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Hello John,
Feast your eyes on the sumptuous beauty that is my redesigned and extra mobile friendly website. This screen shot doesn't do it justice but here's a taste to be going on with . . .
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If you click here you can see it in all its glory, but don't have your first look on a mobile device or tablet John. Look at it on a computer because . . . it moves.
I know, pretty special right.
As you scroll up and down it's as if you're looking at the art through a set of Venetian blinds. As you scroll different parts of the art work is revealed . . .
Too much?
Maybe I've been working on it too long. It started before Christmas . . .
Mobile friendly?
Did you know Google intend to unlist any websites that aren't mobile friendly? Me neither. My wife told me over tea one day and I immediately panicked. What does it mean? When will it happen? Will my website disappear off the face of the internet.  Does the internet have a face John? Let me know if you know. When I close my eyes and try to imagine what the face of the internet looks like all I can see is Mark Zuckerburg's face.
Just in case you don't know, being mobile friendly means your website is easy to use on a smart phone. You can spot a website that isn't mobile friendly a mile away because when you look at it on a smart phone it looks like you're looking at it from a mile away! It will be tiny. You have to zoom in on it and move around it as if you're reading a map with a magnifying glass.
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When I looked into the story the messages were mixed. Google say it's not true, they're not unlisting anyone. Everyone else says they are.
Will it affect your website?
I think it will make a big difference if you want to be on the first page of a google search for artists. But most of the people who find your website probably won't find it through that kind of search.  They will probably search for your name. It remains to be seen if your website will drop down the rankings for every kind of search, including your name, if it's not mobile friendly.
Either way, like it or not, everyone is getting used to mobile friendly websites. Your website visitors will kind of hate you if you don't make your website easy to navigate on a smart phone. For that reason I think it's worth making your website as friendly and easy to use as possible. If you don't know how do that you can always outsource it. If you're not familiar with outsourcing here's a list of outsourcing services to get you started.
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The end result for me was that redesigning my website gave me the chance to find a better way to show the work of the artists I had on the podcast. A list of text wasn't doing them justice.
Not very exciting right . .
It also gave me a chance to setup a most popular podcasts section. I wanted to give people a quick overview of the most popular podcasts because at 80+ podcasts it's a lot to scroll through and not everyone likes my chat with Mr Barry Morgan as much as I do.
What? You haven't heard that one? Sacré bleu!
Let me share something personal here John, whenever I feel a little blue, yes, it happens from time to time, I will put on my chat with Barry, and in no time I will be smiling again. If you click on the picture of Barry below it will take you through to the podcast.
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Speaking of feeling blue there was a fire at the RJD gallery in Sag Harbor just before Christmas. All the artwork in the gallery was lost. I'd had quite a few of the artists who lost paintings in the fire on the podcast. Candice Bohannon, Adam Miller, Pamela Wilson, Andrea Kowch, Katie O’Hagan.
So I was moved to write something about the fragility and wonder of art and life. You can read it here.
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Adrienne Stein shining in the face of adversity . . .
I spoke to Adrienne Stein on the podcast a few weeks after the fire. She too was with RJD Gallery and lost her most ambitious painting to date. It was called, "The Dinner Party."
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When I was getting ready for my chat with Adrienne I came across something on social media where she was called the Doris Day of painting. It was meant in a friendly way and having talked with her I can see why. Considering that her most ambitious painting had just gone up in smoke she was refreshingly philosophical about it and generally happy and upbeat. She had plenty of great insights about painting and her approach to it too. Especially rich insights considering she has been painting since she was a child.
You can hear our conversation here . . .
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Just as an aside, if you haven't seen your first name appear a few times so far in this cheery note it means it's not in the system, which is a shame because if I was talking to you in person, well I'd use your name John. (skip on if you're seeing your name)
If you'd like me to use your name when I'm chatting with you, I know I would, then click here to change your account settings.
New Paintings . . .
As well as the mammoth website overhaul and the ongoing podcasts, I managed to do some painting. I know, thaumaturgy right.
Here's a painting I did for some friends.
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I made another picture but first I have to tell you about this . . .
Vincent Desiderio wrecked my head . . .
Normally it takes me a day and a half to do my research before I chat to an artist on the podcast. With Vincent Desiderio it took me five full days! He approaches painting in a way I hadn't come across before and I found his ideas very expansive to say the least.
Here is one of his paintings.
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You can listen to our full conversation here.
Vincent is very big on the notion of honest mark making. Every artist I chat with on the podcast influences me in one way or another. Sometimes the influence is very subtle. At other times it's very obvious, like with this watercolor I did recently.
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While it doesn't look like Vincent's paintings it is very obviously influenced by the idea of making an authentic mark.
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Alex Gross popped my surrealism . . .
That doesn't even make sense John! Alex Gross is a pop surrealist and I did have him on the podcast but other than that . . .
Anyway here's a sneak preview of one of the paintings from his upcoming show. This one is called, "Mirror."
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You can listen to our podcast chat here.
Alex is exhibiting at the Corey Helford Gallery for a whole month starting on the 25th of February. It's the first time he has exhibited in his hometown for 10 years. If you get a chance to go see it, do!
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Speaking of hometowns I watched a great little movie recently called, "Sing Street." It is set in Dublin, my hometown, back in the 80's, and it's about a young guy who sets up a band with his school mates.
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Which is kind of cute because I formed a band in the 80's with my classmates. We were called, "Threshold," and we were brilliant.
Here I am in Boston around that time. As you can see, Boston was so happy to have me living there they named a street after me.
The Patreon community have asked for much the same thing. They have requested gently does it . . . merchandise. Not happy with my prints, photography and Yoga art, they wanted a little piece of me to wear or drink their tea from. Well John, who am I to deny people their chance at happiness.
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And if I was going to have someone paint a picture of my mug, and I mean that in both senses of the word, I'd have Felicia Forte do it because . . .
Felicia Forte paints the magic of the ordinary . . .
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Felicia paints alla prima, which means, "to the tooth," no hang on that's al dente, alla prima means you paint the picture wet-on-wet or in one sitting, and Felicia is jaw droppingly good at it.
She also has fantastic economy in her paintings, each brush mark is considered and none are superfluous. She chatted with me from her studio in Detroit and it was a revelation. She is a really nice person and it was a great chat.
You can listen to it here . . .
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I had a great conversation with another artist based in the state of Michigan.
Andrea Kowch blew my mind, with acrylic paint . . .
Andrea paints her remarkable pictures exclusively in acrylic. I know, amazing, right?
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In our chat she talks about why and how she uses acrylic paint. It also comes out that she has a long association with Ireland - she is a world class Irish dancer. Who knew? She also talks about why she uses the same group of models over and again. All very interesting stuff and well worth a listen.
You can listen to our conversation here.
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I'm going to stop now John, but before I go let me leave you with this little gem of a movie called, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," It's set in New Zealand and it's about a rebellious kid and his foster uncle, Sam Neil, who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
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Hit me up . . .
Feel free to send me any suggestions you might have. Let me know if there is an artist you'd like me to have on the podcast. I can't guarantee I will be able to get them or that my taste and yours will be the same, but it would be lovely to hear from you. Also if there is a particular tool or piece of equipment that you love I'd love to hear about that too.
I generally broadcast who will be on the podcast a few days in advance, usually on Instagram so if you keep an eye on my feed and there is a question you would like to ask a particular artist I can do that.
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Until our next chat.
Sending you a friendly wave from Ireland.
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