26th April 2019 Sir Peter Blake surges on as the Artist in Conversation at The Royal Academy

Sir Peter Blake 

It is always a privilege to see an icon in the flesh and I knew that Sir Peter Blake now needed a stick to get around these days – but had no doubt that he was still keen to keep surging forward with new ideas and creative ways of working.

He announced when he was 75 years old that he had gone into “Conceptual Retirement” – but by that he means retiring from the Art Game – not that he intends to stop working! I like it! 

What he has done – he claims – is to retire from the Art World of Avarice and Jealousy!

His reasoning is that Artists when they go into their “late” period, tend to go “barmy“, quoting Picasso’s increased erotism and Di Chirico’s flirtation with knights on horseback and he feels that post 75 it is time for his “late” period to flourish.

He is currently working nearly every day, including, since 2017 inspiring a group of students from the University of the West of England in Bristol with a project to show a primrose, now sadly deceased as can be seen, in as many innovative ways as they can. They are working on computers to develop 3D images – using push-out paper, 3D printers, coloured tiles, silk-screen prints and digital embroidery.

Sir Peter Blake, Ways of Making (2019)

He personally is looking at all the diverse ways of making print works and has created the image on scraperboard, wood block, engraving, silverpoint and claims to have the words finest private collection of linocut tools ready for action – although he admitted that they had been bought some time back and he hadn’t used these yet!

Great excitement for me personally when he asked the audience whether anyone had heard of – or used, Silverpoint?  Up shot my hand in triumph! Proud to be one of only 3 people in the audience who had worked with silverpoint – so thanks to Alan Pascuzzi for that pleasure!

Sir Peter Blake’s first published print was the album cover for the Beach Boys, he was also an iconic illustrator of Alice in Wonderland, and many other classic works of Pop Art.

What I didn’t know was that he has personally invented a method of creating tri-chromatic colours – allowing changes of colour from Yellow to Dark as he built up layers of paint.

What was sad to hear was Sir Peter’s almost dismissal of his iconic Sgt Pepper album cover. he did explain to us how it had been created in parts and the Beatles waxworks was in Madame Tussauds but they were now building their new image – clearly somewhat more flamboyant!

His problem with it is that he is always introduced as “the creator of the iconic cover for the Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band!” – and very few people remember the rest.

Well, I get his point but “Hey Dude – that’s not a bad achievement!“