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I’d mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that my dear Dad had been suffering ill health. Last Thursday evening he suddenly deteriorated quickly and passed away early on Friday morning leaving all our hearts in pieces. We draw some comfort from the fact that he died at home, peacefully, in Mum’s arms as he wanted. As my sister looked out of the window after he had gone, dawn was just breaking and one bright star hung in the sky. The collage above is a quick sketch of Kingston Terrace; where mum and dad created the wonderful family home he loved so much; I’ll work it up into a more finished piece in the next few weeks to remember that moment.

Dad was a brilliant and immensely kind man with a boundless capacity for happiness. He brought us up with so much love and he showed us how wonderful, mysterious and beautiful life could be. His inquisitiveness was infections and we’ve all inherited his love of exploration and fascination with the world. I was exceptionally blessed to have him as my Dad, but that blessing makes it all the more hard now that he has gone. He’s with me still all the time of course, in my heart and in my thoughts, I see him in me every day, and in the night sky that bright star will never be the same again.

Just got back from a long weekend in Paris so here’s a little sketch of Notre Dame:

It was a pretty arty trip all round and we took in a couple of exhibitions including Philippe Pareno at the recently revamped Palais de Tokyo. The art was mostly good, and the cakes were good too as you can see in this pic which includes the results of me and Jan’s own performance in the photo booth next to the cafe:

The main reason for our visit though was to attend the opening night of an exhibition called A corps perdus which included some of Jan’s photographs at the Backslash gallery in central Paris. The show was curated by Marc Donnadieu and looked great, although some of those who attended the first night party were a little worse for wear by midnight. It was a good turnout and everybody seemed to have a good time and appreciate the show which Marc had put together with great skill:

And here’s the Janster himself, still with a camera round his neck, in front of some of his photos – well done sweetheart, you work looked fab!

As I started this post with a Paris cliche I’ll finish with one – it was a lovely trip all round 🙂