christmas in the boulangerie

encourage the poor artist

Every year, like a lot of other artists, I donate a post
card or two to this event -
http://dams.rca.ac.uk/res/sites/RCA_Secret/
It raises money for student bursaries and is a Good
Thing.
Latterly it has had a lot of press and TV because its such
fun - you can buy a postcard for the flat rate of 45 quid
and because it is only signed on the back you don't know
who you're getting. You might get Tracey, Damien, Yoko
- or Vanilla.

Sometimes there are queues to get in first to get the work
you've selected...yesterday I got this [edited] e-mail;


"Dear Ms Beer,

I camped out overnight to get one of your pictures at
the RCA Secret exhibition today - I saw you had more
than one in the exhibition but I fell in love with the
splendid nude lady on the hobby horse.  I am now back
at home crowing over my purchase.  Does it have a title?

I've had a look at your website and am enjoying the other
things that you paint, but I wanted to tell you how pleased
I am with my purchase. 
... I've been to the RCA Secret exhibition once before, and
it's great fun to pick out the obvious Emins and Perrys and
then instead buy something you really like... I look forward
to keeping an eye on what you're doing..."

I can't imagine camping out for anything so I am truly
delighted. So, please, let this be a lesson -  encourage
an artist today and make a poorly-paid drudge a happy bunny!!

Ladies lunching

Dear Hilary made a ladies lunch today -that girl can cook, and is a fabbo hostess. Me, Kat, Annie, Jill and Edith benefited enormously; sorry Yvonne couldn't make it, as a founding mother she should have been there but lets hope it happens again soon.







The other picture was snapped on the morning walk - mad squirrel climbing up the wall by the station. Cute.

Thursday in Toulouse

vous êtes invité au vernissage du

livre d’artiste

My way of loving Beasts

("comment j'ai débusqué les bêtes")

un scrapbook de rencontres érotiques

1er Décembre à 18h00

à la librairie Ombres Blanches

en présence de l’artiste

lithographies accompagnées de textes originaux de Matt Hilton.

Réalisé par Philippe Parage à l’atelier de la Guinguette en 35 exemplaires.

www.ombres-blanches.fr

50, rue Gambetta - 31000 Toulouse

presse contact apwbee@gmail.com

Limoux this morning

Peter G very kindly got volunteered to take me and Micheal shopping in Limoux - sandpaper and stuff - and we stopped at the old town centre for coffee and cake. Bumped into Andy and Lousie and young James Rafferty (shortly to be one year old, how time flies) and family and this lot. There was a very high pitched solo song about blanquette, blanquettttttte de lim ooooooooo, which we should perhaps commit to memory. Nice.

working in Tilling

There seems to have been a curious and unusual outbreak of work hereabouts....
voila, the butte St Helene gets attention - and the railway line -

and an orchid is pushing up rather early.


Here is Micheal from Germany, here to help with HelpX who on this slender experience are brilliant, see http://www.helpx.net/ to save me explaining the whole thing

Working hard means we have to play hard... had several jolly evenings, last night being the only one where I remembered to take photos.

The photos are little but can be bigged up by clicking on them if you have a special interest:)
Here are Annie and Pete back in harness, hurrah; Simone and Micheal, ditto, here for the winter; Andree, Pete and Micheal. The last picture shows the tribe leaving Andrees after sampling her digestif. They all went for a late night walk in the pitch dark up the mountain afterwards. I went to bed.

Its raining here...

...but Toby in India seems to be warm enough:) Had a quick exchange on FB chat - the dear was drinking vin de pays d'oc. Extraordinary.

Her site is listed in the links, (that's where I nicked the photo from). Some entries are in English and some in Dutch.

All well here, Annie and Pete back looking young and energetic, Kat due back (from Marseille region) tonight, Peter G in excellent nick and erm thats all I think.