I live in a remote corner of the world, it’s a long way to anywhere and at times it can be a lonely existence. It’s a location that makes it difficult for me to find my tribe. I guess it’s a numbers game, living in a more popular place would make it more likely for me to encounter people with shared interests. The idea of moving to a big city and connecting with a ‘scene’ was some of my favourite elements that Tom Wolfe writes about in The Painted Word.

When street artist Banksy first started selling screen prints online, they became a popular target for forgers looking to make a few bucks duping unsuspecting fans. It quickly got out of hand and must have been infuriating for both Banksy and his followers. Normally this is where galleries begin to flex their authority and declare which prints are authentic and which are fake. Galleries sometimes print certificates to reassure customers that the large lumps of cash they are parting with is for the real thing, not one of those dirty fakes doing the rounds.

I enjoyed this Robert Irwin biography, an artist I knew nothing about. The opening chapters draws you into a world of mid-century California. Irwin’s teenage years of cars, girls and endless summers. Maybe it was the beautiful weather I was experiencing, or all that Hollywood propaganda. But those initial chapters made me want to ride my bike down the Esplanade with the Beach Boys blearing. Robert’s early work, those abstract expressionism paintings and that whole phase of reductionism?

Many software developers have a crush on ASCII art. The idea of creating art with nothing more than the tools of our trade is tantalising. “You mean I can create pictures just by typing text into my favourite editor on a computer?” For many who often attribute themselves as being unartistic, ASCII art is a gateway into the wider world of computer generated imagery (CGI). One of the cool things about ASCII art is that it pre-dates computers.