As we settle in to our new lives and our new ways of working, I am realising that I am looking at my home with increasing attention to detail that quite possibly veers into an unhealthy obsession. I am SCRUTINISING it and for the most part, am getting irritated with what I see. I can't wait for the kids to go to their Dad's next week so I can wash paintwork, clean skirting boards, clear cupboards and blitz some cobwebs. Covid 19 and Spring have hit at the same time and I feel the cleaning sap rising in me that I can only compare to the screeching urge to clean, cleanse and purge that I had just before the births of my three beauties. In a timely bit of, well timing, I recently received a lovely catalogue of works from @jonathancoopergallery for the solo show of @harry_steen_paintings and I find myself looking and scrutinising the work with the same obsessive eye as I am employing at home. Is this going to be one of Covid-19's gifts to me - the development of beady and possibly OCD observation skills? I am discovering, whilst I devour the catalogue, that these are works that might well have been painted by someone in isolation - they are so quiet, so assiduously observed, so CLEAN. I cannot spot the fingermarks on the wall, the scratches and the scrapes, the constant crumbs on the carpet. But these paintings are not of homes that are uninhabited though. You can feel the people. They are there, or at least were until recently - there is the odd thing out of place and the odd cushion askew if you look carefully. But everything is so polished and sparkling and somehow beautiful and controlled and yet, somehow unsettling. These paintings, now that I have spent some time with them are mysterious and I suspect, hold one or two secrets. If you have a moment or two (and we all do now), check them out online and lose yourself in them. It will provide a great distraction from the marks on your paintwork if nothing else. . . . Harry Steen 'Rainthorpe - Stairs by Bathroom & House in Wales - Urn in Window' #harrysteen #jonathancooper #stilllife #interiorpainting #interiorstilllife #painting #paintwork #fixated #sugarsoap #clean #springclean #quiethouse #artconsultant

Yes, if there is one thing I have learnt over the last few years it is this. I was wondering what would help the amazing artists I work with and luckily someone else has done some thinking and come up with a genius idea. Artist followers PLEASE PLEASE do this amazing idea and pass on some love to a fellow maker. I have artists big and small who follow me and I really think we need to get cracking on this. If the 'bigs' can do some works that sell, and they buy something from the 'smalls', then well, we've all done a good thing indeed. I won't personally pick any one artist out but it would be lovely if you click reply to this post if you do decide to participate. Please everyone during these tough times follow the hashtag #artistsupportpledge and if you see something you like please just press 'Ill buy it'. . . . #Repost @matthewburrowsstudio ・・・ The word 'artist' derives from joint maker, someone who makes joints and brings together. So in this time of isolation, lets do what we do best, and bring together in a common effort of generosity. Make your pledge, post your work, and make it your aim to fulfil that pledge and pass on that generosity to others. Lead by example, post work generously so creating flexible and strong joints in our arts communities across the globe. Work hard to bring this to the attention of those who can contribute, by buying work or posting themselves. Stay well and keep safe. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have found themselves without work, teaching, technical support, gallery work. Exhibitions and sales have disappeared. In an attempt to help alleviate some of this stress I have instigated the ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE #artistsupportpledge The concept is a simple one. You post images of your work you are willing to sell for no more than £200 each (not including shipping.) Every time you reach £1000 of sales you pledge to buy another artist's work for £200. So make a pledge and post your work with the #artistsupportpledge and follow the # to see everyone else's work. Repost and tell your friends, colleagues and collectors. Let generosity be infectious #supportartists #contemporaryart #etching #artmarket #contemporarypain

I did the mad dash down Cork Street last night going to the private views in Mayfair. This stopped me in my tracks. So much to think about in this painting. First there's this incredible palette, so creamy but jam packed with colour and then there are all these odd things in the work. This is a £20000 painting - so why the loo roll? I love the fact there it's there by the way - for me it's such a currency that keeps this house functioning, sometimes arguing, sometimes shouting for more and don't mention the empty loo rolls left in the loos (sometimes I think I actually divorced the ex over his complete and total inability to remove them) - but why are they here, in this picture? Is it the artist's paper product of choice to wipe his paint? But why the different colours? Are they there just to balance the composition (there's another delicious dash of that pink in the mirror on the right which by the way is also intriguing - it that another person in the room?) or are those LR's there for another reason? Then there are the pictures on the wall. Then the objets assembled in the foreground. Then, then, then..... But the bit that fascinates me the most, is that the mirror seems to hover off the back wall. Surely that is not a mistake. I suspect nothing this artist does is a mistake. It has to be a choice he has made. But why? WHY? I cant stop looking. And a painting that you can't stop looking at is always one you should consider having in your house. It will give great joy. A painting you can't stop looking at and thinking about is like living with a fascinating person whose layers reveal themselves to you year after year. Whoever gets this painting will have a long and fascinating time with it for their whole lives. I suspect it will never unlock all it secrets but that is exactly the point I suspect. Love. . . . James Lloyd 'Large Domed Mirror' #jameslloyd #portraitpainting #portraitpainter #londonportraits #londonportraitpainter #domedmirror #fisheyemirror #fisheyemirrorselfie #browseanddarby #corkstreet #corkstreetart #corkstreetgallery #artconsultant #ilovethispainting #ilovemyjob

Sourcing Work for Interior Designers

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