September 2023

I first met Hunter on St Patrick’s night in NYC in the early 70s. I knew the streets would be full of celebrating Irishmen, so I put a white shirt on back to front and wore a long black trench coat and walked to his hotel pretending to be a priest, holding my Hindu meditation […]

As a painter their faces really affected me, I thought if they were in 15th century costumes the images would have had a Renaissance perspective, due to them all having such incredible faces. Sadly I couldn’t imagine them agreeing to cod pieces and tights, so I kept my vision to myself. The amazing thing about […]

I was lucky enough to have a jam with them which was totally amazing except my guitar playing was not up to their playing. Listening to Cass singing “On and On” with Dave and Ned was mesmerising. My assistant set up the lights and I wanted it lit in such a way that his head […]

At this point Rachel walked in and I think she thought I was the set builder as I extended my paint-splattered hand. Which she looked at and politely refused to shake as I said, “I’m Clive, I’m the photographer”. I was completely amazed by how naturally beautiful and stunning she was and for a moment […]

The main thing I find using Adobe Photoshop is I can revitalise and re-image the colour and restore the original quality of the image. An analogy would be, if you remaster a Beatles album, you have the spirit of the original saved in a stable way and that is the blessing of digital.

When I discovered them again between shoots, exhibitions and the whirlwind of the photography world. I realised how sensual and slightly androgynous the model is who I think is called Mona but I am not 100 percent sure. I shot these phots on a Linhof 5×4 plate camera for Hearst Magazines – it was a […]

In the morning, there was no sign of Susie when we sat down for an early breakfast, which made Martyn and I panic as this was the last shot for the calendar. I then asked him what he thought was the weirdest thing about the current music industry? He screwed his face up for a […]

In 1966  I was commissioned to do some illustrations on the set of Kubrick’s 2001. This was an extraordinary blessing and huge responsibility for a young art school graduate. I’d previously taken my drawings to Town Magazine and the art director had really liked them and I could not believe it when I got the […]

It’s a brave new world for me having a direct relationship with people who look at, enjoy and and buy my work. The internet has delivered a whole load of possibilities for meaningful contact for artists with people who appreciate their work. It’s a new way of doing things, much like blogging which has opened […]

I decided it would be fun to shoot in my garden as it was looking particularly good and I had some interesting lighting ideas. I decided to back light all the foliage in the garden so I could capture the the translucence quality of leaves and branches, which gave everything a more mystical look. Greta […]

Yoko Ono I was commissioned by The Sunday Times magazine to photograph Yoko Ono. Prior to my arrival and setting up, her P.R. person told me “you’ve got 10 minutes”. Yoko came in looking very composed. There was a stillness about her, similar to that of many Japanese people I’d come across in the past […]

Clive Arrowsmith Charlotte Rampling Vogue 1970 I know one always says all these things about stunning actresses and models but Charlotte Rampling really was so great to work with. Even when I asked her if I could pour water over her head. She said yes and then my assistant was duly instructed to stand on […]

A joyful and familiar Liverpool drawl spoke to me down the phone saying “Clive, I need you to shoot the … More My assistant set up the lights and I wanted it lit in such a way that his head and hands where the only thing that was illuminated with the rest of his body […]

My assistants placed the improvised cross on my shoulders and helped me down from the top studio down to Beatrice Millers office, where she was conducting a meeting with a dignitary from the National Portrait gallery. Spurred on by tequila I burst into the office, one foot in the bucket of pink yoghurt, which splashed […]