artwork summer 2010 estonia

Stadium in tallinn with Edwin my Latvian friend posing.

Some paintings from Tallinn which will describe my life there a little in the summer!

A free open air concert outside the house where I live (Uus Maailm Community House) by visiting Finnish French duo called the bee and the blue sky.

Marta Marmor making string at the Uus Maailm street festival 2009

Some friends at Uus Maailm seltsimaja. Including Erko, Ivo, Eliisa and Maria. Funnily enough the picture of Erko on the top left looks a lot like my friend Bots! Close up pictures below:

Eliisa Ehin

Ivo

Erko, one of my living heros!

My football buddies who live near Triin's flat in Tallinn. From left to right: Artem, Erik, Maxim and Ahmed. They are all Russian speakers with virtually no understanding of Estonian. Ahmed's parents are from Adzabaijhan.

Hannis and his friend playing chess in the courtyard of Uus Maailm. They both work at the Velokuur, the community cycle workshop helping customers to fix their own cycles.

Maria, a lovely Tartu girl who bravely tried to make a documentary about our band in Tallinn.

A coloured in stencil of the bridge bordering Uus Maailm quarter from Kriistina. It looks like a cover of a detective novel. I really like this style and would like to experiment more with it.

The blues man, visiting musicians come and play concerts in our yard. This was a great show by a top New Orleans blues musician. This party continued until the police came.
Pirita beach lies a couple of kilometers east of Tallinn. It was the site of the 1980 watersports olympics and is a lovely spot to bath and relax.

The amazingly entertaining Estonian Blind Orchestra (find out more in my seperate blog all about them entitled Blind Orchestra of Tallinn).

Ago Niklaas, Triin's lovely flatmate. Like everyone in that flat he is a music student. A wonderful young lad who is now serving in the Estonian army for his 1 year compulsary service.

Clarinet player in the theatre in Tallinn

Estonian Banana

Drunk young Finn at my friends wedding carried to the sofa to relax.

My brothers Tom and Louis at New Romny Station on the minature railway in SE England

Tom, Louis (in chair) dad and Klara at our camping site on Romney Marsh July 2010

Brighton Beach, summer 2008 I think

Triin and some other musicians at Herrang dance camp July 2010

A summer's day in Tallinn May 2010

Then we go to the market around the corner where the Georgians and Azabaijanis and Russians sell their fruit and nuts and out of date canned food. I bought a packet of peanuts that should have been eaten in 2008, they tasted quite wrong.

Triin and I played a bit of music by the entrance of the market in the sunshine. The Russian drunks danced a bit. We played a bit of jazz but I feel much more connection to the people when we play Russian music and we actually earn more money that way too. I feel like a duke box when we play the American jazz but the Russian music really connects with the audience and many people smile and talk to us. There is a poor guy with a long beard whom I played a happy estonian song for. He looks like an Old Believer: barefooted and treading slowly, eating scraps of food left in the market and sharing his bread with the pidgeons. He does not care what other people think but seems to want to do nothing but good to the world and live like a bird. He gave us a russian magazine about healing plants that looked really interesting and I offered him money but he refused saying: "I dont need to buy anything."

I reflected about him for a while. And later when I saw the young estonian girl zooming along the street on a motorized soap box think that is popular these days, I wondered if my friend would do that, just for fun... unlikely somehow but I could picture his beard in the wind and a smile on his face. Maybe it is silly to think that, he probably loves his walks with nature.

An old sailor came and talked to us as we were packing up, he told Triin all about his rollocking life. He played violin and one night at sea he decided to learn a classical piece and he practiced it until the dawn and since that day all the crew called him Paganini so that became his nick name. He left the navy and joined the house of composers, a soviet kind of trade union and worked there as a secretary for years and knew many of the Estonian composers that Triin had to study about for an exam so she got a lot of inside knowledge there. I smiled when he talked to me not understanding a word he said but he did not mind.

I went back to triins place and watched TV - I was very tired. Triin cooked me a lovely meal with the food we had bought in the market and I cried a lot as I watched a programm about a Welsh choir. Welsh music has always touched me very deeply and I get very emotional about it. Maybe I missed my homeland, or I wanted a homeland to miss, anyhow, I felt lost and confused but the music was very beautiful and it make me want to come back one day and write songs about our valleys and hills and try not to feel like a fraud.

I left the house and sketched the street outside the market. The market had closed and I drew the big chestnut tree with the leaves all flying like hundreds of green flags in the wind. The road was empty and bare and and in the distance the factory chimney stood proudly. The grey housing blocks were still and clean in the sharp sunlight. My little friends came to talk to me: Erik, Ahmed and a couplle of others. They are russia speakers who live near Triin and we play soccer together a couple of times each week. They are all under 14 and very social with me but not so nice to Estonians sometimes. I offered to put them in my drawing and they patiently sat and chatted. They have a very free life walking around with their friends most of the day in the summer when the sun shines.

I played some music outside the old bookshop in the centre of town opposite St Nicholas church. The clouds above are fantastic. Tallinn truly has great clouds in the sunshine, real puffballs, rolling monsters in the sky beefing up and booming and crashing and such solid white you could drop a ton of lead from above and expect to see it bounce bounce bounce. After a little music I cycled to the community house where I also often sleep. There was a movie night going on. I painted a bit, getting ready for my exhibition, in fact I painted until the early dawn. At 3am a neighbour came by and asked if he could come in and he chatted to me as I finished my last painting. He has 6 children from two wifes, both divorsed, and is a writer. His daughter had her 7th birthday party today and she is such a lovely girl called Sissy, one of my best friends here. People here really are lovely but maybe a bit precautious for me. Too careful somehow, but the Russians provide my rougher entertainment if I so desireth.

The Russians are so open and although they are isolated from the world somehow they are also intelligent. I get a lot of practice talking to them. Estonians all speak good english it seems, so I find it harder to enter their mind word-world. Still trying to get there!

It is 2am again; the sky is a deep blue like the bottom of an exotic sea and in the distance a strip of white is shining where the sun is leaking over the horizon. I am going out on my bike to Triin's place through the empty streets clean from the sun and the wind and the silence. Going out alone at this hour and this time of year is a spiritual quest. The long days of sunshine steal your weariness away. Triin is cooking me a cake for a midnight feast and maybe I will paint a little more when I get there.

My soul is relaxed from a long day but not tired. My mind is as clear as a glass of green tea but mostly because it is not thinking about anything too much. The girls are all so beautiful here that you stop feeling attracted by beauty alone, since they are all so healthy looking.

What is most important it seems to me is the mental connection. That is definitely one of my priorities for falling in love, like Benjamin Zephaniah says: 

Sure I want to touch your body

Sure I want to touch your body

Sure I want to touch your body

 But first I've got to touch your mind!

And now, without any carnal feelings at all I will ride out alone on the streets under the theatrical orange street lamps across this flat town full of so much miraculous beauty, so beautiful at times that it feels like my mind is going to burst as I contemplate it all. 

BLIND ORCHESTRA RECORDING SESSION

On saturday I woke up early in the New World community centre and dashed round to the Blind Peoples House where the Blind Orchestra practices. I am a member of the orchestra but dont worry, my sight is still fine, people with good vision are invited to join to make up the numbers. There are only about 5 or 6 fully blind people and a few more with other sight problems but most of the rest tend to be pretty wacky characters, even though yours truly says so himself! On Friday we had a last rehearsal before the big recording session due to take place the next day in a church in Nomme, the leafy suburb of Tallinn.

During the rehersal the pecussionist, a wild looking man with a huge beard and beady eyes, made more beady still by his telescopic spectacles, had me in stiches. For one song there was no music for the second clarinet so I just watched and listened. For this song wildman on percussion has to play maracas. He started off sitting down but gradually worked himself up until he was standing next to the conductor almost turning piruettes and all the time puffing and panting through his toothless mouth. The thing is no-one really notices because they are looking at the sheet music and he is hilarious in the tiny movements and gestures and facial expressions. I chatted with him in the break and he told me in Russian that he knew the conductor from playing 30 years ago in the Soviet Army band. Back then he played euphonium but since he lost his teeth he could not play that any more... I cant imagine how he was on the euphonium.. something like a Red Army version of Thelonius Monk I expect! It must have been hilarious!

Triin slept in very late so I cycled with her to Nomme through the forest and past the graveyard. At the top of one hill there is a great view over Tallinn, the soviet appartment blocks, the industrial port and blue sea behind them. The clouds were beefing up in the sky. The fir trees had been cut down to allow strollers to look out over Tallinn but without them the hillside was eroding into a huge sand pit. In the small centre of Nomme we found the orchestra in the Pitbull pub. It was the sunniest day imaginable and they had somehow once again chosen to gather in a dismal basement pub. Anyhow, there was one cool thing, they had old receiver telephones on each table and you picked it up and ordered your salad. My vegan option was so complicated the cook came out and got it in person! I think the bar was based on some kind of Sherlock Homes theme but the huge mini cinema screens showing motorbike racing and tennis detracted a little from the mood. Anyhow, I saw some cracking womens tennis finals on the TV before Triin and I pottered off to the small church behind the station where the recording was going to take place. The mikes were being hung and chairs put out and since we had woken late for the rehersal and there was so little seating room anyhow the conductor asked if we minded supporting the audience. I can understand why on such a sunny day so few people had turned up to sit in even such a pretty little church. It was good to be outside. The few who had come looked like they did not have much choice... old ladies who had been wheeled there. One old lady was so small and shrunken and skinny that she could have passed for a 8 year old girl... she wore a coloured dress and stockings and her feet dangled from the pew a few inches from the ground while I squeezed into the same sized pew nearby. She had a shaking condition which meant she was eternally rubbing her hands like Shylock but she seemed very happy and spirited. When all was ready the unshaven priest made a little talk about music like a man talking to himself down a well. Triin told me it was nice what he said but not worth translating in detail. The music kicked off with some rousing polkas which were great fun. The little lady started rubbing her hands even faster like Shylock in the finals of the last round of 'Who wants to be a millionaire'. We should bring her round to New World community house kitchen, put her in front of the sink full of dirty dishes and turn some Shostakovich and the water on ... everything would be rubbed clean in minutes!

The action was getting more and more exciting and I was sketching away like mad! The maracas maniac was on a roll... hands in the air like he was a Russian soldier waving on the top of the Reichstag. The conductor tried in vain to get his AWOL pecussionist to stop shaking. He emphatically shook his head and glared at our rattling hear who in reply nodded affiably and started dancing around even more! Since he was at the back of the room there was nothing the conductor could do especially since the two sitting next to him in the corner were blind and unable to confiscate his maracas and since the whole place was all miked up to the gills for the live recording, words like 'put down those bleeding maracas' or 'won't someone disarm that cat' could not be spoken even in whispers! Meanwhile I was trying hard not to burst out laughing.

Luckerly for my bladder attention was drawn to the organ balcony where the blind girls (this time almost of all them blind) sang songs about happiness along with a cheesy cassette recording. The soloist was a young woman with sunken black eyes and a lovely soft voice. Quite moving. They were filmed from the balcony by the tenor player who was off musical duty today... I think he is a bit of a liability too. He was almost falling off the balcony to catch them on video.

The action returned to the nave where the blind clarinet player took a solo. He played very nicely indeed, such a beautiful tone and deft touch. I dont know if I sound like that but there is something lovely and soulful about the long clarinet notes. I can never tell if it is the musician the instrument or my mood. The accoustics were certainly very good. It is also amazing how different a clarinet sounds when you are not behind it but a little distance away! Totally different in some ways! He looked a bit like Bunyap Bluegum's uncle Wattleberry from the Magic Pudding, but without the sideburns. I sketched a few more of the other musicians, especially those with what I consider characteristic faces, very Estonian looking or special. The kind of faces that are too real to be ever shown on the telly!

I really enjoyed the music and would love to buy a CD. Even so, I was relieved they announced the last song, it had been a long concert but the drama was not quite all over yet. A gray haired and stern looking lady stepped up and presented some flowers to the conductor who bowed to the microphone. The lady said a few hefty words of praise and then said the priest was going to talk. I got the impression the priest was her son by the way she seemed to direct him. He hooted a little about this and that and how it was all down to god and then everyone stood to say the lords prayer but there was some confusion about if everyone should stand or not. By the time it was said most people had popped up and sat down a couple of times and then found they should sit down again. Just a bunch of yo-yo-ing to the Lords prayer! "Our father (boiingg) who art in (boiinggg) heaven... etc... etc..."

The grey haired soviet lady led the action out of the church into the lovely sunshine. I lingered by the doorway outside the locked toilet. A couple of minutes later two big musicians came out of the single boys cubical, both of them very chunky brass players. I was a little curious but as I locked the door behind me I smelt the sharp whiff of vodka! I think they had been having a little urgent communion in the boys' loo after a grueling hour long recording!

Triin and I cycled home in the lovely sunshine, stopping to pick marigolds by the railway track which she says she can make honey out of. We filled a whole plastic bag with marigold heads and came home in fine spirits.

one woman cant come... looking away

cant afford to come practicing at home

estonian government put in new pig flu vaccine for free go and vaccine yourself 

young... NOOOO!

not like the tartu orchestra they drink vodka we play instruments

give bottle of vodka to 17year old birthday boy

where is the cake that Ed promised to bring

his brains are sharp he invented a new note stand... he is a great chequers player, not chess, that is too difficult! chess ...no.....

He is the captain of the blind team but he is not actually blind

Tallinn May 2010

UK and SPAIN old pictures

Newcastle rooftops

Girona in Catalunya with Remei, Martha and Eva on the old steps

Jazz band in London

OLD PAINTINGS FROM ITALY around 2005

Here are some old pictures while I was living and travelling around Italy in 2004-2005

This is just a small selection of over 60 paintings from the Alps in the very north of Italy all the way down to Palermo and Puglia in the deep south!

My guru in Firenze Italy

Motorway flyovers in Roma 

Byron's Grotto on the west coast of Italy

Talis reading in Napoli

SPRING WEEKEND IN DEVON

 I have just come back from a very satisfying weekend in Devon. It was so beautiful...  the wonderful countryside reminded me a bit of japan but much more mellow. I left on Thursday and hung out with my good friend Ollie in Bristol with late night chess games and the next morning we woke up early and shot down hill into town where I busked a little near the library where he works and then listened to Oli reading the GRUFFALLO and other stories to the kids! After that I hung out with Martin jamming a little in the sun and met some wild sleep deprived kids who were throwing umbrellas on College green and gave us a box of chocolates for helping them throw the umbrella until it was totally broken. Then i took an afternoon train to Totnes where i met Tom and Dad in the village market. It was so beautiful... i found a 55 pound clarinet in the market which i decided to buy as a spare london clarinet. The sun was shining all weekend and we cycled around 100 km over 3 days ... small rides from the station of Totnes (the ultimate hippy town) to our friends house in Ashburton on the edge of the moor and from there to the Embecombe community centre where we stayed in an old gypsy caravan and helped out with the festival on sunday. We were playing music and I played a lot of games with the kids and did my first proper round off somersault on the grass! it was very satisfying!!!!

  Then on sunday afternoon we cycled over the hills to where a tall castle stood with a view to the moors behind us and the ancient city of Exeter by the blue estery before us lying in the valley and a long long down hill at top speeds under huge oak trees speeding past giant roots of old trees all stretching out in the spring sunshine. We arrived in Exeter and then caught the train to London and my friend was sitting next to us so we stayed awake a bit longer ... i was tired enough to sleep straight away but i wanted to chat with her!

  then in london in the dark and i cycled over to my 82 year old hero's party where he was teaching party games! lots of wonderful people but i was late. It was strange cycling through london after 3 days of being in the country. When i live in london i look at all the houses and buildings like they were always there when i arrived back and cycled through the sunday evening streets I somehow felt the old trees and fields that had been there before and all the buildings seemed to be just made... not just made but i felt the sensation of seeing a new building in somewhere familiar where it had not been before. 

  The countryside, houses and weather were all totally fantastic and I feel full of life and energy.

  lots of love

 jimmy

 xxxx

this was the website for the place i went.. it was great...

http://www.embercombe.co.uk/

ESTONIAN WEDDING ANNIVERSARYceramics winter and spring 2010

THE ESTONIAN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

In January and Febuary 2010 I worked in the ceramics studio in Meestre Hoov (the masters court) in Tallinn. I spent most of my time working on an epic sculpture of an Estonian dinner. I took the original sketches at Triin's grandfathers 50th wedding anniversary dinner in the summer 2009. There were a few neighbours with some singing and musical instruments and lots of drinks and a solid feast. I did not enclude all the characters... in all there were about 15 people at the party but I tried to get the general atmosphere of festivities a la Estonie!

The lady and the fella standing up are Triin's grandparents. Her grandad was firing on all cylinders and after we left the party they both went for a lie down in the early afternoon from all the excitement. Her grandma is a lovely soft stoic lady who is going a bit blind.

Below Original sketch of Vuints the moustache

This is my original sketch of Vuints (moustache). He played hot

accordian and was named after his sharp tash. Below is the result in clay.

There was a fair bit of Vodka as there must be at any serious party in Eastern Europe it seems. This neighbour was merrilly toasting. Generally the atmosphere was quite reserved despite the roudy behaviour of Triin's grandfather.

Behind this gentleman I had a bit of wall space so I put two paintings up. The one on the right is a country scene similar to something you may find in an Estonian flat, but which I took from the 10 Kroon note.

The other smaller portrait is Paul Keres. I dont think you would find this in any Estonian flat appart from his relatives. They are not very into hero worship it seems. Keres was one of the Soviet Unions top chess players. A grand master who narrowly missed being world champion. He is perhaps one of Estonia's most famous international figures and the only chess player in the world to appear on the national currency!

This is Triins dad enjoying his cup of tea. He is a big guy who works for a security firm but very friendly underneith. Behind him you can see the street and trees and the flat skyline with a few more Communist blocks scattered around. The party took place in a typical Soviet suburb called Mustamae which translates as black hill. That is probably not a natural feature of the landscape, estonia has very few hills, probably some industrial slag heap! But I am only guessing!

This is another neighbour enjoying her meal! The food was very simple and tasty - I could not eat the sausages and eggs and many creamy cakes but settled for tomatoes, black bread, pickled gerkins and boiled potatoes.

This is the left half of the scene. It had to be cut into two parts to fit into the kiln.

And this is the right half with the view out into the street.

I have been working a few days a week at a ceramic studio in the old town of tallinn, estonia. I have to greet customers and open the shop and be around to sell the artwork of a collective of around 15 ceramicists and for that i get free use of the atelier. actually, i get to work quite a lot because febuary is not a very busy month for tourists or visitors to the shop. I have been working on a few projects. This first big scene is about 40 centimeters long and made in white clay. It is inspired by a carving of some sweedish law court i saw in the stockholm art museum in july 2009. It is based on some sketched i did during Triins grandparents 50th wedding anniversary in their soviet style flat in tallinn in summer 2009. I tried to carve the scene but it is much easier to make out of clay... mistakes can be corrected with clay. I have not yet glazed it but if you have any suggestions for glaze please tell me soon!

Initial shaping of the figures

BELOW
The finished product, painted in April 2010 with gouache