"Would you like some new Pen & Inks?"

Was the question I was recently asked by the artist Anne Bachelier.

I don't think she really needed to ask as I am sure that she knew what my answer would be.

"Yes please", or perhaps "oui merci" I should have said

as her exhibition here at imagine Gallery is getting closer and closer and I had vowed to myself

that I would try and refresh my [schoolboy] memory of the French language

before meeting her.

Somehow, I don't think that is ever going to happen so when the time comes I will just try and speak English with a French accent and perhaps throw in the occasional "mange tout", "petit pois"

or even "merde' just so that she understands that I am a well travelled

and an educated man.

Anne's offer of some Ink and watercolour "drawings" for the summer was an offer I really couldn't resist.

I adore all of her art but I am not sure what it is that draws me so much to her

Pen & Ink.

Maybe it is the spontaneity,

maybe it is because of the gaps and spaces that your own imagination has to fill,

perhaps it is the attention to fine detail or maybe it is when I discover birds and creatures hidden

within the details.

I just find them very powerful and moving.

So, of course I jumped at her offer.

She then made it hard for me by offering me a choice of works.

"You can have one or all of them".

This was bad because I wanted them all [even though they will never be mine]

but I thought that would seem to be greedy,

so I pretended to ponder until I had made a final considered decision.

I left one off my list.

Lets be honest, telling an artist to "send everything that you have" doesn't sound too professional.

"They will be with you this week", she replied.

Have you noticed how sometimes a week will "fly past" and on other occasions it lasts forever?

This was one of those "forever" occasions.

Each day I would watch every courier van that stopped close to the gallery,

in the hope that it would be our new "drawings" arriving.

Of course in the end I had forgotten about things when a man walked in with a package from France.

After overcoming my initial excitement, I then left the package leaning against a wall

for perhaps an hour or so.

Why?

Because I could only enjoy the opening of it once and I wanted to savour that moment in private,

not have it interrupted with a visitor coming inside.

[After all, what do customers think this place is, a shop or something?]

Two hours passed, that was it I couldn' wait any longer.

I carefully cut the brown paper wrapping paper, putting aside the dispatch notes [for souvenir's],

inside there was a large foam package which contained the artwork,

but on one side the foam had a recess cut out that contained another smaller package.

I understand that it is wrong to wish or hope for things,

but I did.

On a previous occasion Anne had included a copy of her 'Alice in Wonderland' book.

This was a limited edition book illustrated with pictures from her solo exhibition in New York.

In fact it was two books.

When you turned the book "upside down" the cover then said "Alice Through the Looking Glass",

the two books met in the middle [if that makes sense]. 

So, I became excited in anticipation that she might have sent me another book.

"Mon Dieu"

She had, beneath the gift paper there was a book and a card.

The book is another limited edition.

13 plus 1

by

Edgar Allan Poe

-

Illustrated

by

Anne Bachelier

A beautiful book produced for her last exhibition at the CFM Gallery in New York.

It is an edition of only 50 and mine is number 37.

It is not often that I am lost for words but on this occasion I certainly was.

I am a very lucky man and Anne is a very lovely lady.

"Merci"

You can tell by now that I am becoming very fluent at French.

No!

Well I still have a little time to practise and if all else fails I will just drink French Wine

at the opening of her exhibition.

I have taken too long to show you the pictures of her drawings,

the reason for this is that I have found it very hard to take photographs that do justice to them,

so rather than leave it any longer I thought I would show the images

that Anne had sent me to choose from.

Of course I have omitted the one drawing that I declined for the simple reason that I am sure

it will be the one that everyone else would have chosen.

If you get a chance pop into the gallery to see them hanging on the wall, they are beautiful.

Meanwhile if there is a French speaking art lover out there

get in touch quick.

As ever, I'm very late telling you what has been happening and showing new pictures.

It seems that in a short space of time a lot happens and I get confused

[with me that happens a lot]

about what I should record first.

As a result images and memories build up until one day I suddenly realise that they are old memories

which I have never shared and probably never will because they are overtaken

by the most recent events and discoveries.

In fact I can't wait to share my latest discovery of two days ago,

but I thought it might be best to take a step or two backwards and show what has been happening,

after all it's a bit silly to talk about the future when there is so much happening today.

As John Lennon told us

"life is what happens while you are busy making other plans".

And who knows maybe those plans will never happen so here is a small glimpse of what has happened.

Way back at the start of the year I told you about a remarkable lady

Jemima Jameson

An artist who paints on wood, or I suppose a better way of describing her art is to say that she records

her life and the animals she shares it with in paintings

and for some reason she chooses wood as the surface that she paints on.

Perhaps, just perhaps this is because her husband is a carpenter.

Whatever the reason I am pleased that she does, as much of her work is painted onto wooden boxes.

It is a selection of these that we are exhibiting at the moment.

The exhibition has been planned for a long time,

and it needed to be as her work is highly detailed and very labour intensive to produce,

plus of course the boxes have to be created before she can even start to plan and paint on the surface.

I love Jemima's art, it is so very gentle and innocent,

it makes me think of times long past and for those reasons it reminds me of my childhood.

Her scenes of Hares running through a winter landscape are visions from a child's Christmas dreams.

So to are he vibrant summer scenes.

We can all remember those Summers without end, the summer holidays when it never rained.

It seems that so do some of her animals, like the Hare on the box below.

The title is 'The Joy of Life'.

Although it is not shown in the photograph the Hare is being joined in his chase by a multitude

of different birds, butterfly's and Bee's.

The title really does describe the image.

But, not only do her lids show beautiful images, every surface of her boxes are covered in illustration.

Her love of old manuscripts and illumination is clearly evident.

They truly are works of art, and have been described by many visitors as

"heirlooms".

 

In fact Jemima used to describe them as "Memory Boxes"

And that is exactly what they are and is the reason that people purchase them.

I can't tell you of some of the reasons that they have been purchased because they are too personal

and sometimes sad.

But it seems that every new owner intends to store something very precious of 'their' life

inside one of the boxes.

Usually with the intent that it will be kept within the family and will have other precious

[not in value, but sentiment]

pieces added by other family members.

They truly are boxes in which you can store your happiest memories.

For myself what has been an additional treat is that Jemima relates to my love of "storytelling".

Each box arrived complete with a little story about the animals shown

or how they had inspired the paintings.

She told me "I know you like stories."

I do especially when they are innocent and of a sentimental nature.

For instance

The box at the top of the page is titled

The Swaggering Crow"

It is about the crow who lives in her garden, or as Jemima says

"maybe we live in his garden".

He struts up and down in front of her windows, admiring his own reflection in the glass

[or perhaps he fancies his new partner].

And of course she has given him a name.

Samual Swagger

A good name for such a proud beast, although I think I would add "esquire" after the name.

Her work, is beautifully crafted and the paintings are a pure delight.

This is a very serious artist who is creating in an innocent fashion yet creating very serious art.

The opening of her exhibition was visited by the artist Terry Pastor

the man famous for creating David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' album cover.

He told me that he thought that her work was "incredible and so very affordable".

"If I was approached to create this sort of art onto wood I would just say, sorry you can't afford me

because it is so detailed and would take just so much time".

He called me the next day to ask, would I tell Jemima that he thinks her work is incredible.

"Without a doubt she is amongst the best artists that your gallery exhibits".

Coming from an artist whose work is so very different from her own

I thought it was a lovely heartfelt compliment.

There are some 'bloggers' who write everyday, and each morning I look forward to learning

what they have been doing.

Sometimes [like us all] nothing much, "just living", but it is still something I enjoy.

If they miss a day [heaven forbid] I start to worry that something bad has happened to them.

Most times it is just because they are trying to live a life,

If they didn't what would they be able to tell us?

I envy their consistency and the ease with which they seem able tell us of their lives.

I confess that I find it harder.

I am waiting all of the time for something that I feel is "newsworthy' to happen.

Thinking about it has made me understand that just maybe my every day events might be of interest,

after all my life is anything but normal, well it is certainly different to the life I used to have

before the gallery happened.

Whenever that was.

So rather than let more days and weeks slip away without writing I thought that perhaps I should show

a few pieces of the different art that have arrived since the last post.

They all have a story to tell but I haven't the time to tell them,

I have important things to do instead, like packing boxes, photographing things for emails,

writing letters, doing bookwork and accounts.

Yes all of those very exciting things that go with having a gallery.

Life used to be so easy when I had a real job, I even used to have holidays.

Still, at least this morning I got to mow the lawn at home before driving to the gallery

so I suppose that counts as a little holiday, in fact I did enjoy it.

 So, without all of the interesting stories [that did happen] to go with them here are pictures of some new exhibits.

The first up are the stunning bronzes from Paul Harvey the sculptor that I told you about a while ago.

He has moved on from working with resin and stone and is now producing

a limited edition of bronze bird sculptures.

They may be sculptures of birds but because Paul is infatuated with 'art-deco'

everything that he creates has a hint of that style, as a result they appeal to people who are not just bird

lovers but who admire that period and style.

They have only been on display for two days but the response has been fantastic.

Next, I am showing a few different sculptures and artworks by the Irish sculptor

Fidelma Massey.

Where do I start with Fidelma?

She is an absolute gem and works in a different world from the rest of us,

but it is a world full of nature, Mother Earth and gentleness.

Like myself she believes in the myth of the 'Green Man' and the 'Green Woman'.

Her work is of myths, legends and folklore,

In her native country she is a highly acclaimed sculptor and her work on a giant scale is found

in many prestigious and public locations throughout Ireland.

She is a very small woman with a giant reputation, and for many years we have been fortunate enough to have her sculptures here in the gallery.

Whenever I talk with her she will ask " would you like to have?"

She works with pencil, clay and bronze.

Whatever the medium of course I want it all.

One of her sculptures that sold recently is titled

'The Harewife'

It is an enormous bronze bowl depicting a sleeping a hare wearing a wedding ring.

I do not know of the story that Fidelma is telling us but with the polished rim of the bronze bowl

I can't help but think

"The Hare In The Moon".

Lastly, as a complete surprise, something new arrived from Rachel Stevenson.

I wasn't expecting anything for a couple of months,

as come October she is sharing an exhibition here in the gallery with the famous French Artist

Anne Bachelier

This is something we are really excited about.

Unfortunately,

The bronze sculpture of the beautiful woman sold before she could dispatch it to us,

However we will have one here at the exhibition.

But what did arrive,

was a gentle sculpture of a sleeping mouse

Like Cinderella

Resting on a little velvet cushion under a minature chandelier [which works].

So, I suppose all in all, it is not too bad for someone with nothing to write about.

But, as I was told at school.

I must write more

I must write more.

Trust me!

A lot has happened but if I told you about it all of it I wouldn't have time to make more happen.

As I sit here writing my eyes keep looking away to a chair that is here in the gallery.

At the moment it stands on a plinth and is shown as a work of art

Of course it functions as a chair but for me it is so much more than that,

It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

and it is one of the main reasons that I am sitting here today.

As a young boy I was employed as an apprentice in the printing trade,

of course this was at a time that printing was considered a skill.

At that time for me it was just a job, my very first job.

My main duties were making cups of tea and delivering parcels, I was just the "odd job" boy for five years while I slowly learnt my trade.

Most of my colleagues treated me as just the "boy" with one exception,

that was a young man [he seemed old then] of 25 years old.

His name is Fred Sykes.

By trade he was an engraver and his job was to correct all of the minor flaws that appeared on the copper printing plates, and in those times there were many.

He was a lovely intelligent man and I think that he understood that I didn't really fit with

this "mans" world that I had been thrown into,

an environment where you were measured by how many hours you could work

and how much beer you could drink.

He started to talk to me about art, designers, architects and antiques.

 

After a year or so, at the end of each day he started taking me to museums and art galleries,

he would bring me books to read about artists he admired

and bit by bit he educated me to the beauty and understanding of Art Nouveau.

In particular two artists he greatly admired.

Archibald Knox

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

As a result I now have a collection of work by Archibald Knox

and a pretty good knowledge of Rennie Mackintosh,

a man whose work has always been my "benchmark" for beauty and good design.

In later years I was even fortunate enough to work for a company that was owned

by a man who told me to design my own workspace, he then employed carpenters to build it for me.

Of course the room was an amalgamation of Mackintosh designs.

I was a lucky employee, and now many years later my employer is my best friend

So one reason or another for many years Charles Rennie Mackintosh has influenced my thoughts.

Recently Irene and Rebecca visited Glasgow to see a friend performing in concert,

the next day they were due to catch an evening flight home, so with no other plans

and with time on their hands they went to visit the Iconic building

The Glasgow School of Art

The greatest work of art created by Mackintosh.

Not only did he design this incredible building but also each and every feature inside,

from doorplates to lights and of course the furniture.

It was completed in 1909 and has been described as the most important building of the past 175 years.

It is a listed building and although it still functions as an art school it is

regarded as a museum to Art Nouveau.

On their arrival home the girls were full of stories of their visit and had many pictures to show me

of "things you would love to see".

Memories of Fred Sykes and his education of me returned, I was soon digging out old books

depicting things that he had told me of and which Irene had now seen,

amongst these was a brochure that he had given me of a man who still created some of 

the furniture designed by Mackintosh.

The result is I am now looking at a chair designed in 1902 but made in 2014,

and it looks so very contemporary.

With my rekindled enthusiasm I just had to have some around the gallery.

Since they arrived I have thought of Fred Sykes a lot, I knew that he would be so proud

to know I have learnt from his many lessons.

Then last night watching the news

like many people the world over I learnt that The School of Art was afire and that so much

of the beautiful building was lost forever.

   For me it is such a sad coincidence.

For many people and especially for Scotland it is a tragedy.

It will be rebuilt, but!

Meanwhile the chairs in the gallery are a reminder for me of a great artist

and my mentor.

Without them both my life would have taken a different path.

I think that maybe the cover of the invitation for our new exhibition might say it all

Laid back and relaxed.

Of course it is the Irish sculptor Christy Keeney

who I told you about a little while ago.

I have grown used to being "up to the wire" with work arriving close to an exhibitions opening,

but I did know that however close to the date Christy would never let me down.

I admit I was starting to get concerned about how much time I might have available

to change the whole gallery around but I was never concerned

about if it would arrive.

As I explained to the people who asked if Christy's work had arrived yet.

"No, he's an artist."

"What does that mean"?

"It will be here when it's ready and when he is happy with it."

Christy is not laid back he is a total professional, it's just that he doesn't worry as much as me,
and that's just not fair
If I'm worried then I want everyone to worry with me.

 So I understood that his sculptures would arrive in good time
but only when "he"was happy with the results.

So the pictures above show the arrival,

what a fun time that was, it made me wonder why I had ever worried at all,

now it was time to relax and enjoy things for a little.

Whenever any new work arrives it feels like the Christmas times I remember from childhood,

"just what is inside those boxes"?

No matter what else I have to do I always take a long time opening such "presents,"

the anticipation of what might come next is just so exciting.

So much of my time is spent "working in an office" these moments are relished and enjoyed.

These are the times are that make having a gallery worthwhile.

Christy's sculptures are dynamic,

They have no grey area's, people love them or hate them, they are just strong and direct,

In fact he is one of the most admired artist's in our gallery,

his work seems to appeal to people of all age groups.

We are often asked by his admirers "please don't sell that before I come back again".

For some reason his art just connects with a lot of people.

Including myself.

Unfortunately, with this exhibition that presented me with a slight problem.

I "can not" purchase anything from my own gallery.

Many times I want to,

But I decided long ago that I couldn't or we would end up with no stock, and no money.

So, I just look and admire and pretend that everything is a part of my own

private collection.

That's not all bad as at least my collection changes more frequently than most peoples.

But sometimes I do have regrets.

The sculpture above is something that I would have loved to own

I can't explain why but to me it was just beautiful plus also a little bit different for Christy.

I wanted it so badly I was convinced it would be the first piece to sell.

It was.

I spoke with Irene about it on the morning of the opening.

"If you like it, treat yourself and buy it".

"Where would I put it at home"? I answered

As I have boxes and boxes of my own personal collection stored in the garage.

No, it had to be sold, after all that is what we do.

So, it was with regret that I placed a 'Red Dot' on it when it sold.

But it did sell to a very nice collector who I know will enjoy it almost as much as myself.

However, although that was my own favourite there are many unusual sculptures that are on display.

Since they arrived I have been compiling my own "wish list",

so I suppose the pictures shown here are a part of that,

Not in any particular order but they are all sculptures that I recognise as being a little special.

I have admired Christy's work for a long while and many times I have pondered, thinking,

"I will get that for the gallery in a few minutes,"

only to lose out to someone who didn't hesitate.

At least now with his exhibition here I know that we have some of the best pieces available,

Of course later in the year Christy will visit England

and as usual the galleries and collectors will be fighting for his best works.

Meanwhile, it is just nice to understand that only we have the best.

Including this head "DIVA"

A sculpture where he  acknowledges his influence of artists like Picasso.

I can't take it home but at least this week it belongs to me.