Seb Palmer

My dearest, oldest, longest term friend, Dan Ellis, passed away, last night. At 8.55 pm. Taken from us all by a rare form of cancer, Thymic Carcinoma.

As I reflect on the parts of my life that I shared with him, I think my fondest memories are amongst the oldest.

We met at Comberton Village College, secondary school. We were young and innocent, kids becoming teenagers.

I recall staying over at his parents’ enchanted and enchanting cottage, in Little Eversden, for sleepovers, and suchlike. Dan’s parents, like Dan, were really wonderful people.

The atmosphere of their family home was unique and magical. It was a favourite place of mine, to visit. Truth be told, I envied Dan such a Heavenly home.

I’m not sure that that idyllic place remains? As it was largely built/added to by Dan’s father, with no concerns re building regs, etc. And, after both Dan’s parents had passed, it was sold, and possibly knocked down!?

In 2000, whilst we were all still living in London, I was privileged to be asked by Dan to be Godfather to Ailwyn, their first child. And I wrote a little song for him, which I remember playing for them, in their parents paradisical garden.

Dan and I also played music together, many times, over the years. Although drums are my main instrument, I would play guitar and sing, and he’d accompany on flute. Sometimes joining in on vocals.

His lusty singing of the chorus on ‘One More Cup Of Coffee’, by Bob Dylan, was a testimony to his own love of that rich, dark. stimulating bean!

Aeons after starting these (2014!), I’ve finally painted the lute courses; seven pairs of double strings.

Not great, perhaps? But they’ll have to do. Next I need to add the frets to the lute. And a bit of shadow, and/or something of interest to the rather bare background.

I think I’ll go back to occasional copies of ‘Old Masters’, as a bit more of a regular thing. Good for skill building, and poss’ saleable?

FOOTNOTE:

We went to a Topping Books author talk, last night (10/11/‘25), given by Andrew Graham-Dixon, about Vermeer. I showed him this ‘work in progress’, and he informed (or is it reminded?) me that it appears in a couple of Vermeer’s works!

My ol’ pal Ben Carter introduced me to Georg Baselitz, many, many years ago.

I’ve got a couple of other books on him. But they’re neither very big nor very comprehensive. And GB is, like Picasso (although not as Vesuvian), prodigious in his output.

Another thing GB has in common with Picasso is painting a lot of ostensibly ugly or cack-handed stuff.

But I think, in both instances, there are combinations of in-built and cultivated aestheticism, and skills – with line, colour, form, composition (even touch) – and thinking, all of which combine to give the artworks a kind of energy, and even beauty, that I really respond to.

So far I haven’t read much of the text. Basically I’ve thumbed through the whole thing once, mainly looking – in awe and wonder, for the most part – at the artworks. But what little text I have read, has mostly consisted of GB quotes.

These occasionally rather opaque aphoristic pronunciations remind me a bit of stuff folk like Guston and de Kooning (both artists I love) are alleged to have said. I’m not sure what I make of the verbiage?

Where such artists are most eloquent is in their art works. And what these say or mean to me may have little or nothing to do with what their creators might talk about. And frankly I don’t care about that.

Rather egotistically, perhaps, all that concerns me, is what these things mean to me.

This slender little volume looks right down my boulevard. Rather slight, at only 36 pages, though. Nevertheless, I think I’ll get a copy at some point soon. If I can.

I found this pencil drawing and unfinished oil painting, today. Behind another old artwork (an abstract print), in our lounge!

The reason I call this The Absent Procuress is because in the original there’s an old crone – the titular Procuress – on the right. I left her out. Good riddance!

This kind of stalled, on the lute strings, many years ago. Anyway, now I’m suddenly doing art again, I figured why not try n’ finish it?

So I painted the strings in today. Kind of. They need separating into pairs, or ‘courses’ (I think?). And, the way I’ve gone about it, they also need ‘knocking back’, and shadows need redoing, etc. So, there remains quite a ways to go.

Hopefully I’ll do some or all of that tomorrow, when Flo’s MOT forces me to stay home anyway. I’m also expecting the deluxe new Taschen Baselitz tome to arrive in the morning… can’t wait!

Picasso was infamous for his dealers having to prise his work away from him. Else, he’d just keep finagling it! Well, I may not be Picasso. But I can understand his perspective.

Finishing this has been a mother!*

But I think it’s there now. Wherever that may be. I just hope Dad (and co.) likes it!

*Rather apt, as it’s Mother’s Day Sunday today!

Got Sun Ra at Albert’s House back from Rex, at Granary Studios.

This isn’t as successful a project, for me, as Dan’s recent pieces. But, hey… it is what it is!

OK, so I just wasn’t happy enough with the piece as was. So I’ve masked off parts of the frame, and reworked certain areas a bit more.

So I’m not letting the artwork being framed stop me from improving – and hopefully finishing? – it.

It’s fun to see if I can mine my own imagery, as I have been doing with Picasso (or Matisse, or whoever), and develop ideas further.

From its cropping areas (more of that to follow, below), to reflected/distorted images, to combinations…

Finally, zooming in a bit more:

And, finally… ‘hello, birdie!’

Well, I’m done either way this piece now. Sun Ra at Albert’s House, I’m calling it. I’ve even signed and dated it!

I’m in the process of spraying several layers of fixative over it. And later today I will be delivering it to Rex, at The Granary Studio, to be framed.

It’s day’s end, and I’m abed. The piece of art is now with Rex, to be framed. I did the above hours ago. It’s another variant… I guess when I get the framed artwork back, I can still tweak it a bit, if I want?

I’ve been tweaking the above on my iPhone, between actually working on the real ‘flesh n’ blood’ article.

And it’s definitely starting to come together. at one point the bottom half seemed the better part. Now it’s undoubtedly the top half I like best.

The bottom half – the keyboard motif in particular – needs work. Essentially, simplifying and declutterring. Could be a metaphor for my life!?

Do I darken (and lighten)in the bottom sections, as per this iPhone edit? Or do I leave as in the pic above that? Either way, I think this is finally nearing completion.

If I’m totally honest, it’s not a triumph. But you can’t win ‘em all. And I have to learn to be more accepting of a broader range of results.

As Sting once sang:

‘To search for perfection 
Is all very well
But to look for heaven 
Is to live here in hell…’

(‘Consider Me Gone’, Dream Of The Blue Turtles)