King Herod and the Quest for Jesus

Well, it's Panto time of year again and I've just been to see my first one of the season. 'King Herod and the Quest for Jesus' is a play that I would strongly recommend going to see, and not only because I painted the poster and the backdrop for it!
Written by stand-up comedian James Everett, it is a sweet hour long production that packs in some great laughs ranging from bad puns, to improbable impersonations, to plain old surrealism.
The classic nativity story is given a fresh lease of life with the characters being updated for our times. All the performances were wonderful to watch and full of charm and festive sparkle. I've never before seen three comedy shepherds from Bristol or a camp wannabe star of a Joseph. Herod pounds his way across the stage as a kind of Al Pacino mixed up with Jack Nicholson in a hoody.
Plenty of film references and a soundtrack including Metallica make for a great night out in a cosy and intimate venue. I managed to make a tasty pint of Pride last the whole show and walked away with a warm and fuzzy glow.
If you happen to read this before Saturday night then go and see it! Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice, details on the poster below.

2008 Round Up

This year has been a very productive year for me. I have participated in many exhibitions and produced a lot of work. I have also moved house three times! Once within Exeter, then to Dartmoon and finally to London.
Before the move I was based at my studio at exeterartspaces and with them I was part of the Exeter Open Studios and also an exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World in Haldon Forest.
Over the summer I exhibited at three venues on Dartmoor. Two were over weekends in village art shows in Lustleigh and Ilsington, where I also gave a talk to the primary school kids. And the third spanned a couple of weeks in Buckfast Abbey. Also in the summer was the annual Quest festival in Newton Abbot.
Building on past success I joined friends Greg Ramsden and Ben Yates to exhibit together twice this year. First we had a joint exhibition at the High Moor Visitor Centre in Princetown, Dartmoor and then again for Devon Open Studios in Mallands Barn outside Newton Abbot where we were joined by artists Mei Lim and Katie Gayle.
Finally for my work in Devon, I participated at two consecutive shows at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter as part of the xNorthCult series. And I had a solo show at the Big Red Sofa gallery/cafe/bookshop in Chagford, Dartmoor.
I'm now living and working in Hackney, East London where apparently there are more artists per square mile than anywhere on the planet...I don't know as yet whether this will be a help or a hinderance.
Since moving to London, I have done a couple of jobs related to a pantomime (see below) and I have painted three pictures of East End scenes, in and around Victoria Park (see them on Tokarta). Stay tuned for upcoming plans for 2009!

Pantomime

Book tickets and read synopsis here for this pantomime that I have designed and painted the poster and backdrop for. It's at the Canal Cafe Theatre in Little Venice. Follow link for more.

Blog created

Welcome to my first ever Blog. I'm an artist and I wanted a way to let people know about my work and upcoming events that I'm involved in. I also think that knowing more about the artist allows the viewer an insight into the art... well I know it does when I'm looking at art. Do visit my website and you can also find my work for sale at Tokarta.
Thank you for reading!