More Love Than Money

I recently discovered this lovely film via a recommendation from Kettle’s Yard. It’s a visit to the home of Ronnie Duncan and his art collection at Weston in Otley near Leeds.

The art at Weston – which includes works by the likes of Roger Hilton, Alan Davie, Trevor Bell and Terry Frost – ‘lives’ there with Ronnie, it is not simply exhibited. Unlike Kettle’s Yard, however, Weston is unlikely to be preserved; the works within will one day be dispersed: donated to public collections across the country, and the cottage will return to the possession of its owner. A generous and sociable man, Ronnie frequently welcomes visitors to Weston to experience the collection first-hand. He asked me to make this film in order that this may continue, in some small way, even when the works are being appreciated anew in smart galleries on freshly painted wallsJared Schiller.

Frames of reference

British Folk Art

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After a trip up north to see my folks it seemed like a good idea to see some folk art on the way home. We’d missed British Folk Art when it was at the Tate, but now we had a second chance. Continue reading “British Folk Art”

Frames of reference

Jitterbug Waltz

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Here’s a wonderful new album by the Frank Harrison Trio, recorded live at The Verdict in Brighton. It’s not very hi-fi, Frank simply put his digital recorder on the stage and pressed the record button, but it manages to capture the enthusiasm and the energy and the empathy between the three musicians. It’s available free from Frank’s website, but if you want my favourite track you should buy the CD. And there’s a great drawing by Andrew Walton on the cover. Here’s a little taste…

Jitterbug Waltz: Frank Harrison, piano; Dave Whitford, double bass; Enzo Zirilli, drums.

Frank Harrison Trio | Live At The Verdict

Frames of reference

Wittenham Clumps

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A couple of weeks before our walk around Burnham Beeches, I walked to Wittenham Clumps with Andrew Walton. We’d done the same walk five years earlier and afterwards Andrew had painted this little watercolour as a memento, here brightening up my sad old workshop wall. That was in the days before this blog; now I was keen to retrace our steps and record them for Frames of Reference. Continue reading “Wittenham Clumps”

Frames of reference

Burnham Beeches

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A couple of weeks earlier we walked in Burnham Beeches, where, according to England in Particularthe largest assembly in the world (of pollarded and coppiced beeches) still stands… acquired by the Corporation of the City of London in 1880 to protect it from development. Continue reading “Burnham Beeches”

Frames of reference

Bellagio & Bicycles

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Bellagio is smack dab in the middle of Lake Como, at the top of the Triangolo Lariano, the triangle formed by the lake’s two southern branches. Think of Lake Como as an upside-down letter Y and Bellagio is nestled in the crotch between its striding legs. If Lake Como is a cyclist then Bellagio is its saddle and there were lots of cyclists climbing the road up from Bellagio to Monte San Primo. Continue reading “Bellagio & Bicycles”

Frames of reference

A Tale Of Two Gardens

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Recently I have visited two gardens which are fairly local to me, one is in Elmstead Market near Colchester, about an hour’s drive from me and the other, Warley Place is on my doorstep near Brentwood. The Colchester garden was made by Beth Chatto and Warley Place was the garden of Ellen Willmott, a Victorian plants woman. Both places have inspired new work. I have made a series of paintings of Beth Chatto’s garden and some ink studies of Warley Place. Continue reading “A Tale Of Two Gardens”

Frames of reference