Peter started putting up old work in the tunnel underneath our local railway station a few months ago. Each drawing is labelled with the subject and webpage along with a little note saying “TAKE ME HOME” and they disappear really quickly.
Why give work away?
Well, the shelves in his studio can only take so much, and he’s not going to stop drawing any time soon. I tried cataloging all the pictures, but there are over a thousand of them. Also, Peter’s techniques are being refined all the time and it’s just not sensible to hang on to everything. Better to let them go find new homes.
It is great to hear about where the pictures have ended up—just the other day someone received one as a Christmas gift from friends at work. Some people leave notes saying thanks. Some leave notes on facebook. It all helps keep the motivation going.
Another artist joined in briefly with a brightly painted square canvas looking for a new home. I wonder what would happen if the notice board did get too busy to post portraits. Maybe it would be time to try the next station along—a much longer walk, but still possible.
Peter has just started up a new tumblr blog so you can follow the Woodford Underground Gallery from your computer. There is a chance the pictures will already be claimed by the time Peter walks home and posts the photo to tumblr, but it could still be worth a dash down to the station if something catches your eye. And you can always commission a new drawing.
So, that’s the news to this minute. There are still a few calendars available—I think we’ll mark them down to $20, see how they go. It’s Christmas, so will be interesting to see if everything will suddenly go quiet—who knows?
Happy Christmas everyone!