In our last Kick-About, we considered movement and influence — the forces that set things in motion. This time, we pause. Six years in, and some 313 weeks of prompts later, this edition looks back rather than forward. Each contributor has selected a favourite from their own work over the past year — a moment, an experiment, a piece they have chosen to return to. Taken together, these works offer a glimpse of what the Kick-About has become: a steady practice of making and sharing, week by week. No grand statements, just the accumulation of ideas, efforts, and responses. As always, for all previous editions of The Kick-About, go here.
Phill Hosking
The Kick-About No. 135 | Sputnik
“I straight away envisioned the orb in a deep space battle against the elements at breakneck speed, rattling and vibrating with all that the ether could throw at it, so small and insignificant in the dark. So then, an afternoon fashioning a mini Sputnik from scavenged materials and a hastily made black box, I threw all I could sweep up from my garage floor at it, handily lit by a harsh spotlight providing evidence of a distant solar flare. I took the time to make the synth soundtrack with a moody, pulsating Sci Fi feel—great fun!”
phillhosking.co.uk / phill_hosking
Lewis Punton
The Kick-About No. 154 | Karel Appel
“Karel Appel was a particularly fun Kick-About prompt, a real excuse to lean into the instinctive nature of making something automatic and care free – a thing for the sake of making a thing! I didn’t have a plan, but sometimes that’s enough of a plan in and of itself. I could try and dress this up as a being some grand execution of layering colours, shapes and textures, but in fact all that took place below was a series of digital doodles over a morning coffee followed by fiddling with some settings in Procreate. Nothing special in isolation (and nor do they need to be!), but I happen to quite like the effect achieved once the three are stacked on top of each other!”
Francesca Maxwell
The Kick-About No. 153 | Nicolas de Stael
“I like de Staël’s paintings a lot, probably because they are so bold. They must have felt very new at the time, and they’re so different from mine. I thought the bold glass shapes might have a similar feel to his work, and I enjoyed fusing, breaking, and re-fusing this piece.”
Charly Skilling
The Kick-About No. 134 | Lee Krasner
“When I look back over this sixth year of Kick-Abouts, I am amazed by the sheer volume and variety of work we have created — especially as, for most of the group, KA is fighting for space against all the other demands on your time: families, proper jobs, and commissions. I salute you all! For me, Kick-About has opened up a whole new world, and to find a whole new world and be able to explore it — that’s magic.
So the work I would submit for this annual round-up is the piece I created in response to the Lee Krasner prompt. Looking at her work led me to explore different mark-making techniques, and this, in turn, led me to filling balloons with water and rolling them through paint and then across paper. It may have been beginner’s luck, but I was so thrilled with the marks this made, and with the response the images evoked in others, that for me it epitomises the joy that Kick-About provides. And that’s why I’m looking forward to finding out what Year 7 has in store!”
Vanessa Clegg
The Kick-About No. 131 | Lighthouse
“In my usual low tech cobbled together way I’ve done a tiny scene of desperation—the only survivor caught in the unsentimental sweep of the lighthouse eye. But is it manned and where’s the lifeboat? The storm is a brewing…“
vanessaclegg.co.uk / vanillaclegg
Graeme Daly
The Kick-About No. 133 | James Turrell
“It’s always tricky to choose my favourite Kick-About from the past year. I have a few that really stand out, and this time around it was a toss-up between No. 150 and No. 133. I decided to go with 133 — the James Turrell prompt — because I was back in Ireland at the time and didn’t have my usual kit of Kick-About bits and bobs to rely on. But I loved how that one turned out with such a limited set of tools — it was pretty much just a box and some lights!”
@graemedalyart / vimeo.com/graemedaly / linkedin.com/in/graeme-daly / twitter.com/Graeme_Daly / gentlegiant.ie
Tom Beg
The Kick-About No. 143 | Diane Arbus
“I wanted to find something unusual and weird in something normal. In this case, it meant manipulating and positioning basic shapes until something a bit strange and otherworldly manifested.”
Itta Howie
The Kick-About No. 137 | Foraminifera
“I had never heard of these tiny organisms. I really liked the sound and meaning of their name, which is Latin and translates as ‘hole bearer’. Their shells, or tests, are located inside the cell membrane, so the amoeba-like body surrounds the hole. Images of creatures carrying holes around the oceans appeared in my mind, and after some initial amoeba doodling, I decided to grab my scissors and make cut-outs. The outcome is a Matisse-like collage that can be rearranged in infinite ways. I didn’t glue anything down, as I just can’t decide on a final version. So maybe this is what it’s meant to be: a moveable collage.”
Jan Blake
The Kick-About No. 145 | Barbara Hepworth
“For me the most important KA this year was for the Barbara Hepworth. Thank you for another fascinating year of the Kick About.”
James Randall
The Kick-About No. 133 | James Turrell
“Time flies, and it has been — and still is — fun! Thank you, Phil, for providing the home where diverse ideas come together in a safe environment. It’s so kind of you to let us into your kingdom, and thank you to all your fellow participants for being so inspirational. For me, James Turrell was the spark that ignited a shift in my perspective and added humour to my toolbox. I recently returned to this prompt image to pep it up — not sure if it’s there yet, but I’ve included the revision. I also just found out that the original version has gained admittance to the Stanthorpe Art Prize ’26, so thanks for this prompt in particular, Phil! Happy birthday, fellow Kick-About-ers. It’s so wonderful to be inspired by you all!”
Ashley
The Kick-About No. 134 | Lee Krasner
“This is a print I made some time between 2000 and 2005 when my wife and I went on a weekend printing course in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk. A creative weekend neither of us will ever forget and in a location that we would have loved to live in. For this exercise, the artist taking the course asked us to be spontaneous and just allow our subconscious to create something. It was done so long ago that I no longer remember the actual printing process involved and now, for me, that simply adds to the pleasure of seeing it again! I want to go printing again!”
Gary Thorne
The Kick-About No. 149 | Almond Blossom
“With spring blossom surrounding us in abundance, it seems fitting to reflect on how much nature and art offers up motivation to creatively interpret. Be it, a stroll within nature, a gallery tour, or the genius of the KA prompt, it adds up to the same rewarding thing, inspiration and food for thought.”
Kerfe Roig
The Kick-About No.136 | Lenore Tawney
Looking back, I see I worked almost exclusively in collage this year, in the surrealist vein I’ve been obsessed with. I like the results, but it’s hard to pick one set over another. The one really different thing I did was the painted and stitched collages for the Lenore Tawney prompt. I wanted, and still intend, to complete the book, but it’s been so long that I’m wondering if it will become something new altogether when I return to it. It’s very hard for me to duplicate anything I’ve done before, so we’ll see what happens.
Phil Gomm
The Kick-About No. 146 | Bauble
“It’s always going to be fiction for me when it comes to choosing the Kick-About stuff that makes me happiest and gives me a proper sense of ‘making something happen’ by dint of inspiration, acts of private imagination, effort and sheer bloody-mindedness. Writing is both the easiest and hardest thing I might choose to do in response to a KA-prompt. Ideas for stories come easily, but getting them done can seem onerous compared to the quick joys of a perfect photograph when my working life is getting in the way. Writing is a solitary job too, so working with someone else to bring the narrative to life is always welcome – hence my choosing ‘The Bauble’ for today’s anniversary edition, because I got to work with Dan Snelgrove again, who literally talked this festive-themed story into life.”
philgomm.com / behance.net/Phil_Gomm
Next time, our prompt turns to the measured circles and shifting geometries of Regina Giménez — fittingly, a return to pattern, repetition, and the quiet logic of things beginning again.
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