Cards on the table

McKee Oils

Along with the first rays of spring David McKee's exhibition of landscapes still-lifes and portraits brought the warmth of southern french colour bursting in to Bury St. The skill and ability of David's oil painting is astonishing and has received great favour from a swathe of intrigued visitors, no less than the great colourist herself Bridget Riley who reportedly came by.

Has this focus on fine art prevented David from writing and illustrating his best-selling books? Publisher Klaus Flugge may think so, and is pictured here quietly throttle his leading writer as he signs copies of Elmer.... time to get back to the books maybe!

A Noisy Event

A great pleasure to launch our new year festivities with a noisy start for the launch of the new book written by Sue Eves, The Quiet Woman and the Noisy Dog. Far from barking up the wrong tree the gallery was packed with supporters, enthusiasts and even pet dogs. We wish Sue every success with the new book and in eager anticipation of her next best seller for Andersen Press we can but paws for breath.

The Great Blizzard of ' 09

It is not often that I allow myself the luxury of walking to the gallery on a Monday morning, and less common to find myself shin-deep amongst fresh powder snow in St James's Park. However these are strange days and rare times which future generations will reverently refer to as the' the great blizzard of '09'.

With the inspiration of the great Captain Oates in mind, I was indeed 'sometime' in arriving at my destination. It was nonetheless a very pleasant journey witnessed by a fine array of recently constructed snowmen adorning the snow-cloaked avenues of Hyde Park. I was however slightly disconcerted to be overtaken on no less than two occasions, once by a downhill skier sporting a fine pair of carving skis crossing the cricket pitch in Holland Park, and latterly by a snowboarder who narrowly missed me as I passed by Buckingham Palace.

A somewhat unusual morning.

Tony Hart

It is with great sadness that I read, along with many others of my generation, of the passing of Tony Hart. To many of us growing up in the the 1970's Vision On was more than entertainment, it was inspiration which fired a terrific enthusiam to get up and paint. Who will forget the wonderfully evocative title music to the show?! I recall an old friend of mine was emminetly proud, even as an adult, of her painting having been displayed on The Gallery section of this programme.

Here at Bury St the response we have had to our Morph giclee edition over recent months has been clear testament to the strong, happy and reverant memory of this unique programme and the gently humorous man who inspired and entertained us so well. Nothing has ever matched it and the world is a poorer place for this loss.

Vodka with Gennady

The fall in New England is, with good reason, regarded as one of the great natural sights, and sure enough I was not disappointed when I was fortuante enough to witness first-hand the the iridescent foliage at the peaceful dwelling of Gennady Spirin. Delighted to be invited once again for tea to the home of this awe-inspiring artist I headed by train out to the New Jersey countryside to be welcomed with black tea and several hearty Hа здоровье!

Feeling slightly light-headed a most pleasant afternon was spent surveying Gennady's stunning artwork which is featured in our current Winter Exhibition at the gallery here in London. The Night Before Christmas and Jack and the Beanstalk show the sheer vituosity of this classically trained Russian and are worthy of a trip to see these alone. I recall the words of top illustrator Michael Foreman as we studied this artwork on the gallery walls at the opening night. 'Proper stuff that' he muttered. With or without vodka, I can little more than concur. (Photo courtesy of Tatiana Popova)

Exploding Brian

Just in case many of you (myself included) were wondering what the BBC license fee was for I have some good news. Casting my mind back to the start of our busy calendar schedule for 2008 we began this year with our single artist showcase and first exhibition in the UK ever for Brian Wildsmith. The reception was terrific. We still have visitors coming by to acquire the highly colourful editions of Noah's Ark and St Francis.

During that event a sleek car with darkened windows pulled up outside the gallery and whisked this eminent illustrator off to some unknown subterranean destination for interrogation. Heroically Brian survived this experience the product of which can be view on BBC 4 tomorrow night November 5th at 9pm. Entitled When We Were Very Young, this is the first of three programmes exploring book illustration and will continue on the two following Wednesdays 12 and 19th November. Knowing Brian's eloquence and experience these are sure to be programmes not to be missed. Instead of exploding Guy Fawkes Night rockets, why not stay in and experience some exploding colour in the warmth of your own home.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/listings/programme.shtml?day=wednesday&filename=20081105/20081106_0010_4544_40999_60&service_id=4544

A fragment of an underdone potato

There’s more of gravy than there’s grave about you

Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the most iconic fictional characters, so much so that his name not only evokes the spectre of miserly self-interest but has effectively fallen in to the canon of common parlance as an utterance of denigration. For this we love him.

I recall well a scratchy crackling record that we would play as children on my parent’s gramophone (literally) every festive season. Hearing this atmospheric recording is one of my earliest memories and has given me a life-time attachment to this old humbug and his ghoulish tale of morality and destiny. As such Robert Ingpen’s freshly-released artwork for the new publication has superbly tapped into the essence of this story. His page and double page spreads are a fantastic evocation of a Dickensian world through which glide Scrooge and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future.

These pictures display Robert’s enduring interest in things scientific and architectural . He is in his element. The watercolours display a virtuoso handling of architectural and perspectival drawing, and coupled with the impressively detailed research into our nineteenth century metropolis, its architecture and fashion we are presented with an unrivalled almost theatrical presentation of Victorian London. As with all great illustrators there is more. With his imagination Robert has infused an eerie other-world quality which gives the artwork such vibrancy. It is immediately engaging and draws the viewer into silent contemplation of this by-gone era. The spectral luminosity of the unfortunate Jacob Marley is all too real. If Munch’s Scream is an evocation of existence then Ingpen’s seated Marley is its opposite. The seemingly quivering figure is a horrific vision of a ghastly unresolved fate, reminiscent of Bacon’s Screaming Pope currently on view at Tate Britain.

But there is humour too. ‘I fear you more than any spectre’ moans Scrooge in the presence of the ghost of things to come. Yet when confronted by his own cold and lonely death we see Scrooge cringing from behind the ghoul, peeking around like a child as the pale light illuminates the increasingly inevitable amongst the gathering gloom. This is one of my own favourites for sure.

In almost fifteen years of The Illustration Cupboard this is surely one of the best books I have had the pleasure to work with and exhibit. It has been enormous fun for us all here at the gallery. The artwork does not disappoint and I warmly invite and encourage any and many to visit. See for yourself or share this with those who, like me, will gain and enjoy a lifelong friendship with this loveable curmudgeon - the wonderful Ebenezer Scrooge.