John This morning I attended the first session in a series of classes on “Abstract art”, in Skipton. It was an interesting experience, and I expect that the course will fill an important gap in my (rather haphazard) artistic education. Talking with the instructor, it occurred to me that my education as an artist has been … Read more
Abstract art has always been something of a mystery to me. Art lessons in school stopped with the Impressionists. I have followed several courses over the years, but these have either been devoted to specific media, such as pastels or watercolour, or they have focussed very much on representation …. principally life-drawing classes. I was … Read more
I went for a very pleasant local walk this morning, exploring a little more of the countryside. On the way home, through the local woodland park, I was startled to see that somebody has laid out a Halloween “trail”, replete with “ghosts”, cobwebs, witches and other bizarre figures. What on earth is going on here? … Read more
It is interesting to note the way in which comparatively small errors can undermine the acceptability of a work of art. Last night my wife and I went to see a play at the Bingley Arts Centre, about the life of Shakespeare. It was an interesting idea, in that his attempts to write were placed … Read more
Something happened this morning which I can never remember happening before. I reached the decision that I am simply not capable of undertaking the task I had set myself. Of course, it is a relatively normal experience that one decides that a pice of work, on completion, is disappointing. It has also been the case … Read more
I suppose that the good news is that I have been able to start a new project since my return from Canterbury. Regular readers of this blog will recall that for a long time I was having great difficulty in getting off the ground with a new project. At my worst I was starting to … Read more
I have bitten the bullet this morning and actually begun preparation for the gilding element of the project I mentioned in a previous post. I am afraid that a number of compromises are going to be necessary. Naturally, I went back to the text-book on ikons and wall painting. The experience has been rather deterring. … Read more
One reason why I have not posted for a little while is that I have been away on a course. The event took place in Canterbury, and the subject was Ikon painting. I did something similar eight years ago, but when I came to consider using this material again I realised that I really needed … Read more
This afternoon I had the privilege of visiting the studio of a well-known Yorkshire artist. It was an immensely re-enforcing experience. To begin with, it was good to be recognised as a colleague, even ‘though (as in Leonard Cohen’s song) he is “ninety floors above me” in the tower of art. Then, he had encouraging … Read more
I have just begun to re-read Lawrence Durrell’s “Alexandria Quartet”. Like Stella Gibbon’s Cold Comfort Farm, it is one of those literary creations to which I feel compelled to return every now and then. It only occurred to me today that, like Cold Comfort Farm, Durrell’s Alexandria is a very untidy place. The difference between … Read more