“Rocket Man” is finally finished and photographed.

Measuring 120cm x 150cm it has been painted to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human flight in space.

On 12th April 1961 Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin became the first human in space and the first person to orbit the Earth. The Vostok-1 spacecraft blasted off from the Baikonur launch site at 06:07 UTC* (09:07am Moscow time) for what was to be a flight which lasted 108 minutes, including 89 minutes in space.   He completed one orbit of the Earth, travelling at 27,400 kilometres per hour. At the highest point, Gagarin was 327km (203miles) above mean sea level.

The 12 April 2011 will be the 50th anniversary of this event and “Rocket Man” is an homage to Yuri Gagarin and a celebration of this momentous occassion in the history of mankind.   It will be on display in September at The Bristol Gallery in the Space exhibition.

Further details of events and news of Yuri Gagarin’s 50th Anniversary can be found at this most excellent site

YuriGagarin50.org

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Well, I finally managed to finish the short soundtrack for these paintings, here it is, accompanied by some video of the same, also it is available in HD in the youtube player…

I shall be exhibiting in Germany for the 3rd time in under 12 months from next weekend.

I am absolutely thrilled to be be exhibting at the highly regarded Muna  Goetze Gallery in Nideggen,  in a joint exhibtion with my very good  friend and collaborater Maf Raderscheidt.

The exhibition “Eifelgold” is a continuation of the theme from my most recent exhibition in Bad Munstereifel and it runs from April 3rd.   There will be an opening address by Dr Dirk Tolke on the importance of my work on The Eifel Region and also a reading by celebrated German author Stephan Everling on “Eifel for beginners”.

I have been getting a lot of mail about the fact that I always seem to be working, yes I do paint for many hours a day, almost every day as many of you know, but here is proof that I am  taking time out when I am waiting for that paint to dry!!!!!

Things are getting very busy in the studio.

I am putting the finishing touches to the large painting for Bristol and a number of the works for my show in Penzance are finished.

Last week I was invited to exhibit in New York at an exhibition being staged to celebrate the launch of a new international art magazine…… 4 new works are under way, updates will follow soon…

I am thrilled to be involved with  Blind Dining, a unique fundraising event being organised by Jessica Ratty, the Communications Manager for Cornwall Blind Association, where guests will be invited to eat their two-course meal while wearing a blindfold, thereby giving everyone an experience of how visual impairment could feel to them, and how it does feel to some of the 10,500 visually impaired people in Cornwall.

The evening is being held at the aptly named One Eyed Cat in Truro and I am sure that it will be a fascinating evening , with fantastic food and excellent entertainment, including live music.  I have donated a piece of work for the Charity Auction.   It is an exquisitely layered mono/screenprint ( ie a one off), on 400gsm hand torn paper, floated and framed under glass in a Signature frame commissioned especially for me in solid ash with bevelled hand gesso’d front edge and with American Black Walnut key joints on all corner. Overall size 55cm x 63cm + frame.   This was in The Bristol Gallery with more of my screenprints in a joint exhibition with Sir Peter Blake at£1,600 last year and I am delighted to donate it for this exceptional cause….

“Scilly at Dusk” (2009) – mono/screenprint overall size 55cm x 63cm + frame

In addition to my screenprint there will be a Michael Spiers Jewellers donated Gucci bracelet and a Moet and Chandon bottle of champagne studded with Swarovski crystals up for auction on the night.

Tickets cost £25 each and you can secure your place by emailing  jessicaratty@cornwallblind.org.uk

My studio is full of canvases, I had 21 delivered last week and there are several in different stages of completion which I am currently working on for my various exhibitions taking up most of  my studio space.  I have more than enough projects to keep me very busy but I shall be starting Gyllyngvase (xii) sometime during the summer.

Last night I spent a most enjoyable evening with the delightful members of The St.Agnes Art Society as their guest speaker.  I was invited to talk about The Power Of Colour for a couple of hours and I want to thank them all for the invitation and for making me feel so welcome .

Work is now well under way on the large piece for The Bristol Gallery, which is due to be delivered to them in the first week in April. Also several paintings for my show at The Stoneman are now nearing completion.

Today I was very happy to finally have delivered a commission to my framer. This piece took longer than anticipated to complete and was delayed slightly due to the paintings for Black Kites : Eifel Gold, which is still showing in Bad Munstereifel until the 18th. I have another commission in the pipeline but would ask that if anybody is considering commissioning any work from me during 2011 please let me know sooner rather than later as my workload is already building up.

There are quite a few exciting developments on the horizon, and announcements of these, along with further details of forthcoming exhibitions etc., will follow in due course…..

A quick update about yesterday’s opening of “Black Kites – Eifel Gold”

What a fantastic day it was in Bad Munstereifel, and a gallery packed full of visitors and members of the local press, many of whom wanted to speak to me on the phone .

Many thanks to everyone who came along to see my work, and for the phone calls and emails, and a special thank you to my very good friends, Maf and Stephan, for all of the hard work that went in to organising the show.  The exhibition runs for 4 weeks

Black Kite, Eifel Sun (2011) – 30cm x 30cm – acrylic on canvas

Black Kites- Eifel Gold is on exhibition from 18.2.11 to 18.3.11 @ Atelier Maf Raderscheidt, Bad Munstereifel, Germany

“Black Kites : Eifel Gold” –   an exhibition of 20 of my paintings, is my response to my previous visit in 2010 to the beautiful landscape that is the Eifel Region.

There is a particular light and beauty in the Eifel which is unmatched almost anywhere.   It is an area full of abundant wildlife and bursting with colour in every direction, these paintings are my own unique translation of that light and energy.

I am absolutely delighted to be showing my work in Germany again, so soon after my last work was on exhibition in Heimbach.   I am also immensely proud that this is my first solo exhibition to take place outside of the UK and that it is being staged in the enchanting spa town of Bad Munstereifel.

By kind invitation the exhibition is being presented at the gallery of  my good friend and collaborator Maf Raderscheidt, and will be on display for 30 days.

There will be a Private View on Friday 18th February.

Black Kites, Eifel Gold (2011) 20cm x 30cm – acrylic on  canvas

Black Kites. Eifel Gold  – on exhibition from 18.2.11 to 18.3.11 @ Atelier Maf Raderscheidt, Bad Munstereifel, Germany