Goddess Portrait Project

Well, life took an unexpected turn. I started painting faces on little fridge magnets for a bit of fun and the next thing I know, I’m off on a goddess transcription portrait project. All thanks to social media postings, chit chat and my long-standing friend Shilpa. Shilpa, who lives in India, looks like a Matisse painting and has made a documentary about goddesses - has been the perfect muse, model and partner in play.

Shilpa and I started by compiling a shared album of goddess pictures and then we talked about them, which ones we liked and why. What they represented. We chose Kali as the most interesting goddess to channel, in a portrait of a strong woman but we’ve been on a merry dance and we’ve visited lots of gods and goddesses along the way.

I like the idea of lending character to a portrait like this. Giving modern faces, modern people a different context - referencing myths and stories, adding an element of fancy dress, magic - escapism.

I love the vibrant colours and the mixture of decoration and minimalism in the Indian paintings and tapestries. These bold, bright colours feel like the perfect antidote for grey, wintery, lockdown London. I’ve created a thumbnail gallery below of old Indian art, photos of Shilpa and my sketches of both. I have three finished canvases of Shilpa now and lots of sketches, exploring different aspects of her. This is the story so far.

I hope you enjoy our flavours of India. Cx

Regent's Canal, Boats, Mooring Posts, Towpaths and Reflections

During the first London lockdown, I looked after a friend's narrowboat on the Regent's Canal, King's Cross. Normally I'm running around getting things done - I hadn’t painted for about fifteen years - but on the boat, I had time to myself, time for myself - time to look around, to think, to sketch and then to paint. It was a struggle, getting my eye in, becoming fluent again - finding my style. I befriended some of the boaters, including another artist and we followed each other on Instagram and talked from the huddled boats, about art and light and reflected sky, shadows and the spaces in between the boats. We talked about how the boats had faces, how they were so individual and quirky but also sometimes tethered together as a group - they looked like they were friends, talking to each other. We talked about how the boat was a safe space and you could be either tethered and connected or free to journey on. The boaters are a special community, the people I met were very friendly and welcoming. I loved my time on the canal. I'm loving the small adventures in art and life. I hope you enjoy coming with me on my journey. Cx

Rituals and moments

I love Matisse and William Scott so you will see echoes of their work in my prints and sketches.  I like off-key compositions, snap shots, caught moments, rather than posed and perfect constructions.  I like beautiful imperfections and accidents - well, not all accidents but you know what I mean.

I keep coming back to the kitchen table theme, plates with fruit, coffee pots and cups.  Different cups, different places, different people - cups with associations of time and place.  I like that.  It’s personal and some of the people are no longer with us, so it’s sometimes nostalgic, but it’s also very human and friendly.  Personal and relatable.  A cup of coffee is reassuring.  Friendly.  Familiar.  Comforting.

Someone asked me why my work didn’t have more people in it - I was shocked - we’re the people - this is our view, we’re sharing this moment together - artist and viewer. Sit and linger over a coffee with me. Cx

Ken’s Table, France

Sketches from Ken's Table

Coffee Pot and Cup