More art cake

More art cake
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

Sunday was the last day of the Artists Open Houses. It was a bit damp so I donned my waterproofs and set off. First stop was the Open House pub in Fiveways territory, but housing a Beyond the Level exhibition by Emma Brownjohn and others. I was particularly taken by Tiffany Lynch's paintings, which would look computer-generated if seen in reproduction! I bought Emma's eco book then wandered downstairs to the "farmer's" market in the garden. Bought some eggs off Linda from Hen Heaven in Henfield (really!) then on me bike again deeper into Fiveways territory to visit Mel Williams on Southdown Avenue and buy some cards. Decided to pop into a genuine Fiveways house a couple of doors down to see David Williams (no relation) and was excited to see he'd done a painting of 71000 Duke of Gloucester - at 10 quid a print I had to have one. They were serving cake but it was a little too early for me (forgot to snap them!). Onwards to Christina Ure's house on Chester Terrace to see her gorgeous paintings of fairy cakes (she also has an exhibition on at Terre a Terre) and sample my first cake of the day: mango and coconut! Sublime! The orange and poppy seed looked nice too! Took a snap of the gorgeous irises in her front garden then headed off down the hill to Mike Embden's at the bottom of Beaconsfield Villas. His watercolours of the South Downs are something else and when I win the lottery, I'll have one. Didn't buy any of his honey this year!

Round the corner on Stanford Avenue I followed the dotted line through the driving rain to Kaori Tanaka's 'Secret little garden' and Edgar Moore kindly made me a cheering cup of tea. I bought some banana cake (50p) to eat later! Loved her cork animals and platonic solids in chalk. Popped into Caia's again at Beaconsfield Workshops to chat to Kay Walton about aboriginal art, then on to another new Beyond the Level 'house' at York Studios. Had a chat with Ern, who's been a Brighton face for years, then cycled round the corner to Pelham Square where Ed Tucker was keeping guard. Then it was back over The Level to Park Crescent Terrace (should I detour into Hanover? no, I was cold and wet and wanted to go home!). Luckily at Miranda Swift's they had a fine selection of cakes - and savouries! I opted for the red bean and tomato quiche (turning down the optional coleslaw) and very nice it was too. I bought (£1.20) a slice of Homity pie for my tea later and headed home. Popped into The Dragonfly House to check on sales (thanks Gilda for buying a pair of linocuts!), then it was a night in with the telly. There were a few Open Houses open today for the bank holiday, but I couldn't be arsed.