Merry Xmas

Embassy Court in the snow

A very Merry Xmas to all my readers.

Dragonfly House

Fred at the Dragonfly House

Well, the Xmas Open House is over – at least for the Dragonfly House. Other Open Houses will be open next weekend, including Embassy Court, where I have one print on display. We haven’t had the final divvi-up yet but I did sell a number of prints both old and new and met a couple of my generous patrons! It’s was really enjoyable invigilating upstairs, especially last Saturday, when I was joined by the talented Liz Toole. The print above my head, by the way, is by Heike Roesel, who apparently sold one to someone off Eastenders at the Affordable Art Show in Battersea, according to Liz Toole!

Pipes print at Embassy Court

Hanover

Another tribute to Ed Ruscha, this time celebrating Brighton’s Muesli Mountain. Created in Freehand and touched up a bit in Photoshop.

Embassy Court at Embassy Court

My first Embassy Court digital print, now entitled Embassy Court (east), is currently on show in the basement of Embassy Court, Brighton, part of the Xmas Festival of Open Houses. It costs £45 (or a discounted £35 to Embassy Court residents), unframed and unmounted. As shown here double mounted in a waxed beech SW3850 frame by Marc Bonnel costs £85 (but there’s only one of them)! It joins Circus Kinetica and work by Sue Milnthorpe and other artists in the basement of this Modernist masterpiece. From next weekend, this and its companion piece, Embassy Court (west) will be on show at the Dragonfly House, 48 Ditchling Rise. I’ll be invigilating Saturdays 11-3pm, so come along and say hello!

Hove

My latest tribute to Ed Ruscha. Done in Freehand with some ‘painting’ in Photoshop.

Embassy Court part 2

My second Embassy Court print is from the other end of the back of the building, by the road into the back yard, looking north-east. I messed around with the perspective of the windows a bit and made the text more maroon. I had a request to make it blue, but that made the whole image look a bit too sombre. That’s it for Embassy Court for now. This will be an A3+ giclee, like the other one.

Arty magazine

If you turn to the last page in the Winter 2009 issue of Arty magazine, you’ll see a feature on Yours Truly as ‘Personal View’. The issue also features my neighbour Angie Meaden Bonnel, who lets me show work at her Dragonfly House.

Embassy Court (finished)

At last, this print has a physical form! With John Dilnot’s help, there is a digital print version, and I’m very pleased with the result. it’s A3+ size and printed in archival inks on Hahnemuhle William Turner 310g/m2 100% rag paper, signed and numbered in an edition of 200. Introductory mates-rates price is £35 unmounted and unframed, until 6 November 2009, thereafter £45. You may have noticed that it now has my trademark con-trail in the sky. Because these are digital prints (giclées), every one is the same and the colours are exactly what I wanted (and there are no inky fingerprints round the edge either).

Embassy Court

Inspired by all those Art Deco programmes currently on BBC4, here’s a Modernist icon: Embassy Court in Brighton, from the back. It was designed by Wells Coates and built between 1934 and 1936. It was recently done up. Wells Coates was also famous for his round bakelite radios designed for EKCO. This virtual artwork was developed in Freehand and exported to Photoshop, where nothing was done to it! But I may well improve it at some point. You may have noticed there is no con-trail on it yet! The text is Gill Sans, which was used for the name over the entrance (in the restoration at least – not sure what it was on the original building). It may well become a linocut or screenprint in the future.

Portslade

As a tribute to Ed Ruscha, currently on show at the Hayward, I’m producing some pieces of virtual artwork (of course, they could always be giclees if there were a demand, but you know my views on those abominations!). This is the first. Is it too sparce? All done in Photoshop.