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illustration of a house
I visited them ages ago last year (on a very hot and sticky Saturday in the summertime) to chat, have a look and to take some photos, etc. Finally, as the winter weather was rolling past my window, I completed the work for them. The were pleased (and so was I!).
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
As required, I took a couple of friends with me to see how my buses were settling in with their new friends and views. Luckily, it was a perfect crisp and sunny day, so there were plenty of other bus-spotters at the park. To see all the other buses lined up across the (very long and wide) bridge near the Orbit was great. I was particularly impressed to overhear one of the volunteer guides (made famous by the 2012 Olympics/Paralympics) explaining the different types of fruit and veg on my Surrey Street Market design. They had obviously done their homework and read the blurb I wrote for the TFL website.
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
bus sculptures at the Olympic Park
Bus sculptures
All the buses will be auctioned on 24th March, by Christies live and also on the online website i-bidder.com, for the following charities:
Kids Company, who provide practical, emotional and educational support to inner city children, young people and vulnerable families.
Transaid, an international development charity who identify, champion, implement and share local transport solutions to improve access to basic services and economic opportunity for people in Africa and in developing countries.
London Transport Museum, a popular Covent Garden museum highlighting the vital role transport has played in the life of the Capital. They also work with more than 150,000 children each year delivering essential travel safety education to keep our children safe, and they run programmes to help young people into employment.
London Art Fair interior
Held in the large, light and airy venue of the Business Design Centre, in Islington, it showcases the work and artists of many galleries, with much of the art on sale (for a range of prices). It is a maze of booths, spaces, corridors and rooms, and definitely something to explore over a course of hours, with stops for coffee and chats. What is sometimes referred to (by me) as Gallery Back (a.k.a. Festival Back) can kick in, without finding somewhere to pause.
However, I did discover work that I really liked by two artists: one contemporary, the other no longer alive.
Showing work at the Charlie Smith London stand, the ones by Stark that caught my eye were painted on wood panel in rich intense colours. They were very jewel-like, depicting mysterious landscapes populated by people who appear to be beekeepers, and with a nod to the Italian Renaissance. The groups of faceless hood wearing figures were sinister but also calm and monk-like.
CHARLIE brings his A-game @LondonArtFair - John Stark on stand 4 #LAF15pic.twitter.com/2VKXy1Xt6K
— Zavier Ellis (@CHARLIESMITHldn) January 20, 2015
I don't think this piece was at the fair, but it's very similar to the paintings I saw, and would appear to also be in that series.
painting of a beekeeper
Other work by the artist includes brooding landscapes, with an even closer reference to the European art of the past.
landscape painting
I saw a print of one of his drawings on a gallery stand (I'm afraid I can't remember which. Bad blogger, bad blogger). It really intrigued me so I looked him up, and discovered his work with the Bauhaus school and many of his designs for theatre and opera. This piece Konzentrische Gruppe is very like the one I saw at the fair.
drawing of figures
You can see some of his designs, in their final form, in this beautifully odd film Das Triadische Ballet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87jErmplUpA
illustrated phone covers
I'm happy to announce that you can now buy all sorts of merchandise featuring my designs, via the Art Rookie website. T-shirts, mobile phone covers, ceramic plates, bags and more. New products will be added as the days go by, but to begin with there is (mostly) a Crystal Palace theme with the current releases.
screen shot of prints
This is just a very small post to flag up that prints of the 'Subway Friends' series of artworks, that I created in the summer, are now on sale in my shop. Inspired by the magical, but hidden, Crystal Palace Subway in south London. The digital prints are A4 size (including a border) and come on 310gsm Hahnemuhle German Etching paper. They are £18.50 each plus postage/packing. If you want to read about the exhibition that spawned their creation, have a look at the earlier post on this blog Gallery with a drawbridge.