Frames of Reference

For Charlie Haden

I first knew Charlie Haden from his Liberation Music Orchestra in 1970. It still stands as my favourite album. I later discovered his work with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Alice Coltrane, Bill Frisell, Geri Allen… He stood as a signpost to some of the best music of the past 50 years. His death last Friday from post-polio syndrome is a sad loss of a truly great artist. There’s a beautiful reminder of him here, but the best way to know Charlie is to listen to his music…

Charlie Haden: Song For Ché

Mondrian In Amsterdam

Whilst I was preparing the Malevich In Amsterdam post I kept uncovering photos of Mondrian paintings from last year in Amsterdam. There are presently exhibitions in Margate and Liverpool marking seventy years since his death, so it seemed appropriate to post some of those photos here, in memory of Mondrian in Amsterdam. Continue reading “Mondrian In Amsterdam”

Malevich In Amsterdam

Kazimir Malevich and the Russian Avant-Garde was an exhibition last year at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. It then transferred to the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn and it will soon arrive at Tate Modern in London. Here are a few photos of its appearance at the Stedelijk. Continue reading “Malevich In Amsterdam”

SaloArte

Hi Chris, I thought you might like this photo of one of my monoprints travelling around Salobreña on the back of a bus! Continue reading “SaloArte”

Tour d’Epping Forêt

The Tour de France arrives today, from Cambridge to London via Epping Forest. Christopher Corr has been watching its progress, and it looks like the cyclists have got the trees all rounded up.

TfL: Tour de France 2014 / The Grand Départ 2014 / Epping Forest

Flatford Mill

We started at East Bergholt, birthplace of John Constable whose father owned Flatford Mill, and where his first studio still stands, now a domestic residence but commemorated with a plaque. Continue reading “Flatford Mill”

Pin Mill

Pin Mill sits beside the River Orwell, south east of Ipswich, a pretty refuge of yachts and dinghys, where X marks the spot at the crossroads of a figure-of-eight walk. Continue reading “Pin Mill”

Recent Etchings

I learned how to do etching from Bartolomeu dos Santos when I was a student at the Slade School of Fine Art in the late 1970’s. After I had graduated, no longer having easy access to a print room and a shortage of funds meant I had to improvise equipment in order to carry on printmaking. I developed my own way of applying aquatint and a converted mangle gave me rough working proofs for a couple of years. The search for part time teaching work took me to the Northeast of England, where I immediately became a member of Charlotte Press in Newcastle. There I had open access to a well-equipped print room and could further develop my technique and produce editions. Continue reading “Recent Etchings”

On Painting

“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realise how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” (Socrates?) Continue reading “On Painting”

Parkland Walk

This is Finsbury Park Cycle Park on Stroud Green Road, London N4. It’s also the gateway to the Parkland Walk, a four and a half mile stretch of former railway line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace and London’s longest local nature reserve. Continue reading “Parkland Walk”