Charlie Bowden – 14th January 2012

 

SCAB posts seem to come around at an ever-increasing rate.

Usually I try to use these in a semi-cathartic manner, an outlet for the thoughts flying through my head and a means to make sense of it all.

On Monday morning I was told today was my first SCAB of the year.

This time of year’s often filled with introspective contemplation, the ghosts of the year just past mixed with the excitement and anxiety of what’s in store all add up to an overload of thoughts.

The loss of colleagues, creative partnerships, plagiarism, careers, money, spiral dynamics and New Year’s resolutions were all on my mind, but which one to choose?

I was leading toward creative partnerships, as the prospect weighed heavy on my mind.

That was until I saw the new Sainsbury’s insurance ad and had my debut in the world of television advertising…

…Well, it was a complete and utter fluke but I was watching my work on TV and it was in an advert!

A youth club I painted a few years ago featured as one of the locations in this Sainsbury’s ad. We painted a large proportion of the building but the piece we painted across the front features clearly in one scene.

I was excited and certainly smiling.

(A bit of background – Graffiti lead me to art school and has played a large part in my creative life for close to ten years with commissioned work being my main source of income since I was 18. The past few years have seen a dramatic shift away from it; with a trip through commercial arts and marketing I’m now in pursuit of a career in advertising.)

As I said I often find this a deep, introspective time of year, seeing this the other evening really lifted my spirits.

My money and career worries didn’t disappear but my thoughts switched to ones of summer standing on that roof for 2 days straight in bright sunshine inhaling paint fumes and developing a serious t-shirt tan. Followed by my birthday drinks the following day.

There perhaps seems little “substance” to this blog and I’m aware it’s fairly personal but it’s about the simple pleasures, the power small things have and the ease with which you state of mind can change.

I wanted to share this with you all so below is the ad along with a few photo’s from those few days painting.