Spring!!

Here comes spring. At last!! and with it lots of new projects, some of which have already begun.
London was ace! I was drawing live at the launch of #loadingsoho, a new games bar and venue for the gaming industry to hold their events and parties. The launch was unbelievably busy and successful! Good work @drinkrelaxplay!
I met up with new and old friends and did some artwork. Had my birthday there, a "shared" party with my mate Sam in Shoreditch (his party! We share a birthday and have hijacked each others birthdays in Cornwall for years).

I also got to spend the last few days of my dear Nan's life with her. Thankyou for everything Nan xx


More news coming soon...!

Drawing on Ice

Earlier this month I got up very early and, using giant paint brushes, rollers and car wash sponges added some art to Truro Ice Skate rink...

Keep a Christmas eye out in Cornwall!

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without these, would it? Okay, Yes it would. But it would have boring windows.

Banging my head against a brick wall?

The writing on the Whale

Recently I completed a large wall at Falmouth Marine School for Cornwall College Student Union...

Besides the marine biology, there is also sailing, boat engines, boat building, kayaking, diving and marine science (weather etc) in the painting. All these subjects and activities are taught at the college.

All ideas were generated with students during an open day in the famous Cornish maritime college's fresher week in September, by sketching ideas on the wall that was going to be painted.

There were some great ideas, but when someone mentioned that the humpback whale was their favourite it sparked a whole round of unanimous approval that this was in fact everyone's favourite whale! The same thing happened when someone mentioned Hokusai's "Great Wave off Kanagawa" print, the most famous Japanese image of all time. So those two images where high on the list!

The college was open as I was working on the mural and all staff and students were encouraged to stop and get involved with more ideas and even some painting!

The turtle in the picture is based on the caretaker, Pete, who is seen as the 'backbone' of the college and the Puffer fish on the wall is based on his namesake, Pete Jnr, who lives in a tank in the Marine Biology department.

Sketches

Someone mentioned the 'wild' rubber ducks that float around the oceans of the world.

Treliske Lowen Ward Murals

Recently I created some artwork on the walls of some new rooms which are for teenage cancer patients to use while they receive treatment at Royal Cornwall Hospital Treliske.

They are part of the Lowen Ward's  £400,000 refurbishment and were funded by Young people's cancer charities Tanya's Courage Trust and LARF.

The wards were mainly brown before and very dull which, as you can imagine, is not the ideal kind of environment a young person undergoing treatments such as chemotherapy wants to be in for long periods of time.

I tried to produce artwork that would generate a natural feeling mixed with some imagination stimuli.

Singer and songwriter James Morrison (right) rocked up to open the new rooms.

Heartlands Urban Festival

Summer is over and just before we plunge headfirst into the depths of winter I need to crank up the blog. Stand back!

First up: Heartlands Urban Festival

Such a busy weekend with stacks going on like DJs, mini ramps, street skate section, tons of walls to paint on, bands, dance groups and tons more.

From West Briton: Article

Photo Stuart Burton: "Thank you so much for taking the time to teach my boys how to write with aerosols. You really gave them a day they'll never forget."

Photo Stuart Burton

Drawing on: Heartlands!!

POOL
This Saturday and Sunday (Sept 1st and 2nd) I will mostly be running interactive art demos at Heartlands in Pool, Cornwall.

COOL

Heartlands is a massive new project in Cornwall that celebrates the rich heritage to be found here. This urban festival is going to be a great showcase of lots of the "street culture" activities that Cornwall has to offer.

WALL
I have had a free-standing wall made especially for the occasion that is looking very exciting! The wall will remain on site to be a constant reminder of contemporary art being alive and well in Cornwall.

SCRAWL!
During the weekend people will be asked to help out with ideas, inspiration and to paint on the wall with me. No experience necessary, just a clear desire to contribute and create.

More info: West Briton, Cornwall In Focus, Cornwall's Coolest

Surfboard Art School!

Get this! These kids at Richard Lander School in Truro get to make their own surfboards at school.

How classrooms should look!

And paint them with me, before they get them glassed at Best Ever surfboards in St Agnes.

The Surfboard Manufacture course is a choice on the school's popular activities week, during the last week of term. 

It was expertly run in the DT rooms. The pupils got to shape their own boards from blanks in whatever style they want. All the boards were really good shapes. I let them do the same with the sprays, and go for any style and content they wanted. Some of the ideas where pure genius!

They designed their own decals!

Paint pen dept.

Boards being glassed back at the factory.

Demo spray.

Drawing on things at the Big Jubilee Lunch - St Blazey

I hopped on Eden Project's "Big Green Bus" recently (that's not a metaphor by the way it's a... big, green, bus) and went along to the St Blazey Big Jubilee Lunch.

This neighbourhood street party celebration for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee took place at two sites in the Cornish town of St Blazey, near St Austell during the bank holiday weekend.

Local residents organise the events, Eden supports them and I was at both sites drawing people's ideas on canvases made from recycled skateboard ramps!

Four canvases, and four sets of ideas, at once.

Pics courtesy of DrawingonthingsTV. Video coming soon

Some canvases drying before their owners take them home.

The whole day had a great neighbourhood street party atmosphere! Many people turned up to both sites. I was asked to paint all sorts of pictures including, kangaroos, vampires, superman, peoples' names, zombies, cars, aliens, cartoon characters and waves.

Everybody got their pictures signed and were allowed to keep them as a reminder of the day.