My favourite albums.

I've spent the last two years painting other peoples favourite albums. I've loved it. I'm still doing it, although at the moment I'm only making three at a time and then taking them out of my shop so I don't get totally swamped with orders like I did last year. There is space for two at the moment if you are after one and I would get on it fast if you are thinking of getting someone one as a Christmas Present.

You can get them HERE.

To keep me sane, in between listening to other peoples favourite  albums I painted some Art Brut albums,  I know those guys pretty well and so didn't have to have them on repeat while I made them (sometimes its nice to paint in silence)

There are some It's A Bit Complicated's HERE and some Art Brut VS Satan's HERE
They both come with a lyrics sheet of your favourite song from that album and are already made (apart from the lyric sheet) so will go straight in the post when you order them.

Now that most of the other peoples favourite albums are in the post, I've started making some of my favourite albums. I've done this in chronological order of when I bought them (ish) and started with the first band I fell in love with Pulp.

I was 15 when Common People came out and I think it was the first contemporary song I'd heard that felt like it was for me. I remember seeing it on Top Of The Pops and having my tiny teenage mind blown. I rather embarrassingly thought it was by Suede as I hadn't been paying attention to either what Suede sounded or looked like, I just knew one of them had a floppy fringe because my Dad liked them.

Anyway, once I realised who it was by,  I found the single in Woolworths but  couldn't find the album that it was from as that wasn't out till months later. So with  my paper round money I attempted  to seek out all the old Pulp albums I could find. I had no way of knowing what any of them would sound like, so I just bought the most recent ones I could find, guessing (correctly) that the ones released in the 90's would sound a lot more like the band I was curious about than the ones recorded in the early 80's

The first 'album' I bought was Intro, probably still my favourite Pulp album (or collection of Singles and B-Sides really) O.U might just be the best Pulp song, I fucking love it. I've just played it 5 times in a row. That whole album was perfect for me though as it scratched the itch of exactly what I was looking for at the time. Accessible pop music with an arty edge and great lyrics.


The second album I bought was Seperations (the secondhand shop I was buying my Pulp Cassettes in did not have His N Hers in it yet ) and I loved it. Countdown especially (actually maybe that is my favourite Pulp song) when I became a goth briefly a few years later this album stayed firmly on my CD player, it fitted in perfectly with that aesthetic too.

The third album I bought was His N Hers, I saved extra money to buy it new as I began to realise it would never turn up second hand. I liked it, not as much as Intro or Separations, but it made me feel mature and old and wise to hear all these songs about relationships and experiences that were just around the corner for me. (never stole a car to go to a reservoir, or hid in a wardrobe but you know what I mean) I went back to it after playing Different Class over and over though and ended up enjoying a it lot more and appreciating the nuance of it after being hit over the head with those pop bangers.



The Fourth was Different Class.

I loved this album straight away, of course I did it was the main event, the one I'd been waiting for. I didn't own a CD player so I was very jealous of my friends who had the changeable covers. Its hard to think about this album in any other way than it being the soundtrack to everything I got up to as a teenager. I carried it around everywhere with me, often changing whatever music was playing at parties to this. I hardly ever play it any more but that's probably because I don't need too. If  I think and reminisce hard enough I can hear it perfectly in my head.

Different Class and His N Hers have already been sold but you can buy Separations HERE and Intro HERE

and all other paintings. HERE

Delivering Paintings By Adventure.Part One.

Last year I had the great idea of delivering paintings by adventure.

I put some very big paintings for sale at £850 each and offered to hand deliver them (with a performance of my spoken word show and some DJ-ing thrown in) all I asked was that you put me up for a night, fed me and paid my travel. I am in no way a Diva, I'm pretty easy going. I said I'd eat and drink whatever you are having and I can sleep on the sofa. The original blog is HERE.

I loved the idea, and I suppose writing the blog was more about me sharing that funny thought than actually expecting people to take me up on it. I mean I really wanted some adventure, but I was not sure of the likelihood.

So I was delighted when two different sets of people took me up on the offer. Both lead to two proper amazing adventures too. I have just not had a chance to write about them till now because I've spent every waking minute of the last year making paintings of peoples favourite album covers (with reviews).

The first exciting thing to happen was that the two different people tried to buy the same painting.

  'Abstract Expressionsim is harder than it looks.....a lot of fun though'.

This is one of my favourite ever paintings of mine and I'd actually promised myself that this actual painting was the last one of these I would ever make. (I've made quite a few smaller and medium sized paintings of this in the past)

However, I can not resist the call for adventure. I checked with the person who first asked for the painting  (and me delivering it),  if he minded that I was thinking of making another, and I checked with the people who had ordered second if they minded me making them a newer version of the same painting. Luckily everybody was cool, and I was all set for two adventures.

The second painting was actually the first adventure. A couple called Erik and Adrienne wanted me to fly to NEW YORK to officiate their 10 year wedding anniversary. OFFICIATE that sounded like I might need to learn a new profession. This was going to be a great adventure.

I decided the easiest way to transport the painting would be not to make a new one here, but instead, to buy the paint and canvas in America and make the painting there at their wedding vow renewal party.

So far, so amazing, I was flying to New York to OFFICIATE a wedding anniversary because of ART and a funny idea I had. BRILLIANT.

Leading up to the trip, so I could write a speech for the happy couple, they both independently emailed me little pieces of information about each other. I liked them both straight away. It was weird and lovely to get a glimpse into their relationship, and again I thought about how incredible it was that ART had led me to this intimate moment.

On the flight to New York I got very nervous that what I was doing was illegal, that I was intending to make a painting without a proper visa and was going to get caught. I got very paranoid that maybe the TSA read my blog, which in hindsight is a little vain, and that they were going to be waiting for me at the airport. I had visions of them putting me in handcuffs and sending me straight back where I came from. Unsurprisningly the TSA do not read my blog and everything went without a hitch. I got through all the customs stress with no problems  at all, ready to start my adventure

It will not come as a big surprise to some of you that I am not a very organised person. Eric and Adrienne had bought me the flights I needed to get to New York and sent me the tickets. That part of the journey was sorted, also now completed. I had also booked myself a hotel near a train station that seemed to be on the route to where I needed to go. It is a testament to the power of google maps that I manged to get anywhere near where I needed to be. Leaving the airport I realised I had no idea where to go or what I was doing. I just typed my hotel name and 'art shop' into my phone. Luckily we are living in the future and that is all I needed to do. I managed to get paint, canvas and to where I was supposed to be sleeping at the push of a few buttons. Preperation is for losers!

The next day, at the train station, as confident as I was that all the information in my phone was right, I still thought I had better check with the train people to be sure.

 The wedding anniversary was at a house in Greenport on Long Island.

Absolutely everybody I asked for train information refused to believe that Greenport is where I wanted to be going. Probably because I look a bit like an aging hipster and I was carrying a massive canvas and some paint they all said..

'Oh no, you're confused! You mean Greenpoint, you want to go to Greenpoint! Brooklyn! Not Long Island!'

 and then tried to steer me on to the wrong train

This was my first clue that where I was going was off the beaten track. I've been to New York lots and lots of times. During the period when Art Brut were busiest I was in New York more than I was at home. But I have only ever seen the city. In my head all of New York looks like Brooklyn or Manhattan so to be on a train going through places called  Yaphank, Mattituck and HICKSVILLE! was a little disorientating. As was the fact I was carrying a massive canvas and a bag full of paint to a place I couldn't even pronounce, Ronkonkoma, to get in a strangers car (Erik's Mum) to be given a lift to a wedding anniversary, where I was going to be making a painting and a speech and then officially watch over and lead a renewal ceremony for some people that I didn't really know. 

My thoughts at the time kept veering wildly between THIS IS AN AMAZING ADVENTURE. ART IS WONDERFUL AND SO MAGICAL THAT, IF YOU LET IT, IT WILL TRANSPORT YOU ACROSS THE WORLD AND TO NEW FRIENDSHIPS AND EXPERIENCES and I DONT KNOW WHERE I AM, WHERE I AM GOING, OR WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE! MAYBE THEY ARE GOING SACFRIFICE ME TO THE GOD OF LONG ISLAND (BILLY JOEL?)

Did I make some amazing new friends? Or was I thrown on to a fire by a group of pagans chanting the lyrics to Uptown Girl?

I guess you already know the answer, but it is fun to end on a cliff hanger. See you tomorrow for PART 2.


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I don't make the Abstract Expressionism painting any more, but if you would like a painting delivered by adventure. I am making Formed A Band Paintings (100cm x 120cm) on demand and would love to either make one and bring it to you, or make one at your house. They cost £850 and include me performing my spoken word show, DJ-ing and also if you need it me officiating your wedding vow renewal or similar.

I just need my travel paid for, a bit of food/drink and somewhere to sleep. The original blog is HERE.

I also do a smaller version that is blog is HERE

and you can contact me at eddie.argos.resource@gmail.com