crayola have a lot to answer for!

I thought my work with nails was time consuming – although I had only to worry about one colour (but two sizes!!!)

this work is not only very clever but also beautiful

heres the link to his website: Christian Faur

enjoy and be amazed……..

and thought I must post these as many like minded people still love Tony

Featured work was placed outside the Tate (nearly 200 little morphs!)

I have some up my sleeve and will post shortly, although I spent time finding images

Artist and children’s presenter Tony Hart has died, aged 83.
Hart, who lived in Surrey, had suffered from health problems for a number of years, including two strokes. His family said he died peacefully.
Isn’t it sad when you hear that one of your favourite childhood influences pasts away. For those old enough to remember Tony Hart will recall beautiful memories of a charming man presenting art programs aimed at children who loved art. He gave us insights to techniques and ways of producing art with his long standing plasticine friend morph. The gallery section was always my favourite, I used to sit there in front of the wooden surround television remarking on different pieces as they appeared claiming that I knew how they did it or I could do better; the fact was, they all entered their artwork, I however never got around to it (nothing new there!)

Before his Take Hart program he appeared on a program that I always thought was aimed at people who were deaf, today I don’t know if that is true – I will have to look further into this. The program had a brilliant title image – Vision On – it looked like a bug when vertical, then when viewed horizontally revealed what the title was, as a very young boy this was amazing.

He was a gentle man, I last saw him at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea where I was exhibiting at the time, he was running a short fun session or children, he looked extremely frail but to go up to him and say thank you was very special.

Whether using paints, clay, textiles, foodstuffs or a cast-off object of almost any description, Hart had the magical ability to produce competent, entertaining pieces of work at impressive speed and in an unpatronising fashion. His avuncular, mildly eccentric manner made him the ideal host for children of all ages; indeed, at the height of one of his popularity in the mid 1980s, Hart’s request that viewers send in their own pictures to exhibit in “The Gallery”, a large wall showcasing their efforts, generated 6,000 submissions a week.
Throughout this time Hart also worked on the original Blue Peter programmes, the first of which was broadcast in October 1958. In the weekly transmissions he told and illustrated stories, invariably about a little white elephant called Packi. His loose involvement with Blue Peter continued into the 1960s with the creation of the galleon which became the programme’s well-known logo . Aware of Blue Peter’s enormous popularity, Hart asked for a penny for every time his design was used. His request was turned down and he was paid a flat fee of £100 instead

The affable presenter inspired children to paint and draw on shows like Vision On, Take Hart and Hartbeat for nearly 50 years before he retired in 2001.
Fellow artist Rolf Harris led tributes, calling Hart “a very gentle and talented guy”.
“He enthused and inspired a whole generation of kids into creating their own works of art, simple or complex.”
Hart’s agent, Roc Renals, said the presenter had died in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He said: “I was for many years his best friend, agent, manager and publicist. He suffered two strokes many years ago and his health declined since then.”
“Thousands and thousands of young people who are now grown up will thank him for inspiring them to take up art,” he added.
Wilf Lunn, Hart’s friend who worked with him on Vision On for nine years, said he was a television pioneer.
“His legacy was the fact he really started all these children’s programmes, Art Attack and all that, and he was the guy, right at the beginning.
“And he was the guy who had all these little tricks that teachers used to use because they make things look easy, and we got people into doing it. And he was such a nice man.”

A street

artist famous for his red, white and blue “Hope” posters of President Barack Obama has been arrested on warrants accusing him of tagging property with graffiti, police said Saturday.Shepard Fairey was arrested Friday night on his way to the

Institute of 

Contemporary Art for a kickoff event for his first solo exhibition, called “Supply and Demand.” The story of his famous Obama portrait, a large-scale, mixed-media stencilled collage, is already taking on the mythic qualities of a quintessential American narrative. Emerging from humble beginnings in the back alleys of 

Los Angeles, the portrait became an instant sensation, a pop culture “icon” that was willingly embraced by the Obama political machine.
Before the President-elect sweared his oath of office on Abraham Lincoln’s personal Bible, the portrait has became part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, which is conveniently only a few blocks from the White House. Fittingly for the narrative of change, the Obama portrait was donated to the gallery by the head of Mr Obama’s transition team, Tony Podesta, and his wife, Heather.
The striking resemblance to the Che Guevara portrait which has decorated generations of student bed-sits, has not been dwelt on. But a little way from where Fairey’s portrait will hang there is a small portrait of the Cuban revolutionary by Charles “ 

Chaco” Chavez, drawn from the famous photograph by Alberto Korda.
The portrait gallery is better known for its stuffy collection of George Washington portraits than street art, but the museum’s curator, Carolyn Kinder Carr, said simply: “We all fell in love with it. We always like portraits that reflect a particular moment in history, and we like the fact that it is an image that resides in popular culture.”
He is becoming the ‘darling’ of the under-art world – deemed along side as Banksy, many say that his posters are a throwback to past political representationsLooking and scouting around the interweb I came across this piece written by artist Mark Vallen
and thanks to him for this very eredite piece.  

What initially disturbed me about the art of Shepard Fairey is that it displays none of the line, modeling and other idiosyncrasies that reveal an artist’s unique personal style. His imagery appears as though it’s xeroxed or run through some computer graphics program; that is to say, it is machine art that any second-rate art student could produce. In fact, I’ve never seen any evidence indicating Fairey can draw at all. Even the art of Andy Warhol, reliant as it was upon photography and mass commercial imagery, displayed passages of gestural drawing and flamboyant brushstrokes.

Fairey has developed a successful career through expropriating and recontextualizing the artworks of others, which in and of itself does not make for bad art. Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein based his paintings on the world of American comic strips and advertising imagery, but one was always aware that Lichtenstein was taking his images from comic books; that was after all the point, to examine the blasé and artificial in modern American commercial culture. When Lichtenstein painted Look Mickey , a 1961 oil on canvas portrait of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, everyone was cognizant of the artist’s source material – they were in on the joke. By contrast, Fairey simply filches artworks and hopes that no one notices – the joke is on you.Plagiarism is the deliberate passing off of someone else’s work as your own, and Shepard Fairey may be unfamiliar with the term – but not the act. This article is not about the innocent absorption of visual ideas that later materialize unconsciously in an artist’s work, we do after all live in a maelstrom of images and we can’t help but be affected by them. Nor am I referring to an artist’s direct influences – which artist can claim not to have been inspired by techniques or styles employed by others? What I am concerned with is the brazen, intentional copying of already existing artworks created by others – sometimes duplicating the originals without alteration – and then deceiving people by pawning off the counterfeit works as original creations. 

After further searching I came across these images which have a link to Fairey’s Hope pice, they appeal to my sense of humour

He’s at it again, more publicity for the British artist Damien Hirst. Not satisfied with overloading the art market with his art, continuous comments on the art world he has now ventured into charity – not giving money from his art gotten gains but by designing a label for a bottle of wine or two. Comic relief are to get a % from the takings but in my opinion he’s again using it for his own publicity surely he could bypass all this and just donate.

couldn’t resist adding a certain something to a photograph!

Leonardo Da Vinci is blasted with a shotgun
In 1987, for reasons he couldn’t explain, ex-soldier Robert Cambridge drew a 12-bore shotgun from under his coat and fired at the Virgin’s breast in Da Vinci’s Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist at London’s National Gallery, resulting in ‘cauliflower-like’ damage. In 1962 an artist had thrown an ink bottle at the same painting, asking afterwards: ‘Would you be prepared to die to protect it?’ Also at the National, in 1990 Federico Barocci’s Madonna and Child was slashed by Martin Came, an art lover experiencing ‘subconscious distress’ in relation to the painting due to recent separation from his wife and child.

Pablo Picasso is graffitied
During an anti-war protest at NY’s Moma in 1974, ‘KILL LIES ALL’ was sprayed on

Damien Hirst is rubbished and inked
Art not recognised as art has often fallen prey to cleaners. The most celebrated case is cleaner Emmanuel Asare’s bin-bagging at London’s Eyestorm Gallery in 2001 of Damien Hirst’s installation Painting by Numbers, a representation of his studio and its detritus. ‘I didn’t think for a second it was art,’ explained Asare. Hirst found this ‘hysterical’. Less so the pouring of black ink into his sculpture Away From the Flock during an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994. The perpetrator, artist Mark Bridger, re-labelled the piece Black Sheep. ‘I was providing an interesting addendum to his work,’ said Bridger in court.

Michelangelo takes a hammering
In St Peter’s in

Many of you might know that I have links with Zimbabwe, if you didn’t basically my uncle lives their, has done for over 20yrs (a great story apart his past may one day be written by myself – starred in the film Cry Freedom as himself, a small featured part), anyhow, thats for another time. I visited Zim last February for a whistlestop tour of schools and some of the sights, again a very long and at times not a nice story. So, I keep an ear to what is happening over there partly to make sure he is safe and follow the news as it happens.
the good:
DOMBORAMWARI Arts Centre in Ruwa is conducting independent studies for artists in various art genres.
Established in 2002, the centre provides resources for resident students in line with their aim to nurture upcoming artists and shape the careers of established ones.
“We want to share the exposure that we have acquired from various prestigious exhibitions that we have participated in to help other artists realise their dreams,” said Chenjerai Mutasa, one of the centre’s founders.
Mutasa said they came up with the idea of studies as a way of ploughing back to the community, adding that providing an artist-to-artist platform was critical for the development of artists.
“This programme is one way of showing our gratitude to the community which has made us what we are today and we aim to sharpen each other’s skills,” Mutasa said.
The centre is currently housing 10 artists who specialise in sculpting, painting and ceramic works.
Tendai Dhlamini, a Bulawayo-based artist undertaking the studies, said the programme was of immense benefit to him.
the bad:
Zimbabwe’s soaring inflation hit an annual rate of 100,000%, new official figures show.
Ongoing shortages of food and fuel helped drive inflation from December’s rate of 66,212%.
Government officials say the shortages make it hard to work out inflation with any degree of accuracy.
About 80% of the country’s population lives in poverty and it is estimated that three million people have left the country for a new life in South Africa.
The economy has been in trouble for seven years, with supplies of basic foodstuffs, cooking oil and petrol all running low.
The central bank has introduced new banknotes to cope with the spiralling prices. Last month it issued a 10 million Zimbabwe dollar note

Came across this new dimension in creating artwork, not up my street (excuse pun!) but clever nonetheless. I don’t like the images, then again, working on this scale and on the provided materials, beggars can’t be choosers!!

A STREET artist who paints on pieces of discarded chewing gum is back and working in Muswell Hill after a court case against him was dropped. Ben Wilson, 43, a father-of-three, of Colney Hatch Lane, Muswell Hill, specialises in tiny artworks – not much larger than a penny piece.He said of his work: “I try to encourage spontaneity and for there to be more random events. By painting on chewing gum, technically you’re bypassing bureaucracy.”He added: “It’s taking something that’s been thrown away, a thoughtless action, and turning it into something more positive.”The artist was touching up a collection of works on the corner of the Broadway and Queens Avenue and residents were pleased to see him out and about.

Daniela Jovic, 25, of Hampden Road, said: “My three-year-old is a fan. She gets out her magnifying glass from her bag to see them. She still hasn’t spotted these ones.

“Subject requests for the paintings – which can take up to seven hours to create – are taken from the public and he always uses gum already on the pavement.”I do a lot of pictures for people that have died in car accidents,” he said. “I’ve been arrested so often for doing dedications to people, but advertisers have a monopoly over public space. Hopefully this redresses the balance.”He has worked all round the world in countries including Finland, America and Australia, and used to make impromptu sculptures in woodlands before moving onto gum art.
Mr Wilson was charged last year with resisting arrest near St Paul’s Cathedral after he began work on a piece of gum. (source: Hornsey and Crouch End Journal)