Tate Britain, Cecil Collins and Millbank

I finally managed to get to the exhibition of paintings by Cecil Collins at Tate Britain, it was actually just a room which is why I had been a bit confused looking out for it. The room had about 9 paintings by Cecil Collins and a few sketches and pieces of writing in a display case and about 16 smaller ones by William Blake and they did compliment each other.
It is always much better to see Cecil Collins paintings in the flesh, as it were, as they are much more luminous than can be captured by print.
The Angel Of The Flowing Light is particularly beautiful and striking. The angel conveys an emotional and spiritual truth that on the one hand we recognise from deep within us, but at the same time seems to be from another reality. It is a moving experience to stand and engage with the painting. The Artist's Wife Sitting In A Tree is also a delightful painting.

I have always loved William Blakes work and the little pieces here have his usual blend of mysticism, vulnerability and strength.

I hadn't been to Tate Britain for a while, so I took the opportunity to look at a couple of rooms while I was there. I went into the unpainted landscape room, which has work by Hamish Fulton, Richard Long and others. I liked the combinations of photography and text in the works.

There was an interesting piece by Ian Breakwell called The Walking Man Diary, which was a series of short recordings he made in all the counties of Britain, The recording of Fife was playing when I was there. I have been thinking about recording in my back garden for a while, which I might set up soon.In the next room RogerHiorns had a piece where he had covered an engine with copper sulphate, which had grown these vivid turquoise and blue crystals giving the engine a very different quality.
There was also a lovely installation by Vong Phaophanit, which was made of very tall bamboo poles suspended from the ceiling. You were faced with a wall of them which as you passed through made a range of sounds like a giant wind chime. In the centre was a space filled with light.

Out side Tate Britain I walked along Millbank and took some photographs of the Henry Moore sculpture and buildings. Alongside the Henry Moore there was a man doing what looked like exercises or a performance piece, it seemed to fit with the mysteriouness of some of the work I had just seen.

Urban Jungle Exhibition, City Hall.

Last weekend, I took my painting," Tree of Life" into City Hall for the exhibition, "Urban Jungle. It is an exhibition with a range of work from the East London Print makers,and other invited artists on the theme of trees.
The charity Trees For Cities will be benefiting from any sales in an online exhibition/auction.
The exhibition is open Saturday 1st till Friday 14th 8am-8pm and the private view is at the end of the show on 13th of November 6pm-8pm.

Photomonth Photofair Spitalfiels Market

I have been very busy getting photos ready for the Photomonth Photofair that I'm having a stand at tomorrow and Friday the 16th and 17th October 10am till 5pm.

It's a new event for Photomonth and I thought it was worth applying for a stand, there is a lot of publicity for the event and a lot of shows. I'm going to show a mix of work, London urban scenes and the natural world, prints and some cards. I have had a bit more tuition with photoshop and have been drawing on some of my photos of the moon.



This week is the big one for art fairs, Zoo, Frieze, Scope, etc, I haven't managed to get to any over the years yet. I was interested in the idea of the Free Art fair, where all the items in the exhibition are given away at the end. It seemed last years event had ques of people waiting for a chance to get one of the pieces.

I don't think I'll have ques of people at my studio giveaway, I'm also giving away for free a lot of paintings and studio stuff next week in my studio clear out. It was quite good going through all my old work, some from 25 years ago. It was time for me to let some work go, so I sorted out a large pile.

Cecil Collins, new pastel and visitor to the bird feeder.

On Tuesday I was delighted to see a documentary film about Cecil Collins, it was shown as part of the Temenos programme. I have appreciated Cecil Collins work for a long time, his visionary sensibility, use of symbol and colour. I did not know that much about him however. This year is his centenary, so there are a number of events lined up, which is great.

I was interested in some of the ways he worked, sometimes planning his paintings in his head apparently, turning over the picture in his mind over some time. The danger in this way of working, that of having done too much and then no longer being interested in actually producing the painting. Collins wanted that moment of surprise when he looked at his finished work.
Another way he worked was to take some colour and allow himself to work with that colour intuitively, the forms arising as if taking birth.

For Collins his work is concerned with the transformation of consciousness. Life he saw is surrounded by mystery, "we are asked to collaborate with mystery" I bought a lovely book of his work, Cecil Collins, Meditations, Poems, Pages from a Sketchbook, by Brian Keeble and Elizabeth Collins.I've also been working on some new pastels, one here of the Buddha, they are a bit more difficult to scan in even sprayed with fixative the surface is delicate. I need a few more skills in taking good photos of my art work.

Looking out of the kitchen window last week, I saw something on the bird feeder, a funny looking bird I thought, on closer inspection it proved to be a mouse who stayed long enough for me to get a camera

The Water Works nature reserve

I'm working on a number of themes for up coming exhibitions, one at Walthamstow library will be on the theme of retreat. I have been taking photos in local churchyards and parks and went down to a local nature reserve last week.
This reserve, The Water works, is part of the Lea valley parks and reserves, the land was once part of the filter system for East London's water. There were pumping stations and filter beds and was used until the 1960's.
Despite the huge pylons striding across the land and the busy Leabridge road on one side and industrial land to one side, the space was remarkably tranquil. A host of birds were singing, and a pair of swans, families of ducks and moor hens were all on the old filter beds.


There are different habitats maintained on the filter beds and a large section of walkways and hides to look out at the birds and wildlife. I took some photos, some here.