Rowley Gallery Blog
Another book from the wonderful and sorely missed Notting Hill Books. This one was perhaps not so beloved as the last but it was one of my favourites. I always liked its folksy illustrations and the way one thing leads to another and life just inevitably gets more and more complicated. Continue reading “The House That Jack Built”
Of all the many books I found at Notting Hill Books this one stands out as a special favourite. Our children loved it. But now it’s out of print and hard to find. Continue reading “A House Of Leaves”
A short trailer for the forthcoming Holloway film by Adam Scovell, inspired by the book of the same name by Robert Macfarlane, Stanley Donwood & Dan Richards, in which they go in search of an ancient Dorset holloway – previously visited by Macfarlane with Roger Deakin. They were looking for the hide where the hero of Geoffrey Household’s novel ‘Rogue Male’ went to ground.
Read more about the project on Adam Scovell’s website – Celluloid Wicker Man – and there’s another link on Frames Of Reference – Holloway.
The Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche region of southern France was discovered in 1994. It contains the most perfect examples of Paleolithic paintings ever found. But they are considered so fragile they must remain hidden from view. Copies of the paintings have been recreated and they can now be seen in a full-scale replica cave above the town of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. A gallery of simulacra of some of the most authentic paintings in the world; it’s an unsettling idea. Continue reading “La Grotte Chauvet”
Over the Pyrenees a week before Easter, en route to Barcelona, the spectacular view a heartbreaking reminder of the suicidal plane crash five days earlier. A flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf had fallen from the sky onto similar mountains near Barcelonnette in the French Alps. It was impossible not to think of it, to imagine its kamikaze descent, to remember its helpless victims. Continue reading “Flying To Barcelona”
Roger Ackling made artworks like small miracles. He turned driftwood into diamonds. He died last year, his obituary is here. I never met him but I knew people who were taught by him and exhibited with him. I saw many of his exhibitions and loved his work. I think I even once walked by his house on the crumbling north Norfolk coast at Weybourne. There are presently exhibitions of his work at Annely Juda and Kestle Barton, and Occasional Papers are hoping to publish a crowdfunded book about him, Roger Ackling: Between the Lines. I’m looking forward to reading it. Continue reading “Roger Ackling: Between The Lines”
In 2011 a great opportunity had come my way; a retrospective for Pharmacopoeia with a linked solo exhibition in a lakeside Danish gallery. However, at the time I was in the hold of a depression and struggling to do the mundane let alone the creative. Continue reading “Safety Net”
I’m a bit late catching up with this, it’s been around since 2012 so how did I miss it? It’s fantastic life-affirming communal music that puts a smile smack-dab on your face. Mucca Pazza (Italian for Mad Cow) are a 30 piece band from Chicago – part street theatre, part circus mayhem, part good time party punk. The video by Jim Newberry is spectacular, the music is a joyful noise, perfect birthday music, just right for today. So why’s it not called Boss Aries? No worries, I’m dancing anyway.
Mucca Pazza / Jim Newberry / All Songs Considered
Waiting on Holme Moss – TV helicopter just above the yellow van.
You could hear the crowd roaring as they climbed the valley from Holmfirth. Electric!
Momentum (p=mv) Newtonian Mechanics = One thing leads to another. Continue reading “Momentum”
First Light
These new works are borne out of a need to bring light and life into my studio during the dark winter months. They have a direct link with my garden and the majority of the plants and birds in these paintings can be seen from my kitchen window. Continue reading “First Light”