DIY SOS

It has finally appeared on the TV after such a long wait and it proved beyond reasonable doubt that I can dance as well as paint :)



The trompe l'oeil mural is a generic view of Provence with my favourite louver shutters (& a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape).

The week before I was filmed for this show I did a trial run of the mural at home just to make sure I could do it within the time frame. I also filmed myself painting the trial mural as well and the video can be seen on my website and YouTube page (just follow the links on the left).

It doesn't seem possible that this was filmed 14 months ago. Not bad for two days work though - although they were very long days !

DIY SOS

It has taken a while for this one to appear on our screens (14 months to be precise) but the DIY SOS show I was involved with up in sunny Norfolk in May last year will be on BBC1 on Friday 23rd July at 7:30pm.

I will of course post up some photos once the show has aired.

DIY SOS 'The Big Build' - another pic

Here is another picture I forgot to upload yesterday - it has me in it I'm afraid but it does show how effective the Tardis mural looks with one of the doors open.

I've now decided that I want one of these when I re-decorate our bedroom - just how do I sell the idea to my wife : )

DIY SOS - Kids in Crisis

If you blinked then you missed us : )

At least our Tardis wardrobe and star ceiling got a little bit of airtime - here are the photos as promised.
I will be appearing in the new series of DIY SOS next year helping out in a project up in Norfolk - watch this space for further information.

DIY SOS 'Kids in Crisis'

It's on tonight on BBC1 at 8:00pm - hopefully we didn't end up on the cutting room floor.

I'm sorry - I cannot divulge what it was we painted - Auntie would have me shot : )

DIY SOS 'Kids in Crisis'

Just to let you know that the transmission date for the extreme edition of 'DIY SOS' has been moved back to Thursday, December 10th at 8pm.

Make a note in your diaries as you are set to be impressed : )

DIY SOS 'kids in crisis'

Just got back last night after a 300 mile journey from Anglesey in north Wales. I was up there with my associate, Gordon Collett, where we were both painting some murals and trompe l'oeil for another DIY SOS makeover. We actually painted two murals although one of them doesn't look all that great in daylight ; )

Unfortunately I cannot reveal any details about what we painted as you will need to watch the show to find out - I will post up some photos of the murals and the gang once the show has gone out.

This episode was a special one and will be broadcast the night before 'Children in Need' on Thursday 19th November (to be confirmed). The scale of the project was phenomenal and involved an army of helpers from the local community - it should be a fantastic show.

Julia Kendell has been busy Twittering about the project at twitter.com/JKDIYQUEEN

I also found out that the show that I was involved in up in Norfolk will now be shown in the new year.(never mind)

Anamorphic Playground Art

I have been up at my children's school today trying my hand out on a large scale anamorphic chalk picture. I went with the Rubic cube design to keep things simple - this is still new territory for me and I have a long way to go before I can produce anything remotely close to the quality of work by Mr Julian Beaver.



I spent the morning planning it all out with miles of string and in the afternoon I had about 25 children (5 at a time) to help me colour it in. Most of the chalk ended up on them and I'm sure their parents cursed me when they saw the state of their school uniforms : )

It didn't take the children long to figure out what the artwork was about - they appreciated that it only worked from one fixed view point and with one eye closed.

I may have some more news soon on the television front. The new series of DIY SOS will hopefully be starting in a few weeks time in which I filmed an episode up in Norfolk. There is also something else in the pipeline but I will say no more just in case.

DIY SOS

I have been painting some trompe l'oeil up in Norfolk over the last couple of days with BBC1's DIY SOS team.

I cannot divulge anymore information about what it was I painted and the nature of the overall makeover that Julia Kendell designed - you will have to wait until the show airs which may be towards the end of the year.
The Gosport show that I did with Gordon Collett was filmed in the March and broadcasted the following September so I'm guessing around six months.

I can say that it was a more extravagant piece than I painted at Gosport where I painted a simple stoneblocking effect. Although most of the credit for the Gosport show goes to Gordon who painted the fantastic trompe l'oeil statuette and the dinosaur. Gordon was unable to the make the dates for this show - hopefully there will be other opportunities.

It was great to meet up with everyone again- Julia, Nick, Billy, Chris, Julian, Mark & Mat. They all really work hard on these projects (including Nick) and put in long hours to ensure everything completes on time. The two days I was there we finished around 9pm which suited me as I had about four days work to cram into two. I could have done without taking a wrong turn on the way back to Essex though. Fortunately I managed to get home just before midnight !

Billy has also set me an artistic task in aid of a charity he supports - I may even rope in my daughter Hannah to help me.

Julia Kendell - New Website

Julia (from DIY SOS) has finally got her new website up & running and it can be found at www.juliakendell.com.

There is also some DIY SOS fact-sheets on the site which gives more details & photos of the programs Julia has been involved in so far - including the Gosport show featuring Gordon Collett & myself.

DIY SOS Mural

If you missed the show you can see it here -

DIY SOS Gosport

Gordon & myself turn up about 16 minutes in.

DIY SOS Murals

Now the show has been aired I can post the photos of what Gordon & myself painted.

Gordon painted a fantastic trompe l'oeil statuette in the corner of the dining room. This is a style I have yet to try myself - it is very effective as you can tell from the photograph.



I painted the stone-blocking although Gordon did chip in and help with the highlights. On screen the effect was too subtle for the wider shots although close up it looked fine. It blended into the room rather than shout for attention.



The dinosaur was actually sprung on us at the last moment by the lovely Julia. We did consider Barney the Dinosaur but the copyright and lawsuit implications were a minor concern. In the end we opted for a cuddly dino who is definitely not Barney (or purple).

Gordon painted the dino - I did the trompe l'oeil bit with the missing block & cracks. I think we managed to paint it in about 25 minutes - our time spent on "60 Minute Makeover" had paid off.

DIY SOS Murals & Trompe l'oeil

The long wait is over and I can at last tell you that the DIY SOS episode featuring Gordon & myself will be on your screens (for those of you in the UK) on Friday 19th September at 8:30pm on BBC1.

I thought you would also like to see a group photo of Gordon & myself with Nick Knowles, Julia Kendell & the rest of the DIY SOS team.
Some of you may recognise Julia from ITV1's "60 Minute Makeover" - as I mentioned in a previous post - Julia was the featured designer on the three shows that Gordon & myself participated in last year.




I have also been busy updating my website and there is now a section devoted to Star and Cosmic Ceilings.

DIY SOS

It shouldn't be long now before the DIY SOS program that features Gordon Collett & my good self is finally broadcast - keep an eye on Friday evenings on BBC1. I will let you know as soon as I have a definite date and will fully understand if you would prefer to watch another channel that evening :)

The show was recorded back in March in Gosport, Hampshire. We were brought on-board because we had both worked before with Julia Kendell (the new designer) on three shows for ITV1's "60 Minute Makeover" last year (see my website for more details).

I usually dread watching myself on television - mainly because of my Essex accent and the fact that filming usually coincides with a bad hair day. For most of the filming I probably looked a bit of a wreck but on the plus side I was in very good company.