April 2024 Retrospective
April has flown by...
This post may be too long for email, you can read the entire post here on Substack or download the wonderful app.
I have been doing a retrospective since October 2023 as a way to reflect on the month, and for you to get insight into my life in a calmer, gentler way than looking at reels of me walking the dog, or of every meal I’ve eaten posted on Instagram. It’s a self-contained retrospective so you don’t get distracted on social media. It’s also somewhat of a diary for me, so I can look back and laugh in the future. I thought it might be interesting to a reader to hear about an artist’s life, as I would have loved to hear more about what Frida Kahlo got up to day-to-day, the meals she ate and the mundane things she did.
April has flown by, it’s been a month of continued creativity!
Thanks for checking out my April! Soz, it’s a bit delayed, we’re 33.3333% through May.
Let’s go…
April 1
Happy April Fool’s Day, no pranks today I’m afraid.
I had a lovely family meal out with my biological mum, stepdad, wife and baby. I love Harvester, it’s a cheap and cheerful place but the food and atmosphere are always good.
April 2
I was inspired to write a Stack about Artists that inspire me.
…And here’s a cute doggy pics in for good measure. Normal car for scale.
April 3
My dog Bruno is 16, he’s doing so well considering his age. He is such a sweetie, he’s the doggy apple of my eye!
April 4
My sister’s birthday today!
I bought Artist, Olek’s book, it’s fantastic so far! Check it out…
April 5
My daughter and I travelled to Kent to visit family, I booked a dog-friendly hotel but my dog and wife didn’t end up coming with us. The hotel was pretty rough, to be honest. I enjoyed a lukewarm, reheated cheeseburger.
1980 wants its hotel decor back.
The drive down was pleasant though, we had a nice trip with a little stop at Tesco to change madame’s bum bum.
I bought some Wotsits because it had a photo of Slimer from Ghostbusters on. Let me add that I am 41 years of age.
April 6
Published weekly art practice 13 today.
We went to my sister’s baby shower, birthday party, and housewarming in one. It was pretty stressful (I’m not fond of big gatherings at the best of times, but my baby missed her nap so she was very teary).
April 7
I met an old friend and mentor, Neville for a full English breakfast.
Neville is a bit of a legend, he had a background in corporate finance in the 80s and 90s but then moved to social entrepreneurship when he realised that he needed meaning in his life. Since then he’s helped 1000s of young people in his local area, as well as schools in Pakistan. His latest project is creating jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for refugees, you can read more about it here. It is such a simple idea, and with his maths skills, he makes it super low-cost to run these projects.
April 8
I felt like sharing my inspo for The Jealous Curator today, I wrote a post about the podcast.
April 9
Another post! I had a mad idea of posting daily, but then I ran out of steam and it stopped being fun. It was fun while it lasted!
April 10
Another post: How to write your artist statement and bio.
April 11
I turned an experience into a fun little story here:
The curious case of the Simon Blackwell Sketch
In the year 2020, I was deep into my 140-character micro-blogging phase. My artistic practice of the period was to pick random people’s profile pics and draw a sketch of them whilst on my 30-minute free bus ride back home. One of the sketches was of English comedy writer,
April 12
I watched Super Kitties with my daughter (I actually love it).
April 13
W.A.P number 14 dropped…
I went to an exhibition at the Arnolfini in Bristol. You’ll read more about it above.
April 14
Quiet day today, I was very tired from the night out the previous night. That said, I was very restrained and stopped drinking at 11pm and went home early.
April 15
I was talking to
about Olek, and shared some of her work. Check this out! Covering the Wall Street Bull (Wool Street lol).
April 16
Not much happened today, but I am prone to messing around with these silly apps. :-D Jokes aside, it is a waste of time, albeit a little bit of light humour.
April 17
Be more Nike and Just Do It…
April 18
I put my face on a lean body.
My daughter got to meet the Shadow secretary of Education, Bridget Phillipson.
April 19
This quote hit home from reading Olek’s book.
I had other things, like car repairs today. I had a nice breakfast in a cafe while I waited.
April 20
We had a lovely Chinese meal for my mother-in-law’s 60th. My daughter enjoyed it.
I asked GPT to Rap what occurred during my Weekly Art Practice Number 15.
April 21
I bought these for my baby daughter, we enjoy snacking on them together before dinner.
April 22
This story came (from the person involved) into my Substack feed, it’s such a tragic story.
April 23
I had a studio session after work, this is a behind-the-scenes, blooper moment…
The camera is totally out of shot!
April 24
I was feeling confused…
and… I posted this one as a new podcast
April 25
I did some painting at home today in the evening, I very much enjoyed it!
April 26
I read a post from Sarah Fay about writing your About Page on Substack.
I haven’t done anything yet. Is my about page clear to you?
April 27
Weekly Art Practice number 16 and it was a good one!
Painting again feels like I’ve quenched a dry, crusty mouth
…I know, it’s a bit dramatic. But I feel like all of this promotional stuff has swayed me from the creation of art, which is THE thing. On to this week’s occurrences… P.S. If this piece is too long for email, you can read it here in Substack. Or download the app
April 28
We had a lovely curry today round the corner from my house. It was a Sunday ‘all you can eat’ Buffet, but quite small and cosy. We have a tiny little high street with plenty of takeaways and a trendy craft beer pub as a new addition.
April 29
This quote really stood out today.
Which then reminded me of this comment…
I am setting up an art exhibition in The Food Space. Watch this space!
April 30
Me and my little bro, I met first in 2003. Long story, I’ll share it another time. I have so many photos on Google Photos, memories pop up now and again, and this was one of them.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful April too.
Love to you all,
P.S. Please share for positive karma.
I thoroughly enjoyed this retrospective! Really lovely to learn more about the man behind the art. 🖼️ At great read!