Wearing the insignia, a narrow red ribbon, is optional in everyday life but expected at official gatherings.
I had the special honour to receive the order of the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur from the hands of the French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin in the magnificent décor of the Hôtel Matignon.
The fabulous gallery spaces at Fort Gorgast were the setting for my first exhibition. Michael Gauss’ photos capture the magical spirit of the building that is part of Forte Cultura. Many thanks to him, and to all those who joined us for an unforgettable party!
Nature studies. Exercises in observation, looking for the light, for volumes, for shapes, structures and shifts of plane. Both meditative and exhausting.
Here’s some pictures from both my studio in the countryside and from atelier training at the Art Academy in Stroud (Gloucestershire).
While the last paintings are still being framed, I am already very much looking forward to the opening on 20 May.
From my archives: an essay about Czechoslovakia one year after the fall of the communist regime, a country caught between revolution and an impossible restauration.
The brain is conservative. It tends to have set ideas about the human body that get into your way when drawing with live models. Models often hold poses for only three to ten minutes. The classes are designed to get you out of your comfort zone. No time to think about proportions. You have to trust your eyes, and your hand. Either you get it, or you don’t.