my life as an artist

White on White

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:21:13 +0100

For the next two Wednesdays, I will be giving workshops in London titled 'White on White'

Given that I am known as a 'colourist' - this theme came as quite a surprise to the organisers!

Today I was playing with water colour and white objects and came up with the following sketches: What I hope they demonstrate is just how much colour and tone there is when we place white objects against a white background.

Garlic.

White objects on a white cloth. Note that in this monochromatic water colour, it is the tones of light and shade that reveal each white object.

This exercise is excellent in moving towards an understanding that tone is every bit as important as colour in creating a painting. In indicating the tones throughout the painting we get more of a sense of the overall harmony and balance of the image.

Traditionally underpaintings were painted in this manner. There is a saying that if the underpainting works, then the over painting in colour will work. If however, the underpainting/composition does not work, no amount of fiddling around with colour with correct it!

Here is another example of a very large oil on canvas I painted many years ago...For this series of paintings, I began with monochromatic underpaintings. 'Quilt on Wicker Chair'.

It looks a little misty this morning, but it's supposed to be another sunny day in London.

A Bientot

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Remembrance Sunday

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:54:52 +0100

Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday in November, the Sunday nearest to 11th November which is the anniversary of the end of WW1 at 11a.m. 1918.

I don't think any sane minded person wants or condones war, but I do know that it is vital that we remember those who gave, and continue to give their lives so that we might experience freedom.

People of my age will undoubtedly know heroes from WW2 within their own familes. In this post I want to talk about my own parents experience during that war, and at the same time remember those that died along side them.

On October 2nd 1942, my father was serving in the Royal Navy on the cruiser HMS Curacoa. The Curacoa's job at that time was to escort the Queen Mary, which was carrying 20,000 American troups from the 29th Infantry Division to Glasgow where they would then join the allied forces.

The Curacoa

Using a zig-zagging technique to confuse U-boats in the area, it was later said by those on the Queen Mary that the Curacoa seemed to be too close for comfort to the hulk of the massive ship.

In fact, the Queen Mary hit the Curacoa and sliced it in two. Moving at 25 knots, policy dictated that the Queen Mary could not stop to pick up survivors. It was too dangerous as the threat of U-Boats was always present.

My father was one of just a few survivors from the Curacoa. Many years later, sitting in my beautiful little cottage garden in Wales, totally free and at peace, I read a book about this incident, and it was then that the real impact of what so many young men and women experienced during that and all the other terrible wars, hit me.

Here is the cover of the book covering the incident.

My Mother was a nurse with the VAD, and was stationed at Halar Naval Hospital in Portsmouth during the Normandy landings (D Day 1944). She was one of 140 young nursing members of the VAD waiting to treat the thousands of wounded soldiers and sailors who would be brought there from the battle field.

My Mother says that during the 24 hours prior to D Day and the injured arriving at Haslar Hospital, there was a complete silence - they were totally unaware of the huge manouvres taking place. To this day she marvels at the discipline and organisation shown at that time.

By telling these two stories, it helps me to understand why it is so important that we remember all the young men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

By remembering those who have given so much, it also helps me to be grateful for the freedoms I have today, and the importance of not wasting any of this precious life.

A Bientot

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Mentor & Friend Jean Frohling & Miss Julie

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:36:50 +0100

I painted this portrait of Jean Frohling about twenty years ago during an important turning point in my life.

An 'ala prima' painting, (painted in one sitting) it is oil on canvas.

I do believe that sometimes people come into our lives at just the right moment, and this was definitely the case with Jean Frohling.

We first met, when Jean and her daughter Laura came to a workshop I was giving at the Chester County Arts Association. It was during the period when I had made the decision to 'step out on a limb' and live and work in my studio. At this time the building had no heat and running water, but I knew that if I were to rent a flat and keep the studio, I would have to get another job which would detract from my work as an artist, and that was not an option. In short, it was a defining moment for me.

Jean, a top notch interior designer, commissioned me to produce paintings for the many projects she was working on. Work which I was most grateful to receive.

She became a good friend and mentor in the real sense of the word. Fifteen years older than me Jean had a wealth of experience, and was able to guide me through some real mine fields. She became a teacher and counselor, and it was through her support and encouragement that I was empowered to move forward, and achieve the goal of making my studio habitable.

With her fantastic sense of humour and ability to cut through all the nonsence, Jean was a life saver for me. I will always be grateful for her help and love.

Today she, and her daughter Laura, are living in Asheville, North Carolina...a beautiful area. I do hope that I see Jean again before either one of us departs this zone!

Yesterday I met my friend Tony and returned his hat and then went to another theatre production at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. This time it was 'Miss Julie' by August Strindberg.

Written in 1888, sex and power dominate Strindberg's scandalous masterpiece. Dealing with class, love/lust and the battle of the sexes and the interraction among them, it is a story for all times.

However last night's production, in my view, failed to inspire. Nevertheless, I am delighted to have such a lovely theatre just ten minutes from where I live. Having been in my flat for almost one year, I can now begin to really enjoy the many attractions right on my door step.

It is another beautiful sunny day in London.

A Bientot

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Sid the Boxer & Tony's Hat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:23:49 +0100

Going through portfolios yesterday I found this sketch of 'Sid the Boxer'.

When I first moved to London from Wales in the autumn of 2005 I stayed in Barnes, in south west London.

I found a bench in a little park between Barnes and Mortlake, which sits right on the river. It was there, while making some water colour sketches looking up river to Chiswick, that I met Sid the Boxer.

It was a picture perfect morning. Other than some people sitting on a bench on the other side of the park, I was alone. After an hour or so, the group got up and began to walk towards me. All of them, except for one very big man with a can of beer in his hand, walked down to the river bank. The big man came directly towards me and asked, as you do "You wanna paint my portrait"?

Surprising him, much more than he had surprised me, I said, "yes - sit down at the end of the bench I will paint one portrait for you and one for me".

It turned out that Sid the Boxer had spent most of his life in jail, specifically Wandsworth Prison, where, as he put it, he had respect from both the black and white inmates because of his prowess as a boxer. When I met him, he was living in a half way house. When I asked him what he had been in jail for, he said "attempted murder" Apparently, Sid who came across to me as a gentle giant, was also capable of serious outbursts, especially when too much alcahol was involved!

He was in his fifties, had been born into a 'travelling' family and had a daughter, who he hadn't seen or heard of in over thirty years. Clearly at one point he had been a very big, fit young man and a promising boxer. It was also clear, that through the accident of birth, Sid the Boxer's choices and options in life and been very limited.

After I painted the two portraits, Sid asked me if I had gone to a special school to learn to paint. I told him that I had gone to art college in Rochester, Kent. His response was that he had gone to the Borstal youth prison in Rochester! So there we were two people with very different life experiences, sitting on a park bench enjoying one anothers company.

I will always remember and be grateful for meeting Sid the Boxer, and often wonder where the portrait I gave him is hanging today. Maybe it's in Wandsworth Prison, who knows!

The second part of this post is about Tony's hat.

I began a portrait of my friend Tony Morris several months ago, and kept his hat so that I could work on that part of the portrait without him having to sit. Given that winter is just around the corner, it occurred to me yesterday that I should complete the painting of the hat so that Tony can wear it.

Here's where I left off a couple of months ago

Here's the painting after working on the hat yesterday.

I still have much work to do in the back ground. I will show again when completed.

Another lovely morning in London, with more seasonal temperatures.

A Bientot

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Howard Thorne & Adze Mixxie

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:28:26 +0100

Two names were mentioned in yesterday's post on the subject of feng shui - Adze Mixxie and Howard Thorne. Both men, now dead, played a very important part in my life.

I met them in West Chester, Pennsylvania at a critical time in my own life. Recently divorced I was living and working in my studio. Viewed has having gone mad by many of the locals, the fact was I had gone 'sane' for the first time in my life

West Chester, Pennsylvania was a very conservative town. Governed by the 'good old boy republican contingent', it was very wary of anything or anyone who was different! Today it has opened up in many ways, including the fact that my dear friend Carolyn Comitta is now the first female, democrat mayor of the town, ever!

Adze Mixxie was a gifted astrologer. Way ahead of his time, he was the first person I knew to talk about the importance of the internet, antioxidants, feng shui and much more. He practised tai chi every morning, and all in all was a fascinating human being.

I painted this oil on canvas of Adze about twenty years ago - 1.8m x 1.2 m. After his death in 1996 I lost track of where the portrait was. Then about six months ago it was shipped to me in London

Howard Thorne was a fantastic 'sign painter' of the old school. His original signs must be worth a great deal of money today. He had been a war artist in WW2, and was making installations long before it became the vogue, as well as being a prolific painter and all round creative.

For years I would observe Howard and his work from afar. I always felt too nervous to introduce myself to him. Then one day when I was living in my studio with no heat and running water, - a day when I almost thought I could give up the ghost, a letter was put under the door.

It simply said - 'I have just seen some of your portraits, and whatever you do never stop painting!' signed Howard Thorne! Even as I write this I am moved. That letter came at exactly the right time and heralded the beginning of a wonderful friendship, which continued to his death in 1995.

Before I left the United States to return home in 1993, Howard asked me to paint his portrait. I was the only aritst he had ever allowed to do this. I painted the portrait in his studio with one of his contemporary canvases behind him. A very special moment for me.

Howard died in 1995, and had left all his body parts to the University of Pennsylvania medical school. At the funeral, which my son Jarrod attended in my absence, was the portrait of Howard draped with the American flag to honour his time as a war artist in WW2.

The portrait is an oil on canvas approximately, 1.2 x 1 m

I am so grateful that both of these men played such an important part in my life.

I looks like yet another beautiful day in London.

A Bientot

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Do the Principles of Feng Shui Work?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:26:46 +0100

Within the context of the group 'Hopechild1' fellow blogger 'Stmms', posed the questions - 'Do you have a favourite Building and is there something in feng shui'?

My first experience of working around the principles of Feng Shui were twenty years ago when I was given free rein by architect, Carl Massara to transform a large 100 year old building in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Massara had done an amazing renovation on the building, with a view to renting the spaces out as offices. However, after a year where there was no interest at all from prospective tenants, he came to me with a proposal.

He gave me three months to transform the building with my art work, at which time there was to be a grand opening. If tenants signed up after this event, then I would be given a free studio space in the building along with my fee. I love a challenge and so agreed to do this.

Before starting work on a mural, I asked my friend Adze Mixxie the astrologer if he would come and look at the building. Adze, always ahead of his time, was already talking about the benefits of feng shui. He immediately said, this building is on a 'sick site'

With his guidance I painted the following oil on panel, 8 x 5 meter mural in the very beautiful, 13 meter high atrium. Within the mural were hidden many symbols representing the history of the town, along with astrological symbols which Adze felt would benefit the building. Note some of my recurring image themes also feature in this mural, i.e. peacocks, birds of paradise, humming birds, and calla lillies.

He then said, that the large cross beams which hung beneath the glass roof, would have to be broken up with mobiles. One of the key princiiples to feng shui is keeping the positive (chi) energy flowing through a space. Any dead ends, or beams can interfere with this flow.

This is where another wonderful friend and artist Howard Thorne came into play. He suggested that I use 15 cm housing insulation, which could be easily cut with a jigsaw and at the same time be very light. That's when I got the idea for three 6 meter hanging kinetic mobiles. In other words mobiles that would gently move as air circulated through the antrium. I call these three mobiles - 'humanoids'

Here is a picture of them in situe and another of the installation process.

By the way the reason we are looking up, is because Howard Thorne, (who was in his early seventies then) was at the top of the ladder!!)

The bottom line is that once the mural and mobiles where installed it was as if some magic had taken place. People were already signing up to rent spaces, and by the time we had the gala event three months after I began work, all offices in the building were rented.

Adze always said, that what we had done was merely a temporary fix. That were the mobiles to be removed, the energy in the building would change. Several years after installation they were removed, and everything did change!

It turned out that there had been an Native American Indian burial site in the area of the building - and so I feel that Adze was right.

Since this time, I have used basic feng shui principles in my living spaces, and it really does make a huge difference to my general well being.

A Bientot

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The Different Phases of Life

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:41:46 +0100

I have just read a post from 'Mala', one of my fellow bloggers, who talked about how when her family was young she had enjoyed with great gusto all the different events that parents celebrate alongside their children. In recognising that particular phase of her life is in the past, she is now able to enjoy her life today.

About a year and a half ago, my then 86 year old Mother, became ill. For the most part my Mother has always enjoyed very good health, and so during this past year, the knowledge that she is permanently housebound, and unable to do the things that she has always taken for granted, has come as a huge shock to her body and mind.

It struck me when I read Mala's post, that if we are to enjoy each season of our lives fully, we must move on from the past. Once again it's all about living in this day, and not days that have long gone, or days yet to come.

It has been very good for me to be with my Mother during this final chapter of her life. It has allowed me to see my own life more clearly, along with understanding more fully exactly who my Mother is.

I will be 64 in January and, although I feel extremely well and am fortunate to enjoy excellent health, the reality is that I have now entered a new and different phase in my own life. A phase that I am finding particularly freeing!

As a 'creative' this phase brings with it great promise. I think it was Picasso who said that an artists best work should be their last work. During the final phases of life, we can tap into all the knowledge, experience and information that we have gleaned over the years, and explore it more fully, without self imposed or societal restraints! Very freeing.

Two quick sketch of woods in the autumn

I leave here about lunch time to return to London.

I expected to awake to rain in Kent, but so far sunshine and some clouds....and definitely a few degrees cooler, which I like.

A Bientot

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Caravaggio's Hidden Self Portrait

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:15:16 +0100

Among all the mundane and often depressing news, this weekend I came across a lovely article in my newspaper.

A tiny self portrait of the great renaissance master Caravaggio, can be seen clearly for the first time after technology was used to peer through decades of grime.

The tiny image is hidden in a carafe of wine in his 1597 oil painting, 'Bacchus'

Here, along side the painting is the 'detail' of the carafe with the self portrait which appears in the reflected light that plays on the surface of the wine! Amazing!

At the beginning of the 21st century with our mobile phones, computers, iPods and generally more transient way of life, it's reasurring to know that the work of such a great master can still amaze and surprise us, four hundred years after his death.

I am off to my Mothers this morning, back tomorrow evening.

From my window it appears to be a beautiful day - with clear skies. Gone are yesterday's wind and rain.

A Bientot

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Alison's House by Susan Glaspell

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:51:23 +0100

Yesterday I went to a matinee performance of the play 'Alison's House' by American born playwright Susan Glaspell. It was shown at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.

It was one of more beautifully performed and crafted plays I have seen in a long time.

'Eighteen years since Alison Stanhope, the country's foremost poet died, now the house she worked and lived in must be sold. However, the house holds secrets, raising questions for her surviving family. Namely, is it right for the family to protect itself and its past, or does Alison belong to everyone'?

Inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson, the play won playwright Susan Glaspell the 1930 Pulitzer Prize.

Set on the last day of the nineteenth century, I feel that the play captured an American quality and spirit which we tend not to acknowledge or even be aware of at the beginning of the 21st century.

Having been married into an east coast family, I was fortunate to know some much older American women who had the kind of spirit and tenacity shown by the women in the play, and the playwright, Susan Glaspell.

Susan Glaspell, 1876-1948, along with her husband George Cram Cook, playwright and director were founding members of the 'Provincetown Players', an amateur group of writers and artists who at the beginning of the 20th century wanted to create a company committed to producing new plays by exclusively American playwrights. Among others, Eugene O'Neill was part of this exciting group of young artists.

Most of them lived in Greenwhich Village New York, and spent their summers in Povincetown, Massachusetts, which sits at the extreme tip of Cape Cod. A wonderful area to visit.

Given that this was such an American play, and I came away with the good feelings that I have when I think of this era in america and particularly the women with their amazing pioneer spirit, today I will show two very American paintings.

I painted these in the United States twenty years ago. Part of a large series of work, they featured objects which symbolise my life in America at that time.

This is a detail of a very large oil on canvas. All the objects, including the very old spinning wheel, were either owned by me, or other people who I knew. Quilts, a continuing theme in this series, symbolise a time in American when the early settler's values were still in tact.

Another large canvas encompassing gifts given to me by American friends.

Well it's doing what they said it would do today, which means here in London we have much needed rain, with wind....a great day for staying home and relaxing.

A Bientot

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Where the Black Mountains & Brecon Beacons Meet

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:59:22 +0100

I lived in the market town of Crickhowell which sits in the Usk Valley from 1993 til 2005. This is where the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons meet. Designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' and part of the Brecon Beacons National Park, people come from around the world to enjoy its particular beauty.

I was never really interested in landscape painting, other than to make quick sketches for my personal records, until I moved to Crickhowell. What I found in this beautiful area was an ever changing and dramatically beautiful land and skyscape. There were times when the drama of it all was so intense, it took my breath away.

Using some of my rapid sketches produced from my daily walks in the area, over the next few posts I want to explore more deeply the intensity of the feelings I experienced as I observed this ever changing colour and light.

This view from Gelli Rhyd Farm - was from the Llangenny side of Tabletop Mountain. A very fast pen sketch.

In the following watercolours I begin to look at the intense colour drama. It is impossible to capture the often rapidly changing land and skyscapes, and so much of it has to be stored within.

These water colours are 'impressions' from my memory bank.

We might be getting some rain in London this weekend, and our first autumn winds. After an amazing Indian summer, no complaints

A Bientot

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The Tree on Cleopatra's Island

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:41:03 +0100

I have been going through my sketch books looking at images which I might want to develop further. It's all part of moving towards a series of new paintings.

I came across the following image from a tiny little sketchbook which I made when sitting on a boat in the beautiful Gulf of Gokova in Turkey, looking across at Cleopatra's Island, where it is said Cleopatra and Marc Anthony spent their honeymoon.

The original sketch - a tree on Cleopatra's Island with hills in the haze behind.

I remember the moment vividly. Somehow this tree along with its surrounds, gave me a profound sense of time having stood still. I could almost imagine what it might have been like when Cleopatra and her husband Marc Anthony spent their honeymoon on the Island after their marriage in 36BC.

At that time there must have been so much activity on and around the island. Thousands of people preparing foods, entertainment and all the other elements that would make this last Pharaoh of Egypt's stay as perfect as could be possible.

It is remarkable how a tiny sketch can remind me of the feelings I had at the time I produced it.

I used this initial sketch as a 'jumping off point' to explore more of my feelings surrounding this image. When I made the sketch it was October, and each morning I awoke to lovely mists which would add to the mysterious quality of the area.

I imagined the hills behind the Island taking on a purple hue.

Here I saw it in my mind's eye gently swathed in ribbons of mist.

Marrying technical prowess with the intangible is always the goal of an artist, no matter what the discipline, and so with this new series of work, I continue to explore and put emphasis on my inner feelings.

A Bientot

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Three Cats,One Pot Belly Pig & One Lop Eared Bunny!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:48:08 +0100

When I had my studio in West Chester, Pennsylvania - two cats came to live with me. A boy named Tushy and a girl named Mushy. They were brother and sister.

Here they are happily curled up together.

They were very content and I loved them very much. When a baby pot belly pig came to visit, although interested, they were not fazed. When a black lop eared bunny rabbit moved in, they quickly adjusted! This is a true story

This picture, although dark, shows Tushy and Mushy looking with interest at the pot belly pig!

Here is a picture of 'Inky' the lop eared bunny rabbit.

Then one day I was asked to work on a mural project in a large animal hospital in Philadelphia.

Just as I was to finish the work, the director of the hospital came to me and said she thought I would like to see a kitten that had just been brought in. She said 'this kitten looks like it has put its nose in the paint pot'. Now, I knew at the time that this was a bad idea, but off I went, took one look at this little angel, and said 'I'll take her home'

As I arrived at my studio, knowing that I had to go out again almost immediately, the thought more than crossed my mind, as to how how this tiny little thing would manage with Tushy and Mushy!!! Inky hadn't moved in at this point

When I returned with trepidation several hours later, I found to my great surprise that the little kitten had taken complete control of the situation. Almost like, love at first sight, she had attached herself to Tushy, my lovely Tom cat.

The following pictures say a million words.......

Dear Mushy was happy to be out of the fray, but became very close friends with Inky the lop eared bunny rabbit after his arrival. The little kitten was christened 'Sasha'

And they all lived a happily ever after

A Bientot

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An Invitaton & Autumn Impressions

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:20:15 +0100

First the invitation.

For those of you following this blog you will know that I lived and worked in West Chester, Pennsylvania (28 miles SW of Philadlephia) for 23 years.

For a long time known as a more conservative arts community - West Chester is now home to a diverse and rich arts movement. When my friend the artist Valetta, contacted me several months ago about the 'Fabric of Peace' project - I was happy to submit an image to be included in the finished 'quilt'. Upon completion the intention is to send the 'quilt' on tour around the world. Valetta, who is the director of the Regional Center for Women in the Arts, has been involved in many international exhibition exchange programmes, and so is very clear of what this would entail.

'The Fabric of Peace is a positive statement by women connecting our shared interest in keeping peace in the world'

If you are an artist or quilter anywhere around the globe and would like to be involved - please contact Valetta at valetta.rcwa@comcast.net

My second part of this post is about some final autuman impressions I have had while walking around Bushy Park.

Bushy Park the second largest royal park of London sits immediately north of Hampton Court Palace, and fortunate for me virtually on my door step. Established as deer-hunting grounds for King Henry VIII five hundred years ago, the Park is magnificent. Walking through some areas of the Park, it's difficult sometimes to realise just how close to central London it is.

As the final days of autumn are upon us, the following two images are 'impressions' I had while walking through the Park. The lighting at this time of year can be breathtakingly beautiful!

A Bientot

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For the Love of Animals

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:29:46 +0100

The following passage from Walt Whitman's 'Song of Myself' was recently read on BBC radio four's 'Poetry Please'.

It reminds me of my deep love and respect for animals.

'I think I could turn and live with animals,
They are so placid and self-contained,
I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, nor one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago.
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth'
___________________________________

Here are some of the animals that have given me so much joy and love.

'Puppy' - This little angel never left my feet. He followed me everywhere, and offered such love and devotion.

'Tushy and Mushy'. Brother and sister, they came to me at 6 weeks old when I was living in my studio. They always liked to sit in the middle of my 'set ups'

'Tushy & Sasha' - Sasha came later and absolutely adored Tushy!

'Bumble' - Bumble introduced me to the people of Crickhowell in Wales. She can be seen in the church panels at. St. Edmunds in Crickhowell. A loyal and beautiful creature.

'Christeve' - Christeve who came to me in a storm on Christmas Eve in 1996 in the magical town of Crickadoon!

For anyone visiting London, I highly recommend your visiting the 'Animals in War Memorial' - it is very moving, and one that I will never tire of seeing.

There are two insciptions on the momument.

The first - 'This monument is dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time'

The second - 'They had no choice'

The monument is located at Brook Gate, Park Lane on the edge of Hyde Park. It was designed by English scuptor, David Backhouse, and unveiled by the Princess Royal on 24th November 2004.

A Bientot

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Trees

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:07:54 +0100

From the book 'Buddhist Offerings 365 Days'

'In the past all of life was based on trees. Their flowers gave us nourishment, their leaves and fibres clothed us and provided us with shelter. We took refuge in their branches for protection from wild animals. We used wood for heat, and for canes to bear our weight when we grew old, and to make weapons to defend ourselves. We were very close to trees. Today surrounded by sophisticated machinery and high performance computers in our ultra-modern offices, it is easy to forget our ties with nature'.

I can only speak from personal experience, but I know that when I am shut away from nature, I begin to feel unwell, both emotionally and physically. It's not like I am so ill that I have to take to my bed - it's more an underlying feeling of things not being right.

There are millions of people living in man made 'concrete jungles' Is it any wonder that anger and anxst surrounds these places?

Today as we witness the beauty and colour of autumn trees as the seasons change, I believe it is important to honour the trees and the natural cycles of life. I suppose what that means, is not necessarily learning anything knew, but rather remembering all that we have forgotten!

Every now and then I enjoy going into a park what I can lie flat on the ground and look up at the sky through the trees. Somehow it always gives me a new and fresh perepective on life!

Trees in a Welsh landscape

Just a tree we say!

A natural 'leaf gem' - there for all of us to enjoy.

A Bientot

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Interconectedness

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:42:12 +0100

I was given a beautiful book for my 60th birthday (now nearly four years ago, which is hard to believe!) titled 'Buddhist Offerings 365 Days'

Each day this book offers me a lovely image and some words that always seem to start me off on the right footing.

Today's offering.

'Without the rigidity of concepts, the world becomes transparent and illuminated, as though lit from within. With this understanding, the interconnectedness of all that lives becomes very clear. We see that nothing is stagnant and nothing is fully separate, that who we are, what we are, is intimately woven into the nature of life itself. Out of this sense of connection, love and compassion arise'.

As an artist I suppose I am always striving to somehow record this innate sense of interconnectedness through my work.

In this large oil on canvas painted about twenty years ago, I tried to convey this sense of all things being connected in a 'peaceable kingdom' sense. Looking closely reveals a leopard in the background along with all sorts of other flora and fauna.

As fellow blogger Jenny pointed out yesterday - working in oil doesn't always give the sense of spontaneity and freedom that can be achieved with water based paints. This of course is true, but I still enjoy the concept of working on huge white canvases!

One of my many peacock sketches - watercolour and gouache mix.

Hopefully everyone remembered to turn the clocks back today!

A Bientot

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Silencing the Outer Critic!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:17:44 +0200

Within the abundance of self help books that are available today, we often read about our 'inner' critic. I have just discovered the term 'silencing our OUTER critic', which resonates with me.

Yesterday I talked about how as a visual artist, it is often my rapid sketches that achieve a sense of spontaneity and vitality. These quick response sketches seem to record the essence of a moment. It is when I try to translate these sketches into more formal work, that the original vitality can get lost.

This clearly crosses over into other disciplines, i.e., writing. One of my fellow bloggers commented yesterday that this is an issue for him with regards to his poetry.

As I look back over my long career, I can see that because of periods when I listened to the 'outer' critics, which in turn tapped into my inner critic, I was often crippled from actually producing the work that made my heart sing!

I always seem to come back to my fifteen minute a day apple exercise. Once again this little exercise can help to dispell both outer and inner critics. If we allow ourselves to PLAY, be it with paint or words for fifteen minutes a day....we can begin to tap into our internal energy source, and consequently produce work that speaks of who we are.

A quick fire sketch of apples....which for me says everything about the essence of a bowl of applies. Less is more

I painted this oil on canvas years ago, and although technically proficient, I feel that it lacks the energy and vitality of the simple sketch.

Another 'egret' sketch. I remember sitting quietly watching this bird take off, and feeling a complete sense of being interconnected with nature.

It is this intangible quality that I want to bring to my new series of work. My goal is to draw from the feelings experienced when I produced the original sketch.

Overcast here in London, but still no rain!

A Bientot

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Egrets & MasterChef!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:05:21 +0200

As I continue to move towards beginning a new series of work, I am going through my sketch books looking for images that speak to me!

I found some rapid sketches of egrets in one of my 5 x 7 inch sketch books and used them as a 'jumping off point' to make more watercolours, empahsising the more intangible elements of movement and energy.

From my 5 x 7 inch sketch book

One of the watercolours I made yesterday from the top sketch. This is on a full sheet of watercolour paper.

A detail from the large watercolour.

It is often the case that much more vitality is found in an original sketch. When translated into studio paintings, sometimes that same spontaneity and energy is lost.

During this next period, my goal will be to translate original sketches into images focusing on the inner feelings I experienced when I first made the sketches. In other words I will draw from the intangible within, and hopefully marry that with some of the same vitality and energy found in the original sketches.

On a somewhat different note, although still dealing with the creative process, I watched the final programme of MasterChef last evening.

Wow. I am not a culinary expert however, I can and do admire the work of a great chef.
The three final contestants were fantastic, and really all of them deserve accolades for their excellence and perseverence!

Under enormous pressure these two young men and one young woman, were able to attain a level of focus which can only be achieved by those who dedicate their lives to their passion. Bravo to all three of them.

Another glorious morning in London.

A Bientot

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Christeve with Friends

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:30:56 +0200

In my last two posts I have shown illustrations of 'Christeve the Cat'. These images are from a project I worked on from 2000 til 2004, focusing on children, education and our environement.

The project addressed children from ages three to six. Sadly work came to a halt in 2004, however, it had a great deal of validity and there is no question that it was enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Along with becoming popular in Welsh schools where I was living and working at the time, the stories of Christeve the Cat were shown as a monthly column on the WRC Media website for one year. WRC Media is a huge educational publishing corporation based in New York.
For my American readers it is the home of The Weekly Reader - an educational magazine which has gone into American schools for over one hundred years.

I began the project because I felt strongly about education and environmental issues. I feel that the only way we are really going to make core changes in our society is to reach children with positive messages in their formative years.

Putting aside all my fine art work and tutoring for four years, I focused all of my energy on the project with a view to it providing an on going income through royalties. In turn affording me the freedom to create without the pressures of always having to sell!

Although the project didn't pan out, since 2004, life has taken its twists and turns and brought me to a very good place where I am once again able to explore with freedom the creative process.

Christeve the Cat was a real cat. She died aged 20 just two years ago. She came to me on a very stormy Christmas Eve in 1996 when I was living in Wales - hence the name Christeve.

Here is a picture of Christeve with some of her friends that Janet the Artist painted! This photograph was taken in my studio in Wales.

Here she is again surrounded with ideas I was exploring at the time.

Today there is much talk about carriculum changes in our primary school education. Given that this is the most important time for learning, the foundation block on which all other ideas and knowledge will be formed, any decisions made will be of the utmost importance.

One thing I do feel strongly about, and that is putting much more of an emphasis on creative thinking and the creative process.

Would love to hear any thoughts on that.

It looks like quite a nice day here in London.

A Bientot

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What is this all About?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:20:03 +0200

I have been with my Mother for the past two days. We have a routine, which goes something like this. After my arrival, we sit at the kitchen table with my lap top, and my Mother reads out her shopping list, almost as if she were in the shop On the second day of my visit, I go into the local town to do any errands.

Left to my own devices I am not a shopper. I go to the shops to get what I need, and then immediately leave, and so it is always somewhat of a shock to find myself in the middle of what I call the consumer madness!

Yesterday, I was saddened and horrified to see signs of halloween and Christmas vying for space on the already crammed full of 'stuff' shelves, and as always had to ask myself the question...what is this all about?

Now fully entrenched into a world of structured fun, fast moving animated images and sound bites, we are finding that these amusements have become a jail in which we have all payed to become inmates!

Somewhat like the tourist who has become a detatched visitor to the planet, unconcerned with deeper meanings, at the beginning of the 21st century we seem to have a need to be entertained, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week!

The questions are, has this constant entertainment contributed towards peoples happiness? Are we more fulfiled? What do you think?

Here is another illustration from the 'Christeve' stories. It shows Christeve the Cat sitting on Janet the Artist's lap in the snug little cottage in the magical town of Crickadoon.
To me it speaks about a sense of wellbeing and comfort. A sense of communication between human and animal. A sense of wellbeing free from boredom, because how can we be bored when our basic needs are met and we have a good book to read!

I was hoping that this morning would bring with it much needed rain, but for the moment, just clouds.

I have a day of playing with paint ahead of me.

A Bientot

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Christeve & Autumn

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:47:04 +0200

I thought I would post some fun illustrations I produced for the children's project I worked on from 2000 til 2004.

The project focused on children, education and the environement. Christeve the cat who belonged to Janet the Artist, travelled via her friend the Swan, to visit and learn about other animals and their habitats. She would then return to Crickadoon and tell all her friends about her adventures.

Through Christeve the Cat, school children chose projects within their communities to support. In one school a 'sensory garden' was developed, in several others computers were purchased. Another school was able to purchase two large comfortable chairs for a local old peoples home, and in another enough money was raised to provide water and electricity for their twin school in Ghana.

Christeve the Cat was very busy

These images of Christeve the Cat with some of her friends were set during Autumn in the magical down of Crickadoon.

These particular images weren't published. One of these days when I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I plan to resurrect and re write the Christeve stories.

Christeve telling her friend Miss Piggy about her travels.

Here Christeve is talking to the Swan who transported her by air or sea to wherever she wanted to go. Her friend the peacock is listening with great interest.

Christeve talking with a baby swan she found lost by the river in Crickadoon.

Here in Kent where I am visiting my Mother, the colours are very beautiful. Yesterday I picked apples from a tree at the bottom of her garden, and felt that very special 'autumn feeling' As I walked back to the house, I could smell a bonfire burning. It's interesting because this time of the year, particularly as Autumn begins to wane, brings to me feelings of nostalgia.

After what will be a busy day, I return to London this evening.

A Bientot

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Autumn's Beauty

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:38:09 +0200

When I walked with Suzy to the bus stop yesterday it was as perfect an autumn day as I could imagine. Beautiful colour, birds singing, everything glistening, and that fresh feeling in the air that always gives me a great deal of energy.

Having said our goodbyes, I then walked back very slowly savouring thoughts of our time spent together. Time the great illusion, a subject Suzy and I talked about at some length.

Last October I didn't know the flat, where I am now so very happily living, existed. Evidence that none of us is ever creative enough to know how things will actually work out! I will have been here one year on December 9th.

I stopped to pick up some fallen leaves, and did a quick sketch of one of them after I returned.

Here it is:

It wont be long before the trees will be stripped of this magical colour, and so enjoy.

I am off to Kent this morning to make sure everything is ticking over at my Mothers and to do her on line grocery shopping.

A Bientot

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Suzy Davidson Portrait/Interview

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:31:21 +0200

Suzy arrived yesterday from South Africa, and leaves this morning for Brussells. This has given us a delightful twenty four hours together and the opportunity for me to feature Suzy as the third subject in my portrait/interview series.

The Portrait

The Interview

Question (1)

What do you regard as your best qualities?

Answer:

"My sense of humour, campassion for those who need it, creativity and an ability to see through confusion".

Question (2)

What do you think your worst qualities are?

Answer:

"My total impatience with people who don't seem to get it!"

Question (3)

What do you think your friends think or say about you?

Answer:

"They think I am independent and ambitious in my plans, (especially with house renovations!)
They would think me witty with words, but also quite cutting"

Question (4)

What setting would you like to be painted in, and are there any animals or objects which you feel would symbolise who you are?

Answer:

"I would like to be surrounded by cushions of all different colours, with my dogs, past and present".

Question (5)

Where would you display your portrait?

Answer:

"In a family space".

Question (6)

Who would you like to have dinner with? This can be an historical or contemporary figure.

Answer:

"Frida Kahlo and the young Coco Chanel".

Question (7)

What was your first job? What is your job now?

Answer:

"My first job was working at Sun City Cacino in South Africa, cacino marketing and working in the bingo lounge. Today I am a commercial writer and artist".

Question (8)

How would you describe your portrait?

Answer:

"I think it captures me well in colour, and sneer".

_________________________________

You can see some of Suzy's work at http://www.suzydavidson.com

It looks like another beautiful day in London, although definitely on the chilly side. Back to milder temperatures later in the day.

A Bientot

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Less is More

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:12:07 +0200

The expression 'less is more' is a 19th century proverbial phrase, first found in print in 'Andrea del Santo' 1855, a poem by Robert Browning.

The phrase is associated with the simplicity and clarity of good design.

As I move towards beginning my new series of work, I sense that the 'less is more' theme will prevail.

Having ordered fourty full sheets of watercolour paper - I am preparing myself for the moment of creative birth!

For those following this blog you will know that every day I play with my paints, or warm up, just as a dancer or athlete would. Again, nothing is just created, - seeds are sewn followed by gestation and incubation periods, and then the most exciting part of all, the birth.

The three images I am showing today are very simple...not necessarily what I am aiming for, but part of the exploration process. Note that there is a great deal of 'negative, revealed or dynamic space' in the form of white paper. This is of equal importance to the overall image as the actual subject matter.

A simple study of a lily pod -

Calla lily (1)

Calla lily (2)

This morning my friend the artist Suzy Davidson arrives from S. AFrica. She is staying overnight, and then leaving for Brussells tomorrow. I am hoping to paint Suzy's portrait and interview her today.

It's chilly but looking very positive here in London. Apparently sunshine forcast for most of the day.

A Bientot

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World Food Day

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:09:02 +0200

October 16th has been designated 'World Food Day' since 1979. This years theme is 'Achieving food security in times of crisis'

I just heard on Radio 4 that in the Sudan the lack of food is so critical that there are people who are grinding leaves into a powder so that they can receive some form of nutrition! Just one example of the dreadful plight of so many millions in our world today.

Some statistics.

Every year fifteen million children die of hunger.

The World Health Organisation estimates that one third of the world is well fed, one third under fed, and one third is starving.

Nearly one in four people, (1.3 billion) live on less than one dollar a day.

It used to be that we could read about the horrors that others were experiencing and feel a sense of detachment. The old addage when I was growing up, was 'finish your food - remember the starving people', and I did, but in all honestly it seemed like such a long way a way, such a different world.

Today, we can no longer afford that detachment. Denial isn't an option. We are living within a global community, and as our communication networks become more and more sophisticated we can no longer bury our heads.

Today the 'food crisis' also poses huge political issues. Just as we will see more wars over 'water' we will also see more and more war and general unrest because of the lack of food.

So what can we do - we who live in our comfortable western boxes with food in our cupboards?

I mentioned yesterday how I am hooked on the BBC 2 t.v. series of MasterChef. A show that delights in the beauty and exquisite nature of food preparation, that only a wealthy few could actually afford to eat. Do we deny ourselves the joy of watching such a programme? I think not.

Taking that route would be the same as saying artists shouldn't paint any more, because a third of the world doesn't have a house to hang art, or writers shouldn't write because millions of people can't afford books.

Removing beauty in the form of food, art or literature can only add to the crisis that we are creating.

I think first and foremost we must show gratitude for the food and abundance that we have.
When we purchase our food, we must treat it with the utmost respect and see it as a beautiful gift. We must teach our children how precious their food is. We must stop taking food for granted!

Given the rapid changes in our world today, no one really knows what will be happening ten years from now, let alone fifty. One thing is for sure, food and water will be key issues, with millions of people vying for it.

Sharing our food is important. It has traditionally been the place where people come together and commune. In sharing our food we acknowledge the joy and sustainance it brings to our lives.

Today my friend Jane Carter is joining me for a late lunch. Yesterday afternoon I played in my little kitchen, and prepared the following chicken and vegetable pie. In this picture it has yet to go into the oven!

Given that I shop for fresh food each day, this meal began with the joy of visiting the market, which for me is a visual feast as well as a place that provides wonderful fresh produce at reasonable prices. I enjoyed preparing the food, and will now look forward to sharing it with a good friend.

A Bientot

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Bedroom Farce

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:15:51 +0200

Yesterday, after a morning of painting, I joined my friend Tony Morris for a matinee performance of 'Bedroom Farce' by Alan Ayckbourn at the Rose Theatre in Kingston-upon-Thames. It was a superb production, one that brought much laughter to the audience.

First shown 32 years ago, it is still fresh and relevant! Four couples, three bedrooms, two celebrations, one blazing row and an illicit kiss (or two). The play shines a spotlight onto the trials and tribulations of suburban marriage.

Those reading my blog will know that I moved into my flat almost a year ago, and it is really only now that I am beginning to enjoy some of the many local attractions. The Rose Theatre, just two years old is very well appointed, and a thoroughly enjoyable place to visit. Only a ten minute bus ride or train journey from my flat, it's a great asset.

After the theatre, a delightful meal looking onto the river with it's glorious autumn colours and amardas of swans! I was home in time to watch the MasterChef semi-final, a programme I seem to be hooked on! All in all an excellent day.

Back to the morning's painting. After ridding myself of as many 'chattering monkies' as possible I produced some very fast sketches, minimilising yesterday's image. As is the case with the 'thirty day apple exercise', where I show that an apple would die many times before running out of ways to perceive it, the same applies to the work I am doing now.

As I move towards this new series of paintings, I need to thoroughly exercise my mind, so that I can move into an effortless flow with the finished work. Today's images are just more exercises.

Where I finished yesterday.

First minimilised marks

Working on dry, white paper, I apply juicy paint.

Note that I have added some cadmium orange which I move around the image to emphasise a sense of balance.

In this frame, I applied a 'clean wet brush' up against the edges of the wet paint, and pulled it out. This is one of my key watercolour techniques. Note I am leaving lots of dry white paper.

Finished image

Detail from finished image

A little overcast in London this morning, but still very beautiful.

Also today is 'Action day for climate change' in blog land

A Bientot

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Those Chattering Monkies

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:31:52 +0200

Yesterday was another playful painting day. This process is allowing me to move into that special place where I take the leap and begin work on the new series.

Along with playing with paint, I also need to organise my life in such a way that all distractions are removed each day prior to work.

For example, if I know that my cupboard is bare and I need to buy food - I must do it before I work. If I need to call or write to someone, this must be done before my work. Otherwise, the 'chattering monkies' will keep popping up in my head, reminding me that I haven't done these things - which can only get in the way of the creative process.

When I am giving a workshop, I usually begin by having the participants make marks on newspaper. If I am using a model, I ask that they do fast one minute poses. This is often met with looks of horror. I suggest newspaper because it removes the fear of 'ruining a good sheet of paper'.

It never fails that when we begin, there is lots of noise and agitation in the studio. The 'chattering monkies' are working on overtime in everyone's head. 'What am I doing here? Do I have the right materials? What will they think? Did I park the car in the right place? and so on.....

What's fascinating is that after about fifteen minutes, a quietness comes over the studio. By the end of this period, the participants are 'in the room' both in mind and body. They have been gently lulled into right mode thinking, and in doing this they have quietened their 'chattering monkies' With the fear of 'not being perfect' removed, it is often the case that people do their best work during this period.

Here's a lovely story with regards to removing 'chattering monkies' About eight years ago, my daughter Christie was going through a difficult time. A relationship had failed, causing her great distress. She came to stay with me in Wales, and when she arrived I knew immediately that she was experiencing great pain. I could sense her agitation, and that the 'chattering monkies' were going wild in her head.

It was sutumn, and time to cut back the lavendar in my little cottage garden. I gave her some sacateurs and suggested that she prune the lavender. About two hours later, she came in and said. 'Mum that was excatly what I needed'. Christie had been gently lulled into right mode thinking. She had connected with the source - nature, and in doing this the horrible voices of the chattering monkies were removed. To this day, Christie and I acknowledge this as being one of those very special moments in life.

O.K. here is yesterday's 'makeover'!

First my pallette. I keep referring to 'juicy paint' I am using tube water colours along with designer gouache permanent white and naples yellow. You will note in this pallette, which I have had for over twenty years, that the water colours are in the wells around the centre and the gouache is in the centre.

I began with a simple watercolour of flowers from my portfolio

Given that I didn't like it anyway, it was a great surface to play from.

First marks of change using a strong mix of burnt sienna and prussian blue watercolour.

Now I begin to go a little wild....this is working very fast. I add strong pigment in certain areas, and then pull the paint out with a wet brush. I have also introduced 'designer gouache permanent white' to the left hand of the painting. I forgot to mention that I was integrating the gouache with watercolour in yesterday's demo. Note the use of cadmium orange has given the painting a jolt! Note that I have scraped out areas with a knife...again giving energy to the image.

The last frame shows a much more free form, energetic image. Again this is all about playing, and preparing myself for the next stage.

A Bientot

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The Two Modes!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:41:33 +0200

Today everyone is familiar with 'left mode - right mode' thinking. These were first described by Roger W. Perry in his pioneering work during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Sperry's research which was honoured by a Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1981, has shown that the right and left hemesphere of the brain use contrasting methods of processing information.

Left mode thinking represents language, logic and time. The right mode represents nonverbal, perceptual, intuitive, spatial thinking.

Sperry's research opened a huge window of enlightenment. It paved the way for an understanding of why 'creatives' usually the 'green apples' of society, find it very difficult to function within the more logical and rigid society of the 'red apples' (There are many references to the 'red/green apple' syndrome throughtout my blog)!

I mentioned several days ago that I am on the brink of a new series of paintings. As is the case with the birthing process, the fully formulated idea doesn't just pop out. There is always a gestation, incubation period, and as an artist, and someone who has gone through this process many times before, I know that in order for the birth to take place, I must begin to open that part of my mind and being so that I can fully express the 'intangible' information within me.

To do this, I begin by expressing ideas in a rapid manner. Every thought, and image is recorded. I PLAY with old sketches that have no particular significance to me. This helps me to think. For this process to work, I need to be totally focused. Outside influences (those left mode interruptions) are screened out as much as is possible.
In short, I need to be totally immersed within the creative process.

Yesterday, I PLAYED with a 'bird of paradise' image....and this is what happened.

This is the sketch from my portfolio. I am not a 'precious' aritist, and so for me it was a perfect platform to PLAY from.

I want to bring this image to life. For me it's static...it is technically proficient, but it lacks what I refer to as the 'intangible' As often stated in my blog, it is only when 'technical prowess and the intangible' are married that magic happens
Here I begin to add more colour and marks.

More colour and marks begin to add a sense of energy.

Where I finished yesterday. In this frame there is more of a sense of interconnectedness, where the 'negative space' and positive subject integrate rather than separate.

Something very important to remember. As I move through playful exercises of this nature, there are many places were I could stop, perhaps feel satisfied. However, this is not about finding the perfect image, it's about the CREATIVE PROCESS, process being the key word. It is only through this process that, as an artist I can grow and connect fully with the intangible within.

I will be PLAYING fcr several more hours today. Bliss

A bientot

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Scientific & Medical Network

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:09:34 +0200

'The Scientific & Medical Network was founded in 1973 by George Blaker, Dr. Partrick Shackleton, Dr. Peter Leggett and Sir Kelvin Spencer. The founders believed that neither orthodox religion nor conventional science was sufficient to answer pressing questions about human existence and the cosmos, and that new ways of thinking were needed'.

I was first introduced to this group by my friend Tony Morris. Two years ago he suggested that I might enjoy attending a 'Mystics & Scientists' conference held every year since 1978, organised by the Scientific & Medical Network. He was right.

'The Network assumes that there are many ways of knowing the world and ourselves, of which science is just one. In order to do justice to the full spectrum of human experience and the complexity of the cosmos, it encourages dialogue and interaction between the spiritual, the scientific, the philosophical and the arts in open-minded enquiry'. www.scimed.net.org

And so in this spirit, the conference I attended yesterday organised by the Network and titled 'Towards an Understanding of the Primacy of Consciousness' provided interdisciplinary contributions from physics, biology and philosophy.

As a physicist, employed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Dennis Blejer was very intereting. As someone who studies 'electromagnetic scattering and phenomenology, radar systems design, and signal processing' - he clearly deals in subjects that are way over my head! However, his interest in consciousness studies comes from his practise of meditation and study of the philosophy of the mind, and many of his personal insights were revealing in that they demonstrated how interconnected the sciences, spiritual traditions and the arts are.

Dr, Elisabet Sahtouris, an internationally known American/Greek evolution biologist has taught at U. of Massachusetts and MIT, and was a UN consultant on indigenous peoples and organised the first Evolution of Science Symposium to be held in Juala Lumpur this year. She spoke about our being in the last stages of evolutionery 'hostile competition' That it is only through crisis that big leaps are made to higher levels of conciousness, and that as a human species we are now creating our own crisis! www.sahtouris.com

Graham Dunstan Martin lectured in French literature, language and philosophy at Edinburgh University. He has published two children's novels and four adult science-fiction/fantasy novels. His aim is to show that, properly understood science does not support a materialistic/physicalist view of the universe, that it leaves room for spiritual realities, an afterlife, and the ultimage knowledge of the mystics.

Clearly, a lot of issues were discussed yesterday. As always, I came away with ideas and much food for thought, and more importantly a sense that science, spiritual traditions and the arts are now understood as being interconnected, not separate entities.

Several words kept coming up during the day. Words often used with regards to the 'creative process' 'Interconnected, illusion, integration, mystery, awe and bliss'

'Blue sky thinking' has become yet another corporate cliche, but in many ways, that's what these conferences are all about, and so I thought as an image today I would post some 'blue skies'

From Dennis Blejer:- 'Conciousness can never be a discovery. It is within conciousness that the discovery takes place'

Given that we have only lived about two minutes of one hour in the evolutionery process, it was also stated several times, that we simply don't know!

Not knowing keeps the mystery alive, which in turn keeps our lives so rich.

A Bientot

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Dance Like a Fool!

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:25:26 +0200

'We're fools whether we dance or not. So we might as well dance. - Japanese Proverb.

I like this very much indeed!

I am off early today for a conference organised by the Scientific and Medical Network at the School of Economic Science, titled 'Towards an Understanding of the Primacy of Consciousness'.