come up and see my studio

Today I'm starting a new segment...it's called 'Studio Visit' (are you all asleep yet?) WAKE UP!!!!!!!!! Its going to be fun (at least for me).O.K. every so often I will take a photograph of something in my studio and write something clever and witty (maybe). It might be something really small (like my studio..ha ha) or very large (like my electricity bill) It will be something of interest (hopefully) Why am I starting this fun segment you wonder? Well dear readers, the other day (yesterday to be precise) I started cleaning out my studio and I came across hundreds and hundreds of 'THINGS' in and around my studio. It's true that I very rarely ever throw anything away. So after spending the good part of 7 hours I actually trashed 2 items.See I'm really bad at saying goodbye.
Please dont be put off by the photo above, it will get a lot better than that...I shot many photos yesterday and will start posting them in the next few weeks and months (until you all tell me to STOP!!!!))
Here is the really strange part.I know where everything is........Everything!

Now where did I put my martini?

a cheesy story

The other day I posted a little painting I did when I was 6 years old.Today I came across a photo of when I was 5 years old. In fact I had just turned 5. My mother thought it would be a lovely idea to get the local photographer to come to our house a take a few photos. I remember this day very very clearly. Not for any other reason than the photographer had the nastiest smelling feet in the world (or maybe even beyond) I remember asking my mother what that dreadful pong was. I remember my mother saying 'for Gods sake dont say anything' I remember telling my brother and sister that the dreadful cheese smell belonged to the photographer.
Needless to say , the shoot was hurried along (maybe because I was making my brother and sister and mother laugh by holding my nose through the session) the totally embarrassed photographer and his cheesy feet left in a hurry. After my mother had opened all the windows in the dead of winter, we all laughed and laughed for the longest time. I of course had a sty on my eyelid that day and looked like an homeless extra from a lesser known Charles Dickens novel, that was adapted into a movie. Apart from my sty that looked a little like a black eye,I can also see that little smirk on my face.This smirk would get me into trouble all through my schooling years and actually all through my life.

A photo is worth a thousand words (maybe)

I think I'll have cheese for lunch... I wonder why?

smirk |smərk|
verb [ intrans. ]
smile in an irritatingly smug, conceited, or silly way : Dr. Ali smirked in triumph. See note at smile .
noun
a smug, conceited, or silly smile : Gloria pursed her mouth in a self-satisfied smirk.

yaba daba doo time...

I know what you must all be thinking (Im clever that way) you are all thinking that you have seen these images before...Well maybe you have. Also, you may be thinking I'm running out of subjects for my blog (impossible) The truth is I actually just brought them out for some fresh air. Ten years ago the flintstone people (hanna/Barbara) asked me to portray the flintsones in the style of famous artists (this was a dream assignment for me) I painted them all in oil and put a frame around them and sent them off for there approval. A few notes here: On the Wilma painting, it first read 'Oh Fred I'll never cheat on you again' That was a massive no no.They said Wilma would never cheat, so I changed it to 'oh Fred I'm so sorry...' Also it was the first time that Betty was ever painted naked, We have to thank Matisse for that....Anyway dear readers, enjoy the paintings and of course have a gay old time.....( apologies to my european readers (you know who you are) 'Have a gay old time" were some of the lyrics in the theme song.

Cick on image to make larger, unless of course you simply don't want too.
P.S. I painted 5 others, not shown , so don't try to click on those.

philip brooker age 6

For years and years(2 in fact, it just seemed longer) I sat on the floor of my very cold bedroom at 139 kents hill road, north Thundersley, Benfeet, Essex, England (sorry about the long address but it felt good writing it after so long) and thought of very strange things to draw and paint. I was after all 6 years old ,and even then, I couldn't remember a day I didn't draw or paint something. Well dear reader nothing has really changed.Its not cold anymore and I have a few more tubes of paints, and yes even more than one paintbrush.I loved that paintbrush, I wore the poor thing down to one very sad hair...I still have it.
So when I came across my earliest work this morning, I selected this one (above) It seemed the most finished and happiest. I remember painting it, I almost remember every stroke. A little like we all remember learning to ride a bicycle or learning to swim for the first time.I remember thinking I was a clever boy (I didn't really think that out aloud, I was too shy for that) but people said 'aren't you clever' or 'who does he take after?' this seem to worry adults around me a lot. It was then that I first heard the name Picasso... 'He's a right little Picasso isn't he'. Five years later I would actually go to the Tate gallery my see my first Picasso.It was the portrait of Dora Marr 'The Weeping Woman' I went home and stayed up very very late painting my version 'The weeping man' (I will find it and post it here)
So after all these years I still have the same routine.I get up early, I paint, I draw, I work on my films and illustrations, I design furniture, I take photographs. Today instead of creating a painting called 'The weeping man' deep inside I've turned into one.

Well its time to go back to my studio......
Philip Brooker age 53

all you need is love

All you need is love ? Could this really be true? Happy valentines day

a little shaken

There are not many things I would give up. So when I decided to give up drinking Martins it was somewhat a shock to my system and my friends. Now, I now what you are all saying (yes I'm psychic) 'Why give up drinking martinis Philip, you love them so much?
Well, I will tell you the answer...Well, actually, there isn't an answer (what a let down) The reason is, I just wanted to test my willpower, I just wanted to see if I could do it. It was only for one month 2 days and 35 seconds... Winston Churchill chose to forgo vermouth completely, saying that the perfect martini involved pouring a glass full of cold gin and looking at a bottle of vermouth. General Patton suggested pointing the gin bottle in the general direction of Italy. Alfred Hitchcock's recipe called for five parts gin and "a quick glance at a bottle of vermouth." See I'm in good company. I have to admit that my martini is really called a 'vodka martini' I will only drink gin if the vodka has run dry (and that might be just impossible) Tonight Im going to make myself a fantastic you know what..Vodka from the freezer, a splash of vermouth (in my case a spray) and as many olives that I can humanly stuff in the glass...AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh heaven.
Next month Im going to give up eating chocolate and cookies. Willpower you say? No! I have to stop my little plump belly that seems to be growing.
I took this photo illustration (above) for the Miami Herald food section. It was about the most expensive martini in Miami. It was $100.

a view with a room

When I look around my apartment I see millions of details, maybe hundreds of millions..o.k. o.k. I'm getting a little carried away. But there are lots. Let me step back here a minute (I'll try not to walk into something) Five years ago a well known British television company filmed my house for a home and design show (we will call them the BBC just for the hell of it )
I watched what they filmed. Even though they did a very nice clean job and made everything look beautiful and interesting, I felt they missed the details (and how my hair looked on the show, but that really is a blog unto itself) So I promised myself that if I ever moved to another house or apartment, I would record it in a series of details...The images above are just bad snap shots (I dont want to give everything away before its published now do I ) .I have just finished shooting a thousand shots and have edited them down to one hundred...WHEW!!!
I'm writing a story and arranging all my photos and hopefully I'll get it in a magazine....So stay tuned.

Now where did I put my sandwich? It was here a moment ago...My next home will all be white, that way I will be able to find my sandwich, which thankfully is whole wheat bread not white.

this explains a lot

After watching 'The Red Balloon'(below) again after so many years, I decided to dig a little deeper into my early viewing on the television.There were so many very very strange shows on TV when I was a kid.The BBC was just starting to get childrens programing together.We didn't have superman or any comic book hero's. We had 'the Woodentops (this was about a large family that were made out of wood), Then there was 'Rag Tag and Bobtail'(this was about a rabbit and a rat and a snail that lived underground) and then there was the Tales of the river boat' (the main lead in this show was a hamster called Hammy Hamster' Brilliant!!!) But the best one by far was Bill and Ben (yes I know, it sounds a little fruity) this was about two little men who were made out of flowerpots (what else?) and lived in flowerpots. There best friend (apart from each other) was a weed (called weed...what else) anyway do yourself a treat and watch what I was forced to watch as a child.The fact is I loved these shows, it explains a lot ...Pink floyd, Monty Pythons flying circus, oh the list goes on. In fact it explains a lot about me and my early take on things...

the red balloon

This is a very simple message ...If you have never seen this film, take the next 30 minutes and enjoy it.If you have seen it,then take the next 30 minutes and enjoy it again.I posted this because of my little film 'The White Balloon' (below).I love how Paris looked in 1956, I also love the music and will be whistling it all day now... As I mentioned below, I didnt want to ruin this film by seeing it again.Well I did and its even better than I remembered. The love affair between me and Paris is stronger than ever..

the white balloon

Here is my latest little film. Its called 'The White Balloon'. The first time I ever heard the word Paris was when I watched the remarkable film called 'The Red Balloon' (French: Le Ballon rouge) (1956) It's a wonderful fantasy short film, directed by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse (who won an oscar) I think it was then that I fell in love with Paris at the tender age of five. The film has stayed with me all these years and so has Paris. I'm tempted to take another look, but wont of course. Why ruin the perfect love affair...Enjoy my little film 'The White Balloon'
To view my film, It might be better to go to http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bH85TFYNcKI&feature=channel_page and hit the high quality button just under the film on the right.The quality is so much better.....Then again, I also want to to stay on and in my blog.