no shock, just awe...



I can't think of the words to describe how much I love this. if ever there was a reason why you should never give up what you love doing (even when you're not sure you love it or are even convinced you hate it), this, for me, is it.

I always knew Robert was almost as good at painting as he is at being a friend but it's good to know I'm right.

you can see more of Robert's recent work here, here and here

brush work...



found via Robert

gnocc-gnocc-gnocchi on heaven's door

this one's for you Robert...

























as promised, Robert and some country walking.
on Wednesday I saw Robert and Richard's childhood home. we ate some terrible cake, conquered Blackford hill like the real men we are, then ate some great cake. we rescued the pumpkin gnocchi recipe Arild sent us from disaster and ate so much our tummy's were full of rocks. we were certain Tesla didn't invent a cloning machine.
on Thursday we made some miracles happen and discovered a real cloning machine. the sun put his hat on and we climbed another hill.
we ate a lot more cake besides. and some japanese curry. and went to the best pub in Edinburgh (or possibly the world) with the ever-awesome Jez and Lizzy. Robert took some fantastic photos. he can take photos of me any time he likes.
mostly the b/w photos are Robert and the colour ones, me.

this is Robert... robertphoenix.co.uk

they will die for us...














happy chocolate rabbits day.

had a nice Easter brunch at Katie's Mum's - polish style with vodka. there was a rabbit infestation - we will have to murder them and hide the evidence in our tummys. we went on a nice walk around the reservoir, the first time for me. we met a dog who was so happy she had hurt the tip of her tail from wagging it too hard. but we didn't meet any frogs.

i am looking forward to more country walking when Robert visits in a couple of weeks. so very eggscited!

ketchup...

the thunder and rain outside is an underline to the fact our heatwave is officially gone. i'm happy i worked hard on my tan whilst i had the chance. plus i can always top it up in L.A... this is still currently the plan. i'll maybe even book flights this week...!

i have done it again. too much to catch up on but i'll do my best. the past week i have been busy with Arild, art and architecture. and whilst we are on the subject of A, i have also entertained my love of vegetables beginning with A - asparagus, avocado (yes, probably a fruit)... unfortunately the artichoke search was a failure...

last thursday i met up with Robert for a day of art/free beer... in my not so expert opinion, Per Kirkeby at the Tate Modern was not quite worth the exhibition space, or the £9 it cost me. i feel i was tricked into imagining a entirely different experience - the few paintings of his i'd seen previously were really the only ones i liked there. the aesthetic of most of the rest of his work did not appeal to me and all in all his work seemed to lack direction and progression... more like studies towards something greater never reached. still here are some i did enjoy...





and here are two contrasting reviews from The Guardian... here and here

after the Tate we headed to the NPG to see Francis Alÿs's Fabiola exhibition. this time i'll keep it short. it was BRILLIANT. on until the 20th September, so plenty of time still

highlights of the rest of the night included free Asahi provided by 12 yr boys, the awe-inspiring collage art of Brian Adam Douglas (see image below), and meeting Emily and Matt (aka Emily Forgot and Hellovon) not realising who they were at first. duh! i am a huge fan of Hellovon and though i was aware of Emily's work , i hadn't looked at her website for a long time... there's some amazing work there. an inspiring pair, and very nice people (thanks Matt for the beer!)
hellovon.com
emilyforgot.co.uk

(the herringbone is collage too!)

i finished the night at the Brighton GDI09 graduate show at The Rag Factory off Brick Lane. a very good show in a very nice space. i really should have posted about it earlier as they are probably taking down the show as i type. but you can still explore the talent here... GDI09.co.uk

ok. having already spent more than an hour wirting this post, i'm going to leave the rest until tomorrow... but before I go let me return to Robert.

Robert Phoenix is the kind of person that makes you wonder what you would do if you didn't know people like him... he is a talented artist and yeasayer and good friend. i admire him for the brave choices he recently made to progress his painting, and they seem to be working out. and if this wasn't enough, he also runs failedrockstar.org, an online collection of his own interviews with artists

check Robert out...
his painting, his blog, failedrockstar.org