New Show at Eccles Community Art Gallery!

It doesn't seem 6 months have passed since I exhibited at this friendly gallery just next to Wilkinson's in Eccles Town Centre. The builders have been with us for 4 weeks converting Bob's loft space. The preparation before and the decorating afterwards have reduced my time in the studio severely. On the other hand it will improve Bob's office and admin arrangements considerably.

Curly Bob & I have chosen 13 of my latest works to be displayed for the next 4 weeks finishing on Saturday 5 October 2019.

The 13 individual works will be posted over the coming month. There are several other artists showing in the gallery at the same time so a visit would be well rewarded if anyone is in the Eccles area. The gallery is open every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 10.00 to 16.00. At least one artist will be present during opening hours. I plan to be there from 10.00 - 12.00 every Saturday.

The gallery prides itself on being run by volunteers and participating artists. They look forward to meeting you and answering any questions you may have.

All my works are painted  in acrylic and mixed media on canvas. They are presented as "gallery wraps" which means they can be hung without any frame necessary. Please feel free to ask any questions either in person or via email vanbear7@gmail.com

Half Way Through!

The joint exhibition at Eccles Community Art Gallery is now half way through. It is amazing how fast the time has gone. The gallery is situated down the side passage next to Wilkinsons.
The gallery is open on the following dates:-

Friday 22 February

Saturday 23 February

Tuesday  26 February

Friday    1 March

Saturday 2 March

On 5 March most works will end their month's display and the gallery will then be restocked with new works by new local artists. The gallery is a fantastic place because it in run by volunteers on a non profit making basis.

Artists are "in residence" every day the gallery is open. They welcome visitors who come in and talk to them. It is very interesting to see what others get up to and how they produce their works for display.
There is no obligation to buy but if if you wish to do so please note the Gallery operates on a cash only basis to keep overheads down which can be passed onto the customer.

These are 4 of my 14 paintings that are hanging in the Gallery.

Below is a shot of the Gallery with 58  more works on display.

Still No Sign of Bob

Despite promises to the contrary Curly Bob has not put in an appearance in Avignon where I am waiting for him. This is not such a bad thing as we are staying at the same hotel as last year and regular readers of this blog will remember there was a certain amount of confusion concerning the bar and accommodation bill. (i.e. They were both unpaid) This resulted in bob spending some time in the local pokey. I am not unduly worried as the route taken by the train runs down the Rhone valley which is renowned for having some of the finest vineyards in the world and we are fast approaching the wine harvest.

This morning my in box contained a directive to post material from 2013 and earlier to clear the way for my more recent efforts. I have taken an executive decision to post material on a more regular basis to enable me to clear the backlog.

Still in Amsterdam

Yet again I am concerned because Bob has not come back from holiday after some 2 weeks. He went with us to Amsterdam by train but we went our seperate ways soon after arrival. Apparently Bob was very interested in locating some coffee shops.???

After making some enquiries it seems that coffee shops in Amsterdam are not primarily purveyors of coffee. I have since learned ,for that, you need to visit a cafe. A garbled email from Bob said that his research was going well and he was sampling lots of the local produce. Originally I assumed this was a reference to the excellent apple pie and cream sold by many Amsterdam cafes but now I am not too sure.

The wording of the email and the repeated references to "cake" lead me to fear the worst and that Bob is now actively engaged in trying out the local produce.

While the problem is being resolved I have taken an executive decision and now publish "Cwm Idwal", an acrylic from 2014. It is fitting to choose a Snowdonia scene as we plan to be leaving some paintings at St David's Hospice Shop in Lllandudno on Sunday. 2 will be views of Snowdonia  and 2 from Provence. All works will be published in this blog in due course.

He's Still Waiting!

Curly Bob's rosette has still not arrived. I passed him this morning as he sat on the stairs looking balefully at the letter box. The post man came and went but there was nothing for him. He was looking a little dejected so I explained that his manifesto would be published after every one else's, which meant that people would remember it best when they came to vote. That seemed to perk him up a bit.

(There is also the small matter that Bob's party is only fielding one candidate i.e. himself. Given the state of things in Rotten Borough I would say Bob has a fairly good chance of being elected...Ed) Still we have to go along with his aims for the moment. Pending the arrival of his rosette Bob has asked that I post "Storm Snowdonia", oil on board based on one of my sketches that I did on a holiday in wales in 2010. As always any feedback welcome.

Curly Bob & I both wish you all a great weekend.

Still no word

There is still no word from Bob. Meanwhile another vault extract from the past. This one is called "Spanish Village#1", oil on canvas from 2010. One of a pair I painted in that year.

The Manifesto Grows

Curly Bob is still hard at work on the manifesto. During a comfort break(Ice cream & honey) he directed I publish "Snowdon Horseshoe, Winter", oil on canvas 2012.

We are slowly working through the back catalogue which we hope to clear in the next month or two.

This work was done by using a knife for most of the painting except the sky. I remember it well because we were in Llanberis, North Wales in February and it was a very cold day. I say "we" in general terms. I was stood outside the car sketching with watercolours  whilst wearing gloves and receiving very odd looks from passing drivers. I don't doubt they were wondering if I should be committed or not. Meanwhile Bob was in the car with the heater on full sporting a new muffler, hat and gloves. Advice was offered via notes held up to the window. That is the way of things as Bob is usually far too professional to get cold and/or wet in the furtherance of art.

Curly Bob's Manifesto Not Ready

Bob has been hard at it overnight working on his party's manifesto. I could hear him tapping away on my keyboard late into the night. I have no idea what he will come up with as it is a closely guarded secret and unlike Westminster there are no leaks here either by design or subterfuge. The political world waits....

Meanwhile, I found another note pushed under my bedroom door directing that I publish "Self Portrait 2012", an oil on canvas. 

I am not sure if that reflected my own personal state or a portent of the worry the worry of when Bob was to be kidnapped in the Yucatan in April 2013. For those taken with technical matters it was executed entirely with a knife.

Curly Bob Is To Seek Election in May 2015!

After much soul searching Curly Bob has announced his intention to stand for election in the  May 2015 . I explained that he would need a manifesto and publicity machine if he is to compete with the major political parties. There was also the question of his deposit to secure his eligibility in the electoral process.

Bob asked if I would lend him the money and he is now working on his manifesto and title of his party. The political world waits with baited breath.

Meanwhile Bob has taken a break from such weighty matters to ask me to post "Calanque et un Arbre", an acrylic on canvas from 2014

I've Been Framed!

Curly Bob called a very brief management meeting today. In line with the proposed expansion of Curly Bob's Art Emporium (retail) at the end of April he has decided we need a makeover in the frame department.

We have been using untreated wood frames out of personal choice around our house, including Bob's den.
I pointed out to Bob that not everyone wants a minimalist look to their frames and he could not deny the fairness of my case. That said he was soon onto the local DIY to order wood stain and wax in 2 tasteful colours. Of course Bob was far too professional to offer to help with the work as such items are very bad for his fur. 

However,he was gracious enough to provide me with a complete inventory of our frames and a printed time table setting out a (strict) schedule to be followed. He was quite confident that they would all be completed by this weekend provided I did not sleep too much in between. 

When I had completed that task I would be free to complete the  preparation work on all the available paintings to make them ready for sale.

Meanwhile I have been instructed to publish "Lighthouse, Evening Light #2", an oil on canvas circa 2003. It is one of a series of 4 with a lighthouse in each.

Inspired by The Eclipse!

Curly Bob's regular fans will know by now that his thought processes are different from most other people. While he was having breakfast this morning he was very interested in watching the news coverage of the partial solar eclipse.

His selection processes, of which items to post from my back catalogue, can be triggered by the most obscure events. After he had polished off his latest jar of French honey from the "Happy Bees Honey Farm" in Provence he leapt into action. A quick rummage in the loft produced two works from 2011. They were both based on my  attempts to render an image I had seen on an astronomy programme some years before.

 I explained there was no sun involved in either of these works. However Bob was having none of it so here is "Space Dust #2", an oil on canvas. It involved copious amounts of Liquin medium and thin paint poured from a great height. I would not recommend this method unless you have a sound constitution and a well ventilated room/studio in which to work, especially in high summer.

"Space Dust #1" will be put to sale on the Botany Bay branch of Curly Bob's Art Emporium at some later stage and will be posted on this blog at that time.

Let's brighten Up Mothers' Day

Curly Bob woke early this morning so he could post some more work to brighten up Mothers' Day. I don't know why Bob has taken such an interest in such things. He has made it his business to use my artworks to brighten up the lives of his countless fans worldwide.

The weather here in the U.K. is heavily overcast and quite cool so something sunny is called for.

Therefore here is "Cabanon a Cote de la Mer" It is a 60cm x 50cm oil canvas and he hopes it will remind people of happy and sunnier memories of holidays past.(Apologies to out French speaking friends out there but Bob's PC doesn't work very well with accents etc.)

It's Mothering Sunday!

Bob was looking for something to post in keeping with Mothers Day here in the U.K. For some reason Bob came up with  Whilst a nice painting that would make a great present I cannot begin to work out how Bob relates this as a reward for motherhood.

Still, as they say in our neck of the woods, (and no doubt elsewhere), "It takes all sorts" Curly Bob definitely falls into that category.

Still I am fortunate in having him for a manager as he has had loads of bright ideas which will result in lots of archived work being posted over the next few weeks.

Here is "Across Llyn Padarn, Snowdonia" an oil on canvas from 2014. This painting has already been sold so it will not appear in our display at Botany Bay, Canal Mill, Chorley, Lancs, PR6 9AF or the new website.

Another One from The Vault

Curly Bob continues his clearout to make room for new works to be exhibited at Botany Bay, Chorley.

His next selection is "Standing Stones", an oil on canvas, 60cm x 50cm painted sometime pre 2010 and featured on one of our Christmas cards.

Bob's Up Early This Morning

More noise from the attic but this time at 6 a.m.. Curly Bob is taking the promotion of my wall at Botany Bay, Chorley more seriously than I thought.

I emerged from my bed to investigate and Bob was coming down the ladder with another work in his paws. I am to post this to celebrate Mother's Day. I don't see the relevance myself but Bob hates to miss an opportunity.

Therefore here is yet another from the vault:-

"Lighthouse on Jetty", one of a series of 4 oil paintings I did based on lighthouses. There are 2 more to come.

Curly Bob Gets Stuck in For The Weekend!

Bob called by to say he would be in the loft most of Friday night running his paws over my back catalogue  with a view to making more room for new work.

I  plan to try some new mixed media work this weekend so we may not see much of each other for some time.

Before he started he advised(told) me to post"Parys Mountain", an oil on canvas that was sold some time ago but we have an image bank of his favourite works.

Parys Mountain is in Anglesey. It is a derelict copper mine that has generated huge heaps of waste in colours that have to be seen to be believed. Van Gogh would have loved it.

A good weekend to all Bob's fans and followers.

Clear Out The Archive

Following Bob's long awaited review of the attic Bob has now decided to clear the back catalogue to clear the way for publishing my latest works which will feature on my web page and Blog gallery which are in the course of preparation.

Here is "Magma", oil on canvas circa 2010, 60cm x 50cm

Curly Bob's Art Emporium opens for business!

Curly Bob proudly opened his first retail unit with a modest sized unit at Botany Bay, Chorley this morning. We have high hopes of displaying my work to a much wider audience in this famous venue visited by large numbers of people every week.

We have hopes to expand as soon as possible but we are very pleased with the display. It was significant that Bob made a rare public appearance to open it. He is normally working hard at home expanding our internet operation.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see my work in a well lit, all weather environment. To mark the opening Bob has asked me to post "Boat at Low Tide ", (40cm x 30cm), oil on canvas for sale at £45.00.

We look forward to any feedback from visitors and viewers alike. It should be noted that neither I nor Curly Bob will be at the unit most of the time because it is operated on an unmanned basis but works can be purchased and paid for at the cash desk on the ground floor.

Curly Bob's Art Emporium Opens a Retail Outlet At Botany Bay wef Tuesday, 3 March 2015!

Following a brief board meeting, Bob has decided it is time to market my work in the real world as well as in cyberspace. After lengthy negotiations Bob has secured a space where I can display some of my work at the world famous Botany Bay, Chorley. It is a modest enterprise initially as befits Bob's humble nature but we hope to expand as soon as possible.

Curly Bob's Art Emporium (retail) opens for business  on Tuesday 3 March 2015 at Botany Bay which is open every day of the year except Christmas Day. For up to date opening hours etc please visit the Botany Bay home page.

Unfortunately Bob's other commitments prevent him from attending Botany Bay in person. However we hope many of you will visit our display and avail yourselves of unique original artwork at very reasonable prices.

As part of the opening ceremonies Bob has directed I publish  some of my work that has yet to see the light of day. 

Therefore, Curly Bob's Art Emporium's first business post is "Winter Crows #1", an oil on board, (40cm x 30cm)..enjoy!

At the same time Bob does not wish to neglect his world wide following in cyberspace so posts will continue to be made at regular intervals.