New paintings and regular art updates.
One moon, reflected
Selene or Luna
She glisters through the twigs
Origamied by my buttons
She is twisted into more dimensions.
Fluid glory, etched through glass
Sunlight floods across the horizon
From the opposite side of the world
Pale blue sky washes around
In a month will you appear again?
The tides of time enthralling me.
Is Lady Liberty disappearing into mist and fog? What happened to the support of huddled masses? Can there possibly be mass deportations?
Looking up the name of the island where people arrived in America, Google says:
On 1 January 1892, Ellis Island opened to receive immigrants. At its peak, during the early years of the 20th Century, thousands of people passed through its gates each day. Angel Island in San Francisco Bay had the same role on the west coast from 1910 to 1940.
So why is this aspect of America. Support and kindness now being curtailed? Perhaps it is through fear, perhaps it is selfishness. I don’t know. There seems to be almost a mass hysteria around the world where xenophobia is taking control. We see it in the UK where the legal routes to migration have been reduced and people fleeing conflict have been forced to risk travelling across the Channel in small boats to get to the UK. Vicious rumours about those poor people have caused riots and misinformed so many people in negative ways.
We see war in Syria now that has started to maim and kill people again. Destabilising countries causes strife and fear and forces people to move. Gaza is in crisis, Ukraine is being destroyed. Sudan has floods and starvation to mention a few current crises. But instead of dealing with the bad actors we allow the oligarchs of the world to feel they can get away with their cruelty.
All of us need to stop and think about kindness, caring and love. It’s about time we thought as President Kennedy did, not what we can do for ourselves but what we can do for others. Somewhere humanity needs to think about our fellow humans and not just grabbing what we can and damn the rest.
It makes me dispair and worry about what we are doing. Maybe fear of what’s happening to the Earth’s environment is now impacting on its population. Somehow we must start to care more about each other.
I went back to an app I like because I had used it to texturise images in the past. I’d stopped using it (photodirector) because a lot of the options had changed and I couldn’t find the one that did this (adding wavy patterns to my original artwork). But I had another look and found what I wanted under “art style” I think. You then have varied options to alter the texture and colour. This was my favourite stye. The other thing is you can go back and put it through the same or another texturiser again. So pleased I found it.
Before covid (bc) I painted a series of pictures of places the cast of the pantomime I was in travelled through to get to Gretna green in Scotland (they had no sense of direction). This was one of the destinations.
This popped up on my Facebook memories. Imagine 8 or 10 people walking along and each painting being moved across the stage behind them. It was fun.
A photo from 7 years ago. It’s just a horizontal mirroring of the top of a tree. It feels tranquil, like a flooded flat lake that has risen to cover the land. A perfect reflection created digitally.
In other thoughts I’m having a quiet day, my stomach is upset again and I’m just trying to sleep, relax, and stay calm like the photo.
A small painting I did about 7 years ago. My friend bought it from me at a craft fair. I don’t remember why I painted this subject, it might have been Halloween. I don’t know where the idea came from, but it feels likely that I was thinking of spooky stories. Its one of my small canvases from when I was doing more craft fairs. Just found in my memories on Facebook.
Christmas, alone for another year. Make Merry they say. Bah Humbug! Do I reply? No, I’m not so lost that I turn my cheek to the world. But a quiet Christmas? Maybe. One chicken leg. A small bottle of beer. Three sprouts if I’m lucky? Any sparkle and cheer? I might make handmade crackers and tie one end to the door handle to pull them. Meanwhile, I bought myself a new garden bench to sit alone on, so happy new year, dear.
Every so often I find a heart, and I smile and remember, I’m not alone.
Memories grip me, I remember clear days, driving through country lanes, visiting old houses, happiness, times spent together.
It doesn’t have to be a leaf, I see hearts in swirls of coffee, puddles, holes in crumpets, flower petals, it’s just some random pattern that leads me to loving feelings, caring, comforting, companionable love.
And I’m glad.
Autumn puddle, a rather strange painting I finished today. Acrylic on canvas.
I started by picking up some leaves and tried to paint them and get the colours right. It then got left while I was not feeling well so I decided to try and do more work on it. I think I’ve not done too badly. The leaves are now floating in a puddle reflecting a blue and white sky. Should I do more to it?
Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?
I don’t know any tropical beaches, but I love the British coast. It’s often rugged and rocky, with rock pools to explore. Sand castles and seahorses to draw in the sand. Looking at barnacles and looking for crabs and fish trapped by the tide. Sandflies on seaweed. Finding out about local tides and how the moon affects them. I particularly like the Welsh coast as its so varied and interesting.
Lighthouses and Ancient burial sites, castles on headlands guarding ports. Welsh names to try and pronounce. Islands and boats, fishermen and tiny villages. I love it.
Mallaband-Brown