BRUSSELS

Thoughts have been with the city of Brussels this week.....

I've always had an affinity with the country of Belgium and especially Brussels.
I'm a huge fan of the place, and have explored the many sides of the culture the city has to offer.

The rich history of cartoons and graphic design, the music, especially the fantastic Front 242, the beer of course(!!!), and the absolutely amazing architecture, from the many wonderful Art Nouveau buildings to the 50s Space Age Atomium. 

The whole city has been a huge inspiration to me, the photos I've taken there have featured in many collages I've done.

Stay strong Brussels....

TAKE A BOW AT BOWLEAZE!

Loads has been happening on the ArtPix Front recently, with some big changes afoot!

So because all is very busy at ArtPix Towers at the mo, I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like.

But for now, here is a brand new collage that I worked on during my sojourn to Dorset back in January.
It's a cheery summery one, and as we are still in the grip of winter I thought it might cheer everyone up!!

The building featured in the collage is the delightfully Art Deco Riviera Hotel, down at Bowleaze Cove, overlooking Weymouth in Dorset. A fantastical white and blue beauty built in 1937.

So have a peep and start planning those summer days down on the beach!!!

RETRO LEICESTER CITY

The biggest surprise of this season's Premier League is the staggering form of Leicester City!

After flirting with relegation last season, they currently sit 3 points clear at the very top of the table.
The game needs these upsets and to ruffle the feathers of the big teams. It's like a classic cup tie that's lasting the whole season!

Their manager is the amiable Italian Claudio Ranieri. I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago at the Ally Pally antiques fair, where he was doing a bit of vintage shopping!

So it makes complete sense at the moment to do one of my popular Retro Football collages on the super Foxes!
I always take my time with these, I like to do a full research of the clubs I do, including a run down of their history and achievements. Next up is a look at the fans' cult players down the years. They can either be the lovable rogue or the doughty full back, who served the club for season after season.

Research has shown that Keith Weller (remember those black tights?!), Steve Whitworth, Alan Birchenall, Gary Lineker of course and Steve Walsh are among the faves, but I'm going to plump for Frank Worthington as the main man on this Leicester collage. Although he played for quite a few clubs, his best and longest spell was for the old Filbert Street side. And he was super cool!

Cracking team group shot from 1974. Check out Frank Worthington in the front row, in between Keith Weller and Alan Birchenall.

Luckily for Foxes fans, Steve Walsh will be able to sneak in on this one. The cut off year for my collages is 1989, he made his debut in 1986!

Some fans in the past have suggested their fave players for other collages, but they were from the 90s onwards. I always think to be a true RETRO collage it has to be earlier, so a few legends can be left out I'm afraid!

Keep tuned and see how I progress!

And check out my other RETRO FOOTBALL collages HERE

SUNSET OVER DORSET

My month long sojourn to Dorset is nearly at an end...... sniff, sniff!

But I've had such a great time, the batteries have been recharged and lots of plans have been hatched.

Have managed to do some new artworks and collages and had loads of ideas for more. Also, I've stocked up my unit at The Customs House in West Bay with yet more goodies!

Can't wait to be back down here in Dorset!

The sun setting over the Cobb at Lyme Regis.

LONDON: WINTER TALES

Work is almost complete on the interviews for LONDON: WINTER TALES!

The special and intimate evening of readings and music to warm you up on a long, cold winter night at The Harrison bar in King's Cross, London on Saturday 27th February will be a night to remember.

When you've ordered your ticket online, you will get a fabulously free PDF emailed to you, featuring exclusive interviews with all nine artists involved!

Here is a sneak preview of some of the pages below and a link to the page to get yourself a ticket, but do hurry up, as there are only SEVEN left!!!!

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

Some of the pages of your free PDF, designed by yours truly!!

CHARMING CHARMOUTH

Had a journey into an alien world, down in the Dorset village of Charmouth, with strange colours and mysterious rocks!

This part of the world famous Jurassic Coast has very crumbly cliffs, which makes it very popular with fossil hunters. Mary Anning, who discovered many dinosaur bones along the Dorset coast in the 19th century, vastly advancing our knowledge of prehistoric life, was very fond of scrambling around here.

Windswept beach at Charmouth.

It also looks like an alien landscape. The cliffs are a dark grey, almost black colour and the sand is a strange orange. On this day, there was a grey sky and driving rain, so the only colours visible were grey and orange.

The shape-shifting grey cliffs!

The cliffs are oozing water through them and are constantly moving. There had been a huge landslide which, alongside the massive grey boulders strewn across the beach, only added to the unearthly quality of the place.

The strange coloured sand and the dark grey stones on the beach.

A closer inspection of the alien-like landscape!

The sea has moulded the rocks into unusual textures.

Amazing crystals inside one of the broken rocks.

Rainwater trickling down through the cliffs and onto the beach has created a fascinating metallic-like pattern on the sand.

PORTLAND BILL LIGHTHOUSE

Carrying on the lighthouse theme this week, here is a little pic of the famous lighthouse on the Isle of Portland that I've just this minute finished...

This beauty was built in 1905 and first shone on 11th January 1906. Standing at the very tip of Portland, it faces some of this country's maddest weather. It is one of the featured areas of the iconic Shipping Forecast on BBC radio.

It even had a kids TV series about it in the 1980s!