Jos Palmer

I mentioned in a previous post meeting an artist at the Silent Disco, Jos Palmer. We’d looked at some originals and prints that he had with him at the time which made a strong impression, so we promised to track him down at the The Spiral Ark Project (a cafe and art shop) so we could look at buying something from him.

We had planned to find the Spiral Ark on Saturday afternoon, but as luck would have it we saw him on the beach (hanging out with Master Lee and his entourage – more about them later) just two restaurants down from our place so we went over for a chat. Jos happened to have several framed prints with him at the restaurant (run by his Russian friend), along with pictures on a laptop and we soon found the piece of work that we’d particularly liked when we’d seen it at the Silent Disco. Jos explained that the original, a piece in a series of works was for sale at 56K. This was slightly more rupees than we planned on spending, however it turned out we weren’t talking about rupees, we were talking about pounds! Having been somewhat humbled after thinking we might buy an original, we asked about prints which turned out to be more in our price range and Jos invited us to meet him on Monday morning to visit the cafe and see all his work including the original of the piece we liked.

So this morning at ten we met Jos and took a Rickshaw over to the Spiral Ark. The Spiral Ark itself is “housed in a converted cashew-nut roasting factory in the peaceful countryside”. It’s a beautiful and tranquil place just a few minutes ride away from the beach. Jos showed us his work as we enjoyed drink and we got to know him a bit better as he talked about some of the background about his work and himself. When we’d first met him at the silent disco he seemed like the artist type, quiet, softly spoken and a sensitive way about him. However when we met him at the beach and talked him to at the cafe he revealed a few surprising details about himself which made his work all the more interesting and remarkable. Jos had spent over ten years in the British army, have served in the European conflicts of the 1990s, as well as serving in Iraq. Having suffered a serious injury to his leg, which at one point had been causing so much physical pain that the doctors had considered amputation, he was determined to rehabilitate himself and worked his way to being fit enough to walk again without any support. It was at this time that he picked up a pen and started drawing. This was the other part of his rehabilitation, having mental scars to heal as well as physical. It provided both a way to pass the time and an outlet express himself during his physical recovery. Incredibly, this was the first time he’d ever done anything artistic, an ability he never knew he’d had and it was only after a friend had commented on work that he even considered becoming an artist.

Since his recovery he has travelled, notably in the North of India, taking his pens with him and is now staying in Palolem for a time as he tries to establish himself as an artist. However, not content with just taking on the challenge of making a living from his art, he has taken up an offer from Master Lee to train for the national kick boxing championship in India at the end of the year. Master Lee is probably worth another blog entry in itself if I had all the details and is another fascinating character we have met here in Palolem. After special permission from his fellow masters, he is on a quest to go out in the world to use his healing powers for anybody that needs it. On meeting Jos, Master Lee worked his magic and has cured him of the remaining pain and problems from his injuries that wouldn’t go away from conventional physiotherapy. So, upon being offered to start training with Master Lee over the next nine months Jos couldn’t refuse, such is the privilege. Many martial art students from all over the world who are highly skilled themselves have asked to train with Master Lee and been refused. However perhaps in Jos’s case Master Lee sees a blank canvas (excuse the pun) which he can mould to truly test how effective his own personally developed style of combat is.

After talking to Jos he really seems to be on true journey of personal discovery and as he makes this journey he is capturing it in his art which I think (and I’m sure Maren agrees) is producing some beautiful work. As you can see it has a psychedelic appeal, with vivid colours packed with detail that represents both the physical places been to and his personal feelings. They are the kind of works you can just look again and again, finding something new each time. All of this for me makes it very representative of India and is exactly why Maren and I were set on buying something. We can already visualise it sitting on a wall in our home (wherever that may be) reminding us of our travels together and since we’ve met and learnt a little about the person that created it, it will be that little bit more special.

Jos’s website is currently undergoing an update, but can be found at http://www.josshoponeoone.com/ and when I hear that it’s up and running I’ll mention it again, however Jos kindly let us take a few pictures today and you can see larger versions in the Palolem photoset.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.lander/Palolem