Category: Inspirations
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Other Side of the World
Behind the Iron Curtain in Leningrad & Moscow April 1986 Witnessing a worldBehind an Iron CurtainShutters shut. Blinds down Entrance permittedBut with movements restrictedSuspicion abounds Cold, grey, colourlessMonochrome. SepiatoneSpectrum hand-me-down * A first impression of Russia – Welcome to Leningrad Late night arrivalBlack sky, glist’ning snow – floodlightsA chill in the air Airport receptionMachine guns…
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When in Rome
Roman Holiday 27.12.02 – 3.1.03 Like Hepburn and Peck It’s our ‘Roman Holiday’ Second honeymoon trek! * Speaking with gestures And an operatic tongue – Italiano! * Time to do nothing It’s ‘dolce far niente’ – Delicious idleness! * Rome Kerb Drill Firstly, find a Nun Wait close by her right hand side Don’t cross…
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Worth the Wait
Catching Breath in Venice 8 – 10.1.06 Learning from a Master A daunting prospect Following giant footsteps And reputation Walking in a dream And looking through Turner’s eyes With captivation * Drowning in adjectives! Incomparable Majestic, ethereal Unbelievable Irreplaceable Mystical, sensational Unforgettable! * Looking back at Canaletto They’re inaccurate But entirely convincing. Paintings come alive!…
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Three Little Birds
Caribbean Crete 16 – 22 May 2015 “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right. Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right! “ Rise up this mornin’, Smile with the risin’ sun, Three little birds Pitch by my doorstep Singin’ sweet songs Of…
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Feeling Good…………..
…………..in Crete 18 – 25 October 2014 After what has been a fairly busy year involved with large projects, a chance to scribble in a notebook again and work on a smaller scale with a 7 day break and a return visit to Crete, thanks to an invitation from our good chums Peter & Monica.…
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Freebird
Image making workshops at Newark Hill Primary 5.2.14 My second week at NHPS and the medium used today was chalk pastel however we began by making some observations of the charcoal workshop, reflecting upon the successful and the not so successful aspects of the previous week’s session. Again I brought some of my own work to…
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Smile Like You Mean It
Portrait Drawing at the National Gallery 2 January 2014 A visit to the National Gallery, with notebook and pencil. A day spent learning from the Masters to improve concentration, the discipline of looking and the nerve of working in a public space. With drawing, there’s no hiding place. (See also ‘Unforgettable’ – notebook drawings of…
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Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
George Bellows (1882-1925): Modern American Life 9.6.13 An afternoon with George Bellows at the Royal Academy, and an exhibition of contrasts. Gatherings in open spaces, and in claustrophobic cityscapes and interiors. Freezing winters, suffocating summers. Powerful, stark structures of a city metamorphosing into a modern age. The rural idyll of fields and sea. Urchins bathing…
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Black Night
The Oak and the Reed 20 August 2013 An afternoon visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and, as has become habit, after walking up the steps and passing through the swivel door main entrance I immediately made for the first floor galleries. My first priority each time I visit is to find a small painting…
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Wonderful Life
Return to Loch Craignish 26 May – 1 June 2013 Following a gap of 5 years, a long overdue return to Argyll and a peaceful week spent walking, reading, drawing, painting and beachcombing along the shoreline of Loch Craignish, from the marina at Ardfern to the Point looking across to the isles of Lunga, Scarba…