The Art and Ideas of Laura Skilbeck

new drawings

Hotpants Romance and The Lovely Eggs Tour Poster

Over six days in June we played 11 gigs in pubs, clubs, schools, charity shops, streets and beaches.

At each gig we held a raffle and wrote a song about the winner.

Within the next month we will be releasing an album on cassette of songs about people we met on tour - more info coming soon!

Postcards of Manchester

#1 The Mancunian Way

My Dad As Elvis

a picture I did today in oil pastels

home made Christmas cards

These were for sale at the From Space shop on Chapel Street. A bargain at £2.50 for 4 they have sold out now but I will be making some more cards for all occasions available here coming soon!

If you require something for a particular occasion please get in touch and I will do it to your requirements no problem.

The Picture Booth

As part of Islington Mill Art Academy I went to work in Transmission Gallery in Glasgow. We worked there as a free art school for the week and made work that interacted with the public. I made this flat-pack Picture Booth and took it in the back of Amy's car all the way to Scotland. I was sat inside the left hand side of the machine, unbeknownst to the unsuspecting customers coming in to use the machine. On inserting 50p the lights flickered on, tape recorded machine noises started loudly whirring and through a one-way mirror I quickly drew their portrait. On leaving the machine they waited patiently for their picture. After photographing it I dropped it out of the shoot, followed by a blast of hot air from my hairdryer. It made everyone laugh so much and it gave me a good chance to practice my drawing. After being in there for 8 hours on the first day I was going crazy. I have a book available to buy for £5 of the drawings I made and the diary of a woman who has sat in a big cardboard box for far too long. Email me if you want one it is worth it!!

Some of the portraits I drew have also been published in the latest issue of The Realest - available here http://comfortableonatightrope.blogspot.com/2008/11/realest-is-now-on-sale.html

Picture Booth Portraits

These are some of the portraits that I drew whilst inside the Picture Booth. The photographs look a bit strange because I had to shine a torch on the paper so that the camera could focus, before dropping the picture out of the shoot for the waiting customer.

One Very Satisfied Customer!!

Burnley Birds

After working on an inspiring Environmental Art project with Kerry Morrison, Sharon Connery and the local people of Burnley I took part in a joint exhibition with Lowri Evans and Natalie Deighton at the Midpennine Gallery. Two weeks before the opening I went around Burnley with a big carrier bag and cleaned up by collecting rubbish off the floor. I drew these detailed pictures of birds in pencil, all different species flying together in a big flock, onto the rubbish and onto the gallery wall.

The Lake District

I have just been with Islington Mill Art Academy and Artists Helmut Lemke and Kerry Morrison to the Lake District for a week. We stayed for free at the Merzbarn - the former workplace of Kurt Schwitters. It was brilliant. this is a picture of us having an important meeting. (L-R Helmut, Kerry, Morry, Maria, Andrew, Amy, Anne). It says:

"For me Berlin was exciting"
"That's disgusting"

This is a sonnet that I wrote while I was there:

I had two cups of tea
after getting up late
then sat and watched
the sun on the trees

And I thought about
you at home
watching Teletext
and thinking about going out

To fix your car
or move it
to another car park
so it doesn't get towed away

or folding your clothes
and listening to the radio

I did this painting of Leonard Cohen on an old and very fragile bit of wood that I found. Then I took a photograph of it and scribbled a conversation that I had today over the top. It says:

"What Is your favourite Leonard Cohen Lyric?"
"Pardon?"
"What is your favourite Leonard Cohen lyric?"
"Don't know. I think it's in that one about the card game. I think."
"It's your favourite lyric and you can't remember it?"
"Yeah. Oh maybe 'she was a girl from Birmingham she just had an abortion' I like that one."

music videos made for Hotpants Romance

The first one is filmed in glorious camera phone!

DIY Vending Machine

I made my own vending machine out of 100% old junk that I found dumped in the street (except the gaffa tape). When you insert 50p and pull the slider, you see your coin fall into the glass jar and a little scroll drops out of the shoot. Rolled up in each scroll is one of hundreds of discarded wedding photographs that I was lucky enough to find that they were giving away for free at Salford History Library on Chapel Street.

It's been in operation during a couple of club nights at Islington Mill and the customers loved it! If you are interested in having this machine operating at your disco, gig, gallery, party please do not hesitate to get in touch.