As promised I am finally doing a post about my latest photo prints gleaned from my trip to the US of A and Mexico about a month ago (that long? Already! Sigh). You have to excuse my penchant for animation transitions on my slideshow by the way - but seriously, when else am I going to be able to use all of these?
It is quite nice putting everything together belatedly - I remember old favourites and become inspired all over again. I have an atrocious memory so if I don't record everything and anything there is a high percentage chance - call it a certainty - that give me a week and I will have forgotten it. Who are you and why is your hand on my shoulder? I have the peculiar ability to look at some of my earlier paintings and wonder how I managed to do them. I am not sure whether this classes as a special talent but at least it means I keep everything fresh. (That is my excuse and I am sticking to it).
So anyway - my photos - sampling Chichen Itza, Cancun, Los Angeles, Xcaret, Laguna, The Grand Canyon, and Balboa Park San Diego - lest I forget.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Pork Scratching
Wow! Where on earth have the last two weeks gone? I guess that is what work and sun do to you - you are either modelling on the computer or outside in the sun, wondering at what point your skin tips over the thin line drawn between a tan and a pork scratching.
It seems like I am battling at the moment, battling to keep everything running and all my art stuff not becoming a 'thing' that I did whilst I had nothing else to do. I take heart that although I am busy there is still something missing; An itch I can't scratch, a feeling I can't shift, a colour I can't see, an irritable fed-up-ness that I can't devote any time to painting. It is always a good sign when I spend the hours/days/weeks focusing on that afternoon, that day off, when I can lock the door, unplug the phone, put a CD on ultra loud and sit for a few hours on a shower mat, surrounded by canvas, paints, pens and inspiration.
Next week, next week, next week, surely next week.
I am still thinking about it though, going for walks, gathering inspiration, even if on the outside it looks as though I have been abducted.....
It seems like I am battling at the moment, battling to keep everything running and all my art stuff not becoming a 'thing' that I did whilst I had nothing else to do. I take heart that although I am busy there is still something missing; An itch I can't scratch, a feeling I can't shift, a colour I can't see, an irritable fed-up-ness that I can't devote any time to painting. It is always a good sign when I spend the hours/days/weeks focusing on that afternoon, that day off, when I can lock the door, unplug the phone, put a CD on ultra loud and sit for a few hours on a shower mat, surrounded by canvas, paints, pens and inspiration.
Next week, next week, next week, surely next week.
I am still thinking about it though, going for walks, gathering inspiration, even if on the outside it looks as though I have been abducted.....
Thursday, 4 July 2013
I Miss You
Firstly I mustn't forget I said I would do a post about the new photo prints I gleaned from my trip to America last month. I also need to write about a new painting I created last Thursday and about how awestruck I was by the Grand Canyon. Not much then.
Ignoring all these things......I was hoping to squeeze out a painting this week which I have managed to do if painting my toenails counts? Yes well. I haven't been entirely unproductive however as the start of the week saw the shipping of Laguna to Burton on Trent for display in a newly opening gallery. This means, finally, FINALLY I have a piece of work on public display. I am hoping it will be the first of many. The exhibition opening was at some point this week but as yet I have heard nothing. A road trip is pencilled in for a few weekends time so I can see the painting in action and check everything is displayed to my satisfaction. It will also be nice to see Laguna again - it has been hung on my wall above the sofa and I miss it. I really must stop doing that........
Ignoring all these things......I was hoping to squeeze out a painting this week which I have managed to do if painting my toenails counts? Yes well. I haven't been entirely unproductive however as the start of the week saw the shipping of Laguna to Burton on Trent for display in a newly opening gallery. This means, finally, FINALLY I have a piece of work on public display. I am hoping it will be the first of many. The exhibition opening was at some point this week but as yet I have heard nothing. A road trip is pencilled in for a few weekends time so I can see the painting in action and check everything is displayed to my satisfaction. It will also be nice to see Laguna again - it has been hung on my wall above the sofa and I miss it. I really must stop doing that........
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Gaudi anything but Gaudy.
According to the gospel that is Google, it is Antoni Gaudi's 161st birthday today. Gaudi appeals to both the architect and the artist in me so there is no way I am going to let this go without saying something. I recently made a 'pilgrimage' (I went for the sun and sangria if I am being honest) to Barcelona to see the Sagrada Familia - one of Gaudi's most famous buildings. I saw it first on a university field trip and decided I needed to see it again. foolishly thinking it may now be completed. There was a lot of scaffolding up when I first visited 8 or so years ago. Now the interior is complete, the exterior less so. Rumour has it they are aiming to complete it in time to mark the centenary of Gaudi's death in 2026 so I guess I will be visiting again then.
In the meantime here are my favourite shots from my visit - I love this building!!!! (the interior more than the exterior) - And seriously, do a google image search for Antoni Gaudi, the shapes, the detail, the colours are amazing. If anyone ever makes me want to be an architect (and normally I don't want to be one) it is this man (and Le Corbusier but that is another story and he was crazy).
In the meantime here are my favourite shots from my visit - I love this building!!!! (the interior more than the exterior) - And seriously, do a google image search for Antoni Gaudi, the shapes, the detail, the colours are amazing. If anyone ever makes me want to be an architect (and normally I don't want to be one) it is this man (and Le Corbusier but that is another story and he was crazy).
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| Beams, Made Flowers, Three Stars |
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| Human Trees, The Eyes of God |
Sunday, 23 June 2013
I think I can
So I was going to do a post about my American photos today, but checking my to do list shows I need to do a post about my spring photos still. Considering it is now technically summer I had probably better get a move on and do this one in preference.
When I say I was going to do a post about my American photos I really mean I was going to sit in front of a film or two with a big bag of popcorn for my Sunday afternoon/evening and then read. After realising I hadn't updated my website for 3 months and currently have 3 paintings and 35 photos outstanding to place online and two non urgent commissions to paint - sitting in front of the TV hardly seemed like an option. I also have 187 deviantArt messages to look through (some of them just need sorting through) but this is all starting to get out of hand. If I don't catch up now there is a chance I never will!
Oh dear. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can get back on top of my workload mountain.
Maybe.....
When I say I was going to do a post about my American photos I really mean I was going to sit in front of a film or two with a big bag of popcorn for my Sunday afternoon/evening and then read. After realising I hadn't updated my website for 3 months and currently have 3 paintings and 35 photos outstanding to place online and two non urgent commissions to paint - sitting in front of the TV hardly seemed like an option. I also have 187 deviantArt messages to look through (some of them just need sorting through) but this is all starting to get out of hand. If I don't catch up now there is a chance I never will!
Oh dear. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can get back on top of my workload mountain.
Maybe.....
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Drowning in Style
After having enough paperwork and architecture to drown in and then taking a month out to recapture my mojo (and drown in the sea), it is pretty obvious to say I haven't been very artistically productive recently. As I have only been back in 'my so called life' for 9 days and I already have too much to do I am not holding out much hope for this changing anytime soon.
The good thing with me is I will make time for creativity, normally at the expense of my sleep, but if a painting is calling me then stuff everything else. Hopefully this will happen soon. On the plus side I have finally got through my holiday snaps and found more artistically worthy ones than I was expecting. I will blog about them in the next few days.
Facebook followers will already know that I did manage to achieve one thing whilst I was away.....I got published in a glossy magazine!
Now that. is exciting! :-D
The good thing with me is I will make time for creativity, normally at the expense of my sleep, but if a painting is calling me then stuff everything else. Hopefully this will happen soon. On the plus side I have finally got through my holiday snaps and found more artistically worthy ones than I was expecting. I will blog about them in the next few days.
Facebook followers will already know that I did manage to achieve one thing whilst I was away.....I got published in a glossy magazine!
Now that. is exciting! :-D
Monday, 17 June 2013
Art Museums 6 - Laura 2
Damn you yogalates for being fully booked! However this does mean I have some time to contemplate writing a blog post. As it appears as though the last post I wrote was almost 2 months ago it may be just as well yoga was booked - a 2 month break is quite frankly shocking!
I have a good excuse as I have been in America and Mexico for the past month collecting inspiration and refreshing my brain so I can conjure up some new and hopefully exciting ideas/paintings. I should also have some interesting blog posts to catch up on, a magazine article and some unusual photos so watch this space. Firstly I am going to talk about the art galleries I visited whilst I was away.....
The San Diego Museum of Art ......closed.
Ok, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art - a huge complex of 5 or 6 different galleries...closed.
Damn, ok, The Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles.....closed as well.
You have got to be kidding me.
The moral of the story is don't try and visit these places on a Wednesday and guide book I hate you for not telling me that! So in the last couple of months the only real gallery I have managed to visit was the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery this past weekend. Not quite the same...! (I did manage to visit a few smaller galleries in San Diego - the Mingei International Museum and the Timken Museum of Art so it wasn't a total disaster but even so!).
The Birmingham Art gallery did the job, there is a good enough selection of work to brush across quite a few different schools of thinking and the odd well known name. Maybe whilst I was away I needed a break from Art as well as real life. One of my favourite displays, possibly because I have been on 6 flights in the past month was the following video by Hiraki Sawa. Don't ask me why, it just entertained that creative hole in my head....
I have a good excuse as I have been in America and Mexico for the past month collecting inspiration and refreshing my brain so I can conjure up some new and hopefully exciting ideas/paintings. I should also have some interesting blog posts to catch up on, a magazine article and some unusual photos so watch this space. Firstly I am going to talk about the art galleries I visited whilst I was away.....
The San Diego Museum of Art ......closed.
Ok, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art - a huge complex of 5 or 6 different galleries...closed.
Damn, ok, The Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles.....closed as well.
You have got to be kidding me.
The moral of the story is don't try and visit these places on a Wednesday and guide book I hate you for not telling me that! So in the last couple of months the only real gallery I have managed to visit was the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery this past weekend. Not quite the same...! (I did manage to visit a few smaller galleries in San Diego - the Mingei International Museum and the Timken Museum of Art so it wasn't a total disaster but even so!).
The Birmingham Art gallery did the job, there is a good enough selection of work to brush across quite a few different schools of thinking and the odd well known name. Maybe whilst I was away I needed a break from Art as well as real life. One of my favourite displays, possibly because I have been on 6 flights in the past month was the following video by Hiraki Sawa. Don't ask me why, it just entertained that creative hole in my head....
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