As chair of the NATFHE (National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education) art section, Colin Painter made meetings more memorable than any other trade union gatherings I can recollect.
Our discussions, rather than focusing on pay and conditions, were of the professional practice of art and education, after which one or another performance artist whom Colin had invited would undertake a piece of work. On one occasion this was so dramatic (it involved the repetitive scratching of the arm of a chair with a razor blade) that once blood was drawn we left speedily for a recuperative beer in a nearby pub.
Colin was a great support when I directed the conference Art, Leisure, Education and Purpose in the 1980s (in London, 1982) at which he spoke on “The Uses of Art”.
