - The Louvre

The Tuileries

The gardens at Versailles were magnificent, especially the fountains set to music by Rameau.

Latest paintings

A couple of new paintings.


"Timanfaya"




"A Night in Tunisia"



Loch Awe

A while ago I was in Scotland and did some photography in the Inner Hebrides including the islands of Mull and Iona. This photograph shows the early morning mist over Loch Awe. The landscape and beaches, especially the white sands of Iona, were inspirational for paintings of this part of the country.

New exhibition

Following on from the succesful exhibition at the Grant Bradley gallery in Bristol, my work is now on display at local Bristol restaurant Byzantium. The paintings are hung in the mezzanine gallery and last week's re-launch of the restaurant, with the new menu "taster" dishes was a great success and well attended.
The paintings will be in place for the next couple of months. Thanks to Flossie and the girls for a great evening. Check out their website.www.byzantium.co.uk

Raku Ceramics

A day spent at the Raku studio of Brian Fowler. The artist Magda Goss was there to glaze and fire some of her ceramic work for an exhibition.
The picture above shows the fired sculptures ready for glazes to be added.







Magda and Brian discussing the various glaze applications



The firing uses an intense heat

                                                                                                                     



Magda with a finished piece, it'll be mounted on a plinth at a later date. 



                                                  

Aphro Blue

In 1959 the musician Mongo Santamaria wrote a latin/ jazz tune called "Afro Blue".
Jazz legend John Coltrane recorded a version made famous in the 1960's and recently Robert Glasper has also recorded it. All totally different versions of what has become a standard.


"Aphro Blue"



As part of my "Blue" series of paintings, but with a distinctly Greek island twist,hence the alternative spelling, I've produced this painting inspired by both that music and the landscape and sea of the Ionian islands.