Private View at the Mall Galleries, and a lovely surprise

On Thursday Peter and I drove to London to attend the ‘Private View’ held for participating artists in the Discerning Eye exhibition at the Mall Galleries. At 6.30 pm the pavement on the Mall was thronged with guests waiting for the doors to open.

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Our party begins to arrive. From left to right, my sisters-in-law Christine and Sally, Peter’s niece, Kate, Peter and me.

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Inside the gallery the crush was impressive.

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To my astonishment and delight I won the award for ‘Best Regional Submission, Wales’, and had my photograph taken with Discerning Eye judge, Simon Martin, to celebrate.

I am greatly obliged to Simon for inviting me to show in the exhibition.

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Afterwards we went to Bill’s at Covent Garden for supper. On the far left is Peter’s niece Megan, and on the right, our friend (and Artlogger) Phil Cooper, who is currently taking part in my tattoo project, Skin/Skóra.

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The man who helps make it all happen, my greatest supporter and my partner, Peter Wakelin.

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Borderlands VI: Blue Embrace

Above: detail from Borderlands VI: Blue Embrace

Earlier this year I produced a series of Borderlands paintings that were based on the village model I made for filmed sequences of The Mare’s Tale, a commissioned work for chamber-ensemble and one actor by composer Mark Bowden and librettist Damian Walford Davies. The chamber-work was initially inspired, as the title suggests, by my Mari Lwyd-themed sequence of works. Footage of the model was projected onto the stage during the performance.

 

Here is the model…

… and here, one of the paintings I later made of it

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Now I’m using the landscape of the model juxtaposed with another of my regular narrative themes, that of the blind saint, Hervé, with the wolf who became his lifelong companion after slaying his dog. Although not celebrated in Wales, the birthplace of both his parents, Hervé is popular in Brittany, where his feast day of June 17th is celebrated, and a fountain (well) that bears his name at his chapel at Gourin, continues as a place of pilgrimage for those who bring sick animals to be cured. This new piece, plus four of the Borderlands landscape paintings, is for The Discerning Eye exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, opening next month, in which I was invited by selector Simon Martin to show six works.

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