2: Friends and other animals

Kate Shields! Night porter, night painter. For six months she has been working at the Artists Residence hotel, preparing her exhibition, Friends and other Animals. A true underground artist, working night shifts while holding sittings, Kate Shields! has finally emerged from her basement studio with a series of portraits of her friends including poet Chris Parkinson, aerialist Kitty Peels, model Frankie Cluney, and more.

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The nocturnal portraits show some of the "curious and wonderful people" Kate has met in Brighton. They are painted onto wood and feature animals that Kate associates with the sitters.

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It's been fun visiting Kate over the last few months and seeing the exhibition take shape. I was even there the weekend before the launch, helping Kate by drinking gin and writing while she put the worked on a painting. I'm not sure if I was much help and we drank so much gin that we felt a little poorly the next day.

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The Private View on Thursday night was amazing. I met up with lots of old friends as well as meeting some fascinating strangers, including a neuroscientist and a chef who explained to me about the melting point of collagen. It was an exciting and educational night, supported by Hendricks Gin (although I was more careful this time). Here is a picture of me with Chris Parkinson, Brighton's Shadow Poet Laureate.

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The exhibition runs until August 27th at the Artists Residence in Regency Square Brighton.

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