In my first year on the degree course at Manchester we assembled in the former lost property offices of the Manchester Corporation( we still got little old ladies popping in complaining of lost umbrellas, even though it had been closed for years) We were a motley group of individuals from all over the country. Myself from not far away, but we had others from as far away as Walthamstow, which to us was really the dark side of the moon. A bloke addressed us with a cigarette in hand and told us his name was Williams, he had more spots … Continue reading Remember this?

With the coming exhibition in Manchester coming up next week, I make no excuses for putting myself about as they say. I’ll be exhibiting with a number of friends who I spent my time with at Mancheste in the 60s. Sadly two of them have died in the meantime, but their work will be there, and many happy memories of them. I had a brilliant time in Manchester after first completing the Foundation year, which was in Openshaw and surrounded by heavy manufacturing factories and there were times there in our lunch breaks when we would play football on a … Continue reading Honky Tonk?

If you happen to be in Manchester anytime after the 24th, then feel free to take a trip to the Benzie Building at Manchester School of Art, where I and a bunch of fellow graduates from 1969 are exhibiting to celebrate our 50 years in the business, and since our graduation. All the details you need to know are on the poster right here. Don’t forget it’s weekdays only, but then if you are in Manchester on a weekend you do need to look at your life in detail. I’m off there for the opening and looking forward to seeing … Continue reading Making an exhibition of myself, again.

You will be stationed next to a large metallic object the looks like a massive toy balloon and is the work of world renowned artist Jeff Koons. This is an exceptionally tactile piece of his work and is set on a plinth at the LACM Galleries here in Los Angeles. This plinth also reflects the work. Your duties will be to observe anyone getting too close to the artwork or, heaven forefend, actually touch it. You must advise them to step away from the balloon. You will be suitably armed with a plastic covered identity badge and a sullen manner, … Continue reading Mr Grumbly wanted for light balloon duties

Continue reading Self storage and self preservation

I think this is a really super poster, and it sits nicely above the chair. I suppose it would need to be a Hercules chair for Spider-Man. The drawing here is first rate and the composition adds to the drama, can’t fault it. The addition of typical L A blue skies helps too. Continue reading Jumping Spider-Man

This is the Frank Lloyd Wright house in LA which like the Schindler House is well worth a visit, even if you are not that interested in architecture. Here’s a little more about it for a better understanding that I can give https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollyhock_House We went on a clear sunny day and the place is located in a small park. Unlike the Schindler House, and you will see from the information that Schindler was very much involved in this house too, here you cannot take photographs indoors. This is a great shame as the interior is absolutely fantastic. Wonderful feeling for … Continue reading Frank’s place, inspired by hollyhocks.

This place, like many of my images from the last few weeks, is from Korea town, so it might be expected that there are Korean shops like this one, but what on earth is Deer Antler Trading? I suspect medicinal in some way. I did not venture inside. Continue reading Deer antler trading?

Not far from the Getty Villa there are walks in Topanga National Park, we took a trail behind the Villa and climbed to the top to get the view over the coastline and in to L A. It’s worth it. It would seem that this area too has been affected by fire with blackened stumps here and there, but nothing too devastating, and it was good to see the trees regenerating with fresh green shoots appearing out of the blackened bark. Continue reading Sign of regeneration

If there’s no handy building big enough for your sign they can put it on one of these monsters, but if there is a handy building then job done. Though don’t forget that if it’s up that high it might look a tad smaller than the roadside jobs, and there’s a danger of crick neck when close to the building. Many years ago I thought I’d arrived when one of my drawing appeared on a 64 sheet poster. That’s one of the uk posters that are at the roadside and not like this on a huge gantry. The state of … Continue reading This is a biggie!