Last night I started to frame two new paintings, but one was annoyingly 5mm too small for the frame, the canvas being metric but the frame being in the crude and archaic units called inches. This wasn't too serious but it did make the fringes at the edge of the painting clearly visible, something I don't tend to get nowadays because I often paint up to the edge anyway. In this case, the visible part was at the very top where the easel normally covers the canvas.
So I began today by painting that fringe, then I set up some online things for my new music artist alter ego. This itself is a tiresome exercise that isn't always necessary from the outset. I've done it for a few acts that haven't gone anywhere, like disco duo 'The Space Beeps'. Each has a clear identity in my mind but I haven't as yet used many of them for anything.
Then the train to Stockport to deliver work for the Open Exhibition there. This is one of the few local open exhibitions with no prizes apart from a visitor's choice award, which are usually like a 'who has the most local friends award', and there are generally few protections to these and so anyone can vote for themselves an unlimited amount of times too, so the whole system for this sort of award is a bit silly and not an indication of the quality of the art. The prizes tend to be thankfully poor for this sort of award, so nobody really minds. There are no other awards in this show, and the painting must be a world premiere too. I've certainly seen paintings in this exhibition that break this rule, which as a diligent obeyer of rules annoys me. Unlike Dali, I value integrity and the rules based order of the world and would never consider cheating at any game to win. In fact, I want to make it harder for myself to win, not easier. All games are there to push us, and I play all computer games on the hardest difficulty level. For Stockport the entry fee is relatively low and it's a short trip and an attractive venue, so the main benefit is having ones work seen by the public.
My train arrived in Stockport station at 13:35, and my train back was at 14:04, so I ran to the gallery, delivered in 6 minutes, and was back at the station in time to catch the return train. Then I dashed home for a birthday meal with friends.
My current music work is coming to an end. I'm thinking of bold new art ideas. I think that painting and music must be my total artistic focus, but whenever I think that, I have a new, bold idea that is totally different. I even read a chapter of The Many Beautiful Worlds of Death yesterday, now horrified at the lack of commas and other errors, but I'm still happy with the story. I'd love to revise it one day for a second edition, but I've had 150 copies printed, so that might be some time off. These 150 are sure to be super-valuable one day, like William Blake's first editions. The are available from my website and the Pentangel Books site only.
Tomorrow it's the ArtSwarm Travel event. I need 18 in the audience to break even in costs. I am expecting 20 to 30. We shall see.
