Scribblings

The 2003 painting where I handled the brush...but I didn't 'do' the painting... I think it was my Pa. I started painting (again) at the end of 2017; but really got cracking in Jan 2018! But I'm not sure it's actually me doing it... Because it could be my dad! OK, so, I went to art school back in the 1960s... yes, so, that might come as no surprise - but I studied Industrial Design (3 dimensional items) also known as product design. I didn't actually achieve the diploma... ahh, the shame! ...And couldn't find work in 3 dimensional design. So, I took a job as a sales rep selling artists' materials to schools and colleges. Not quite a cop out! I did well during the two years I was working for Reeves. The next job was a step up as a Publicity Assistant - moving toward what my college training had prepared me for - designing & organising exhibitions for a medical equipment manufacturer... I was promoted to Assistant Publicity Manager:- planning ad ...

You know how when you're laid up with a broken ankle you just have to keep weight off your foot for 4 weeks at least! I thought so, well, recently I was between paintings... foot up, without the necessary urge to do a painting, so I started scrolling through photo's to see what might inspire me by way of a subject. I saw a few that diverted my attention and I came across one of Tunnel House, in Saltford near Bath, a house that we had lived in when Micki and I got married back in 1970. This got me thinking about 'near misses' . Places I've been or people I've met - or almost met... And this got me thinking about brushes with celebrity that there may have been throughout my life. So this house was our first 'home'; the top floor of Tunnel House, a manor just off the A4 between Bath & Bristol... I'm not even sure I realised at the time of moving in, that the house had been owned by Isambard Kingdom Brunel!  We slept in Brunel's house!......