Blog

Horsebridge Art Exhibition

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:19:00 -0500

Spring is in the air (this year is going so fast) and commisions are starting to come in from all directions! I am still painting my train mural for Herne Bay Station. It's slow going as I only have half of the floor done in my newly built studio so there isn't a great deal of room to shuffle the boards around, but it is getting there.

I may have to take a day off from painting this week as on Wednesday I will be helping to set up an art exhibition at the Horsebridge Art Gallery in Whitstable. Myself and 15 other artists from Swale are exhibiting as a group and there is going to be a fantastic variety of sculpture, painting and photography on show. For more details and directions follow the link below.

http://www.polkadotac.co.uk/795.htm

Guestbook

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:43:00 -0500

Unfortunately I have had to remove the guestbook section of my website. As much as I love reading your comments and messages I have recently been targeted by spammers and some of the things they are selling are not suitable viewing for all ages. I am hoping that after a while these stupid people will go away and I can once again restore your welcome comments.

Milton Creek

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0500

There are some very exciting plans in place to completely redevelop Milton Creek and the surrounding area and turn it into a country park. I have just been to see the first stage plans on which work will start this year and they have some good ideas for the area, including an ampitheatre for small concerts and natural play areas for the children. Emphasis seems to be on enhancing the natural beauty and hopefully will include some form of land art and community based art projects which will blend with the landscape rather than overpower it. There is also scope to draw on the rich history of the area.

Milton Creek is a shallow tidal inlet which runs north-east from Sittingbourne to join the Swale at Elmley Reach. The settlement of Milton Regis, at the head of the Creek, predates Sittingbourne town centre. The area has a rich heritage dating from at least Saxon times, with thriving medieval markets and communities. Large scale growth in the nineteenth century saw the Creek become a focus for brickworks, barge building, paper making and cement works. The Creek was critical to the development of this industrial core as barges used it to transport paper and bricks away from Sittingbourne and bring waste (mostly from London) to fill the clay pits at the brickworks.

In a bid to become more involved in the project I have joined 'The Friends of Milton Creek'. The Friends of Milton Creek are a group of local people with a keen interest in conserving and developing the area around Milton Creek. The group was originally formed as the Friends of Church Marshes Country Park when the development of the Church Marshes Country Park began but has now grown to encompass the entire area around Milton Creek beyond the Park boundaries.

The Friends Group offers an opportunity to get involved in the development of the Park and to become involved in conservation and volunteering opportunities. In the past few years the group has been involved in tree planting, arranged nature walks and organised free community events in the Park. Now that the landscaping phase of Milton Creek Gateway Landscape is beginning the group hope to become increasingly involved in volunteering opportunities within the Park. As the Park nears completion we will be looking to arrange a range of public events in the Park as well as carrying out ongoing conservation work in and around the Park.

The Group is free to join and open to anyone with an interest in the joining regardless of age or experience. We are always happy for people to come along to meetings or volunteering opportunities. If you are interested in joining or simply want to know about volunteering opportunities email us at chris@miltoncreek.co.uk or call on 01795 599975 (evenings and weekends only).

Back to the grindstone.

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:19:00 -0500

I have returned from my much needed and long overdue holiday in Portugal. I am happy to report that Portugal is a beautiful country. Even in February it has a beautiful sense of light that bathes a simply stunning coastline. We were hit by the closest thing to a monsoon that the country had ever had but it only lasted for a few days.

The thing that struck me most about the place was the very high quality of it's graffiti. There was a distinct lack of bombing or tagging around the town (Albufeira) but there were many large colourful pieces of merit on both public and private walls.

A short break

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:42:00 -0500

I am off to Portugal tomorrow to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday. We are only going for the week but I shall NOT be taking my mobile phone, so don't try to call me. Messages can be left on my answer phone or with my daughter who is house-sitting, 01795 553584, and I shall return the calls on the 25th of February.

I have several projects on the go at the moment. I have started painting a mural for Herne Bay train station which is on boards in my studio but it is in the early stages at the moment. I have also been working on designs for murals to go in several schools that I am quite excited about. Details will follow.

Best wishes to you all and I shall see you in a week.

Something unique

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:36:00 -0500

This latest mural made a refreshing change from the normal cartoon characters in a baby's nursery. It is a landscape with a lake and was designed by the client who supplied a computer generated version of what they wanted.

Mural artist law!

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:05:00 -0500

I think that there must be a law somewhere stating that, as a mural artist, I must paint at least one Winnie the Pooh mural each year and this is my latest offering.

Painted on one wall and completed in three days this mural is designed to have a cot or bed placed in the middle so that the characters frame it.

Painting over the mural

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:56:00 -0500

I thought some of you might like to see my Christmas mural being painted over. I know some of you have said that it is such a shame to paint over such a thing but it really looked out of place having carol singers and reindeer on the wall in the middle of January.

I'm actually back at the pub this week painting all their promotional boards for the new year.

Snow go.

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:34:00 -0500

The beginning of 2010 has started slowly. I have commisions booked but, due to the snow that has hit Kent this week, I have been unable to travel, so I have had an extended Christmas break. Oh dear, what a pity!

I am hoping that the snow will clear in the next few days as I still have to paint over the Hawkenbury Inn mural, although the snowy scene on the front of it probably doesn't look too out of place, I have several children's bedroom murals booked plus I was due to paint Herne Bay train station on location but I have just found out that they now want it on boards.

At least the kids have been having fun building snowmen and sledging. :)

The last mural of 2009

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:48:00 -0500

This was a nice simple painting to finish the year on. Painted on all four walls of a little boy's bedroom in New Ash Green, Kent it is a bright and colourful jungle with bold, cartoon animals. It was painted onto white emulsioned lining paper and took 5 days to complete.