Sometimes there's a lot to be said about watching paint dry. It's like watching a flower grow or the sun go down below the horizon. It is deeply relaxing. It's a reminder of our true natures as you sink into the tranquility within.
Slowly, imperceptibly, inevitably, shapes take form as the paint dries. There is the occassionally intervention by myself as I shape this process of allowance.
The flow of colours begin to manifest something wonderful that previously didn't exist.
What an honour it is to be a creator!
Its not often you get
to hear Peter Andre doing a sound test, and it took me about 20 minutes before
I realised who it was as I was setting up my easels in the foyer of The
Battersea Evolution.
I have to admit, he
was pretty good….
Tillys Piece looked
stunning under the impressive lighting
The evening began to
unfold with a number of acrobatic artists, gently lowering themselves from the
suspended butterfly shaped frames set in the ceiling of the marquee.
The evening was in
full sway, and I shook Leona Lewis’ hand as I talked to one person after the
next about SoulScaping, I got a number of raised eyebrows, and a few “wows”!
(which was nice).
My most memorable
meeting of the evening was with Bruce Forsyth, but unfortunately I got to speak
to him when Elton John was in full swing doing an incredible set. Bruce just
looked at me with a frustrated look on his face and pointed repeatedly to his
ears shaking his head. He did seem to understand the two lovely ladies next to me (who wanted their picture taken
with him) perfectly!
About an hour into the
evening I interrupted a conversation between John Caudwell and Liz Hurley (as
you do) to say thankyou to John for his very Kind words about Tillys SoulScape.
It was then that he said;
“Would you like to say
a few words about it on stage?”
I couldn’t quite
believe my ears. I said “Yes”. Not having a clue what I would say.
As I sat backstage (a
few more kind words form Sarah Ferguson about my artwork as she walked past) my
heart was pounding in my chest. I was deliberately trying to keep my mind
blank, because I knew if I tried to come up with something clever to say, it
would sound… well not clever. Tilly and her parents were right next to me, and
they seemed perfectly calm.
I was carrying the painting
with one of the guys from Caudwell Children (all 120 cm x 150 cm of it!) when Tillys
mum, holding Tillys work of art, with seconds to go before we were to be
invited in stage, suddenly said to me, “Can you hold this for me, I need the
loo.”
I honestly didn’t know
what to do.My world froze for a
moment as I considered the options. Say yes and put the Put the painting down.
Say “No way!”. Then she smiled a very cheeky smile, and said “Only joking!”
We walked onto the
stage, and John Caudwell gave a very moving talk about the work of Caudwell
Children, and a very powerful video was shown about the work done by this
incredible charity. You can see that here:
I was given a
microphone. My heart was now in my mouth.
I have no idea what I
said, but here is a video that I put together about the major aspects of Tillys
SoulScape:
Apparently It was
received very well. I think I even got a round of applause.. its all a bit of a
blur! Tilly spoke beautifully about her piece that was full of diamonds and
sparkles, and that Sir Elton John had signed for her!
Then the bidding
began, and I just fixed a big smile on my face… The final outcome for the
combined lot was £380,000! That’s enough to buy 19 of Tillys specialised
wheelchairs that help her move and dance, and give her a fresh lease of life.
I just want to say
thankyou to all of you for your support and kind comments.
It was an incredible
evening, and its been a true honour to be part of such an incredible charity.
