Painting from the 1980’s

Posted on November 2, 2019November 2, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 1980's, Art, Design, Life, MP, Oil on canvas, Old painting, Portrait, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent6 Comments

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I have a few images of my old paintings on slides. I would like to get them transferred onto a digital platform before they deteriorate too much. This painting was actually bought by our old MP, Mark Fisher, and I was really proud to have known him. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago.

It’s funny how you find things and they bring back old memories. This painting was done of a friend. I deliberately tried to alter the angles of the window to make it more atmospheric. I would like to do more portraits if anyone is interested.

Co-op Stoke

Posted on October 31, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Co-op building, Colour, Photo, Spode, Spode site, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

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I love this old domed building in Stoke. I had thought it was a cinema, but apparently it was a co-operative shop before it closed down. I still think it was probably a cinema before that? It’s so grand. The white of the building and the browns and terracottas of the building on front of it make a good contrast. The hot was taken from the Spode Site car park in Eleanora Street, Stoke. The view is looking towards Hartshill and the D Road. It was taken on my phone one day last week.

The D Road.

Posted on October 26, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged D Road, Debbie McAndrew, Fun, Meadows suite, Play, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Traffic, writerLeave a comment

The D Road is a play we went to see today about a woman affected by the D Road.

The D Road is a dual carriage way that runs through Stoke-on-Trent and joins with the M6 motorway North and south of the city making a D shape.

The play is written by Debbie McAndrew. The story unfolds as an elderly lady is frightened by a man hanging around her house. Her grandson catches him and demands to know what he is up to…. The answers change all their lives…

Very enjoyable. Put on inside the Meadows suite at Spode. It was quite cold as its an empty factory, so we were given blankets to keep warm. Very enjoyable.

Home is Where the Art is revisited.

Posted on October 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Exhibitions, Group exhibition, Life, Longport, Newcastle-under-Lyme, One inch challenge, Painting, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, The Brampton museum and art gallery, Waiting room gallery4 Comments

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I’ve has a busy day! I took eight paintings up to the Brampton museum and art gallery for their annual Christmas show, which is an exhibition by a group of local artists to se their art through December. I still have two paintings in there for the Orme Art group show. Then I popped over to the Waiting room gallery to see their ‘Home is where the Art is – revisited’ this is another group show on for a couple of weeks. I have two paintings in it.

I’ve never had so much work exhibited in so many places at once!

My painting – on TV!

Posted on October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged ©, Burslem, Burslem witch, Copyright?, molly leigh, Murals, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, The Leopard Hotel, Theodore Gericault2 Comments

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I was just watching TV and saw this! My mural painting of the witch Molly Leigh who lived in Burslem and who is famous in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The painting is based on a picture of a French peasant by Theodore Gericault. The cottage in the background is based on photos of her home.

It’s not the first time an image of one of my paintings has appeared in the media. A few months ago my painting of the Burslem riot was used in the sentinel paper, again without letting me know.

What can I do? How can I at least get recognition?

Red morning sky

Posted on October 22, 2019October 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Dawn, Leaves, Life, Light, Northern hemisphere, Red, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Sun, Sunrise, Trees, YellowLeave a comment

I woke up to this red sky about half an hour ago. The sky is now more yellow and the sun is above the horizon. The light is streaming through the leaves and lighting them up. The red sky does not bode well for later on… Red sky in the morning shepherd’s warning (or sailors), but it certainly makes a breathtaking sight right in the heart of the city.

Rie’s little animals

Posted on October 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Ceramics, Design, Longport, Pottery, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Waiting room galleryLeave a comment

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These little animals are by my friend Rie. She’s also made pumpkins, and they are for sale at the Waiting room gallery in Longport, Stoke-on-Trent. Some of them are based on Egyptian gods, others look like cats, dogs and foxes.

I’ve already got a few of Rie’s pieces and I bought an animal from this collection. I think she might be making a chess set soon.

Badly drawn violinist

Posted on October 20, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Barn dance, Black and white, Dance, Drawing, Fun, Life, Penkhull, Penkhull mystery play, Penkhull Village Hall, Sketching, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Urban Sketchers2 Comments

I did these sketches tonight because I’m part of urban sketchers. These were drawn at the Mystery play barn dance up at Penkhull village hall. The band laying were called the Shropshire Hero’s and the barn dance caller was Baz Parkes.

It was excellent fun although I was helping behind the bar for part of it. Just watching people dance was great. Some do well, others make mistakes. The worst thing that happened was someone accidentally stood on my foot. But that was because I was drawing, and I think I was a bit in the way, so I wasn’t looking and got stood on. I was more worried because the dancer almost fell over me!

The other problem with drawing dancers? You guessed it.. They don’t stand still!

Panto

Posted on October 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Drama, Fun, Humour, Life, Panto, Pantomime, Penkhull, Play, Stoke-on trent, TheatreLeave a comment

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Have you heard of Panto? Or better known as Pantomime?

No? It’s something that goes on here in the UK around Christmas time.

Usually seen in a theatre it consists of brightly coloured sets, with brightly clothed people, messing about, telling an adventurous story while telling awful jokes and singing contemporary songs.

We do this in Penkhull, but for the at two years someone from the group has written the panto/pantomime, rather than buying in a script.

We started rehearsing last week. Lots of people who have done it before, greatful to get a couple of lines and be able to play act again. Most modern pantos seem to have commercial sponsorship, but in our case we just mention local shops. We don’t have advertisements in the panto, unless it’s jokey ones in the programme.

This time we are doing Aladdin. Set to open for four performances (too many for’s?) in February 2020, so the cast can take Christmas off!

Oh yes we can!

The little Goldmine

Posted on October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Arthur Berry, Artist, Burslem, Charcoal, Fun, Humour, Life, Painter, Pastels, Stoke-on trent, writerLeave a comment

Saw this in Burslem today. On the main road from Cobridge up to Burslem.

Arthur Berry was an artist based in Stoke-on-Trent where he produced pictures of everyday figures and landscapes with a style of his own. Charcoal and pastels are used to chisel faces out of blackness, strokes of grey and white float on top of murky reds to bring out the dark shapes of buildings.

Arthur was also a writer and poet. We attended several of his plays when they were performed at the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent in the 1980’s. We have a copy of a couple of his books. He was a very creative artist.

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Tag: Stoke-on trent