Busy day in the gallery yesterday, amongst the many visitors, comments, conversations )and giggles at the names of Emma Buggy’s sculptures) had a very enthusiastic man who said he was almost relieved to see a gallery brave enough to show some actual painting.  Heard similar comments to this several times in the last couple of week during this Cultivation show, I heard it a lot during the year actually. Is there a lack of actual paintings in galleries right now?

If I listened to everything I hear in the gallery my head would be all over the place, especially reactions to my own work while I’m standing there like the invisible man I must be.  Had a Dutch lady with bright orange hair and a big salmon pink coat come in yesterday, she stood for ages, didn’t say much, nut that was fine, I appreciate when people actually look, I sometimes want  to boom at them in a dark Welsh Peter Prendergast-like voice, “you’re not looking!”, I do like it when people look. So orange haired pink coated woman looked, intensely looked, ans then she left, said thank you and left. I stepped out behind her as I often do, and pointed out Hada Contemporary over the road (beautiful gallery, never looks open even when it is, which is most of the time), I feel a duty to point out the other galleries that are hiding in plain site, and I so love their current show… She came back to berate me for wasting her time sending her there and lectured me on what was wrong with it and how it was an insult to painting, I disagreed, we had a healthy discussion, a friendly debate, but she really didn’t like having her time wasted. She said the Matt Roberts show was an insult, I kept quite on that one and sent her off to Wilkinson… she came back all aglow , gushing about the beauty of the  Mark Alexander show, gave me a big hug and thanked me for sending her to Wilkinson and how it had made her whole to London worth it. Much like the woman from New York on Friday. Still haven’t escaped my corner to go see what Wilkinson have properly, by the time I do I will have heard so many contrasting opinions…

“Wow, well awesome, sick innit” said the kid who pocked his head in, “that’s well cool man, I like paintings”

Is there a lack of actual paintings in galleries right now?People seem to like looking at actual paintings, I’m off to open the doors on the Sunday shift and let more feet in to the gallery… Never did find out what pink coated Vivian Westwood lookalike thought of our show…

Someone in the gallery, yesterday