BRING BACK MY GLEN-BOTT TO ME

    so it's 1980..

             

graduated in 1975..

into a big recession..

but up and running as a graphic designer in 1980..

when guess what..

yep another recession..

we got a16% pay rise one minute..

due to inflation and 15% mortgage rates..

so my lovely job just upped and died..

anyway..

here in palookaville..

when the going gets tough..

the tough start a new canvas..

IT'S THAT SPIDER-MAN AGAIN

the central figure is from spider-man 27..

'bring back my goblin to me'

just love that ditko artwork..

the scene is a recreation of my old school..

margaret glen-bott..

note the uniform and tie..

the radiator and the see-through panel in the door..

my style at the time had all these diagonal gestural marks..

the large diamond shapes were something I just wanted in there..

I guess that is me..

self portrait..

eat your heart out rembrandt..

school is tough right..

coming of age in wollaton park..

(pronounced woolaton)..

even when I had the job..

I was longing to be back in school..

talk about ambitious..

REJECTED FROM THE JOHN MOORES

like so many of my other master works..

this too was refused by the judges..

I took it all the way to Liverpool..

on the train..

60 inches high and 96 inches wide..

I had to sit in the guards van with the other parcels..

John lennon was not there to greet me..

but could only wave goodbye..

I was 16 when I first entered..

the Liverpool exhibition..

I believed I would win first prize..

16 will do that for you..

THAT GREAT DAY HAS GONE

 yo!.. nostalgic... innit!

on a cold but fresh first day back at school..

in january 1966..

the fresh snow lay melting in the road..

as docile and bruin and I..

took the number 39 bus from middleton boulevard..

to denman street in radford, nottingham..

it was during the long school lunch break that we set off..

to find rare old marvel comics..

in the junk shops there..

the old shop keeper had a pile of old american comics in the window..

and we would divide it up and rifle through..

to be the first to find a rare comic..

I found the incredible hulk no.6 that day..

cover by stevie ditto..

price 3 old pennies..

after that we went into the old man and woman's chip shop..

and bought fish, chips and peas for one shilling and sixpence..

the day was cold but the snow was white..

the air was pure and clear..

I was 13 years old..

we had no money then..

but we were wealthy..

OH YEAH !