I recently visited the Serpentine Gallery to revive my knowledge of the current trends in the art world. I was disappointed to see that contemporary art hasn’t moved on much from when I used to visit London art galleries when I was studying at Chelsea College of Art in the early 90s. I think that her sculptures are meant to challenge our ideas of the “aesthetic values” and traditional notions of sculpture. But is this all she can come up with? Misshapen, blobs of finger-marked clay, dumped on pristine white pedestals? Bits of wood next to a neon light in a rough box?

It took me back to art classes at school where the kids used to play with the clay with no intention of creating anything they wanted to keep. They were just having fun creating a mess. No doubt that my notions of the aesthetic were challenged, but I also found the exhibition incredibly dull. I can’t help feeling that other artists have challenged notions of the aesthetic, but much more successfully.

The highlight of the visit to the Serpentine Gallery was using the clean modern toilets, which are much better than any of the other facilities on offer at Hyde Park. I recommend the Serpentine Gallery for this alone. The book shop is too small.
Is it just me, or is this the Emporer’s new clothes?

Artists are busy finishing their paintings/sculptures/drawings to submit to this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition as I write. It is a lengthy process with as good a chance of winning the lottery than getting your work accepted. First of all you need to register and pay £25. Then you fill in a form and send it back before the deadline of 17/03/2009, after which you make your way down to London and hand your precious piece of work. Then most likely you return a few weeks later to pick the art up again.

I like to enter competitions as they give me deadlines to work to. I don’t actually care if the work is accepted or not as I usually (unless it goes horribly wrong) enjoy creating the work. The Royal Academy attracts thousands of entrants and the impression I got last year is that the work they accept is on the quirky side to say the least with the odd print of a cat thrown in. Let’s see how my offering get’s on. Watch this space.

I spent a weekend in Cardiff recently, where there’s lots to see. If you want to sketch women dressed as air hostesses/nurses/French maids or men dressed as Ghost Busters/The only gay in the village, then go to Queens Street at night. If you want a more sobre atmosphere, then head down to Cardiff Bay during the day. There you will see contemporary architecture alongside older buildings with a few bars and shops appearing in this up and coming area.

The Wellcome Collection is a 5 min walk from Kings Cross or Euston and has lots of free events/exhibitions and tours. It is part of the Wellcome Trust, a large charity that funds biomedical research.

Here you will find a cafe, bookshop and temporary exhibitions on the ground floor as well as permanent exhibitions and a library upstairs. If you venture upstairs you will see a wall where you can add your own drawing on the back of a large postcard that gives you a choice of words as inspiration. Or you could add your biometric data to a touch screen that creates your own personal pattern from your height, fingerprint and heart beat.

For more details visit:

http://www.wellcomecollection.org/exhibitionsandevents/index.htm

My dad had a stall on Doncaster market selling fish to a long line of regular customers. I loved going to visit him and to see all the people and the colourful displays of fish, fruit, bread, cakes, clothes, shoes and cakes stacked up on row after row of stalls. I’ve always thought it was better than going to the supermarket and much more fun. I still go there now and the food I buy is always fresh and tasty and sold at a very good price.

If you are an artist wanting a lively scene to sketch, then Doncaster market in South Yorkshire, England, is the perfect place. The buildings date from the Victorian period and the Corn Exchange is definitely worth a visit if you are interested in architecture. Forget the pretentious markets of London, visit Doncaster and you will find a genuine working marketplace with lots of bargains and not a hint of a tourist trap.

I’ve always loved painting and drawing from when I was a young child. Children can paint and write completely unselfconsciously until they reach the age of about 12 and puberty sets in, along with doubts about ability, not wanting to appear childish and other insecurities. That’s when most of us stop being creative, because we are brainwashed into thinking it is childish and stupid and we are no good at it. And that’s one of the reasons I created this website, not only to record and share some of the techniques I’ve used, places I’ve visited and exhibitions I’ve seen, but also to encourage the idea of creativity and to give it the value it deserves. Here are 5 good reasons to be an artist:

1. Exorcising those demons
Possibly everyone has that memory of being told they were no good at something, or even the experience of being laughed at and ridiculed. The simple answer to this is to think, why should I care? As I’ve grown older, I’ve gone through being in the self-conscious, self-doubting cage and have escaped from this by not caring what others think. If someone doesn’t like or even ridicules one of my creations, I really couldn’t give a flying ferrit. If they have constructive criticism, I listen and then decide if I want to take it on board, or not. It’s entirely my choice. Doing something like painting, photography, writing or sketching truly is freeing and can be very rewarding even if you are told that your art is “bad”.

2. Getting in touch with your inner bad artist
After exorcising those demons, it is very liberating to actually get down to doing those things, such as painting, that you’ve always fancied doing, but thought you weren’t good enough to do. The answer is to keep it simple. There’s no need to buy tons of art materials to get started, just a pencil or pen and paper will do. Just start with doodles, or sit on a park bench and draw whatever takes your fancy or draw something from memory. Just experiment and see how it goes.

3. Stressbusting
Sometimes personal or work related problems can be overwhelming and it is difficult to focus on anything else. Art has always been a great stress-buster for me. As soon as I begin to observe an object to draw and begin to make sketches, all my worries have much less significance. In fact it helps me clarify some of the thoughts in my head.

4. Developing new ideas and skills
Painting and sketching takes practise and can be a long and rewarding journey, but don’t be in a rush to become Picasso straightaway. It really doesn’t matter about level of skill, just whether you are gaining anything from the experience.

5. Seeing the world in a different light
Having an interest in photography and sketching has really made me see things differently. Instead of walking blinkered through the streets, you start to think, I like that colour, that person would be good for a portrait, the view from here brings up some interesting perspectives… You just notice things a lot more! The world is no longer mundane, but full of interesting “shots”, “views”, colours, interesting people and perfect places for sketching.

Just been to a “Christmas Festival” or what is more commonly known as a craft fair. I must say, apart from the food on sale which was delicious, I was a little disappointed with what was on offer. Is it just me or does “craft fair” mean hand-made/locally produced goods to you? Well that’s what I was expecting, not cheap goods imported from China/Vietnam/anywhere outside the UK. Where’s the “craft” in going to a wholesaler and buying imported goods? There were a few stalls selling goods that they’d made themselves, but these were few and far between.

Anyone who knows of a craft/art fair that only sells hand-made/locally produced goods please drop me a line…

It’s October already, but a welcome break is on the cards - a trip to Colonsay, a remote island off the coast of West Scotland. It takes me longer to travel there than it did to get to Egypt. First of all I get the sleeper train from Euston, travelling overnight to wake up in Glasgow Central station. Then it’s a bus ride across to Oban (3 hours), then a ferry (3 hours) to Colonsay. I could have gone to Egypt and back in that time. But it’s not just about how long it takes to get there, more to do with being worth it. And the answer is yes it definitely is worth it. Colonsay had a music festival for the first time this year too.

Bagpipes are not my favourite instruments. Nor are raging bulls my favourite animals. And I got to experience both. I also ate fresh oysters and yummy honey, drank the local beer (not so good) and collected fresh mussels from the beach. But it’s a real once in a lifetime experience to see the beautiful colours and go for long breathtaking walks.

Colonsay House has a stunning woodland garden to wander around, free of charge.

There are lovely empty, white-sand beaches to meander along.


And watch out for the fluffy sheep that seem to be everywhere.

Access to Beningbrough Hall is by a quaint toll-bridge that charges you 40p. The gardens are lovely for an afternoon stroll. The interior of the house is disappointing if you’re a seasoned National Trust addict, but it does have some interesting interactive exhibits that allow you to become part of a painting. There is a restored laundry room that’s interesting to visit. Made me feel guilty about the pile of ironing I haven’t yet got around to doing.

For more information visit the following link:

Beningbrough Hall

If you climb the steps of the Royal Academy and hand over your hard-earned cash this month, you will enter the Summer Exhibition 2008. Long running, often criticized and slowly evolving, the Summer Exhibition has become a national institution.

Here you will see a video of a woman using barbed wire as a hula hoop, amidst a painting of the M25, a flying lemon, and portraits of cats. Where else could you get such an eclectic selection of art or get proof of British eccentricity to such a degree? Possibly nowhere. But I still find this exhibition fascinating and well worth a visit.

Among my favourites were the cracked egg (a popular favourite) that beautifully reflects its RA surroundings, a book with a hole burnt through its pages, a map cut out to resemble arteries, tiny flags pinned onto a white background (Lost in Translation) and a painting of smiling jammy dodgers.

Red Road Arteries, Susan Stockwell

PJ Harvey, Miles

Transmission 8, Yoshimi Kihara

Centre: Lost in Translation/Colour of Departure, Chuya Ikeda

Zenith, Mimmo Paladino