TERMINUS: ALL CHANGE. Closed for refurbishment.

This week should have been the beginning of a super new art made in the studio by myself phase at 3rd Space on the widely advertised Open Studios weekend….

It isn’t instead it pretty much defined what I am and am not interested in going forward.

My painting career probably ended a very long time ago around 1988 when I quit London when living in a squat and working in a studio space with no roof where the snow came in (true) just about finished me off.

Then I was a full-time painter burning the midnight oil and living a pretty haphazard life. That was then this is now.

I am now 67 years old, retired and enjoying retirement and the impetus to splash out on 6 feet square canvasses and pretend I De Kooning again just isn’t there.

I proud of the paintings I did but never had the time (work) nor the finances to do it properly. So in the end I didn’t do it any more.

My paintings have appeared on various album sleeves.

https://shaunbelcher.com/canvas/?cat=25

This also coincided with a intense period of looking after my then alcoholic and ill wife who passed away in 2020. Symbolicly I painted over a large canvas associated with her and her sister and called it a day.

That hasn’t changed but my interests in other areas has developed.

I recently had old photographs used in a record sleeve for a hometown band I know and also did the sleeve layout. Along with that I read song-lyrics/poems at a launch gig in my hometown art centre. No drawings or paintings involved.

Here they are holding the album sleeve on location I took the photograph used on front cover.

Thames Valley Texas: poems and songs from Normal Town

So no drawing/painting but I more interested than ever in following in no particular order…

Politics, Writing, Real Poetry not 90% of the crap presently masquerading as poetry.

Photography especially the greats like William Egglestone and Martin Parr and the unjustly neglected Raymond Moore.

Music not just the obsessive vinyl collecting but its history and bands like The Dreaming Spires who aware of the history of music. I am trying to keep up with a monthly podcast (link below) called Trailer Star Music.

So the 3rd Space Studio is closed for a refit. Hopefully when it reopens it will be re-purposed as a Photography/Writing space. I also hoping to set up a black and white printing space I have two old Durst enlargers donated to the studio by Graham Lester George.

I will be getting rid of those old paintbrushes and canvasses ( I know somebody who more than happy to take them) and easels.

For now here why it closed and hopefully when reopens will be a lot less cluttered and useable.