My writer friend Stuart Hayward rang me this week to tell me he’d looked at my blog and website, and liked what he saw! And so he should I laughed, he’s been featured in it enough times! He seemed to be surprised at that, but I have drawn him quite a few times, and we chat regularly about what each of us is up to – writing about local places and people for him, art and writing about it for me, and I know he’s more than happy for me to mention his name, so I do! He’s only recently got himself a lap top and on the internet, so well done for doing that Stuart at your age, and for finding the things you are interested in, on it! It’s a massive place, and the world is just one click away, whatever world you’re looking for! And I know how much he likes humour in nudity, has an interest in the  fraility of age, the history of sport, roses and gardening, and the cleverness of worldplay, so the world is his rose coloured oyster card!Â
As for my world, when I nipped into the printers in Ashby de la Zouch this week, the printer guy handed me the print I’d ordered from him and as I paid him, he asked me conversationally if I was interested in doing art commissions, since he is asked by his clients periodically if he knows of an artist who does. Of course! I replied, and then went on to tell him that I’m unusual in that I will paint anything for anybody, not just pet portraits, nor just figure drawing, not just landscapes, not just houses, or beloved relatives, although I have done all of those over the years for people, but any of those, or any permutation within them. In traditonal, surreal, fantasy or abstract style, in oils, acrylics, watercolours, pencil or ink.  I went on to tell him that earlier this year I did a landscape of the Royal Crescent at Bath, with ten specific people portrayed in it,  and their four dogs, with a restricted colour scheme, and a request for “no blue” (bearing in mind half of it had sky in it) and “no green” (bearing in mind another third of it was grass!) and the whole scene as “a windy day” (so I painted the wind as a silvery jagged entity all of its own), all of it looking dramatic against the heavy flock wall paper it was to hang on, and in oils, on a block canvas, for a Grade 1 listed property, and the gay guys who commissioned it, loved it and hugged me tight for doing it for them,as they thanked me. So, if I can paint that, I can paint anything, I told him. Ok, he looked a bit taken aback, at my outburst, but I knew I’d got the message across! 🙂
 …oh, and whilst I’m here, I’ll tell you about a conversation I had this week with another erotic artist who I have worked with at erotic art shows before. We were talking about there not being much money around and people looking for business where they can get it, and he made the comment that sometimes “The management don’t seem to have a feel for what people are looking for, they seem to be pushing sex toys and clothing. Which is ok…but when the RSPB have a stand…you have to ask ..what are they doing”
To which I replied “Really? RSPB? ……. Royal Society for Perverted Buggers?”
Well, it made me laugh. And him! LOL