PLAYFULNESS + CURIOSITY Page 17 of 20

I heart San Francisco

Posted on 2011-03-26 at 8:45 am.

A couple of weeks ago I spent a fun few days in San Francisco with my good friends Louise Gale and Juliette Crane.

We walked for miles, enjoyed discovering hidden galleries and cafes, nosed through the windows of people’s tall pastel-coloured houses and – dare I say it – even did a bit of shopping!

We also met up with the lovely Mati Rose McDonough and Tiffany Moore for lunch, in the gorgeous Tartine bakery. ‘So fun’ (as Tiffany would say…)

Now that’s my kind of lemon meringue pie!

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I was in the US for a painting class with the awesome Jesse Reno. You can read about it here, and see what crazy stuff I painted. More on my USA adventures to follow soon…

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Featured in Reader’s Digest… alongside the future King!

Posted on 2011-03-25 at 1:00 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Very strange to open the April issue of the world’s most widely read magazine, Reader’s Digest, and see a picture of myself with Prince William! You can see it on pages 58-59, or get a sneak peek into my encounter here…

Fame at last!

Posted on 2011-03-17 at 3:43 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Do you remember I told you about the mystery of the toilet roll and the Nebraskan newspaper? Well the story made it onto Page 2 of the Arnold Sentinel in Nebraska, the newspaper which originally turned up on my doorstep rolled up in the toilet roll! Here is the article… Thanks so much to Janet from the paper for sharing it with me.

The whole thing came about as part of the Campaign for Real Mail, which continues apace. The tins of fish and pineapple I sent my brothers(!) arrived…

…and my little brother thoughtfully sent me this CD. I am already plotting the next one – watch this space.

And this was a lovely surprise – TJ Goerlitz of Studio Mailbox sent this sweet little heart from Germany via ‘Luftpost’ – thank you TJ!

So with pan-European participation and international media exposure, the Campaign for Real Mail is almost taking over the world!

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Playing with plaster

Posted on 2011-03-15 at 3:27 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

During the retreat I attended recently in California, I popped into another studio to have a nosey at what they were doing in Stephanie Lee’s class, and see Lorrie, Lindy and Louise working away on their plaster creations. I have always loved wax, and couldn’t resist having a go myself.

Under their guidance I made this picture – not bad for under an hour!

I can see why Louise has declared it was love at first sight with plaster… I just love the way the glaze seeped into the cracked plaster, and how the wax drank in the brown paint where markings were scratched into it.

My man hung it on the wall yesterday, with the new drill I got him for Christmas (but am now coveting – it’s so cool!)

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Have you ever tried playing with plaster and wax? Such fun!

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Jesse Reno’s awesome ‘No Limits’ class (Part Two)

Posted on 2011-03-02 at 2:16 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I have a confession to make. I am a bit of a non-conformist when it comes to painting. I don’t much like sketching, I don’t have the patience to plan a painting, and rendering a still life is up there with doing the housework. Which is probably why I loved Jesse Reno’s class so much. It was all about being messy, creating chaos, getting stuck in.

If you aren’t familiar with Jesse’s work, have a look at this incredible video. He paints furiously, in a carefree but strangely considered way – it looks like everything in random but there is some method in all the madness. Jesse himself is a fascinating guy, full of funny stories of his life as an artist, living it just the way he wants to. His images are ancient and very masculine, but his colours and added details hearts, flowers etc) are contemporary and feminine. It makes for a unique combination.

Here are some images from our class – you can see how Jesse built up his paintings.

Jesse came back after class hours and stayed in the studio with us until gone midnight. It was awesome to see him paint live, and to get pushed into trying new things.

I was uncomfortable about my own paintings – they were crazy, quite dark, unfamiliar. But I was fascinated by what unfolded before me. You can see what I created over here – let me know what you think!

This is definitely my kind of painting.

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I had an awesome fortnight in the US, reconnecting with old friends at An Artful Journey, making new ones, and taking a road trip down the beautiful California coast. Will post more about all the lovely girls at the retreat and about the rest of my US adventure soon…

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Have you signed up to the Do What You Love e-course yet? Don’t miss out on joining people from all over the world for this innovative six week adventure towards doing what you love. Register now!

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Jesse Reno’s awesome ‘No Limits’ class (Part One)

Posted on 2011-03-01 at 6:52 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

This class hit me like a bolt of lightning. It was awesome. Jesse Reno had us painting with our hands, wrecking it, painting over it again, wrecking it again, turning it around, painting it and wrecking it 3-4 more times, adding oil pastel scribbles and details, and so on. It was tough until I just gave in and changed my attitude – not being attached to what I’d created, and letting it become whatever it wanted to. And this is what emerged (images show the paintings in stages)…

The nomad

I really didn’t like this one at first, I wanted to throw it away half way through, and then I started painting hundreds of little squares on it with a rubber brush, this nomad emerged and he ended up being my favourite!

Layer 3:

Layer 6 (I turned it 90 degrees clockwise after layer 3 – you can see by looking at the green area):

The space child

This one was a bit spacey, quite cute, not sure where it came from:

Two people

This one is quite spacey too. Here are some of the base layer details:

Later layers:

And the final(?) painting:

Silenced

This one is a bit scary. I didn’t really like the fact that something so dark looking emerged, but it was really interesting to try not to control the painting.

Layer 2:

Layer 4:

Layer 6 (flipped 180 degrees):

Final layer:

Wierd creature!

And this one looks like a five-year old painted it! So interesting…

Layer 2:

Layer 3:

Layer 5 (flipped 180 degrees, not finished!)

So what do you think? I’d love to know…

[Update: Part Two of this post is up now over here]

I had an awesome fortnight in the US, reconnecting with old friends at An Artful Journey, making new ones, and taking a road trip down the beautiful California coast. Will post more about Jesse Reno and his crazy style, all the lovely girls at the retreat and about the rest of my US adventure soon…

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Have you signed up to the Do What You Love e-course yet? Don’t miss out on this innovative six week adventure towards doing what you love. Register now!

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The mystery of the toilet roll and the Nebraskan newspaper

Posted on 2011-02-10 at 4:54 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Do you remember I told you about the Campaign for Real Mail?

It’s where my brothers and I send each other silly things in the post, no envelopes allowed, just for fun.

Well it looks like someone else randomly decided to join in…

I received this toilet roll in the post(!)

It came from my little brother, but all he posted was this little piece of cardboard.

However when it arrived, it had a newspaper rolled up inside it.

And not just any old newspaper.

‘The Arnold Sentinel’ serving Custer County, Arnold, Nebraska, USA.

It might make sense if I lived in Nebraska… but I live in England!

We have absolutely no idea how it got inside the toilet roll.

I wonder if someone at the Post Office had a little chuckle to themselves?

I love it that someone else had some fun with this too.

I got to read a lovely story about deer in a Nebraskan snowstorm, the local Arnold Public School receiving an art grant, and that the ‘Good News Club’ will resume meetings soon.

I like the sound of the ‘Good News Club’.

Might be worth a trip to Nebraska…

Shades in the mail

Posted on 2011-02-02 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

What? That’s what I thought when the 3D glasses arrived in the post! My younger brother had stuck stamps on one eye and put the address on the other, and they arrived! I only wish I had seen the postman’s face this morning…

The post office actually franked the eye! Hurrah for Royal Mail

See the note on the back? From ‘Goggles-R-Us’ ha ha. Already plotting next month’s edition…

Love this Campaign for Real Mail. A bit of randomness is good for the soul. Why don’t you start your own and brighten up someone’s day?

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Have you listened to the new Do What You Love interview podcasts posted recently?

Rachel Hazell on paper, Paris and penguins (photo credit: Kelly Whybrow)

Flora Bowley on painting, passion and pursuing the art of globetrotting (photo credit: Tyson Robichaud)

Read other interviews with inspiring people doing what they love here.

Toast in the post

Posted on 2011-01-29 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I don’t know about you but we seem to get more and more junk mail these days. I miss the days when I would race home from school, hoping to find a pale blue airmail letter with a Canada or France postmark, bearing a letter from my penfriend. And remember the excitement picking up the letters from friends and family which were waiting patiently in Poste Restante at strange post offices in remote countries when travelling. Now we have email, mobiles, Facebook, Twitter and all, it is easier to stay in touch, but harder to properly communicate with old friends. There is nothing like snail mail, and ink on paper, for this.

And so, in protest, me and my two brothers (who live the other end of the country) have decided to start our own mini Campaign for Real Mail. Every month this year we are going to send each other silly things in the post, and see whether they arrive. The only rule is ‘no envelopes allowed’.

This started when we were reminiscing about our time at uni, when I sent my older brother a piece of toast through the post, and amazingly it arrived! So for January, I am sending them both some tea bags – a nice cuppa from Yorkshire (which is famous for its tea). I wonder whether they will get there…

Have you ever sent or received something weird in the post? It’s completely pointless fun! Why not try it?

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Now here’s a lady who really is doing what she loves… Have you heard Flora Bowley’s story? Flora lives and works full-time as a painter in Portland, Oregon, where she is inspired by magical forests, abundant gardens and a thriving community of fellow artists. Flora’s love for life and spontaneous nature are clearly visible in her vibrant, easily recognizable paintings. Flora will be travelling to England in May to teach at the Do What You Love retreat. Her work can be found in numerous galleries and homes across the US and internationally, and also on a variety of unique products made in collaboration with Papaya! Listen to the podcast of the latest Do What You love interview here.

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I am Guest Curating on Crescendoh.com all this week. Pop over to read my Art Saves story, and see my collection of inspiring posts from other artists and writers.

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Are you doing what you love? Would you like to have your story shared on Do What You Love? New series starting soon… see here for more details of how you can get published here.

winter wonders

Posted on 2011-01-15 at 3:00 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

My big discovery this winter has been fingerless gloves that are not connected between the fingers.

Do you know the ones I mean?

Like a long sleeve you can pull down over your hands and keep you toasty?

My mum made me these lovely ones.

Such a treat.

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