I’m absolutely over the moon that Grayson Perry selected my Sandscapes artwork to be included on the Grayson’s Art Club TV show on Channel 4 under the theme of ‘Future’. Sandscapes will now be included in the upcoming national exhibition for the series.

As with so many people, Grayson’s Art Club with Grayson and Phillipa Perry has become part of my ‘stay-at-home’ creative landscape over the past 2 years. I’ve eagerly awaited each new episode and series, each one offering an interesting theme that has inspired thousands of people like myself to create an artwork in response. I’ve been inspired to make and submit a variety of artworks and I’ve really enjoyed seeing the submissions from others.

So imagine my joy when Grayson selected my artwork ‘Sandscapes’ in his top 3, to be shown on the TV show and to be included in a national exhibition later in 2022. To say I was shocked would be an understatement!

We sat down to watch the last episode in the series of Grayson’s Art Club with the theme ‘Future’, within the first 3 minutes a short time-lapse of me installing this version of Sandscapes in my studio popped up. I was so pleased and sat back to enjoy watching Phillipa Perry and Joe Lycett create paintings and Grayson a new pot adorned with text. I thought this brief cameo was my artwork’s moment in the limelight.

For those of you unfamiliar with the format, towards the end of the TV show Grayson will sit at his desk and flick through submissions, making creative comments on the artworks, he calls this his ‘Top 3’. I could instantly see that my Sandscapes artwork was on his screen and I stopped dead, frozen to the spot! I assumed Grayson would say something about the piece and move on… that’s when he said my artwork was in his ‘Top 3’. My wife says I subsequently went completely mute for at least 5 minutes… so much so she had to remind me to breathe. Foe those of you who know me I’m rarely speechless.

This brief cameo on TV was fantastic for my artwork, but the real joy comes from the knowledge that Grayson Perry chose my Sandscapes artwork to be included in the TV show and accompanying exhibition. There are moments in every artist’s career when you doubt and question the merit and validity of your work. Grayson himself says that this feeling of fear means you are doing something right as you are outside your comfort zone and challenging your creativity. I had recently been doing exactly this and this opportunity has given me the boost I needed.

Thank you Grayson, Phillipa and everyone behind the scenes at Swan Films, you’ve created a very special, supportive and creative space with Grayson’s Art Club. See you at the exhibition!

You can see more of my previous work HERE