London – bexODESSA

Goodbye London, thanks for the chips and the raging allergy

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Low Residency, project 1

Written – Friday, 17th March

Currently, I am sat in my hotel room, bag packed, watching breakfast telly, having just eaten my “I’m very poorly, I’ll eat what I want” breakfast, which consisted of a pot of chocolate pudding and a Bakewell tart. I will be heading to the airport soon, for what will either be a short trip home, or should the misfortune that befell my fella, befall me, a 3-day odyssey that will take me back and forth across the Irish Sea and a jaunty trip to Liverpool.

My body seems to be making a sterling effort of fighting whatever ails me, as I feel mildly better today. Unlike yesterday, which saw me getting progressively worse as the day wore on. I made the difficult, but ultimately wise decision not to attend the last day of class activities – i.e. visiting several art galleries together. I was disappointed I couldn’t go, as it was the day I was most looking forward to, but no one wants a moribund mucus-dripper for their art-viewing companion. Instead, I wandered the streets of London looking for the ghost of Mrs Quick.

Mrs Quick was the intended subject of my Interim Show painting that I was unable to finish in time for the show. Now the show is finished, I can resume my work on the painting, the start of which is research into her story. In short (I’ll write at length in another post), Mrs Quick died in the 1928 Thames flood, when her basement flat in Westminster became entirely submerged. Something about her story caught my attention and gave me the idea for my “Confluence” research project as a whole.

_{Mrs Quick – Acrylic on paper – test detail}

Anyway, I decided to walk to Westminster to see what I could find. To be honest, I didn’t find much save the street where she had lived and sadly died (the house long demolished and replaced), and the local pub she may well have frequented, and which I did (alone, in a corner, slathered in anti-bac). Post ghost-hunting, I made the mistake of catching a tube back to my hotel, which re-triggered my allergy, making my symptoms worse than ever, and leaving me utterly miserable for the rest of the day.

I think I’m allergic to London

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Low Residency

I woke up feeling crap this morning, with a blocked nose, sore throat, and red, itchy eyes. It’s happened before when I’ve been in London, especially when travelling on the tubes that are deep underground, as I did yesterday when I went to the V&A. Either that or I have cold, though the itchy eyes leads me to assume it is the former. Hedging my bets, I traipsed to the 24hr supermarket at the crack of dawn and bought supplies, more for comfort than remedy.

Our in-person classes were cancelled today, on account of the tube and teacher strikes. Instead, we had an artist’s talk via zoom, though, unfortunately, the internet isn’t very good in my hotel room, so I could only listen to part of it, and couldn’t participate in the discussion. So, I took the opportunity to finish wrapping my painting, ready for the courier to collect tomorrow. Jonathan, our kind-hearted teacher, had a go wrapping it when he collected it from the exhibition, but let’s just say, we all have our strengths.

Because I didn’t have any classes for the rest of the day, I thought I better do something arty, so I went to a beautiful bookshop around the corner, and looked for books relevant to my research project about water. It’s been a while since I’ve spent time browsing in a bookshop (I mostly buy books on Amazon); what an absolute pleasure.

Next, I went in search of somewhere nice to have lunch and peruse my new books, stopping at a chemist on the way to buy some antihistamines. I came across a nice looking pub called the Norfolk Arms. Having just completed an application for an art residency in Norfolk, I thought it was a fortuitous sign. As I was peeping in the window, to see what it was like, a friendly old fella passing-by informed me that the food was lovely, so in I went. I’m so glad I did. I had a sublime afternoon, hocked-up on antihistamines, eating delicious food, and reading the introductions of my wonderful new books.

I faded by the time I got back to my hotel this afternoon, so I took a nap but didn’t sleep. For my evening activities, I took my parcel down to reception, went to the shop for more tissues, watched the Ramsey Town Commission meeting (that my fella was chairing), and wrote this post. Now I’m going to have a pot-noodle for tea, and sit in my bed and watch The Repair Shop. London, baby!

Vic & Albie’s knick knacks

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Low Residency

Today our class visited the Victoria & Albert Museum. We were there for a talk and private viewing of items from the museum’s digital art collection. It is not my favourite type of art, but the woman who gave the talk was very engaging, which made viewing the work more enjoyable.

Afterwards, I had a wander around the museum, looking at all the beautiful objects on display. There were so many wonderful things to see. Here are a few of my favourite:

As beautiful as these things are, my absolute favourite was the iron work, some of which was the most exquisite I have ever seen.

I had a bit of a shock when I got back to the hotel. The day before I had sent my clothes out to be laundered. It was soon clear I had misunderstood the service, because what I got back was my scruffy, arty clothes on hangers, wrapped in the plastic, and my knickers neatly folded in a box, all for the eye-watering price of £63!

Speaking of knickers, before I had the bright idea of availing myself of the hotel laundry service, I decided to replenish my knicker stock at Morrisons, and was alarmed to discover that what I had bought was the biggest knickers I have ever seen. My fella got the shock of his life when he saw them, and asked why in god’s name was I wearing a leotard.

And speaking of my fella, I am pleased to say that he finally made it home, after his arduous three day journey of trying to get there.

I can now officially say “come up and see my etchings”

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Low Residency

I had my first ever etching class today. It was very a different picture-making process for me, but I really enjoyed it. There are quite a few preparatory steps that go into making an etching, it’s messy and convoluted, but the final step of peeling back the piece of paper from the etching plate is deliciously satisfying and well worth the preceding effort.

It was also my first time at Central Saint Martins. I was quite stressed going there this morning, as I didn’t know the way. But once I got to Kings Cross Station, I just followed a group of scruffy looking people and hey-presto, there it was. It is very impressive, and must be amazing to attend on a daily basis for an entire degree, though, truth be told, I’d rather be in my little house by the sea. I did take some photos of CSM, but this one on the internet had a much better perspective.

Along with all the art schooly facilities, the campus has a selection of cafes, bars, and restaurants, one of which I frequented for lunch. My fella had told me off for only eating chips while on this trip, so I was sure to send him this photo to show him that today I added protein, fruit, and beans to my diet.

Speaking of my fella, would you believe that the poor soul is on his way back to the Tavistock Hotel AGAIN, having spent the past 6 hours at the airport waiting for his flight that never came. He is now beyond exhausted and stressed, and has vowed never to leave the Island again…that’s if he ever makes it back there. He will attempt the trip again tomorrow, this time taking a train to Liverpool and flying to the Island from there. He just messaged that he’s 6 minutes away, so I better get his Guiness in.

Living it up in Londontown

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Interim Show

I didn’t write my post last night because I was a drunken fool – as in the ‘fell into bed and passed out’ variety. It doesn’t take much to get me sozzled, so when my fella and sister, unbeknown to me, were buying me doubles, it only took a couple for me to be well on my way to a stupor. I knew something was up when my fella was telling us about an old dear who is being nominated for an OBE, and I started crying. This didn’t bode well, as it was just pre-dinner drinks. As proof, here are the photos I took on the way from the bar to the restaurant.

The photos are of Royal Victoria Dock, where my sister and her husband were staying, and where we decided to go for dinner, at a lovely restaurant called Top1Forever, which had beautiful views of the river. At least, they would’ve been beautiful if I had remembered to take my glasses.

We all had a lovely time, and it was great to see my sister and her husband again. They had come down from Cambridgeshire, where they live, to see the exhibition. Things didn’t get off to the best start, as my fella and I were late for the meet-up, on account of the fact that we were lolling about in a luxurious movie theatre watching Antman (a treat for my Marvel-loving fella). When I say luxurious, I mean big, couch-like seats, and cocktails brought to you during the pre-screening adverts. The movie went longer than we anticipated, and then I lost my phone and had to go back for it, plus, the actual location of the theatre was confusing, all of which added to our lateness and my sister’s understandable displeasure at having been left travel-weary, drinkless, and with no idea where we were.

Things didn’t really improve when next I frogmarched everyone to the exhibition, in an effort to get there before it closed. We made it in the nick of time, allowing us to have a quick look around and ohh an ahh at all the things on display, and take the obligatory photos of my painting.

After the exhibition, we stopped off at our hotel for a pre-dinner drink, only there was no where to sit. Leaving my still travel-weary, drinkless sister and her husband standing around, my fella and I popped up to our room so I could drop off my bag. But we dillydallied too much (him putting cream on his sore feet, and me changing out of my 4-day-old clothes and having a wee zhuzh). My sister was not amused by our antics, but all was forgiven once we got to a bar that did have seats and drinking commenced.

Today we went to the morning service at West London Synagogue. A lovely young man had his Bar Mitzvah, which is always a pleasure to witness. Also, a 90 year old woman her much-belated Bat Mitzvah, fulfilling her long-held dream of learning Hebrew. It was very moving and naturally made me cry.

My fella and I then made our way to London Bridge, so we could take a good look at the river. Once there, we decided to visit our old haunt…the Shard. For our first mini-break together 3 1/2 years ago, my fella, in an effort to impress me, took us to the Shangri-la. I most certainly was impressed! Anyway, we thought it would be romantic to have a drink in the bar. However, the bar was full, so we went next door, still in the Shard, and had a drink there. We managed to get a table by the window, and had a wonderful time sipping on our White Russians, eating spicy nuts, and surveying London as far as the eye can see.

Shipping News

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Interim Show, Project 2

Today was dedicated to all things maritime, in the hopes of furthering my research for the Ann project. It began with a trip to the the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Although it is a beautiful museum, I was disappointed to discover that it doesn’t house or display any information about Britain’s Convict Transportation system. Even the Museum’s Caird Library does not have any documents pertaining to it within its archives. However, the librarian there did steer us in the direction of the National Archives in Kew. We did contemplate taking a trip down there, but the weather was so cold and miserable, plus they prefer, though do not require that you to make an appointment. So, instead, I filled out an online archive research form, requesting any information they might have about Ann and/or the Amphitrite shipwreck.

Seeing we were in Greenwich, we decided to visit the Cutty Sark. I’ve never been on a ship like that before, and I have to say I was very impressed. I especially loved seeing the top deck and sleeping quarters. When I was in the hold where the cargo was kept, I thought of Ann’s experience of being locked in the hold of the Amphitrite while it was being wrecked during a storm in the middle of the night. It must have been terrifying. The Amphitrite was more like the Bounty than the Cutty Sark, but it still gave me an idea of the kind of vessel she was on.

The highlight of the day was going on the cable car across the Thames. I was very scared at first, much to my fella’s amusement, but I soon got used to it. It was an amazing way to see the river, and we were even able to see Trinity Buoy Wharf, where the exhibition is, as well as our hotel. Unfortunately, due to the miserable weather, the photos I took left a bit to be desired.

We’ve decided just to hang out in the hotel this evening. There’s a lovely bar downstairs and a McDonald’s next door, so we’ll be well fed and watered.

Day drinking is not for everyone

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Holidays, Interim Show

I’m a lame drinker. I hate the feeling of being drunk and loath hangovers. Plus, I am prone to migraines, so I can’t over do it. Still, offer me a drink in the middle of the day, and I’ll likely say yes. In my opinion, there are few greater pleasures in life than drinking during the day. When that day is on holiday, the pleasure is even greater. By far the best holiday drink is on the plane. It is a libation of sorts, separating the mundane from the marvellous. Our trip to London finally rolled around today, and like all good holiday goers, we began by drinking on the plane.

Once in London, we hightailed it to the exhibition venue at Trinity Warf to drop off the painting I am showing. I got to meet our wonderful course leader, Jonathan, in the flesh for the first time, and also had a tour of the space, which is amazing.

My fella and I then took a stroll to Canary Warf and found a beautiful restaurant on the water called The Hawksmoor. We went to the lower part of the restaurant, called The Lowback, which was a bit more casual, due to our somewhat scruffy, country-bumpkin attire.

The food was great and included the best chips I have ever eaten, as well as these salted caramel things that seemed a bit piddly sitting on the plate, but were ridiculously delicious.

It was dark and raining on our way back to the hotel, but the combination of the rain and lights from the surrounding buildings looked beautiful, and reminded me of why I love cities.

Equally beautiful is the view from our hotel, which includes a glimpse of the Thames. I’m completely in love with the river after reading Peter Ackroyd’s book about it. It has a long and fascinating history, and is full of wonder and mystery. I look forward to exploring it in person over the next few days.

Flogging a dead horse-hat

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Green, Interim Show, Painting, project 1, Research Project

The other day I was lamenting to my fella about the agony I was going through trying to paint my green paintings, one of which I was hoping to get finished for the Interim Show. To clarify, he asked if I meant the paintings that if I didn’t do them there would be absolutely no consequences. That made me laugh so much. Because he was right, not just about the green paintings, but about painting in general. Absolutely nothing of consequence would happen if I never painted another thing. Sure, I’d fail my MA, and have a lot of time on hands, but no one would die, and except for a handful of people, no one in the world would even notice. And yet, I put myself under an inordinate amount of pressure, and approach my painting practice like my life, if not the world, depends on it. This has been true of the green paintings, particularly the one I had in mind for the interim show.

I absolutely love the painting I had in mind for the show, but I have come to the painful conclusion that it simply won’t be finished in time. Because it is a new type of painting for me, there is a certain developmental process that it has to go through, and rushing or missing out aspects of that process has so far resulted in a frustrating, dead-horse-flogging mess. So, before I flog the idea into oblivion, I’m going to return to the beginning of the development process, so I can build a firm foundation for the type of paintings I want to do. In which case, for the next couple of months, I will focus on colour and drawing figures.

During my last one to one tutorial, Jonathan put me onto a brilliant colour theorist, Florent Farges. I’ve already watched one of his videos, and it was extremely helpful, as is his self-designed colour-wheel system, that takes into account hue, chroma, and value. It’s all pretty technical, but I think it will be well worth the time and effort it will take to get to grips with it. So, watching his other videos, studying his wheel/s, and experimenting with colour is high on my list of priorities.

I have also signed-up for a couple of online illustration courses. So far, they have been enjoyable and easy to follow. I don’t want to do realistic drawings, and am not interested in portraiture, but I do want to develop my ability to draw expressive characters which convey emotion.

Instead of showing one of the green paintings at the Interim Show, I am going to show a painting I did when I lived in Australia. I have never shown it before, and very few people have ever seen it. That’s because I hid it in my studio due to what I perceived as a mistake in it. I always thought it was a shame, because apart from that, I thought it was a beautiful painting. Then COVID came along, the world went crazy, and I finally plucked up the courage to paint-out the mistake, and I’m pleased to say it worked, and the painting is now fit to be seen.

According to Greek mythology, Acheron (lit. river of woe) is the name of one the rivers in the underworld, which, along with the river Styx, Charon ferries the souls of the dead across. It’s an apt title for the painting, as I painted it at a time when I was miserable with unrequited love, an experience that sent my life into a tail-spin of hadesian proportions. Ahh, at least I got this painting out of it. A fair price I think.

Down by the river-cide

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Interim Show, Painting, Reading Group, Week in Review

While researching the history of the Thames river for my Interim Show work, I came across information about London’s lost rivers, one of which is the Fleet. Technically, the Fleet is not lost, rather it is covered over and now functions as a sewer that spews its effluent-rich waters into the Thames under Black Friars bridge. Fleet Street takes its name from the river (ironic that a conduit of muck should lend its name to a thoroughfare synonymous with the British Press), which was alternatively called the Holborn – derived from the word ‘burn’ meaning ‘river’ or ‘stream’, after which the area of Holborn is named. Once a vibrant London river, with its headwaters in Hampstead Heath, the Fleet is now a subterranean Acheron that London has choked with its waste. It can’t be a good thing to kill a river. I wonder if the Fleet will have its revenge?

Along with the Fleet, I have been learning a lot about the Thames. The best source of information so far is a book by Peter Ackroyd, called “Thames – Sacred River”. It is beautifully written and utterly riveting 😉 .

Never mind a single painting for the show, I think I could get a whole body of work out the subject, I am completely captivated. For now though, I will stick with the painting I have in mind. It is somewhat of a departure from the work I normally do, but it is a direction I have been wanting to go in for a while now (namely figurative). As such, it’s all a bit new and scary, but I guess that is why I chose to do an MFA, to be challenged and to develop my work. I am still not sure what style I would like to use for the figures in the painting, so I have just been experimenting this week. The header image is one such experiment.

When I go to London in March, I’d love to spend some time with the Thames, walking on its banks, crossing its bridges, perhaps even taking a boat ride on it. I also wouldn’t mind doing a spot of mudlarking – it would be great to find a little treasure lurking in its mud – though that might take some forethought, as a I believe you need a permit to do it.

Speaking of mudlarking, here is a video I made for The Wisdom Daily a while back, about London’s most famous mudlark.

The Dark One

CSM MFA - Progress Blog, Experiments, Green, Interim Show, Painting

Some artists like silence when they paint, others like music. Personally, I like watching documentaries (technically I like listening to them, though I do pop my head up now and then to see what’s going on). My absolute favourite are pre-history ones, especially if they deal with religious practices and/or death-related rituals. I also like documentaries about water, hence why I chose water as the subject for my overall MFA project. As with pre-history, I especially like the religious aspect of water, such as its role in creation stories and its use as a conduit of transformation and spiritual cleansing. These two roles of water are almost universal, which is something I find fascinating. I especially love Celtic beliefs surrounding sacred bodies of water – that they are portals to the underworld, repositories for sacred objects, sources of healing, and, as with rivers, the embodiment of deities.

My idea for the Interim Show is to do a painting about the river Thames (from Celtic “Tamesas” – “the dark one“). Not only is the exhibition space on the bank of the Thames, but it is also an incredible waterway, with a long and fascinating history. I have chosen a small aspect of its history to focus on, and am happy to say that I now have an overall concept for the painting. The above image is a little sketch of one element of the idea. I don’t normally show/explain my workings/preparations for a painting, but we are encouraged to do so on the course, so I thought I’d give it a go. Once I have the concept rendered in a series of small preparatory paintings, it is my intention to produce one big painting for the show. I am not sure if I will have enough time to produce the big painting, in which case, I will submit the small ones.

As well as developing the concept of the painting, I spent the weekend painting more eyes. I think I have done enough for now, so will move on to some of the other elements I want in the painting.