Booty…Licious

After Saro’s rave reviews of the Art Car Boot Fair 2014, needless to say I was wetting my pants in anticipation of this years extravaganza, held on June 14th. And for those of you who are yet to hear about this yearly London event, you’re probably thinking… A car boot… for art?! Oh yes! 

Each year artists and all-comers unite, with the aim of engaging with ‘art in an informal way’, to ‘pick up some real art bargains’ and of course to have a jolly good time! So as an Art Car Boot Fair novice, let me tell you that Sunday’s event definitely didn’t disappoint… 

It was an early(ish) start as we ventured off to Brick Lane - of course you need a hip location for an event as cool as this – but I reasoned that my well deserved lie would be put to shame by the antics of the day ahead – and I was right! Saro and my sister Trudy accompanied me on the trip (with a few grumbles from Trudy), so in the end it really was a family affair. Unfortunately, this meant that Nik and Brody were left to man the gallery, but being the nice people we are we gave them several updates throughout the day…

Soon after entering Brick Lane Yard, the sound of gunshots led us to stumble across none other than artist ‘Swifty’, who we’ve been fans of since we opened the gallery last year. Fear not, we hadn’t stepped into ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’… these gunshots were all part and parcel of his print ‘I Shot Andy Warhol’, created especially for the Art Car Boot Fair! 

We’ve always known that Swifty is a clever chap, but this limited edition print really was a genius idea. Indeed, it wasn’t Swifty finishing off the print with gunshots, but indeed the buyer, making it a truly unique and personalised piece of artwork (and only £20 too)! And before you cry out, ‘what about health and safety?!’, I should mention that these gunshots were actually from a toy gun about the size of my hand… Not quite the weapon capable of doing much harm – apart from to Andy of course! 

We obviously weren’t blessed to have good weather (unlike at last year’s event when there was a mini heat wave on the day) so we went to the fair armed with anoraks and brollies, not quite the scenario I had imagined a couple of weeks ago… This weather actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as although we were greeted by a long winding queue, Saro was delighted that it seemed to be nowhere near as busy as it had been last year. In fact, it’s a regular occurrence that people camp overnight – this is so they’re first in the queue and get the first pick of all the rare and arty treats! I can’t say I’ll ever be quite as keen as these people, given that camping in the road is not exactly my ideal way to spend a night…  And Trudy’s reaction to this? Well, let’s just say that neither was she impressed, remarking that ‘it’s not exactly Glastonbury is it?!’

However, after standing in the queue for what seemed like forever (only about thirty minutes in actual fact), the line quickly dispersed and we were entering through the gates at about 12:15. This is quite an achievement considering the fair opened it’s doors at 12pm sharp! Initially, Trudy was sceptical about the ‘junk yard’ - her words not mine! – the event was held at… However, even her scepticism seemed to fade and transform into excitement as the army of car boots and stalls greeted us!

However, talking of safety, after a couple of shots I commented how the pellets were backfiring into my face… At which point Swifty swiftly (nicely done there) brought out some protective glasses… Much appreciated - I can’t say I wasn’t worried about losing an eye!

As we all made our way further along the yard, our curiosity got the better of us when we saw a queue snaking around one of the stalls. This turned out to be a momentous occasion for us, as who did the queue turn out to be for? Only the ‘Godfather of Pop Art’, Sir Peter Blake! We were desperate to meet this living legend of course, and after standing patiently in line, our moment came (after we got our hands on one of his limited edition prints of course).  Not only did we get to meet him, but we also had a good old chat with Peter for about five minutes – so you can imagine how honoured we felt! Two days later, Saro and I are still on cloud nine, whereas Trudy is still flabbergasted at the amount of security guards needed for Peter’s stall. Around six in total I think! 

Now, you didn’t think we’d leave without getting a photo though did you? As you can see from Saro’s grin, we all immensely enjoyed meeting Peter, and no doubt it will be a story for the grandchildren… 

Of course, we can’t forget about a few of our old favourites! The Art Car Boot Fair saw the return of Kristjana S Williams, Pure Evil and Russell Marshall, all of which are in our family of artists.  Kristjana’s stall was one of the first we visited on Sunday, and as always the crowds were congregating to take a look at her gorgeous artwork and furnishings. Despite the hectic crowds, we managed to have a good old catch up with Kristjana who filled us in on her latest achievements. Unbelievably, right now she’s finalising a massive commission piece for The Shard! 

By the time we caught up with our good mate Russell, the fair really was in full flow - we had just enough time to take a look at his new limited edition prints, created especially for the day. Featuring Elvis, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, we couldn’t help but buy a couple of sets for you lovely Eye Likers… And Pure Evil? Well, it took us a while to get past the flurry of people surrounding his table! We managed to bring back two of his scratch cards, which we’ve left unscratched for two lucky people… despite the temptation. Charley told us that these cool artworks were in aid of his wife Lisa (A.K.A Crossie), who wishes to have a shed in the garden.  We do hope that her dream was fulfilled!

Sadly, our time at the fair came to an end all too quickly, as we ran out of hands to carry all of our purchases… And somehow I don’t think a squashed print would go down that well! All in the name of art, we headed off for a burger (the best part of the day for Trudy apparently), and rang Nik to tell him all about the day. I can assure you that no bragging took place…  Somehow I don’t think that Trudy will be joining us for our next venture to the Vaxuhall Art Car Boot Fair, but you can sign me up for the next one already!