Artists & Illustrators - UK (2020-06)

IN THE STUDIO

normalbutyeah,I’lljustgowiththe

flowandwe’llmakesomethingwork

outofthesituationreally.”

WhileArtists& Illustratorsnormally

preferstovisitanartist’sstudiosfor

thisfeature,thecurrentrestrictions

meanthatChrisis insteadchatting

tousoverthephonepriortostarting

a day’spainting.Hehasbeentrying

tosticktohisroutineinbetween

home-schoolinghisfour-year-old

twingirls.“It’shardtopaintnow.

I’vefeltmoredistractedthan

anything.Youcan’thelpit with

everythinggoingonatthemoment.

You’reobviouslyworriedaboutthe

wholesituationforeveryonereally.

“Butyeah,ingeneralI’mcracking

on,”headds.“I’mcomingdownhere

a coupleoftimesa weekwhenI can

andI’vegota homeset-upaswell.

It’sjustaboutgettingintoa different

rhythmtowhatyouareusedto.”

Establishinga grooveis particularly

importanttoChris,giventhathespent

morethana decadeasa drummerin

hardrockbands.In2005,hemoved

toLondonafterauditioningtojoin

HurricanePartyandwithinmonths

thefive-pieceweretouringwith

StatusQuo.“Thatbandevolvedinto

anotherbandandbasicallybetween

theageof 20 and 30 I wasa full-time

touringmusicianina band,”hesays.

Thatnewband,Heaven’s

Basement,releaseda debutalbum

in 2013 andsharedstageswiththe

likesofBlackSabbath,TheDarkness

and– inhishometownofManchester

• BonJovi.“Itwasa crazyperiodof
  mylife,”herecalls.“Youknow,we
  wentallovertheworld:Australia,

It’s hard to paint now. I’ve felt more

distracted than anything. You can’t

help it with everything going on.

ABOVE Spaceman
Shot by Cherubs,
oil on canvas,
170x140cm

TOP RIGHT Cherry
Blossom in Vintage
Japanese Vase,
oil on canvas,
150x170cm