Who is the Other Artist?

I had a great time at the 100th edition of The Other Art Fair – presented by Saatchi Art – held in the flagship venue of The Truman Brewery in London’s historic Brick Lane district.  If you joined me, I hope you loved it too. You certainly seemed to.

It was such a bustling, buzzy, lively event.  I had many, many great conversations sparked by my artwork – with buyers, agents, art lovers and artists – of all ages. The best question was “so who is the other artist?”

Some of the best – and most challenging – conversations were with children.  I love the way their young minds work. In response to a child who asked me how I’d become ‘the artist’ because one day she wanted to be one, I quoted Picasso: “every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

The artworks available at the fair were predominantly from my London Landmarks and Ghost Ships Collections – with a few Harbour and other works. They went down very well. There seemed to be something for everyone.

The London works were enjoyed by those who loved the abstractions of the place.

“They’re like keepsakes of your favourite place”

“I love your rendition of the Shard – truly beautiful”

“That is the best painting I’ve ever seen of Battersea – and so evocative of the place and its history”

“Your Oxo Tower is brilliantly constructed. It’s like being there”

“It’s so clever how you’ve taken lyrics from my favourite song of London (Waterloo Sunset) and set them amongst imagery of the area”

I had a lovely conversation with a man who had worked on creating the Roof Garden nestled on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the South Bank. He loved my rendition of the yellow steps and said how it evoked a difficult time in his past. The garden, originally a partnership with the Eden Project, was built and continues to be maintained by a team of incredible volunteers from Grounded Ecotherapy, a pioneering recovery programme. Home to over 200 wild native plants, a luscious lawn, views across London and the Roof Garden Bar & Kitchen, he said to look him up in the Spring and we could “share a Pimms” there.

The London Landmarks, the Ghost Ships and the Harbour works on show were all enjoyed by those who loved how I had drilled into the details, and for the textures I created. As Charles Eames said: “The details are not the details. They make the design.”

Of the South Bank Yellows , representing buildings on London’s South Bank including the Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, Hayward Gallery, and BFI Southbank – and the iconic bright yellow concrete staircases – as well as the beach on the banks of the Thames near the South Bank; and contain both cement dust and sand, visitors to the Fair said:

“I love how you’ve taken the details of the natural and yellow concrete. Did you chip some concrete off?” 

“ooh those holes in the concrete. ..they look so realistic and lush”

The answer to the former is, of course, no! Sometimes I do use materials from that very place but generally they’re just salvaged material that reflect the place I’m abstracting from

My Tower Blues abstract from Tower Bridge and from its stonework and ironwork, and Tower Beach present on the banks of the Thames near the Bridge ; and include Cornish Granite and Portland Stone dust as well as sand and rivets. Visitors to the Fair said:

“I love how you’ve taken the details of Tower Bridge and created a lasting memory of the place. I’ll never look at it in the same light again”

“These are such fun. They remind me of Lego”

“How cool to use the actual stonework”

“I’ve never noticed that big red rivetted wheel on Tower Bridge before”

My  Oxo Tower Reds represent the Oxo Tower itself, the surrounding buildings, the brickwork, the ironwork, and the signage, as well as the beach on the banks of the Thames near the Oxo Tower; and include brick dust and rust as well as sand. People said:

“oh that’s so tactile“

“I love bricks”

“the brick dust makes them so realistic”

There were some paintings available from my  Harbour Collection, which are inspired by the elements to be found in a working harbour.

Some of these works were based on rivets from boats, or rusty moorings. These could equally be inspired by rivetted steel beams in industrial buildings.  Comments on these included:

“Finally I’ve found someone who loves rust and rivets as much as me!”

“You disappear into these” 

“it’s got a real slab-like quality as though you’ve lifted it out of the place”

It’s exhausting doing something like The Other Art Fair.  But it’s also exhilarating!

A huge amount goes into planning and preparing for the event. It was 6 days staying away from home, packing and unpacking the car, hanging the show, and spending long days and evenings talking to people at the Fair. And that’s not taking account of all the time that goes into making the artworks on show.

But I got a huge amount out of it too. Catching up with old friends and customers, making new ones, and having brilliant conversations with fair visitors and other artists. And, those of you that know me, will know that I enjoyed out of hours visits to restaurants and hostelries with friends.

I’ll end with a lovely conversation I had with Hans (pictured below). He was very taken with my art which he thought was unique, different and “very cool” (and just happened to match his attire).  Hans was looking to develop his personal style and felt very inspired by my work. That’s a good feeling.