FINDERS KEEPERS LOSERS WEEPERS

My composite work CONSEQUENCES is showing at the dynamic exhibition Finders Keepers Losers Weepers at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL 4th November 2014 - 28th February 2015.  Open daily 10am-5pm. Free admission.  

Finding something I experience it, it affects my life. I can take, it, restore it, pass it forward, leave it.  It can be enabling, threatening, life changing.  Once I have found I can never undo the finding and I carry the responsibility. Losing happens when possession, the power over, control is in play.  It creates want.

Consequences is an expression of my attempts to complete the memory of unplanned Finding and Losing events in my recent past.

HELP!

I need your help to get my bike back on the road.  I'm searching for a FRONT BRAKE CALIPER for my1998 VT600c Honda Shadow.  Apparently Honda no longer make the part - Aaargh.  If you can help please contact me by email chrissys.email@talktalk.net.

This is BIG

My last exhibition for 2014 is

Finders Keepers Losers Weepers

I'm still finishing my piece and it is a very different beast.   All works in this exhibition by 34 artists is specifically conceived for the exhibition at Conway Hall.  

HIDDEN NARRATIVES DANGEROUS ERASIONS

What an inspiring creation 

Sunday is day three of our ten day collaborative drawing at The Albany Theatre in Deptford. It's a free event,  lots of free parking, COME AND HAVE A LOOK!  

Here are some images of the 5.1 x 1.8 m canvas as at Saturday evening. Watch it grow.

Lambeth Open Studio Weekend

LAMBETH OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND

I will be showing new paintings from my 'curtain' series along with my 'one chance' drawings at The Portico Gallery 23a Knights Hill, West Norwood SE27 0HS.  

The Gallery will host over 30 artists in its fascinating old theatre space. Meet the artists and seek out that special picture for your walls.  There are drawing workshops and demonstrations .  

PV 6-8pm Saturday 4th.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Can't Draw! Enrolment deadline
Wednesday 10th September

This six week radical skill training will enable you to draw accurately and realistically.
For further details about the course content and to see what students do, go to www.cantdraw.co.uk.  The commitment is six half-day Saturdays - a total of 30 hours tuition.  The course fee is £200 - not much for a lifelong skill that will also enhance your appreciation and understanding of art and the world around you!  To book, all you need to do is email me chrissys.email@talktalk.net.

PS. I am so sure that if you can see well enough to drive and you can hold a pencil to write your name YOU CAN DRAW.  if you follow the course and at the end have not made a profound change in your drawing skills then I am happy to refund your fees.  What a money-back-guarantee!

LIFE at the PORTICO

The Portico Gallery 23a Knights Hill West Norwood SE27 0HS offers three-hour evening Life Drawing sessions on Thursdays from 6:30-9:30pm.  The fee is £20/session - regulars can take advantage of our loyalty discount - every 7th attendance free.  In a serene dedicated studio environment with a great atmosphere (and it’s own kettle for tea!), I offer tutoring on request and our great team of male and female models.

4th September we kick off with focus on tone and the dramatic effect of lighting.  Over the Autumn we'll look at contrasting monochrome and colour as well as anatomy and personal style.

We provide easels, drawing boards and clips, and while we keep a basic supply of paper (A2 and A1) and pencils, erasers, charcoal,  I do suggest that you bring your own favoured materials.

We welcome life drawers on a drop-in basis it is very helpful to me if you can email or text me to let me know so I can prepare the studio.

If you would like to know more about Life at The Portico Gallery you can email chrissys.email@talktalk.net or phone on 07967018514.

SO MUCH HAPPENING! DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

2nd September  - A fun Taster Evening to find out more about the Can't Draw! course and try out some of the exercises. 7-9pm at The Portico Gallery, 23a Knights Hill, W. Norwood, SE27 0HS. £10.  Book by emailing chrissys.email@talktalk.net.

4th September - Life Drawing at the Portico Gallery 23a Knights Hill, W. Norwood, SE27 0HS  6:30-9:30pm every Thursday.  £20/session. We've introduced a loyalty discount card.  Book by emailing chrissys.email@talktalk.net.

13th September - Can't Draw! 6 week Saturday drawing course begins at The Portico Gallery 23a Knights Hill, W. Norwoood, SE27 0HS. 9:30am-3:00pm. £200.  To book contact chrissys.email@talktalk.net.

30th September - 12th October - Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Rd, London SE21 7AD. Two of my new curtain series of paintings will be showing at the Dulwich Picture Gallery Friends exhibition.

26th September - 5th October - Hidden Narratives Dangerous Erasions.  As part of South London Women Artists participation in Deptford X Contemporary Arts Festival and The Big Draw, The Why Front will be at The Albany Theatre in Deptford, drawing and erasing a collective 20ft drawing about the hidden contribution of women artists through history.  Come and watch it develop and grow. 

4th - 5th October - Lambeth Open Studio weekend.  11am-6pm at The Portico Gallery, 23a Knights Hill, W.Norwood, SE27 0HS.  I will be showing a collection of drawings and paintings.  Each afternoon 2-4pm I shall be running drawing workshops as part of The Big Draw event.  

4th November - 5th December - Finders Keepers Losers Weepers at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL.  As one of the curation team for the residency, I would like to invite you to visit the site specific works produced by over 30 South London Women Artists investigating the archaeology of mind and memory.  For further information please visit www.southlondonwomenartists.co.uk.

DOMINATION of a SKILL

Drawing forms the foundation of the fine arts.  It is a skill like any other - reading, writing, driving, swimming - and you can learn that skill.  I run Can't Draw, a course that teaches you the skills to draw accurately. 

                               Before                   Can't Draw                     After

Come to a Taster Evening 7 - 9pm on Tuesday Sept 2nd at The Portico Gallery, 23a Knights Hill, West Norwood, SE27 0HS.  You can try out some of the exercises and find out more about learning to draw.    
It costs £10.     Email chrissys.email@talktalk.net to book.

More Curtains

Have a look at my latest Curtain works.  I'm showing these and some more I'm working on at the moment at Lambeth Open Studios at The Portico Gallery on the 4th and 5th October. 

What's HAPPENING to West Norwood?

Sunday, 3rd August, is the day things happen in West Norwood.  The Portico Gallery, 23a Knight's Hill has gathered forty local movers and shakers to show West Norwood and its neighbours what an amazing, vital community bubbles through the streets.  Together with the monthly Feast, it makes West Norwood the place to be this Sunday.

Amongst the many things on offer there are artworks on exhibition and information about how to get involved in drawing, ceramics, singing, sewing, animation and theatre courses and workshops .  You'll find locally brewed beer by Late Knights Brewery and delicious pastries and cakes by Norwood's Blackbird Bakery.  So much and so much more.  I'll be there.

BODIES

Today I went to the Hayward Gallery to see Human Factor, an exhibition of sculptures of human bodies made by 25 contemporary artists.  It is magnificent -  haunting, shocking, beautiful.  I have come away feeling like I have been given a gift.  It is showing until the 7th September.  www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery

Urban Art festival

This weekend the place to see and be seen is Brixton's Urban Art Fair. I will be there at the bottom of Leander Rd.  Come and say hello and see my new Curtains series. More information www.urbanart.co.uk

It's Coming! Wait for it!

London's Urban Art Fair hits the streets again on July 12th and 13th 2014.

This exciting, festive annual event in Brixton London presents the work of over 200 artists from graffiti to painting to etching to photography and more.  Buy work direct from the artist at accessible prices and join the celebration of the artists' community in London.

I will be there at 7Hc on the corner of Leander Road - Seek me out!

For more information, maps etc go to www.urbanart.co.uk

NEVER EVER - AND I MEAN IT...

BARE NAKED BIKE RIDERS SAVE THE PLANET

This Saturday the London Naked Bike Riders ride through London to protest against car culture and oil dependence and to demonstrate how vulnerable cyclists are on the road.  It's also a celebration of body freedom and a lot of fun!  You don't need to be completely naked, just go "as pare as you dare" - eg most people wear shoes.  South London starts in West Norwood and Clapham Junction.  Ride, Support, Encourage, Enjoy. For more information http://wiki.worldnakedbikeride.org/index.php?title=London.   

The Skill to Draw

The ability to draw can be learned just as you learned to read and write.  

I run a course called Can't Draw! in response to all those exclamations uttered by those who were never taught.  It is 30 hours of tuition over 6 weekly sessions on Saturdays at The Portico Gallery in West Norwood.  You can find out more by looking at www.cantdraw.co.uk. The fee for this course is £200. 

I will run a course over six weeks June  21st - July 26th if 10 people commit to attend. Deadline for booking is 7th June so if you would like to take part, email me on chrissys.email@talktalk.net.  Take control!   

Something more than clocks

The clocks moving forward for summer is one thing.  Our adherence to clocks is another.  So I thought about what I do in the three months when the swifts visit us from Africa.  

SWIFTS’ SUMMERTIME

From the first sighting of the swifts to their farewell, see you next year.

Awakening

Sunrise less thirty minutes.  When the shimmer on the eastern edge is the outrider of dawn.  When the Blackbird calls.

It is not a time to drive a vehicle or turn on the media.

Rising

Sunrise.  When the earth rolls round and lifts the sun into the sky.  When our colours waken and the earth and sky shimmer and the day’s concert opens.

It is time to tiptoe and whisper.

Walking

Normal leaving hour - leave thirty minutes earlier. Walking towards work.

It is time for listening and humming and feeling the earth and sky.

Nourishment

When you are hungry in the middle of the day and give yourself two hours.  When the summer warms our bodies through to the heart.

It is time to give your body nourishment and rest in the sun.

Standing Still

When the sun sets.  When the colours deepen and red glows and only swifts circle high and cry out. The air cools, noise subsides and the stars shine.

It is time to be still and remember. Music is kind.

Curtains

A peep behind the curtains at Portico Gallery 23a Knights Hill, SE27 0HS 17th and 18th May 11-6pm.

2nd weekend of Dulwich Open House 17th-18th May 2014

Come and see my new series of Curtained Paintings at The Portico Gallery, 23a Knights Hill, SE27 0HS.  We're open from 11am-6pm both days.