As part of the initiative by Rock The Costwolds, this event showcased creativity and innovation in the Cotswolds.
I was happy to add a twist by doing my only ever LIVE painting demo.
Rock The Cotswolds, is an initiative to showcase the best in creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial brilliance this region has to offer.
Being part of that initiative is a tremendous honour as I am part of the collective. So when the founder, Oli Christie of Neon Play, got in touch and asked me to come along and actually do a LIVE painting on the night I jumped at the chance. The Wilson Gallery in Cheltenham played host to the event on November 13th 2014.
Logistically it’s proved to be a lot of hard work – preparation beforehand, transporting a lot of materials and equipment (as well as 6 of my larger paintings) but the result was three hours of incredible feedback from people who have not only been unaware of what I do but also from those who have a wider perspective of inaccessibility when it comes to abstract paintings and the artists that create them.
As well as me doing what I do best there was also an amazing Body Artist, Tattoo artists, couturiers, hat designers and an eclectic mix of people who take ideas from their head and turn them into a reality.
It’s also worth noting that I had a version of my paints specially made for this event. My paint supplier mixed me a non-toxic version just for one evening – an essential requirement to help prevent the invited guests from falling over in a pool of their own vomit (something of a characteristic of my normal enamel paints).
The figures also speak for themselves – 240 guests, 3 camera crews, 300 mentions on social media; 250,000 people reached in 24 hrs. I did 2 TV interviews, one for radio, got my photo taken 67 times, used 9 litres of paint in three hours, got through more beer than I care to admit and worked 22 hours without sleep. No reward without effort.
Photos courtesy of: Bryony Franklin, Marcus Green
Video shot and edited by Arran_North
