Almost There Blog

The concert was a great night, thanks to all the acts that played and to everyone that came!  Here’s a video and some photos from the evening:

Are you coming to the concert tomorrow? I hope so.

Just in case you need reminding, it’s at the Waterside Art Centre, Sale - 7.30pm. It could be the best thing you do tomorrow.

Here’s some footage from a special warm up concert in preperation for the June 6th show.
Tickets now on sale for the show. At http://www.quaytickets.com or from the Box Office: 0161 912 5616.

This is the first finished painting from the New York series for P&O.  185 x 145 cm - Oil on Canvas.
More to come soon… 

Things are more than a little frantic at the moment, with moving house, learning to drive, trying to paint paintings three times the size of the ‘Almost There’ canvases in half the time etc.  So the blog is less of a blog, but more of a news bulletin board for the time being.  With that in mind, here are a few news things:

A few of my older paintings are on show at Cornerhouse in Manchester.  It’s a wonderful place, with exhibitions , a cinema and a swanky café.  Details here:

http://www.cornerhouse.org/

Also, a big concert is scheduled for the ‘Almost There’ exhibition.  The last big event for the project, and a sort of closing party. 

The concert is a chance to hear live performances from four of the contributing music acts from the ‘Almost There’ project. The evening will start in the gallery to view the paintings and move into the seated theatre to hear sets from:

NEW CASSETTES, RIC NEALE, THE LAYLANAS AND MATT TRINDER.

Tickets are on sale now, priced just £5 each.

Please purchase tickets in advance to avoid disappointment, they are available to buy:

In person at the Waterside Arts Centre box office

By phone from the box office: 0161 912 5616

Online: http://www.quaytickets.com/WhatsOn/EventDetail.aspx?EventId=3080

The exhibition is launching up North in two weeks, at the Waterside Art Centre, Sale.  It will run from April 4th - June 27th (an extended run), Open Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm, Admission Free.

There is a super duper launch night being held on Friday April 3rd 7.30pm - 9.30pm, featuring special live performances from Kathryn Edwards, Mike Braye and Matt Cameron.  If you are interested in attending, please email me on joe@almostthere.co.uk to request an invite.

I’m currently starting work on my commissions for P&O.  After the stress of installing the exhibition in Sale has subsided, I’ll write a proper write up about the difference in starting another series of work, and how this will be different because it is for a corporate client, and how it has a specific space that it is being created for.

It is perhaps ironic that when I’m most busy and have the most interesting things to blog about - I never seem to get chance to write on this.  And when I’m twiddling my thumbs surfing the internet, I tend to get the urge to update it with skateboarding dogs etc.  Alas, it’s a modern dilemma.

The exhibition has been on for seven days now, just the weekend left for the London exhibition.  I’ve been sat invigilating the whole time and it’s been a strange experience.  Really positive on the whole - lots of people have given amazing feedback, and seemed to have enjoyed the show.  A fair number of people have stayed for quite a while and done the whole experience – listening to all the songs and viewing all the paintings – which is lovely and much more than I expected.

It seems people are quite nervous about coming into smaller art exhibitions, it’s on a first floor gallery with loud wooden stairs leading up to the entrance – so I always know when people are approaching.  Quite a few people have walked half way up the stairs and then turned back, or popped their head through the door and left again.  A few people come in and ask if I mind them looking round.

Just a minute ago I had to pause writing, as an elderly man stopped for a chat.  He was asking if he could get a series of paintings and songs about his life made - I didn’t reveal that I was the artist to avoid more embarrassment - but he was getting really excited about it.  He told me he had lots of ideas, and that there was key moments in his life that would make great images, and a range of cultural locations that could provide many musical genres and points of inspiration.  I’m not saying that this couldn’t work; I think it’s a really lovely and true idea that every life is a journey and could be given the same treatment.  But I don’t think he quite understood the enormity of work that went into making a body of work like this.  He told me that he was retired and didn’t have much money, but would be willing to spend a couple of hundred pounds for the work– but it was important that the artist and musicians spent a lot of time hearing his stories and ideas.  It was both a sweet and awkward conversation.

Another memorable exchange came from a lady who came in and viewed the work, she chatted to me for a while about how her mother had recently died and that she found the work very healing.  She could see her brother in the paintings and identified with the way he coped with loss through the character in the images.  It was very touching that she was genuinely moved by my work – I was moved.

The launch night took place on Friday night (20th February) - and it was a huge success.  I would like to thank everyone who came along, all musicians who played - Ric Neale, Jose Vanders and Matt Trinder and everyone involved in making it a really special night.  A serious amount of wine was consumed and a few bad heads in the morning, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  I’ve posted a few photos from the evening, more to come in later days.  If you came and enjoyed the show, please tell friends, family and colleagues about the show and to come down in the week.  It’s on at the Candid Arts Trust, Islington until March 1st - Open Daily 11am - 8pm Admission Free.  Come on down…   

I’ve been neglecting this a little bit, but the exhibition opens this Saturday - and there’s been a lot to do.  The major stress leading up to the show has been the album, whether or not it will be ready in time for the launch night.  At time of writing it’s looking really promising.  I’ve listened to a finished mastered mix and it sounds fantastic, I’m so pleased.  When I have a finished packaged version in my hand it will be all the better - so fingers crossed.  I think it might literally arrive on the day of the launch.

I’ve been trekking the streets of London putting up posters and flyers in bars, cafes and on the odd occasion kebab shops (maybe art lovers are also kebab lovers?!).  Five days left and hopefully everything will magically fall into place.

All I can say is… please come!  It officially opens this Saturday (Feb 21st), it will be open 11am - 8pm everyday until March 1st.  It’s free to come and view, and the result of about 18 months of work.  It’s at the Candid Arts Trust, Islington (nearest tube Angel). 

I’ll be sure to post lots of photos and tales once the show is up and running, but for now - you’ll have to excuse me - I need to get my suit dry cleaned.

I had a little chat with Sam Walker on BBC Manchester last night, you can use the iplayer feature on the BBC website to listen again - it will be up for one week.  I’ll try to rip it and put an MP3 up.

The BBC also have a little feature up about the project, take a look.

And finally, Jenny Musgrove came to visit me in my studio a few weeks ago and did an interview, you can read what was said in the latest issue of ‘Concept for Living’ magazine - which you should find in all good magazine shops in the North.