Coming Together for The Children's Trust

As the official artist-in-residence for The Children's Trust annual Art Exhibition, I invited budding young artists to complete an artwork by painting in the black outline images of my child characters.

It was great to see the drawing come to life with vibrant colours and some really interesting creativity from all the children, from chequered trousers to green shoes, and pink hair!

There was some serious concentration going on!

It was such an enjoyable experience for me to be able to work with all the children who took part in this little collaboration, from ages 2 to 15.

‘Come Together’ was finished on the last day of the exhibition by two-year-old Emma Hevesy. The painting has been donated to The Children’s Trust, a national charity that provides specialist care for some of the UK’s most severely disabled children, and rehabilitation to children with an acquired brain injury.

 

And this is the finished masterpiece

 "Come Together"

I hope patients and visitors at the trust will gain as much joy looking at the painting as we did creating it.

The Big Postcard Exhibition at Scotlandart Galleries, Edinburgh

 "Do You Wanna Be a Spaceman?"

"Hey Ho, Lets Go"

Me Plus One

(30" x 24" acrylic on box canvas) Available at Artifex Contemporary Arts
SOLD

A kid will always enjoy having his or her favourite companion by their side. Having a teddy to cuddle up to, whether out on a day trip or just tucked up in bed gives that extra sense of comfort and security.

A favourite bear, dog, rabbit or even a fuzzy tiger would be an essential partner to have by your side and you just wouldn't want to leave home without it!

This painting is also paying tribute to one of my favourite comic strips, Calvin and Hobbes by American cartoonist Bill Watterson.

Calvin is a 6 year old boy, who to be fair, is a naughty little so and so! But the adventures he gets up to with his phylosophical tiger Hobbes sometimes go beyond any ordinary imagination and propels Calvin to a higher breed of daydreamer!

Hobbes, to everyone else is just a stuffed 'fuzzy' tiger, but to Calvin he is Hobbes, his reserved but enthusiastic pal, who really is an ACTUAL tiger!

Who am I to argue.

Time

(30" x 24" acrylic on box canvas) Available at Leonardo Galleries, Toronto
www.leonardogalleries.com

Growing up and being a kid seems to be timeless. Everything is pretty much done for you and there is no care in the world. All you really need to think about is what game can be played next, or which cartoon to watch!

….And yet before you know it, 10 years have passed, then 20, then 30 and time has melted away before it feels like you even had the chance to get going.

The important thing though is that we can still look back on when we were kids and remember just what is was like and how carefree those days were.

Time continues on its path no matter what, so make the most of every minute, regardless of what age you’re at.

Handbags and Gladrags

(76cm x 60cm acrylic on box canvas) SOLD

Every little girl at one stage or another would of raided her mum’s wardrobe and put on a few of her favourite dresses and a pair of oversized shoes!

Clip-clopping down the hall, giant handbag in tow, she'd get her sister or friend to join in or even rope her brother into dressing up too…..Dads hat would probably be the only thing that fitted but at least it meant he could wear his favourite cowboy costume instead!!

All dressed up and ready to go, it was time for a bit of ‘Mums and Dads’. This basically involved pretending to go to the shops or taking a trip to the petrol station to fill up the car with ‘£5 of 4 star’. Only ending when mum’s favourite hat became buckled and bent, or ‘Cowboy Joe’ deciding to shoot everyone with his cap gun!

It's Footy Season!!

.....You wont find any overpaid prima donnas on this park though.....

'Round Our Way' - 76cm x 60cm acrylic on box canvas
Available at ScotlandArt.com

A half decent playing area, jumpers for goalposts….or perhaps a conveniently placed sign, and anything up to 25-a-side were all the essentials you needed for a good kick-a-bout with your pals and anyone else keen to join in.

Undoubtedly there would always be a couple of kids who would constantly have the ball due to their far superior skill level, while the rest of us would have to chase a few shadows, yet there was still a sense of camaraderie, each and every ’player’ getting stuck in for the cause, some more than most obviously!

As darkness approached, the numbers would slowly whittle down as tea time beckoned, leaving perhaps only a few of the hardcore, determined players eager to find a winner, which usually meant a unanimous decision of “The next goal wins!”

I wonder what the score was in the end?

The World is Yours ii

(90cm x 76cm Original acrylic on box canvas)

The world seems a ridiculously large place when you are young and far away places may as well be on a different planet.

Yet how many times do you hear the phrase it's a small world?

As decisions and opportunities arise throughout life, the world does seem to reduce in size, not physically of course, but certainly metaphorically. At some stage, you have the ability and the freedom to do exactly what you want. The world is your oyster and you're free to go anywhere....bar the odd strict border control!

Most people may not have the money to get to the places they want to, but a bit of drive, free thinking and adventurous spirit can compensate for any lack of funds.

The World Is Yours for the taking.

Out By My Side

Here is a first look of the new generation I mentioned previously. Not much difference you might think at first glance but there are subtle changes. Let me know what you think.

And here is the complete painting;

(70cm x 50cm) Original Acrylic on Canvas

Do you remember your favourite toy that you just had to have with you at every waking hour.....and even whilst sleeping?

My favourite teddy bear I had as a kid was named Boo-ya, a sky blue bear that looked a lot like Yogi Bear’s friend Boo-Boo (Apparently Boo-Boo was too difficult for me to say at the age of 5, so the name Boo-ya had to suffice!!).

Like many kids with their beloved companion, he came everywhere with me, whether out on a day trip or just tucked up in bed. Acting as a comfort just like a blanket.

Whether it was a teddy bear, action figure, a backpack full of favourite ‘stuff’, or what seems to be even more noticeable nowadays, the ever-present Nintendo DS, a favourite toy was an essential item to have by your side. You couldn't leave home without it!

A New Generation

I have decided to create a new look for my characters for my latest painting. The overall visual impact will obviously remain the same but I wanted to develop the look of the children slightly.

I will carry on producing paintings using the original characters but all being well, I hope to start producing more work using the second generation too. My hope is that people will then have preferences for one generation over the other so should help to add a little more variety of choice and add even more individuality to their chosen painting.

I will post a new image soon and perhaps votes can be cast on which generation is preferred!


Happy Cycling!

Magic Window

'Magic Window' (36" x 30" acrylic on box canvas)

Available at ScotlandArt.com

What happened to all those British classics we loved and grew up with, Trumpton, Camberwick Green, Paddington Bear, Rent A Ghost and even, dare I say it, Jackanory!? Why do we not have the friendly face and voice of a Brian Cant greeting us on our screens anymore?

What we now have instead are countless kids channels filled with American style programmes! The magic window to our British childhood culture has gone and I would welcome back the days of the 'off air' transmission screen as a replacement any day!

That would certainlly help prevent our kids saying phrases such as 'Frickin awesome' or 'oh no you ditnt'!!

Blowing in the Wind

(36" x 30") Original, Acrylic on Canvas
Contact Washington Green for Enquiries

This grayscale painting is inspired by the 1961 film ‘Whistle Down The Wind’.

The plot of the film follows the lives of three Lancashire farm children who discover a fugitive hiding in their barn. The bearded man is mistaken for Jesus by the siblings, and he makes no attempt to correct the mistake once he realises that the eldest child is determined to protect him from the adults and police.

The film contrasts the children's innocent faith with the pragmatic and suspicious adults in the town. Word spreads amongst the children in the town, and remembering the story of Jesus’ persecution, all focus is on the barn and keeping it’s hiding occupant safe from discovery.

One of the children eventually gives the game away to her father by mistake after asking for some cake to give to Jesus. Ever the sceptic, particularly after ‘Jesus’ let him down, the youngest of the siblings, Charles, proudly denotes “It’s not Jesus, it’s just some fella”.

The fugitive is apprehended in a symbolic final scene.

My aim was to catch the essence of this film within the painting without focusing on the spiritual side of the story. For me, what makes the film endearing is how it portrays the commoraderie of the children and the innocence and optimism they hold within themselves.

Hi Scores

(36" x 30") Available at Chelmer Fine Art

You may have noticed the toys and games of the past have been long forgotten. They have mostly been replaced by home computers, games consoles and the internet. Using and even combining these machines gives kids a whole new world of gaming activity and social interaction, which has seen the good old fashioned toys get cast aside.

Despite computer games not having a particularly great reputation, they can in fact be very good for the child’s development with the use of strategy, reasoning, logic and memory. Pretty much any game out there will need the use of these skills, and they will be honed with kids feeling that they are having fun while achieving.

Kids are learning all manor of skills apt for a technological age….certainly more useful than a space hopper would ever be, that’s for sure! That said, with a computer game you can’t play 'Scramble' in the playground and fight for the football stickers that nobody else wants, or have endless battles on the bedroom floor with plastic army men!