As a kid, I was vaguely aware of the hubbub and excitement as the date of Dad’s new art exhibition approached. There was a lot of talk, his co-exhibitors came to visit as they planned the exhibition together, and I was aware he was spending an awful lot of time in the evenings in the freezing cold annexe/studio at the back of the house. I could never understand why he spent do much time sitting SO still just “looking” at a painting without doing anything?! Now I create my own “mini-masterpieces”, I totally understand. He was analysing what he had already done and working out what was the next step. Not just creatively, but also trouble-shooting perceived “errors” as he went along. I know this process well now!
Chic Jack was trained at the Glasgow School of Arts and worked as a Cartoonist on Fleet Street in the 1950’s and 1960’s for the national newspapers and children’s magazines before he went into teaching because it meant a steady income for the growing family. He exhibited across four counties in Southern England and the children at the Woolston Secondary School whose Art Department he managed, forever got the best grades in the whole of Hampshire. This was due to his vision and ability to tap into a child’s passions to engage them fully in art lessons. The school sent him all the troublemakers, giving them extra arts and crafts lessons, but I am very proud of Dad’s legacy. Not only is my house adorned with many of his paintings, but it goes much deeper than material things. I know he was such a good teacher that he literally changed people’s lives with his teaching methods. I will share other snippets of his wonderful legacy in future Blogs if you are interested.
As for me as an Artist? I have exhibited before and have sold several pieces of my work. One was to a collector of watercolours, another to the mother of the youngest ever England Coach of netball and the latest was to a racehorse owner. That felt like a very special honour! 😊 But this is different! Taking part in Swindon Open Studios means I have a very specific deadline, and a lot of empty space to fill. The number of paintings I have created has exceeded the wall space at home, but I don’t know if I will have enough works to fill the new exhibition space. You can’t just “knock out a few new pieces in a couple of weeks” because I have standards to uphold!
Yes, I have ideas. Literally hundreds of them! But each takes time to process, create and perfect. Painting is not something you can rush – (well you can if you don’t care about the results, but I do). I want to make things that I am proud of and happy to sell. So – I know the next few weeks will be a challenge, because not only do I have to make more art myself, but I also have to promote the event for myself and for all the other participants. I can see a few late nights ahead!
Back in May, I attended a meeting about Swindon Open Studios and decided to get involved by offering my Public Relations skills to promote the event. Here is a link to the first press release https://bit.ly/4eZLD9M about Swindon’s internationally known artists, which proves that Swindon is NOT the cultural desert some people make it out to be! The next press release will focus on the inclusiveness and local aspects of the event. It’s due out this coming week. Feedback welcome. All the best.
RJ
Photo caption: :Internationally renowned artist David Bent with his latest artwork "The Genie".
Here, David Bent and wife Carole are holding one of his iconic Red Arrows artworks, flanked by myself (left) and Sheryll Fox from the SOS Commitee (right).
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