Malt Cross Open Mic.

 

 

At the end of March, 2010, I took a few small snapshots of the Malt Cross Open Mic Night. Music being one of my main interests I thought a series of paintings of Nottingham musicians might prove successful. The acrylic painting above was completed this month.

I’m really happy with it. Yet, as with previous paintings of the Bell Inn jazz band, and the Jam Café reggae group, although the musicians seem as pleased as myself with the work, no-one ever asks if they’re available to buy. Similarly, the Malt Cross didn’t even reply to my request for details about hiring their gallery, whilst the LeftLion newspaper, keen at the outset to publish some of my work for free, I never heard from them again.

All artwork & text copyright Ian G Craig.

Lights, camera, action.

 

 

I have no idea what time it is. I didn’t know whether I was meant to put the clocks forward or back, and that was a couple of days ago. But I do want to keep some track of Time here.

March has seemed rather quiet, especially for a month renowned for its characteristic winds of change, like the one’s which tore down my fences last year. But I have been active creatively. In fact, almost non-stop.

March evenings have found me in my studio, firmly attached to my glue gun (often quite literally), constructing sets for the next round of promo videos I make for a musician friend. It’s a refreshing challenge, responding to someone else’s creation. I can construct the sets quickly, like “action painting”, then modify them whilst checking the composition, getting everything ready before the performer enters the shot.

See finished video on THIS LINK.

All text, photos & artwork, copyright Ian Gordon Craig.