@TheJohnHewitt Exhibition - 'Troubled Into Utterance'

John Hewitt is the "conscience of the planter tradition". The "father figure" to a shelf of Irish poets that includes Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley. W.B. Yeats wrote, "I owe my soul to Shakespeare, to Spenser, and to Blake". Heaney can surely write that of Hewitt. By his own words Hewitt was "troubled into utterance". Troubled by the terror and tensions of his Northern Ireland.

He used the written word - an "incredible instrument, half wand, half weapon" (Martin Amis) - to address these troubles and to articulate a greater context and vision. In a verse portrait Robert Greacen said John Hewitt 'defined the issues of our time... [and] tried to break the mould of bigotry.' He flew "out and beyond those radar systems" of Protestant and Catholic. Offered a creative hand

Exhibition - What an age to be alive

The words of the Age UK video are raw, provocative and inspiring. They are the words of British poet Roger McGough:

"There is no cure for ageing because ageing isn’t an illness, but a way of life. And some are better at it than others. The secret: think yourself younger than you really are. Design a website, invent an app, take up Zoomba, forget to nap. Time flies they say but it’s hours that fly. Time sits on its hands as we rush by. In the blink of an eye, the brush of a year, you are old - but valued still. Welcome to the fold."

They are also the words of the Age UK TV advert which is helping to launch an Age UK campaign - 'Love Later Life'. A vision to promote more positivity about ageing. The campaign follows from research that found that 77% of adults are looking forward to living longer, yet 91% of adults say something needs to be done to help us all lead a better later life. And 83% of adults believe negative perceptions of later life must change. The research found that 53% of adults have a generally positive attitude towards ageing and that positive attitudes increase the older we get. 50% of those aged 85 years and above believe that having a positive attitude to ageing is the key to living longer. From their wisdom and experience, this is a message for us all.

The artist's journey Ctd, Deane's wall art from start to finish

The picture above shows myself with my latest drawing for Michael Deane's seafood restaurant. Below is a timeline of the making of the painting from start-to-finish. It was done with indian ink, and a mix of watercolours, acrylics and a selection of emulsions.