Maybe I wasn't so wrong afterall?

Sometimes getting it wrong is actually getting it right! That's the value of hoarding one's creative work and coming back to it at a later stage.

A year ago, almost to the day, I painted this little landscape. A view from the diningroom table, looking out towards the Golfo Dulce (a tropical fjord of the Pacific ocean), and the mountains beyond. I was quietly pleased with it, let's say, as a humble offering to the God of small things.














Golfo Dulce: Oil on paper, aprox. 18 x 25.5 cm. February 2009.

When it was finished, two things happened.

Firstly, I thought to myself, well, it's nice, but it's not right... it's not an accurate presentation of what's out there. Which is basically remanants of lowland tropical rainforest leading down to the beach. People will think I'm crazy if I say that this is a painting of this place - ignoring for a moment the fact that, ok, I am! ;)

Secondly, it reminded me of something else... something I had tried to do two years previously, but which I felt had been totally unsuccessful and so didn't work to finish it.

When I was reminded of the first attempt, I dragged it out from where it lay, dusty and forgotten, stuffed behind the bed (I have several things like that, hidden about the place, that way I don't have to confront my failings headon... but at the same time I cannot completely ignore them!)

When I saw this first painting again, I realized that, although it hadn't worked, persay, there was actually alot of truth in it, because, quite unintentionally, there's a strong similarity in these paintings! And not only that, but I think you can see an ongoing thread in my "style".















Golfo Dulce: Oil on canvas, aprox. 36 x 45 cm. February 2007.

So, forgive me, ye who flock to the Osa Peninsula and just can't see it, but... at this time of year, the landscape looks hazy, and the colors start to appear blanched, and, to me, it starts to look more like something out of Africa (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite movies!)

Sometimes, I think we need to put distance between ourselves and our work, in order to appreciate it for what it really is. Because, if you compare these two paintings with some photos that I've dug up, of pretty much the same vista, and taken at the same time of the year, you'll see that.... maybe I wasn't so wrong afterall???

































Also at this time of year... earthquakes... like the one we just had as I'm writting this post!

A kind (of) giving

Sometimes, we need to be kind to ourselves, and have a little (or a lot of!) patience.

If you're anything like me, then you will be alot better at showing kindness and patience to others, than you are at showing them to yourself!

Deep breath... here's the fruit ... or is it just a seed at this stage?... of my Thursday morning (not terribley well photographed it has to be said!)



















What is it?... Well, it's a tentative sketch, (graphite, oil and turp's) exploring how the light falls on a surface, and the movement (moment?) that follows. That's been on my mind alot lately.

Of course - of course! - it isn't finished yet. I don't know if it will get finished. Or, if it does get finished, what it will become. But it's a start! And that's what I needed. And I've decided to treat it as though somebody else started it. That way, I can be kinder about it, if need's be.

In a certain sense, it being the work of somebody else, is not so far from the truth.

Three years ago, I got sick... very sick. Now, I have a condition known as CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). More recent medical tests revealed that I also have megabolistic aneamia (that's at the level of bone-marrow) and have suffered a deep brain stroke (lacunar infarction), which has apparently left a sizeable void in the old grey matter!

This little lot plays daily havoc in different areas of my life. Everything from speach to typing to walking (although, I'm very pleased to say that I've not been falling flat on my face this past year!) and, it would seem, it also effects certain creative activities, like... you guessed it!... painting and drawing!

It's going to take a while to stroke those neurons back into shape, if that's even possible now. It might be. I know that the skills I had are still in there somewhere, it's just a hell of alot harder to reach them, now that the bridge is down! ;}

Speaking of Neurons... if you haven't already, then take a close look at this amazingly skilled piece of cloth making - it's one of my very favorites - by blogging friend (and rapidly becoming stitch mentor) Arlee Barr, who I keep coming back to here and who is on the verge of opening her store Fyberspace. I'm sure that everyone out there in blogland joins me in wishing Arlee very great success with her new venture. I feel certain that it's going to be a big hit!!!

LTF & TTFN!

After yesterdays 'blog n' chocolate' binge (yep, that's me, below), I'm going to sign off for a few days and get back to some painting and sketching.



















When I say get back to, it's because I haven't really done anything in that department for the best part of 8 years. YIKES! So, you see, it's been on my list for a long time!

I'm going to be exploring textures, and a still-life, and on paper. Very nice paper as a matter of fact! A year ago my father visited from the UK and bought me two pads of Langton NOT watercolor paper. And they've been whispering to me from a drawer ever since!

I want to share this beautiful written thought with you. It came to me in a message yesterday, from my new friend Mithun Jayaram. I don't think he'll mind that I'm publishing it here (???... if he does, I'll simply remove this part of the post!). What he says is very relevant... it's about creating art... it's about the shifts that occur within us... it's about inspiration... and, ultimately, it's about Life!

"i was once asked (a long time back.. during my early college years) what the role of an artist was..
i didn't know how to answer that..

i had just been exposed to all kinds of art that were not within the traditional confine of what art used to be... and i could find no apparent meaning in all the '-isms' i came across..

and i used to think art was just a means to express ones self..

sure, it can be a method/means to express self... but what i like is that strong ideas no matter whether it be art(in all forms), science, spirituality.. gets sieved...
and in the process of sieving..
there is a bouncing off that occurs
..
i liked many artists works.. or biology ideas, etc .. and it gets reflected in one way or the other through what i do.. (they've bounced off onto me)

now, you see what i have been doing and you get charged... ( i am bouncing onto you...)

which may give you space to take some ideas further.. which other people will like... (you've been bouncing on other people)

and they will do their thing.. bouncing off one another..

its like watching the micro-cosmos of atoms in action =)"

So, now it's my turn to bounce!

In preparation, I've spent the morning, with a spring in my step, taking snapshots with my lovely plum colored Nikon Coolpix S220 pocket camera (always have it handy!) and then, subsequently, I've created LTF. Light. Texture. Form. Think you're gonna like it! Hasta pronto!

It's my party and I'll blog if I want to!

This is totally wild! Why didn't they have stuff like this when I was young and totally wild myself?















Oooh... look at all this stuff piling up, waiting to be finished! Very slow slow cloth! But, I'm not going to beat myself over the head about that. I've had such a fun (hot!) day, endulging my whims, and blogging away to my hearts content! (And no, I'm not going to mention the pounds of chocolate covered almonds that I am putting away as I write today!)



















And just look at this stash... this mini Aladdin's cave... Have this to look forward to!

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. ~Larry Lorenzoni

Hope everybody else had such a great day as I did! Oh goodie, it's finally raining! :)

Monster Mouse Nanine and the Long-Lugged Hare

Monster Mouse Nanine
Originally uploaded by junkerjane Cute or what! I would like to introduce Monster Mouse Nanine, by Junkerjane. Hundreds of these cutsey, off-the-wall dolls to choose from. Tough, huh?

And you also have to look at this, fabulous leaping hare by Danielle Barlow over at Tales from The Rookery.

Mooning

One thing has led to another! I am getting to do my Blue Moon project... if a little later than everbody else.

I have been saving this dress for a long time. I bought it for $2 from a thrift store, about 300 years ago. Barely fitted me then. Sure doesn't fit me now! It's time has come!



















I have always guzjed over the combination of the sapphire velvet bodice and the bronze metallic skirt. But, let's face it, where in the heck would I have worn this anyways? I don't think it would've looked nearly so elegant with wellies!



















So off I go, starting with a small ring of... yep, you guessed it... buttonhole stitches (somebody please teach me to do something else!) on the sapphire velvet. Looks like a moon already with that wee chalk circle! Pretty much same color on same color stitching, so it's hard to see, but makes a nice texture.




















And... oh!... now there's a surprise! The bronze metallic thread fabric was hiding under there all along! (Sorry to say that the white patch over in the lower right-hand corner is actually my leg!)



















Shiny and hard to photograph well, but this is where those little metallic thread stitches have taken me... and only I know where they're going next ;)

Unrelated (if indeed anything ever can be): pebble beside pebble. Pebbles I spotted in the Rio Piro over the weekend. Great palette! Loved the fact that one of these little rocks was entirely covered in a lovely burnt sienna colored moss, but it's partner was stark naked... Mooning!

The Seals of Time

I have to blog this fabulous book that we picked up at the Central Bank's Pre-Coloumbian gold museum, in San Jose. (Yes... that again! You can expect to be hearing snippets about that for some time to come yet!) It's a book of Pre-columbian seals and I love it! I know, they say you should never judge a book by it's cover, but in this case, you totally can! It cost around $10 and would make a great little gift. (If anybosy wants to order one, i will be back in San Jose the first week of February).















Isn't that lovely?

The book has many wonderful designs inside, and talks about the history, construction, and use of these seals, which were formed from pottery. Some took the form of an actual stamp, whereas others were pottery wheels, which could be rolled over a surface, including over human skin. Infact, if you're familiar with Pre-Columbian artifacts, you'll have noticed that many of the pottery figures, for example, are covered in decorative patterns, which depict the temporary tattoes made by these seals, using plant-based dyes. Like this...



















Maybe not the best example, but it's what I could find at the moment. And here's what the tool itself looked like...



















I photographed this "wheel" seal from the book, and throught it would be fun to play with the image in Photoshop whilst having a coffee...



















Playing with repeat patterns and mirror images.



















Playing with the color palette. Here we have it in tan, and...



















... in "Inuit" blue.



















Playing with Nilo and playing with potatoes!
This is a great effect... all things considered ;>

It's so important to remember to play!