Black Ivory

I give my art away at Camden Lock bridge on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when the weather is allowing between March and November. As long as I'm not ill. Cold weather is ok, but wind and/or rain make holding The Camden Market Free Art Man very difficult or impossible. I often do extra days if I'm free, as I did this week, being out there on Wednesday and Thursday as well. The deal is, you can take a free artwork in exchange for a one minute interview. Nearly all interviews significantly overrun prooving that people are bubbling with things to talk about when you start off with an open question about art. Here are todays results.

This week is the first sunny week of the year, so I was out 5 days in a row. The Blond Card series keep being popular, especially with kids. Having them on the floor probably helps for the same reason supermarkets put the bright colourful sugary sweets on the bottom shelf, so kids see and nag their parents for them. I had a fairly long interview with Alan, who I moved to the front of the video. He wanted me to put his feelings about British Gas on record which I did. If these estimated meters are over estimating peoples bills, I'm suprpised their legal. I usually put the interviews in chronological order for these Camden videos recently, but didn't for this one. There were a few great interviews in the second half of the day that had to go to the front.

Another hot day in Camden, doing The Camden Market Free Art Man. I almost didn't make it there today as I fell out of bed at 3.30am and got a leg cramp. I was still hobbling badly 6 hours later, but after a bath and a two hour nap, was healed enough to walk ok. Gave away a lot of the small Heckel's Horse Jr. and Blond Cards, especially Zombie. Took one of the Maddarings paintings that are available to buy for £10 at Maddarings for the first time, and it went within a few minutes of setting up. I think it went before setting up was finished. I left around 3.30pm to get home before rush hour. The big paintings I did in Thailand aren't popular, so I still had a lot to carry home on the bus. Had to get back slightly early anyway, as it's Thursday, which is Black Ivory Podcast day with Emma Pugmire and Ron Throop. Catch tonights episode on Ron or my Substack, Ron's YouTube or my YouTube Black Ivory Podcast playlist. Or just visit the Black Ivory website.

I did these paintings for Maddarings after I bought some rings there. I now have 7 rings from them. I don't like wearing rings on my thumb, so have reached my full quota with 7 as I already have an engagement ring, even though it's on the wrong finger. This video shows numbers 1 to 20 of the series. See my other video on how to find them at Camden Market, but there at the Maddarings stall at Camden Market near Cyberdog and the Amy Winehouse state, on Makers Alley. The lady there is called Shelley, and is my ex-wife and fellow member of the band Elbow Sisters. These paintings are acrylic on paper, glued to cardboard. They are traced from a drawing I did of my hand with the first two rings I bought from Maddarings. Now, if anyone comments on my rings when I'm doing The Camden Market Free Art Man, I can send them down to Maddarings and hopefully drum them up some extra business. But, I suppose I can also do the same when I'm not at Camden. Rings are like Advertism, in that they are the passive publicity gift that keeps on giving even after the purchase has been made I PVA glued over the top of these paintings and made them double sided by putting some more art work on the reverse. They are ready to hang as I stamped some holes in the top corners for nails to go through.

The hottest day of the year so far. There's no shade my side of the bridge, so The Camden Market Free Art Man finished early today, at around 2pm. Still got some interviews though. I'm planning to go today, but fell out of bed at 3.30am this morning, got a bad leg cramp, and now, three hours later, I'm still hobbling. I'll have a warm bath soon to try and cure it, but if I can't walk properly enough to carry my display on the bus, I'll have to take the day off and get some art done. I'm running out of Nirvana Art, which takes a couple of weeks to properly day, so it might be for the best to not do Camden today anyway.

The longest video so far, for The Camden Market Free Art Man. I had to chase a young man who walked off with a handful of my Blond Card paintings. Looking back, I should have left him one, as plenty of other people have been taking them without doing the interview. As my interviewee pointed out, it's probably because my signage isn't clear around the suitcase that you're supposed to do the one minute interview, and only take one each. If future days at Camden are this busy, I'll have to change the signage as it's impossible to keep an eye on what everyone's doing when I'm in the middle of an interview. The Blond Cards are overtaking the Nirvana Art as the most popular work. I'm glad the most in demand art is also the easiest and quickest to produce. We seem to be coming out of rainy season now, skipping spring and going straight into summer. Last year, Aon and I returned from Thailand on 20th March, and the weather was pretty warm. If the same is true this year, I'll be out doing The Camden Market Free Art Man a lot more, as I now have a lot more paintings to get rid of.

Thanks Alan, the legendary Camden Market town crier. Alan Myatt giving some free advertising to my free art. Free to passers by of my political protest against expensive art at Camden market. If the weather's nice, I try to get down there at least once a week. Preferably Saturday. This video was recorded 18th May 2025. Back in these days I would wear my Lamoon hat I got from a friend of mine in Thailand. He had a coffee shop in Pattaya, Aon and I would drink in every morning.

Camden Market was quiet and windy today, but still managed to give away more large paintings than usual to passers by. It was windy but not in the direction that often blows my art into the road. Free Art Frees Art.

Yesterday at Camden Market. I took some artwork promoting Blurt and Steemit and the accounts of myself and some people I've been engaging with quite a lot on both of these platforms. I give my art away to passers by willing to do a one minute interview for my YouTube channel. Original paintings, drawings, zines whatever artwork I have in my studio that I'mm looking to get rid of. I'll be doing more days at Camden like this, and have a Blurt Day in preparation where all the art on offer will be themed on Blurt. I did some posters for this event in Thailand but will need a much bigger range before it can be taken on to the streets of London.

This day at Camden was before I started properly checking the weather forecast beforehand. Nowadays I won't go if it's going to be windy, but this was recorded May 26th 2025. Not long after Ron Throop had returned home to New York, after showing me how to make this Free Art Frees Art work. Ron had a lot of work on loose canvas, so I started out copying this but then changed it later to cardboard with Advertism on the front, and holes so they are ready to hang. Whenever I ask people what they are going to do with their new painting, they nearly always say they are going to hang it on the wall, but I'm doubtful enough of this happening a lot of the time enough to take matters into my own hands and frame it for them.

This days Camden Market Free Art Man was dedicated to a series of oil paintings on paper I did of Edgeworth Masks, cardboard masks I made from Sainsbury's boxes cut up and primed, then painted in oil paint and tied together with jute string. They had the Free Art Frees Art text at the top, but few other links. The music towards the end of the video is some improvisational jazz I recorded at home, which also happens to be the headquarters of Black Ivory, a three-piece art group consisting of myself, Emma Pugmire and Ron Throop. This video was recorded 31st May 2025. Hopefully the weather will be this sunny and hot during May this year.

Wind is almost as bad as rain for The Camden Market Free Art Man. This video was recorded 1st June 2025, which was windier than normal. My paintings keep blowing into the road and tourists unless I can find something to hold them down. The tall buildings and high street make my area a bit of a wind trap, so now, if the weather forecast says it's going to be windy, I don't go. Kizzie helped collect a few that blew away, took one and did an interview. I've seen her a few times at Camden. She sits with Zombie on the other side of the bridge. Like me, she comes to Camden Market, if only for its atmosphere. I've been going to Camden fairly regularly since I was about 14. Before we moved to London. Another of the interviewees in this video suggested we paint on the streets of Camden together. I said I was up for it, but didn't heat back. She also is sometimed over with Zombie. The guy who sells his paintings on the street, next to Camden Town tube station paints live on the street. I don't think it would work for my display, although if I had a helper to do the interview, there might be some time and space for it.

Last night I started on the second batch of Anarchy for Art paintings as I'd like to distribute these for free on the London transport network, like I used to in the early days of Free Art Frees Art. Before the term was even coined, leaving Jompiy series G paintings on the seats of buses and tube trains. Maybe the Anarchy for Art series will engage more with passengers as, unlike Jompiy, it gives them something to read other than their phone, as each has a print out of the manifesto on the back. Given the first twenty were all done in a day, from having the idea to the photos and videos being online, I think doing fifty or a hundren won't take much longer if I give myself the head start of getting the materials all ready beforehand. If I get time this week I'll get the cardboard cut, backs done and holes put in leaving only the PVA gluing of the fronts left to do. The timing has to be right to get the smudge on the red letters, other than that, it should all be pretty straight forward.

A lot of tourists walk past my Camden Market Free Art Man display, not understanding what it is they're looking at. Not their fault as my signage is all in English. Not anymore. These flags should result in more people understanding that free art is available if they're willing to do a one minute interview for my YouTube channel. The interviews often last a lot longer than a minute. Many tourists tell me that they don't speak good English, as if it's a reason for them to not be able to do the interview. Hopefully these flags will reassure them that it isn't a problem if they speak no English at all. We will get a minute's footage in a foreign language if necessary. So far, all the flags are European as these seem to be the most in demand, but future flags will include countries from other continents and other writing systems. There will need to be a bit of research on my part, but the main thing is to get FREE ART FREES ART global and over the language barrier that's been holding it back ever since its inception. Another great idea from Alan, the Camden Town town crier.

Shin Detonator was a novel I wrote around 2015. I published it on Amazon and ordered some copies that I cut up, turned into artworks and took to The Camden Market Free Art Man. The video was recorded 15th June 2025. Another day with Alan the town crier helping attract the crowds to my demo and Kozmic Records. I was still giving out loose canvas paintings, but have since stopped as I wanted to make as sure as possible, that people will hang my work on their walls and not store it away somewhere out of sight. Then, came the idea to move the info on the back of the artwork, to the front (Advertism). So each artwork is an advert, hence the Advertism manifesto point "Advertism allows the artist to get paind without getting paid." They give you money once, but Advertism is the payment that keeps on giving. Who said Free Art was free?

I get the laundry bags I carry The Camden Market Free Art Man display in from Wood Green High Street. King size for £2 each. Alan, the Camden Town crier, saw them and asked me to get him some, paying me there and then. This video was recorded 21st June 2025. I took some works on paper that were based on a series of Masks I made and work in a film I put on YouTube called "Untitled". I've been meaning to make some more ever since, but as they're done using oil paint, I haven't gotten round to it yet. I'm painting exclusively in acrylic for now, as I'm short on studio floor space so need things to dry quickly. Ideally, I'd have a dedicated room in my house for oil painting, as I prefer to acrylic in a lot of ways. I'd also like a room just for music, and get started on a new Edgeworth Band album. A big house and a couple of assistants is what I need. Till then, it will all have to wait.

Alan, the town crier was at The Camden Market Free Art Man again today. I tried a new layout for the signage, which Alan has long been advising on. This was recorded 28th June 2025. When I first went to Camden I didn't want to take up too much space, as is my habit, so kept my display very concise. I thought it would anger the regualrs there, which it may have done, but the opposite has turned out to be true. People ask me why I'm not using nearby walls and poles to display more art and advertising. I have been spreading the work out along the bridge a bit more, but only as much as has been necessary for the increasing amout of work I'm bringing. There's another artist who has a display next to Camden Town tube station. I think the deal is, you pay what you like. I don't have a hawkers licence so don't take any money, even when it's offered, but will think about applying for one. For now though, free means properly free. No guilt for taking one attached.

A pretty loud day at The Camden Market Free Art Man. A friend of Zombie, the punk rocker who sits the other side of Camden Lock bridge to me, took one of the "Never Mind the Pollocks" prints. I stopped taking them soon after, as they're not orignal paintings or drawings, but will start taking them again soon as they will be part of a series that includes original spray can art. This video was recorded 27th July 2025. Another interviewee told me all about Warhammer, who used to have a shop near Chatham High Street that I walk past every Monday on the way to the Dockyard, where I paint with Billy. The Butterfly monoprints were eventually starting to go by this point, and one lady took a self-portrait oil painting I did of myself holding a rag. I'm not sure how long it will take for the oil to eat the paper as I didn't use any primer.

The man on the trumpet is the legendary Alan Wyatt, the Guiness World record holder for the loudest town crier. He has another world record, but I can't remember what it is. Another sunny day at Camden Market, recorded 2nd August 2025. Another of the interviewees this day was my most regular customer, Roger. An architect who has stopped by at least twice, and I think, taken five artworks so far, despite my usual insistance that people only take one each. The butterfly series wasn't as instantly popular as I thought, and I didn't end up liking the gold glitter I put on them much either. I first used gold glitter when working as an assistant for Jimmy Cauty, making his glittery police riot shields. I bought a lot of glitter so will find something else to use them on at some point.

The first day Emma Pugmire joined me to do The Camden Market Free Art Man. It took her long enough. Even Ron Throop had managed a day at Camden by now, travelling from Oswego in New York State. Emma lives in Crouch End, which is even closer to Camden than I am in Muswell Hill. Emma was giving away surprise art, you take an envelope so it's only after you get the work that you find out what it is. It's like a book shop on Muswell Hill Broadway, where you buy a book wrapped up in brown paper. They sell them as "A Blind Date with a Book", and must be pretty popular as they always have them on a shelf outside the store. This video was recorded 9th August 2025. I also brought some large paintings from my Heckel's Horse Jr. series that I painted on fibreboard underlay. I thought it would be a cheap alternative to canvas, but discovered they are fragile, crumble and toxic. I don't know what I was thinking, as I had already long been painting on cardboard which is free and works fine.

This was the first time I took my CryptocuRency series out to The Camden Market Free Art Man. I will do a dedicated day at Camden for them, at some point. Get a low number cryptocuRency and hold on to it, like the early Bitcoiners did, and who knows? The blockchain is the photos and videos online making them forgeproof. There are four: BitcoYn, EthereOm, DogecoYn and AlgoranB. Each has it's own colour. There's also a series of accompanying artworks that I haven't taken to Camden yet. This video was recorded 10th August 2025. Since then, hardly any of the cryptocuRency work has left my house, but there's boxes of them waiting to go. One interviewee got me to admit that the best thing about The Camden Market Free Art is the videos.

One of the few times Emma Pugmire has joined me for The Camden Market Free Art Man. Emma stands a few feet from my display, handing out her work. I didn't occur to me at the time that, in London at least, you need a licence to distribute free literature. But then, her artworks aren't literature, so maybe it's not illegal. This video is called Pugmire's finger because she covererd part of the lens with it when she was filming me. With so much going on at Camden, you're often looking around when filming and forget to look at what the camera sees. I've had it where I'm filming an interview and only see that I've cut off half of the interviewees head for most of the conversation. Also, depending on the time of day, the sun is often over your shoulder meaning you can't easily see the screen. Hopefully Emma will come to more Camden Market Free Art Man's but if she does, I think it will be better to set her up on the other side of the bridge with a fuller display. This was recorded 23rd August 2025.

On the bus, on the way to Camden, a lady started photographing me. We started chatting. I don't think she realised but we had met before, around 25 years ago. It was the middle of the night and she was stranded outside on the streets of Muswell Hill, locked out of her house. Me and a couple of friends were passing by when she called out to us. She asked us to help break in to her home. One of my friends believed her, so climbed over the fence into her back garden and tried opening the window. Thankfully, she was telling the truth. Then 25 years or so later, she comes to The Camden Market Free Art Man with me, took of my free paintings and did an interview. This was recorded 24th August 2025.

This was the first of two Nirvana days I've done at The Camden Market Free Art Man demo & free art giveaway. It was recorded 6th September 2025. I'll probably do another one soon, once I've finished the next batch of pretend Nirvana albums. I recorded an album of Nirvana covers, which the QR code on the artwork links to.

Today was the second Nirvana day at The Camden Market Free Art Man demo & free art giveaway. My name is Edgeworth Johnstone (aka The Camden Market Free Art Man). I regularly give my art away on the streets of Camden Market. I've recently made an album of Nirvana covers, so was giving away artwork themed on the Nevermind album Nirvana released in 1991. This video was recorded 16th September 2025.

The weather was pretty good for this time of year. This was recorded 21 September 2025. Someone took one of my Nerver Mind the Pollocks prints, which I haven't been taking there recently as I'm trying to stick to original art, not prints as much as I can. I'll start taking them again soon. The Camden Market Free Art Man looks better when they are part of the display.

The first evening session of The Camden Market Free Art Man Political Protest Against Expensive Art. Didn't get there till 4pm. This was recorded 1st October 2025.