08 06 2026

 

Looking for a photo of my sweet brother Steve and found this.... Steve died yesterday after a stint in intensive care. Im off to York to be with my remaining siblings. 

Here he is, the one with glasses is brother Harry - taken at Tom and Marthas wedding -

06 06 2026

 Been too busy to write work diary... chief culprit  being maths book, the illustrations have had to be resized. This meant a. finding them and b. tracking the processes by which they were made in order to adjust them.

Honestly thought I was going mad.

In retrospect, understand that the process of making something is quite another space from real head stuff. (My painting methods are much the same, though physically easier to track I suppose.)

I work on three computers, the drawings were spread over them, in random files some inappropriatly named, on different platforms interupted by printed versions being dealt with by hand and/or sissors and returned to machine drawing. From this temporal distance it looks like chaos. 

On hold now till the publishers send it back. 

Managed to pack the little painting to go to Switzerland, a masterpiece in itself - Mike cut the cardboard box from Erica, Dominique helped the internal packaging, I gaffertaped it to point where I've no idea how it might be opened. Going via Marie Pierre to whom it must be delivered soon... the stuff of art, ha. A friend has just had his first exhibition (lifelong artist, too busy teaching or other work) and was amazed at the practicalities, transport, hanging, publicity and the rest. Paintings don't grow on walls, it seems, hoho.

Went life drawing last night - seem to have relinquished all control, waiting as ever for a new direction. Cant find the landscapes I did sometime, but ditto.

Life drawing slightly weird in that there were a lot of people there, almost all french - and my old mate Jean-Noel, whose brother I exhibited with in London long before moving here, and meeting the family :)

Lovely to see him, older but still kicking. The work that the French produce is sooooo slick!! Anigone eat your heart out. I scampered off before anyone could see what I was doing (they do that thing where they put their drawings on the platform and wait for people to say how good they are.)

Cybernetic stuff, Staffords Feschgrift, to sort and health stuff looming. Stuff, stuff. 

Had to eat from takeaways recently as theres no time to shop and cook and Bob is too ill to do anything. What I can cook, he can't eat.

No doubt boredom will kick back in soon. Sigh.

23 05 2026

 Not being entirely idle. Drawing in the hills (dire), life drawing (awful, scared and rendered unhappy by model) (tattooed and v rude about the English, possibly not realising that they spoke French)(or more likely, did know) 

Heard that the window I've been cleaning the study out for is unlikely to be installed due to illness of builder, who recommends replacing bookshelves and books, sigh. 

Off to draw at the lake today. And life drawing tonight if back in time.

18 05 2026

 https://www.amazon.fr/What-did-Stafford-Vanilla-Beer/dp/B0H1ZSD9B4/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=3HTJFMSFM2BK&

15 05 2026

 Hurrah and hurray, the Stafford book is off and given to Desktop publishing for their approval!

       What could possibly go wrong?

12 05 2026

 Playing host to three cyberneticians, great fun if chaotic - the filmakers and recorderers of my dads 100 years. Now Bobs family are here, sweet folk who are used to me bunking off - which is what I've done, to get to grips with the last of the maths book. 

Had a life drawing session on Saturday evening which was grim but I came away cheery enough, just nice to wield a pencil. Totally unnoteworthy otherwise. (though Karim was modelling, her first go - she was v good)

Otherwise, domestic stuff interferes as ever. Bank appointment later. Hospital scan tomorrow. Stafford book with designer, goodoh. So all OK really, just no studio work. Given the huge Asian hornet that has moved in there, I'm not too distressed.

02 05 2026

 Woke up realising that the scanning thang has to go on the back boiler... people coming and still preparing for builders. So putting stuff away and forgetting it, pro tem.