British Art Show and Sideshow in Nottingham!

Freshly uploaded piece on the Article Magazine website about the imminent British Art Show and Nottingham Sideshow...can't wait to jet over to Nottingham to take it all in.

“In the Days of Comet” is a science fiction novel by H.G.Wells, published in 1904, which tells of a society torn apart through poverty and corruption. A comet breaks through the ozone and enters the world’s atmosphere, gassing the entire population and sending all to sleep. Eventually people wake from the haze, but instead of all the depravity each person has a new found clarity and lust for life.

If only things were so easy! The next exhibition landing at Nottingham Contemporary this month bears the title ‘In the Days of Comet’, and it is The British Art Show, so we are naturally geared up for something apocalyptic. In reference to the comet as ‘harbinger of change’, will the show awaken us to the most crucial contemporary art of now?

Read more! Click here! 

Just got back from Frieze Art Fair and Brighton Photo Biennial, so much to say but so much to ponder over first so any remarks will come later.

Paintings by Amy Bennett

It's been a while since I've seen paintings that have made me do a little gasp! Amy Bennett's paintings seem to portray suburbia as I picture it in my head. I found her thanks to  It's Nice That magazine and their online blog which points out the nice things around us so we don't miss them.  Amy Bennett's work is certainly nice... and beautiful, and simple and captivating. 

Acutely aware that I'm gushing but this is oil painting just as I'd like to achieve it myself,  applying lighting and flat colour to build an atmosphere like that on film sets, of false and fiction and utopia. Bennett has literally painted from observation of miniature town models and scenery. They are clearly fabricated subjects but surely any painting of real life suburbia will be tweaked to some degree by the artist, even if unintentionally. Let's pretend these are real places and that one day we might relocate...

Stars in Stripes illustrative pursuits in Sheffield

The Wick at Both Ends, Sheffield asked the Stars to illustrate their cosy snug of a bar in a regal manner...which suited us all well, particularly Thomas Ball who has recently acquired an interest, and a few books, on crests and regal symbolism. Particluar highlights of the work are Alex Mac Peck's magnificent stag and Sarah Abbott's 'Notice the day' mural. Beautiful!

Click to see more of Stars in Stripes.

Louise Wheeler

Sarah Abbott

Thomas Ball

Castle and birdies - Jane Faram and Geo Law

Jane Faram

Hailey Evenett

Alex Mac Peck

Article Magazine and Manchester's Free for arts festival

Article is a magazine made in Sheffield (arguably the brightest, most useful and engaging zine/journal to have emerged from Sheffield in many years).  

Article Magazine says of itself; 'We like to present the stories of what’s around people, from architectural analysis to personal tales of strange subcultures to interviews with people who make things. Above all, we’re driven by the wish to make something fascinating and absorbing about the normal everyday'. 

Article is a guide which also wends its way to numerous distributors in Nottingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester. I'm very pleased to have recently joined the Article team as their Arts Editor!

Photograph by Gareth Hacking

On the website you'll find my first piece, on Manchester's Free for arts festival which launched last Friday and closes this Friday 8th. 

My stand-out favourite element of the festival is Papergirl... 

'Out walking the streets of Manchester this week, there’s a chance you might get pelted with a cardboard tube thrown at you by a passing cyclist. This is nothing but a lucky occurance. If you’re good enough at catching you’ll be the recipient of a collection of artists’ drawings found rolled up inside, the initiative of PaperGirl which is an artist run ‘urban action, party and bicycle workshop’.

Check out http://www.articlemagazine.co.uk/ to read the rest and there's also an interview I did with two of the festival curators.

Definitely look out for some of the festival if you find yourself in Manc, it's a short one and as you can imagine there is a broad variety of art to see and no admission fees! Wahey.

Screen printed house by Laura Gee

Toy Shop exhibition at the Art Corner, Manchester

http://toyshop-exhibition.blogspot.com/

Brightening up the waiting room...

Featuring these artists

In the Metabolic Bone Centre of the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, the Stars in Stripes spent a day illustrating the walls of a room with no windows or no particular stimuli.

For those patients spending time (though hopefully not too much of it) in this waiting room there are now seven new hills of Sheffield adorning the walls, and an array of characters and creatures playing parts in an overall surreal narrative, this should keep everyone entertained!

All photographs by Hailey Evenett

Nature Set - band illustration

Nature Set are a lovely band based in Sheffield, who recently asked me to illustrate one of their songs entitled 'Albatross' which you can hear here >

http://www.myspace.com/natureset

Kites, French Plums and Blackberries

Louise launching the rainbow kite, photograph by Jane Faram August 2010

Collecting fruit in St Malo, photograph by Jane Faram August 2010

I often pair my photographs or will create triptych to bring a sense of action and narative to my pictures. I thought this approach suited these photographs beautifully - they should be seen in one instance and as seperate viewpoints of one event.

Live Painting with fellow 'Stars in Stripes' at SOYO, Sheffield

The *new* Stars in Stripes Art Collective - debut at Tramlines festival, Sheffield

The Stars in Stripes, Live Art collective - we made our debut at the Washington in Sheffield on the Saturday of Tramlines. George was the initiator of the group and chose who he'd like to involve - as group dynamics go I think he got it spot on! All based in, or close to Sheffield, it was an inspiring weekend working amongst this vibrant group of artists and illustrators with eclectic ideas. Day two was at SOYO bar and gig venue, where more of the group were able to join us. We intend make more exciting pictures in the midst of events in the future, so keep an eye out. Better still take an immediate look at our website: http://starsinstripes.wordpress.com/


I worked on the same piece on both days, it was a sizeable board! I was thinking about traditional circus posters, pulling together something ridiculous involving unlikely animals, props and events - I thought immediately of performers and crowd pleasers to suit the situation. I hope it was fun to watch.

I made enlargements of some old magazines pictures to collage, another element in the live art which I think is engaging for people. Thankfully I remembered my scissors but I'm afraid I forgot the glue, so cut-outs were haphazardly adhered using paint. 


Music wise I caught the great Echo and the Bunnymen, an event made golden by the appearance of Richard Hawley on guitar, the Dum Dum Girls were sultry and played catchy songs for us, and the Heebie Jeebies were as ever fun fun fun.

The Harley Hotel - wall art

 

A snap of the Live art on the walls of the Harley Hotel venue, Sheffield. Made in the good company of Geo Law, Sarah Abbott and Lee Bamforth. I arrived later than the rest so things were well underway. 

Sarah had already built up her beautiful, retro painted areas of colour and delicate patterns which gracefully seemed to pull our varying styles together. Shown here are George's characters in all their surreal, cute but slightly menacing glory and I penned the hot air balloons because lately I've been thinking alot about early modes of transport, often finished to a beautiful standard. I wanted to paint something a little like the original Montgolfier Brothers balloons in all their vibrant, ornamental brilliance.