Help For Heroes

Whenever the chance arises I like to use my art works to help our favourite charities. I offered a fundraiser for "Help for Heroes" who do fantastic work for ex servicemen of the British Army. This offer was accepted and the painting used in a fundraising evening.

It is called "Forward Observation Post, Musa Qala, Afghanistan". It is an acrylic on canvas (60cm x 50cm). I have to say it was not done from nature. Instead I worked from a web photo taken by an unknown member of the armed forces.

It seemed relevant to the worthy cause concerned and I chose it because of the rock colours and the deep heat/dust haze. It should be judged purely on its artistic merit alone.

(Donated & Sold 2017)

Clearing the Archives

Bob & I have decided to clear out the image archive over the next week or so. This is to make room to post images of the 14 works that are now hanging in Eccles Community Art Gallery a.k.a. "The Gallery"

These are works that have been completed between 2014 - 2018inc but have not been posted .

Once some of these have been posted I shall begin to publish images of individual works created especially for my solo exhibition within the gallery.

"Monochrome", oil on canvas, 60cm x 50cm

(Donated)

"Explosion in Aqua", oil on canvas, 2016, 80cm x 50cm

(Sold)

Hanging Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, 5 Feb 2019, I am hanging my works for display & sale at Eccles Community Art Gallery. It opens on Friday 8 Feb 2019.

Meanwhile here is "Mountains, Snowdonia", an original acrylic painting from 2017. 

Sold

Further posts of items for sale will be included in daily posts from tomorrow.

Preparation fof my Exhibition in Eccles, Manchester Continues

Only 10 full days to go before hanging on 5 February and opening on 11 February. I am publishing all my archive before the opening so I can concentrate on showing works on sale there and afterwards on EBay UK and Etsy UK.

This is "Les Hautes Alpes", Acrylic Painting on Canvas, 60cm x 50cm

by Aluitios Vanbear 2015 

Back Home at Last!

Curly Bob has finally returned from his 2 year quest to "find himself". he is now back home in his old room and this time he assures me it is for good.

There should be no further tales of dissolute excesses from around the globe. Bob has finally realised the need to be able to fund his retirement. He wants to live in a manner to which he has become accustomed.

If this conversion lasts then it will mean much more work for me. Bob has been down to my studio and feels more activity is required by me.

He will devote his retirement to keeping bees and directing our art enterprise. Following a brief team meeting we agreed that I am to open 2 online "shops" on EBay UK and Etsy UK. These will be launched as soon as my forthcoming exhibition opens in Eccles Community Art Gallery, a.k.a. "The Gallery" early in February 2019.

Another mini show is planned there in September 2019.

Meanwhile we are to clear out all items from the home archive before the end of February.

First work to be shown for over 2 years is " La Ferme a la Crepescule". Acrylic on canvas (60cm x 50cm), 2017.

2 New Works For Sale at The Peak Restaurant, Llanberis!

We are still awaiting the outcome regarding Curly Bob's business plan for the next 12 months. Pending this momentous outcome we are pleased to announce that 2 of my paintings have been sold there since Christmas and the proceeds donated to St David's Hospice, 19 Mostyn Avenue, Llandudno, LL30 1YS (see map).

The Peak Restaurant has asked for 2 more paintings which will be for sale and will be delivered towards the end of this week. These are as follows:-

"Glyder Fach", Acrylic, 2016

"Snowdon Fron Crib Y Ddysgl, Winter", Acrylic 2016

Both paintings are on canvas ready to hang as they are painted on all four edges or can be framed as the buyer chooses.

The Peak Restaurant is located at 86 High Street, Llanberis, Caernarfon LL55 4SU.
We are very grateful to the owner, Mrs Julia Roberts for her kind help in raising funds for this worthy cause.

Further information and Spring Menu will appear on my web page in the near future. Further details can be obtained at the restaurant's own website.

An Announcement Is Imminent

Sources close to Bob are confident that an announcement will be made as to his future within the next 2 weeks. It is not known how far reaching these will be but they are expected to be significant and far reaching.

Bob has suggested that posts must be made more frequently if we are to clear the backlog of works in the vault. The absence of any posts for the past month is mainly due to my being  busy working on 3 separate projects. Details of these and the works involved will also be published as soon as the vault has been emptied.

In the meantime, here is " Calanque et Deux Arbres", oil on canvas from 2014.

A Life Change?

Bob finally emerged from his reverie which he claimed was a brainstorming session. (The only brainstorming session I have ever known Bob to take part in usually involves bottles, cans, crates etc....Ed)

He informs me that he will be making some significant changes to his life in the near future. Hints have been dropped regarding the possibility of a world tour to promote my work and allow him to "find himself". I told him that I could help him with that i.e. he was lounging on our living room armchair so he need look no further.

He also felt that this blog needs to be changed to reflect my work more and lower his profile a bit. I began to suspect he had overdone the brainstorming a bit. Still he had a point and it was agreed from now on that I shall expand my blog to reflect more details and background to each work displayed. More on this and other changes will be published in the next post.

Finally he wanted to throw a big party to say thank you to all his fans & followers world wide. This is scheduled to be held within the next three weeks as soon as the corporate arrangements can be made.
Meanwhile I am requested to publish "Ferme Provencale", acrylic on canvas from 2014.

Two More Paintings On Sale For St David's Hospice, Llandudno

Further to my last post Bob has asked me to post the final 2 paintings of the 4 sent for sale via the Peak Restaurant, Llanberis. Proceeds from any sales are to be sent to St David's Hospice. The services this hospice provides cannot be overstated.

Curly Bob is planning a grand party for unknown reasons at the moment but I could hazard a guess. All I know is that when things become quiet I know he is up to something. Numerous phone calls have been overheard and when no instructions have been given for a while then alarm bells begin to ring.

I am taking advantage of the lull to get some painting done for a new project but more about that in my next post. Meanwhile here are the 2 paintings mentioned above:-

"Y Garn  From Tryfan, Snowdonia", acrylic on canvas, 2015.

"Y Garn, Snowdonia", acrylic on canvas, 2015

 In strictness they are mixed media which I have used to produce an actual 3D effect in all 4 paintings in this series. I plan to do some more using various media until I achieve the result I require without any warping of the canvas.

Paintings On Sale For Charity

Bob has organised a sale of 4 of my paintings at Peak Restaurant, Llanberis. These were requested by the owner Mrs Julia Roberts who has kindly offered to sell them to raise funds for St David's Hospice who provide excellent care for patients at their hospice in Llandudno.

There were four paintings selected by her in early December I shall be posting two more after this over the weekend.

The first one was posted on 2 January 2016.

The second one(below) is called "Dinorwig Slate Quarry, Llanberis" acrylic/mixed media on canvas 2015.

Any feedback most welcome. I respond to all comments as soon as possible i.e. when I am not painting.

New year Greetings

Bob has let his fans down! After his arrival back home he called all his friends of a like mind(a dissolute rabble...Ed) and set to partying in Bob's room for the best part of a fortnight. Luckily the neighbours are away for the holidays but it has meant that neither of us has had much sleep in that period.
I have spent most of that time clearing up empty beer and wine bottles not to mention ice cream cartons, chocolate wrappers etc. I had reached the end of my tether when the local girls marching band arrived in full kit just after midnight on New Year's Day. I threw the lot of them out onto the street, drums and all. I was grateful for the fact that there were no fireworks involved. Bears' fur and fireworks do not get on well together.

At this point I realised something had to change so I arranged a business meeting with Bob and themanagement team (me) fortomorrow ( 3 January) to make plans for the coming year. Hopefully he will have sobered up by then. Meanwhile he asked me to post "Tryfan from Llyn Ogwen, Snowdonia", an acrylic on canvas painted in November 2015.

ANNOUNCEMENT - End of Lease

Our lease on Curly Bob's Art Emporium at Botany Bay,Canal Mill, Chorley, PR6 9AF expires tomorrow. Today is our last day of trading.
We would like to express our thanks to all those who have supported us and our customers during the time we have been at Botany Bay and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a successful New Year.

I am exploring a new venue where my work can be viewed and purchased which I expect to announce in the near future.

Going Home!

Following the medical crisis last week Curly Bob made a miraculous recovery. Unlike previous holidays the weather was not as warm and frequently wet so Bob didn't go out much. Instead he lounged around his suite spending a lot of time on his  specially converted IPad. The music was not as loud as what I am used to and the deliveries of beer, spirits etc had dropped off.

Clearly Bob was up to something but the question was what? No doubt all would be revealed in the fullness of time. The next day all was revealed. Bob had been trawling the web to see what traffic there had been on his blog recently. The latest visitor stats indicated that Bob was nearing 10,000 blog visits.

Humility has never been one of Bob's stronger points and he announced that he would hold a party and invite virtual visitors from around the world as befits his celebrity status. Hoping that Bob didn't realise they wouldn't actually turn up I agreed and we began packing immediately.

His achievement would be celebrated by posting a painting every other day for the next year. I tried to explain that I didn't have that many images in our archive. His answer was to have me get some paint and canvases ordered during "Black Friday" weekend and start painting to meet the demand.

We bade our farewells to the Hotel de L'Horloge staff, especially the manager, as they always go out of their way to make us comfortable. On the way to the station he suggested that I post "Lonely Towers", an acrylic on canvas from 2013 to get the ball rolling.

As we rolled out of Avignon heading North, for some reason, I wondered if this might be a turning  point in our careers.

"Lonely Towers", acrylic on canvas from 2013.

It's Touch and Go!

I was awakened early in the morning by an internal call on the hotel phone. After some fumbling and trying to open my eyes I located the handset and was greeted by Curly Bob. I have to say that despite having him as my manager for over 2 years I could barely tell it was his voice. He was calling for help so I assumed things had taken a turn for the worse. Of course I should have known better but there was no time for debating the issue.

I dressed quickly and took the lift to the top floor. Readers may wonder why I wasn't sharing a room with Bob and there are 2 good reasons for this. Firstly it would result in almost total lack of sleep  most nights. Bob would be giving me instructions endlessly. He also has more visitors than Barack Obama!

Secondly Bob feels he should stay in a suite as befits his standing( and no one else's...Ed). The minibars are much better stocked such suites. The fact that he doesn't actually pay for the room never crosses his mind.

On entering I found Bob under the sheets with just his snout on view. In a feeble voice he told me he had run out of medicine and asked would I go and get some more for him. After the unfortunate incident with Monsieur Le Docteur De La Morte ( see previous post) Bob had decided to self medicate i.e rum, honey and lemon, with the emphasis on rum and honey. I pointed out that is was now 3 a.m. local time and even the easy going French do not expect their supermarkets to open before 7 a.m. In any case I didn't think he looked that bad and he could manage until after breakfast. Bob demanded a second opinion. It was necessary to remind him that the above doctor was the only one in Avignon who was willing to treat a bear and secondly about the size of the hypodermic syringe he carried with him.

Inany case I felt it necessary to tell him that he had consumed so much rum that he was a positive fire hazard!

Bob didn't reflect long on the this and the question of the Doctor's syringe and agreed to await his medical supplies until I had eaten breakfast. However since I was up and now wide awake he suggested I might make use of the time by posting  "Distant Hills, Jordan", an oil on canvas from pre 2010. This was donated for sale by our area fundraiser for "Help for Heroes" earlier this year.

"Distant Hills, Jordan", an oil on canvas from pre 2010

Bob Has The Dreaded Lurgy!

I went to rouse Bob from his slumbers as he had not been seen for a while. The "Do Not Disturb" sign had been on his hotel room door for 3 mornings and there had been no calls for room service as far as I could tell. I was fairly certain he had not been out "Au clair de la lune" as there had been no reports of unruly behaviour in the city or it's environs.

As I approached the door there was a strong smell of peppermint oil and sounds of coughing and spluttering. Once inside Bob was quite a sight. he was wrapped in a muffler, woolly hat and only his head was showing above the bed covers. I enquired as what was the problem. His fur was all matted and clammy plus he was shaking with cold. This was odd as it was 22C in the shade given it was the South of France. Bob had decided that his condition was 2touch and go". I tried to point out that he was being a little over dramatic.

After some debate Bob insisted I summon a doctor before it was too late! I checked with the reception desk downstairs and they called Monsieur Docteur de la Morte who promised to call by as soon as possible. I reported back to Bob to confirm his request had been met. Luckily for all concerned Bob's knowledge of French is solely limited to placing orders for alcoholic drinks and essential food items such as honey, chocolate and ice cream etc.

The said doctor arrived and examined Bob. He carried out a detailed examination. After much head scratching he pronounced "Monsieur Le Curly Bob a "La Grippe de Nounour ". For those of our readers who have not had either the benefit of a full education or access to Google Translator, Curly Bob has "Bear Flu!"

Bob is allergic to antibiotics so the doc advised a hot toddy which in local terms would consist of a goodly measure of dark rum, honey and lemon juice. I promised to go and fetch these items after the doctor left. However there was the matter of the bill to be paid. The white card I carry in the EU doesn't apply to bears. Bob said that was descrimination. He was further enraged when the doc gave him the bill. Bob was under the impression that they were exchanging phone numbers! 

Much discussion took place resulting that Bob put his paw down and flatly refused to be ripped off by some French quack! Clearly this was not a good idea. The doc produced a giant syringe, rubber tubing and muttered something about irrigation and even my limited French told me that he was not talking about watering the garden.

The doc also pointed out that his name was really a nickname and he would be happy to demonstrate why. I interceded quickly and offered my credit card which did the trick. The doc left happy and Bob lived to create mayhem another day.

The exertions of the morning have worn him out. Before downing several doses of the recommended medication  and subsequently taking his daily nap, Bob asked me to post "Winter Storm, Black Point #2" oil on canvas from circa 2008.

Fast Asleep

Bob is taking a very long nap after his exertions in Amsterdam and the train ride down to the South of France.
I am taking the chance to post some of my back catalogue  and hopefully be up to date by Christmas.
Therefore I present to you "Maya",  a work in oil on canvas from 2010. It was based on a documentary I saw many years ago tracing the history of the Mayan people.

He's Here At Last

Bob arrived in Avignon at long last. He contacted me using his new paws friendly IPhone and asked me to meet him at the TGV station.

His train arrived on time but there was no sign of Bob. I had visions of him being carted off to Marseille which is not a good place to be for a young bear to be. ( You have got to be joking!...Ed)
Therefore I boarded the train in case he needed help with any luggage. I could hear music coming from the bar and cafe so I made my way upstairs quickly.

My fears were groundless. Bob was sat on the bar surrounded by a group of very attracitve( i.e. hot!) ladies who were hanging on his every word. He  was surrounded by an even greater amount of empty wine & beer bottles. Bob wasn't for leaving so I yanked him off by his ear which he had so nearly lost in the Yucatan last year. Bob was less than impressed by this unseemly exit and the loss of face it could entail.

However, when I explained that Avignon is surrounded by vineyards and has dozens of restaurants and bars, not to mention an abundance of attractive females, he cheered up no end. Apparently he had no luggage apart from his satchel, IPad and his overnight bag.

I managed to smuggle him into his/our room without the management spotting him. Many of the staff at the hotel remember his infamous escape from the hotel, last year, using knotted bedsheets. I hope having him in the same room as me will curb some of his social excesses in the furpots of this peaceful Provencale city.

Once inside Bob headed for his bed for his afternoon siesta. Before dozing off he asked me to post another painting. Therefore we present " Village Andalucia", oil on canvas from before 2011.

Still No Sign of Bob

Despite promises to the contrary Curly Bob has not put in an appearance in Avignon where I am waiting for him. This is not such a bad thing as we are staying at the same hotel as last year and regular readers of this blog will remember there was a certain amount of confusion concerning the bar and accommodation bill. (i.e. They were both unpaid) This resulted in bob spending some time in the local pokey. I am not unduly worried as the route taken by the train runs down the Rhone valley which is renowned for having some of the finest vineyards in the world and we are fast approaching the wine harvest.

This morning my in box contained a directive to post material from 2013 and earlier to clear the way for my more recent efforts. I have taken an executive decision to post material on a more regular basis to enable me to clear the backlog.

New Work On Show At Botany Bay This Weekend!

This is my latest painting of a well known local landmark. It is called "Winter Hill, Evening Mist". It is an acrylic painting on canvas at 60cm x 50cm. It is not framed but is finished on all four edges so you can hang it as it is or have it framed to suit your decor.
It is on sale at Botany Bay Mill Shopping Centre, Canal Mill, Chorley, PR6 9AF and can be viewed on the third floor landing of the north facing staircase.

For details of Botany Bay see http://www.botanybay.co.uk/

All feedback welcome and I answer all enquiries as soon as I can. 
vanbear7@gmail.com

Going South!

Curly Bob has mailed to confirm rumours that he is going south. Readers might be forgiven for thinking this refers to his character but he was in fact letting me know he has set off for the South of France and will meet up with us on our annual holiday to Avignon in Provence. He has been attracted by the promise of late September/October sunshine and to clear his head.

This is not entirely surprising considering he has been holed up in the coffee shops of Amsterdam together with his rescue parties, for some weeks now. Bob found some of the clientele in the said coffee shops to  be below what he considers to be his social standing ( Wonders will never cease...Ed)

I shall be setting off without delay to head him off before he gets into any more mischief. His message was delayed in transit so I expect him to be there when I arrive.

The final part of his missive was an instruction to post "Village Aux Montagnes" without delay to set a Provencale tone to the upcoming postings. This was an oil on canvas from several years ago.