Things I didn't blog about in 2023: Awesome Artwork

It's apparently a new year, so of course that means I'll start posting all the stuff I was too lazy or disorganised to post in the last year. I'll start with ( as the blog title implies ) some amazingly awesome artwork. First of all, here's a Pulp-inspired piece by the hugely-talented Mark Reynolds, whose work can be found at Stuff By Mark. He produces some cracking Pop art, drawing on influences from old movie posters and classic songs. And, unlike, many chancers who basically steal "vintage" artwork and reproduce it as their own, Mark is an imaginative, accomplished artist with a keen eye and a dry wit. After the phenomenal Pulp gig in Manchester last Summer, it was a no-brainer for me to buy this limited-edition print and give it to Sarah for her birthday. She loves the song Common People ( and Pulp songs in general ) so she was more than happy with this representation of what is possibly Jarvis Cocker's greatest line. I don't own the artwork below ( unfortunately ) but it's another of Mark's pieces, a cheeky interpretation of Pulp's Disco 2000 as an Archie comic. Isn't it great?

Casting my ancient and twisted mind further back in time, I find myself in balmy Bedford back in September 2023. Here, at the awesome NICE comics con, I bought the lovely warrior woman print below from the equally lovely Liam Sharp...

I bent Liam's ear at some length about his stupendous Starhenge comic, and how I thought it was one of the most fab, groovy and cosmically-aware mags I'd read since the halcyon days of Heavy Metal. He seemed suitably happy with that and we also chatted about his recent move back to Brexit Island after years in the States, and about his old mucker, the late, lamented Steve Dillon...

Bedford's premier comic shop, Close Encounters, was showcasing some of Dillon's original artwork, to coincide with NICE con, which they organise. After leaving the con, I literally had half an hour to spare before meeting Sarah so I hot-footed it ( as best I could at the time, with a dodgy back ) to Close Encounters to check out the awesome artwork. ( Hey! Good name for a blog post! ) The gallery was a real treasure-trove of wonders, featuring iconic pages from 2000 AD, Warrior, Preacher, Doctor Who Weekly ( as was ) plus many more pulsatin' publications. It really showed what a loss to the world the passing of the great Steve Dillon was...

Finally, a completely different style of artwork: a beautiful, Aardman-inspired mural in Bristol, the home of Wallace and Gromit, Morph, Shaun the Sheep etc. etc.

Cracking cheese, Gromit!

"Released" Exhibition - Hereford College of Arts

 Hello. ( Hello? ) It may sound stupid but sometimes I almost forget I've got a blog. I really should post more stuff here. ( Yeah, yeah, you've heard it all before, haven't you Dear Reader? )

Anyway, here's some artwork from an exhibition our son James helped curate recently. This was "Released", a showcase for the second year of the Fine Arts Level 5 degree course at Hereford College of Arts.

Here's James welcoming discerning art-lovers ( and anybody else, really ) to the temporary gallery in the heart of the lovely city of Hereford...

( Yes, he's developed proper Lockdown Hair since he went back to University in March. ) Below are some views of his sadly untitled but very wonderful piece of sculpture and some photos of the different stages of its construction...

This was obviously a very personal project for James, as can be seen from the description below:

We're very proud of what he's accomplished in his artwork and in the very fact that he's at University. He's the first person in our family to ever do that and, as he's on the autistic spectrum and really struggled with his early schooling, it's a real credit to him that he's done so spectacularly well.

As well as James' piece, the standard of all the other artists' work was also extremely high, so here are some further examples, starting with James' friend Callum's ultra-cool street art:

James with proud mum Sarah and Callum's skateboard collection  -

It's interesting to see how art students are still fiercely political. Back in my A-Level days ( which is as far as I took my art education ) the topical themes would have been the likes of nuclear war, apartheid or police brutality  -  now they're more likely to be gender politics or climate change.

All in all, it was a hugely impressive, interesting and challenging exhibition. James messaged earlier to say they've cleared the exhibition and locked the doors today  -  second year done, one more to go...

Post number 1000: Visions of Cornwall

 

I know... post number 1000? Who woulda thought it? 

I thought I'd celebrate this blogging millstone, er milestone, with some photos of our beloved Cornwall. With 2020 obviously being a living nightmare in many ways, we really didn't think we'd be able to get away to Cornwall this year but somehow we did. We had a week away in July and another in August, being extremely careful where we went and what we did, and it was lovely to recharge the ol' batteries and see some beautiful countryside. We know many places down there where you can get away from the crowds, the one below being a perfect example:

Here's Sarah soaking up some rays and the view from the top of Rosewall Hill. This is just a beautiful spot, just a couple of miles out of St Ives, a rugged landscape of gorse bushes, huge blocks of stone, old mine workings and spectacular views. In fact, this is one of the few places in Cornwall where you can see both the North and South coasts because the land is so narrow at this point. In this photo you can just glimpse St Michael's Mount rising from Mount's Bay in the South.

And above is the view to the North, more perfectly blue sea and sky...

And, if we're in Cornwall, there have to be photos of beaches:

Here we are with the iconic St Michael's Mount behind us... plus loads of herring gulls.

And the next few are from Perranporth, near to where we were staying in St Agnes, and where our daughter Sophie is currently living and working as a dancer.

Lighthouses are also a major draw for us in Cornwall, like this beauty at Godrevy:

We took Sophie for a walk around Godrevy and we were lucky enough to see some seals out in the water. Didn't manage to get any photos of them but these two were happy to pose for me instead.

Near to where we were staying was Wheal Kitty, site of a former 19th century tin and copper mine, now abandoned to the elements... and the graffiti artists. Here's James getting some artistic inspiration or maybe planning some parkour moves. We discovered this site on our July trip, when it was just me and Sarah, and knew James would love the whole area so we took him there in August.

The concrete remains of the mine's processing rooms are being reclaimed by vegetation and it gives the surroundings a very Ballardian feel, like a ruined temple choked by the jungle.

Even Rigatoni Rat came along for the visit...

As well as the beaches, countryside and abandoned architecture, we also found time for some art...

These photos are from the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, nestled in a verdant valley near Penzance, overlooking Mount's Bay. Stunning sculptures by top contemporary artists in an absolutely beautiful setting.

( We're going to move to Cornwall and live in a Lego house... )

This piece is by one of James' favourite artists, David Nash, so he was very happy to find it here.

Rigatoni Rat turned up here as well...

Just down the road from Tremenheere we stumbled across the National Dahlia Collection at Varfell and had a wander around the fields, looking at their multitude of dahlias, a riot of colour.

Unfortunately, literally as I've been writing this post, I've Googled the Collection and found it has since shut down, presumably another victim of the damage caused to the economy by the pandemic. A real shame. 

The main reason for our second trip to Cornwall in August was to see Sophie for her 25th (!) birthday. Although conditions weren't ideal and we couldn't do all the things we'd usually do, we were so glad to be able to visit her and see her dance  -  in a socially-distanced way, of course.

So, that's it for my Cornish memories. As I said previously, we were so lucky to get away, considering a few months back we were still in lockdown and couldn't really go anywhere. To be honest, travelling to Cornwall and trying to deal with crowds of holiday-makers was quite daunting in these times, but we managed it and the break away was very welcome. Here's hoping we can safely do the same next year.