Exploring inside London Road Fire Station

Today I got to pass through the doors of my favourite building in Manchester the London Road Fire Station. For as long as I can remember this iconic landmark has lain empty and I've ALWAYS wanted to know what was going on inside! 

Until now I've just had to make do with the tantalising photos taken by the urban explorers who had managed to get within. It's such a beautiful building and full of history so it was with much excitement when I found out that there was to be an open day held by new owners Allied London. 

There was a serious queue when we got there at 9.30am and if felt great to finally pass the well known gates into the courtyard. I took as many photos as I could to mark the occasion!

 

The public were only allowed into the ground level of the building but several of the well known headquarters housed within were open for us to look around including the Engine House where we were treated to tea and croissants!:

 

The Ambulance Room was also open and inside was information about Allied London and architects Levitt Bernstein who have worked on similar historic buildings in Manchester and London. I was somewhat reassured by the sensitive way the past projects had been handled.

 

The last space opened was the Workshop where we found the planned vision for the Fire Station. It's quite eye opening how much stuff they plan to include. The only thing I was concerned about was that the original coroner court which is still housed in the building and from the photos we saw is in great condition (although closed off to the public when we were there) is not featured and, as a space of historical importance I think it should be preserved.

The doors to the coroners court which were so close... yet frustratingly closed off:

It was a great experience to explore part of the building which has ignited my imagination for so long! I've got my fingers crossed that the eventual re-development works out as well as the plans suggest and that there will be room for Manchester arts to be involved in order to represent the vibrant creative culture that has helped put Manchester on the map. Here's to finding out what happens next!

Re-visiting old work

Earlier this year I sold an old piece of work from my first exhibition from 13 years ago. I felt I couldn't sell the work without touching it up /re-painting parts of it first as, after over a decade of experience later, I felt the work in it's original state wasn't up to scratch.

This was the first time I'd ever worked on a 'finished' piece before and it was really eye opening for me. It made me realise that there's still potential in work even years after it's completion. With this in mind I decided to re-visit the remaining  paintings series from my first exhibition Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

I've been working on ideas to update the paintings to reflect the sitters as they are now. I want to find out who these people have become, what has changed for them, what life for them is like in 2016 and I'm really interested in their perspectives as older more experienced women.

Two of the remaining originals from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes from 2003

I want to do this by conducting a series of interviews and meet ups with the models to gather info which will then inspire the new work. I plan to update their Gentlemen Prefer Blondes portraits by working into them; cutting them out, embroidering them, painting and collaging onto them to basically create a more complete and layered image which represents the person they are and the journey they have made in the last decade.

I'm really inspired by work of other artists who use various mediums in image making such as Niagara and Heiner Meyer. 

Niagara: Clair de Lune

Heiner Meyer: Audrey Hepburn Through The Looking Glass

I love the way these artists use layering techniques with various images and text to create a unique piece. I think this will be a great direction to go in with the re-vamped pieces as I learn more about my subjects in their own words.

The original series Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was inspired by my friends who modeled for me and my fascination with styling and artifice. It looked into the way these young women presented themselves to the world and how popular culture in turn inspired them. Each painting contained a quote from a film, book or song chosen personally by the model to reflect something of herself. The title, taken from my favourite Marilyn Monroe film, played on the misconception of the ideal woman, as not one of the sitters was a blonde.

I was trying to define an idea of young women as bold and sassy and modern and to encapsulate the idea that women could define themselves on their own terms, yet I was doing this through the lens of popular culture. I feel now, that I was reproducing my own version of packaged personas based on my own relatively marginalised experience from that time. 
 

By re-visiting the work and updating the individual pieces to reflect their individual sitters I think this time I'll be able to produce a much more rounded and personal representation.

I'm currently putting interviews together for each sitter and orgnaising times we can meet up and I'm looking forward to what I hope will be a liberating and insightful experience for everyone involved!

7 people every artist has met

In the spirit of spending far too long on those time wasting sites that list everything from '22 cartoon guys that sexually awakened you' to ' 17 things you probably didn't know about Eurovision', I thought I'd do my own list based on my experience as an artist. 

Over the years of working in art organizations and taking part in art events I've met lots of people, some of whom seem to crop up periodically for every artist. They fall into certain categories, there's the good, the great and the... well, I'll just let you read on;

The Bullsh*tter:

This character hears you are an artist, it turns out they are also an artist, curator or entrepreneur. They have have an amazing exhibition, event or project planned and they think your work would fit really well even though they have only just met you or know very little about you. They then proceed to bombard you with ideas about what they are going to do and what they think you should do to be included. It sounds way too good (or utterly rubbish) to be true... and it is. The fantastical production which I quote, 'will really shake up the art world' never materializes. You thank your lucky stars you never got involved, especially when you bump into them again some months later spewing the same story to a bunch of new people. Back. Slowly. Away

The Know-It -All:

This is usually another artist or someone who enjoys dabbling in the arts, they can be very nice people, they are interested to know what you do. You tell them. They then proceed to tell you all about your chosen field as if you are a novice and haven't just told them you've been working as an artist for X amount of years. Usually they don't understand your work yet continue to tell you how it should be done. Usually you want to punch them.

The Flake:

They love your work, they want to include it in a future event or exhibition, or purchase some, or commission you. They have creative connections, they are enthusiastic. They give you their details. You get in touch to discuss further. You get some response. You contact them again. They give you a reason for the delay in proceedings. You wait. You wait... you give them a nudge. They give you a different reason for the delay in proceedings. Things continue along this pattern until you realise nothing is going to happen. It's not the end of the world. You grind your teeth and move on.

The All-about-me:

This person is programmed to talk enthusiastically about themselves and their work AT you rather than to you. They show no interest in what you do or have to say. This character can be found in many industries but the arts invariably (the burlesque circuit has a few!). They are exhausting and boring. Even if their work is wonderful and interesting, their personality puts you off and that is the impression they leave you with.

ON THE FLIPSIDE, HERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO JUST MAKE IT ALL WORK

The Supporter:

This person in interested in your work and they have something genuinely interesting, thoughtful or advising to suggest about it. They understand how to discuss your work without pulling you or it down and how to be constructive. You come away full of possibilities and ideas and a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

The Coach:

This person is usually a friend an acquaintance a colleague or somewhere in between all three. They are usually unassuming, but their input into your life has huge positive effects. They help to clarify your ideas, give you direction and guide you. They put opportunities your way and are always good to turn to in a creative jam.

The Enthusiast:

They try to make it to every show and usually do, they re-post your tweets and Facebook posts and leave lovely uplifting comments that make you feel good. They probably don't think twice about it but they make your career choice worthwhile and give you that extra little boost to keep doing what you do!

Did I leave any out? If you have any other arty-type experiences please share!

Star Wars art auction this Saturday!

My Princess Leia painting 'Rebel Princess' will be up for auction this Saturday (2nd April) at the For The Love Of The Force - Cantina Space Bar Charity Event being held at Bowlers Manchester.

She will be up for auction alongside other paintings done by Manchester artists who created work over the weekend event last December. This is a great chance for Star Wars and Sci-Fi fans alike to get their hands on some original art work.

Keep and eye out for auction details of the main website below and on the Facebook page HERE

You can find out how to buy tickets for the Cantina event HERE

'See you at the auction laser brain'

The one and many Marilyn Monroe

Like many people I get lost down the rabbit hole when I start watching youtube. One video leads to another and before I know it my original search for Vivien Leigh means I'm now watching an urban explorer traipse round a deserted plantation mansion in Georgia. However my most recent mini obsession stems from my unwavering love of Marilyn Monroe.

While searching for Marilyn videos I happened across a lady called Sunny Thompson. Now I may be a little late to the party but I was entranced by Sunny's portrayal of Marilyn in her one woman show, Marilyn Forever Blonde, a production which has been running up and down America since 2007.

Sunny has the mannerisms and voice down to a tee as she tells Marilyn's story through the lady's own words. This play looks amazing and I'd love to see it, but unfortunately Sunny has said in interviews that she's been playing Marilyn for 8 years now and Marilyn only played Marilyn for 15, Sunny doesn't think she can do it for that long.

The thing that intrigues me most about Marilyn Forever Blonde is how make up transforms Sunny into a such a convincing version of the icon. The application is so specific! In another interview Sunny mentions the make up design was put together by Marilyn impersonator Jimmy James... Cue a search for his work, and boy is he brilliant!

Jimmy James spent over 10 years impersonating Marilyn and in order to get the look just right he spent 2 years just studying her make up! You have to admit he got it right as the result is mesmerizing.

I watched a lot of his videos and its worth catching his appearance on Geraldo where the host seems to forget Jimmy is actually a boy and gets a bit flirty with 'Marilyn'. Also Jimmy's turn on To Tell The Truth, not only another fantastic impersonation but a fun snapshot of 1980's entertainment.

Jimmy James also appears briefly on a great documentary called Marilyn Monroe - Life After Death which has a refreshing take on the Monroe legend. Filmed in the 80's it interviewed a large group of people who knew and worked with Marilyn, whilst also giving an insight into the impact of her death in 1962.

Alan 'Whitey' Snyder was Monroe's make up artist through most of her career and his interview is the most interesting as he discusses how Marilyn asked him in a jokey way to make her up if she passed away before he did, a promise he honoured when she did die at the early age of 36. The description of how he did this and how the mortuary helped to get her looking right is both fascinating and uncomfortable.

 To round off, Lisa Eldridge is one of my favourite youtube make up artists and her video about Marilyn's iconic make up look is probably to closest we'll get to knowing a least part of the secret tricks and techniques Marilyn used to create the face she showed to the world. Don't be fooled, its not just black eyeliner and red lipstick, in fact the truth is much more interesting and intricate.

Marilyn knew exactly what she was doing when she put on her face. Her make up was a finely tuned kind of magic that helped her to become something bigger and apart from herself. It helped to define her legend and has obviously left an indelible imprint on popular culture that future generations  are still trying to emulate and decipher.

Having a little work done

February was spent retouching an old painting I'd done for my first ever exhibition 12 years ago!

The piece is called 'All Or Nothing At All' which is based on a title of a Frank Sinatra song and it was chosen by the model who posed for me to represent how she felt about herself in that point in her life. 

 Claire with her portrait at the private view of Gentleman Prefer Blondes

After recently commissioning a new painting from me, Claire decided to also buy her old portrait. However I really wasn't happy selling her something I knew I could paint ten times better now than how it had turned out 12 years ago.

I've never gone back and worked on my old paintings before and I have to say the experience was really satisfying and something I'd like to do more of. It's made me realise that work doesn't have a use by date and can be revamped into... anything! However for this particular piece I just wanted to rework the head which for some reason I had originally painted with dark heavy outlines and don't even get me started on the mouth! (why did I paint in weird teeth that shouldn't even be there?)

Before and after

I'm much happier with it now, and it definitely looks more like the polaroid photo I'd used the first time round. Thank goodness I keep everything! I was able to go back and work directly from the photo and blow it up to see the details better.

My main effort was in softening the lines of the face and reshaping the features. I also worked to make the skin tone slightly richer and make her hair a bit more believable. 

I retouched the background too to brighten and tidy it up. I could have continued but this was a retouch not a commission for a new painting, so I had to rein myself in. Still, I'm pretty happy with the result and now I've gotten over the metal boundary which prevented me from looking at old work as a prospect for new work I think this has been a good exercise for me.