all work and no play makes for a dull day


with a one week sabbatical at the Bruderhof and a trip to auchincruive for the glasshouse project both iminent there never seems to be sufficient time, with the energy of the town craving attention from my sketch pad I find more and more that my time away is wasted however a rest, even if only a busmans holiday is always welcome.

I have recently finished a short series that my friend and critique Tim, fondly terms 'my blue series' that was prompted by an initial piece destined for submission to the Sue Ryder Care Foundations 'Art in Recovery' fund raising event later in the year. this piece, in acrylic on canvas (101 x81) is entitled 'inner sanctum', a piece, though I say so my self, that I am more than a little pleased with.



Other pieces that flowed from inner sanctum
since my last emage entries I have also finished a series of Karmic Mandela type pieces that were, to say the least fun and in a surprising way still finds an addition to the collection quite regularly, as meditationary pieces they are part and parcel of the 'blue series and form a singular story, more of that another day, perhaps




I have already mentioned the town, without which I am sure, madness would lie in wait at the end of each days labour, without the inspiration, pleasure and sheer fun of sketching the town it would simply be work work and no work, it is as they say, all work and no play makes for a dull day. The more involved I become with the town the more of its secrets that it reveals to me, even to a point where I have started to take a canvas and charcoal out at night in a bid to capture a part of it that by all accounts is missed in a greater degree by the average person in the street than the town in daylight, for me it is a beautiful and vibrant town, steeped in history that is evident at every turn of a corner, why are there not more artists out in the town I can only wonder but then maybe that is just a thing of the past and probably where I am in my career, still trying to capture those lost years of living in the 'real world'.









Both the sketchwork, charcoal and accrylic works are coming together into a wonderful history lesson and will be the exhibition works for next septembers exhibition in the Doodle Room in Kendal, as far as newcastle and the career stuff is concerned, I am still keeping that under wraps until more progress has been made, both on the venue and the work being prepared for there.
I will be posting the full range of mandela pics, town sketches and paintworks on the Fototime site and will publish links in subsequent blog entrys.
Oh well, another day over, another blog entry, I hope you have enjoyed the images, apologies for the quality of the pics, or lack of, the new camera, following the demise of my tried and trusted, is giving a few teething problems but hope to rectify that in the near future.
good bye, thankyou and God Bless.
andrew

Popular posts from this blog

A Quiet Return It’s been a few years since anything new appeared on this blog. No dramatic exit, no crisis, no grand story — just life unfolding in its own quiet way while I wandered off into a long stretch of creative exploration. I didn’t spend that time chasing expectations or trying to produce anything impressive. In fact, it was the opposite. I let myself make things without pressure, without anticipation, and without any need for an audience. It was a good kind of absence — the sort that gives you space to breathe and rediscover what you enjoy. Along the way, painting slipped out of my hands. Not abandoned in frustration, just… released. It had carried me through many chapters, but eventually it felt like a language I’d said enough in. So I turned to sculpture, almost by accident, and found myself on a long, meandering tour through every material within reach. Papier‑mâché came first — messy, forgiving, and strangely liberating.Foam followed, stubborn but full of possibility.Cardboard had its moment too, proving far more architectural than I expected. Each material taught me something different about form, weight, and patience. And then, gradually, I settled into polymer clay. It felt right — structured but flexible, expressive without demanding perfection. It opened a new path, and with it came another journey: exploring genre, tone, and character in ways paint never quite allowed. So yes, I’ve been away. But not idle.Just quietly occupied in the kind of creative work that doesn’t need announcing. Now the blog returns — not as a relaunch, not as a promise, but simply as a continuation. A place to share what I’ve been shaping, learning, and enjoying along the way. If you’ve found your way back here too, welcome. Let’s see where this next chapter leads.

Polymer Clay 01

grounding