Phill Jupitus - Sketch Comic : In Conversation, National Gallery, Edinburgh Fringe

For three weeks of the Fringe Phill J turns up at one of the cities major art galleries, selects a painting he fancies having a go at, and sit for two hours with his tablet and painting app to see what he can do to recreate the image.  During this first week he's been in the National Gallery, will move on to the Portrait Gallery, and end his sojourn going out to the Gallery of Modern Art.  On the seventh day of each week he is appearing in the lecture hall of the National, where he and a guest have a chat about aspects of art, then the guest is invited to comment on his efforts that week, in comparison to the originals they were based on.

Today's guest was Frances Fowle, one of the National Gallery's curators, so Phill naturally directed the conversation towards the work involved in curating a major exhibition (she was responsible for the American Impressionists last year).  Fowle is a good speaker, can be quite amusing, so proved a good choice, and the audience were both informed and entertained.

She was also very kindly about the Jupitus attempts to recreate some of the images on the walls above us, and uncomfortable with being asked to give him marks out of 10!  (I suspect next week's speaker may not be so reticent.)  With only two hours, effectively finger drawing on to a piece of glass, the comedian isn't going to turn out any masterpieces.  But his opening piece, a group of dancers by Degas, was very impressive, and he had the lines of the figures quite beautifully.  But there was no denying that the background wasn't just green, but GREEN.

With liberal doses of self deprecation Phill put up his other works, and the quality varied greatly.  He'd admitted defeat on Scottish portrait of a lady, ending up with something that looked like the head of a zombie, but did a superb outline of the busy interior of the gallery during the nineteenth century.  His head of John the Baptist, in which he chose to hone in on that feature of the famed Rubens work, was suitably ghoulish.

The experience is repeated next week when the guest will be the great Scottish artist and writer, John Byrne, and again seven days later with Stephen Frost  (I'm guessing this is the comedian and actor of that name).  Sadly I'm not going to be able to make it to either of these, and would love to hear from anyone who gets to see John Byrne (whilst allowing my jealousy to simmer quietly....).  Jupitus is a marvellous host, picking up the mood when things flag and spurring on his guest to give up secrets of the world they inhabit.  Worthwhile.

Phill Jupitus- Sketch Comic : In Conversation takes place in the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre of the National Gallery at 19.00 on the 20th and 27th.
Phill can be found creating his sketches between 10.00 and 12.00 in the Portrait Gallery from the 14th to the 20th, and in the Gallery of Modern Art between the 21st and 27th.  He invites people to come along and join in with some sketching.