Good morrow to you all,

I am going to be fairly brief this morning as I am officially on holidays...mmm...I am about to embark on an epic journey to Portsmouth to visit my family, this may not seem such a big deal to most...but...you haven't met my family. Please look out for me on Jeremy Kyle, I'll be the one swinging a chair and speaking only in vowel sounds. I'm hoping to seek inspiration from the sea side and older parts of Old Portsmouth...I have distant memories from my college days that there are some very historical bits of olde Pompey. I left Portmouth in 1979 so we will see if it's how I remember it...mnid, as dementia is kicking in fast, how the hell will I know???

I managed to start blocking out the face of "Mercury" before I left...mmm...it's a very odd thing but I have managed to create an image that has no resemblance to old Roman wall painting and more early mediaeval church painting. It is staring out at me...just a floating head. The thing is, I am in a dilemma now...do I continue and develop this image?...or...do I reel it back to "fit" the series of paintings that I started? I have decided to ignore it all until I return from my travels...I shall look at it with fresh eyes and then, hopefully, will know which way to go. However, as I may well be traumatised from my time away, it could end up wearing a shell suit and hair extentions.

I have to add here that I do love my family and they are really cool people...it's just our way of communicating...we share insults.

Until we meet again...thank you for taking the time,

Ivor x

Good morrow to you my faithful chums,

I have returned from my travels...I have been away to Olde London Town and a very pleasant stay it was. I have returned a tad knackered and a lot broke...hey ho.
Whilst I was there I went on a visit to St. Pauls cathedral...I was not impressed and at a tenner a throw I so wanted to be. It wasn't the fact that the entrance fee was so pricey...it was such a dry and souless place, it could well of been a wine bar or some such venue. The ceilings were beautiful though so all was not lost...plus...it was a major work out walking up all those steps to the top of the dome.
I managed to get to the "Hadrian" exhibition at the British museum...now that was worth the fee. It was really very interesting and some of the sculptures were stunning. I fell in love with the "mummy" portraits and left the proceedings completely inspired and wanting to mummify someone just so I could paint their portrait. Not too sure if that's quite the done thing in this day and age but a bloke can only try...not sure if it's legal either but if anyone out there fancies being mummified and then immortalised then I'm your man.

I am now back to my sort of reality...mmmm...not sure if that's a comfort or not??? I have been so engrossed in these "Romanesque" paintings since my return I wonder if I should don a gladiators outfit and fight some lions...mind, with my legs and our weather it could prove dangerous. I have still got to add something or omit something and they will be spot on...I keep painting bits, gazing at bits, tweaking bits and distressing bits...one day a bell will go off in my head and I will know that this is it...finished. I sincerely hope that day arrives soon because I am going crossed eyed and virtually blind working on them. If I charged an hourly rate for all the man hours spent on this series they would retail for about £4 squillion..........

I am also in a bit of a conundrum and am wondering if I should be very brave and quit the work on the ward for a less stressful and less time consuming job. I so want to be concentrating on my painting and illustration stuff but am a big fat scardy cat about leaving my "comfort zone". When did I become such a coward??? What hapened to the boy who left art college with a song in his heart and a spring in his step?...mmm...bordering on bursting into song here so will shut up...and with a voice that could shatter plastic it would not be good...hey ho.

Thank you for taking the time,

Ivor x

Hello all,

Tis I again ready to impart my very special brand of "paint along a Nancy"...incidentally unless you're over 40 you will probably have no floppin' idea what that last sentence means.

It has been a bad bad bad time for me....I have the "block" again...well it's more like the "apathy" to be honest. I have been sat here this morning attempting to paint in "Neptunes" arms only to be distracted by any damn thing that heads my way. I was even trying to count the legs on a caterpillar that had crawled into the studio...mmmm...not good. I am blaming the weather, I have to blame something. The painting is developing slowly and I am hoping will be finished before I reach 50. I do apologise to Will if he reads this, it is going to be finished soon... honest. The stupid thing is that I am already planning the next painting. I've got the model to email a photograph and in my head it is virtually completed. Thank you Brian for allowing me to use your image. Hey ho, it is a big fat countdown conundrum with no detox option from Carol Vordeman.

I am heading off to London Town for a week so maybe that will inspire me again. I'm attending a course which should be fun and frolics and jolly japes...mind, it all sounds like a lorry load of "hippy" nonsense but it gets me away and somewhere to, hopefully, recharge my batteries. I shall soak up the culture and sniff the aroma that is "the smoke"...I just hope my now "country boy" lungs can take it.

Work on the ward continues to be creative...it's like a cottage industry at the moment. I am still amazed at how some people don't realise just how talented they can be...still, if I can unleash the creative beast in some then I may just stand a chance of rekindling my own creative monster.
We shall see...

Thank you for taking the time...

Ivor x