Artist in residence

swyverWed 01/09/10 08:11

We recently commissioned a dear friend and fellow Outer to do some art work for us - Phil of quickfind:philjohn fame. For our civil partnership in 2008 he had presented us with a lovely painting which now adorns the wall of our bedroom.

After Phil submitting some ideas by post we selected 3 designs.

After further dialogue it seemed most sensible for Phil (and John some of the time!) to come and paint said masterpieces in our house where he could get a stronger feel for colour, mood etc. Not to mention over eat and drink for a week!!!

We fiddled about a little with the colour palette - myself being slightly red/ green blind had to take a back seat during this stage. Initially we felt the colours needed to be toned down but we soon changed our minds and a few days later here are the results.

Unfortunately the photos can't really do them justice.

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We love the strong colours here, representing brilliantly the "feel" of the Fens where we live. It now occupies pride of place in our hall and is almost the first thing visitors to the house will see. Although Phil felt that a metal frame might bring out the effect best - after much consideration and chatting to our local framer we opted for this frame and mount.

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This sits in our kitchen and exactly reflects the colours and lighting. We have a deep blue tiled floor and never far from the odd vase of flowers. The paper is so lovely that we decided to mount the edge in front of the surround to maximise the effect.

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Pride of place in the lounge. We live right in the centre of St Ives very close to the river with its mediaeval chapel and bridge. You can see the church spires and for added effect Phil has imported a piece of Somerset architecture - can you spot it? Again the colours blend beautifully with our existing furnishings and decor.

PS Here is the bridge at night!

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We had decided last Christmas rather than buying each other presents (which we don't need) we'd treat ourselves to some art work and plan to do more of the same in the future.

I am sure there is a huge vein of talent on Out just ready to be mined!!!

Thanks Phil - you are a star.

kdmWed 01/09/10 09:54

Thanks for making us aware of Phil's talents. Not too keen on your three pics, though seen in situ I might feel differently, especially the last one. Hmm, immediate thoughts of Somerset architecture lead my mind to Wells Cathedral. I did like some of those on his profile though.

I'm sure you're right about the talents on here, there are a number of artists, and there was a thread some time ago about having an exhibition bringing some of their works together, but the idea seemed to die. Combining them with photographic work as well, I think it would be well worth doing.

Must say I'm envious of your house, the location looks lovely, by day and night. Look forward to seeing additions to your art collection. Good wishes.

swyverWed 01/09/10 10:48

Thanks. As I said earlier these photos cannot do them full justice.

Bear in mind that Phil was commissioned to provide artwork that we liked/ wanted and would fit well in the house.

And of course Art by its very nature is always an incredibly subjective experience.

Given a totally free rein he would certainly have come up with other ideas.

From our point of view we very much got what we wanted.

The acid test will be when my mum and aunt arrive tomorrow and give their opinion - lol!

I think a "gallery" of Out photography (including pictures of art work?) is a brilliant idea.

swyverWed 01/09/10 20:49

Forgot to add in case of any confusion that we are in the "other St Ives" - near Cambridge, home to the nursery rhyme "As I was going to St Ives ....: