Tree

 

A.Finnie. "Birdie Park" (detail) 2011, acrylic on canvas 40x50cm

Well, guess what I've been doing? 

Yes, I haven't been visiting blogs, I haven't been surfing. Instead I've been ringing up news papers, designing posters, thinking up wonderful things to say about myself that slightly resembled the truth, I've been trying to buy bottles of wine for less than three dollars that don't have the distinct aroma of Eau de Chat Derrier, I've been addressing envelopes, googling addresses, licking stamps (some of them taste like strawberries) and , above all, trying to find a pair of trousers to fit me on opening night that doesn't make me look like an upside down version of one of those people who blow up a washing glove and stick it on their head so they look like a chook on steroids (chook is Australian for chicken eg Hey Bruce! Get aload of that old chook over there sitting near the bill a bong)

This for Illustration Friday's "Tree". (So wasn't the Tree of Life half tempting, aye?)

I hope you forgive me for not visiting :( Life is due to return to normal any year now....

Hugs from Oz!

PS we even scored a segment in the Trevisan International Art newsletter :)

A.Finnie. "Yellow Chrsyanthemum"  2012, acrylic on canvas 40x50cm

Jennifer.Finnie. "Lazy Summer" 2012, acrylic on linen 30X25cm

 

 

 

 

Robert.Birch "Baraka 1" acrylic on canvas 40.5x40.5cm

Practicing one wall of the "hang" in the studio.

The Last Stand of Captain Pugwart

Oh dear, Christmas almost, tinsel and lights and cake and cake and cake and cake and cake, and... err ..... tinsel.

Did I tell  you that I wear vinyl belts now? Unlike leather belts, they stretch - which is good.

Of course, like the pianist Liberace, they go the other way as well .... ie they don't just stretch, but shrink.

To be honest, so far I have not investigated their shrinking properties - though I once read in the Norwegian Adventurer's Handy Hints Guide (April 2009)  that if you leave them  in the freezer for three months they shrink two sizes.

With that tit-bit of information we can conclude (well,  it goes without saying, really)  that, if you go to the North Pole as a Santa Volunteer and happen to have a penchant for vinyl belts, there is small but calculable chance that you will need abdominal amputation if the temperature drops too far - courtesy of the tourniquet effect.

Hmm. Did you ever notice that I type rubbish in my posts? :)

I'm just trying to keep up with my friend Linda - who as a wordsmith has no equal - and types anything but rubbish!

Thank you so much to all my friends for your kind visits this year. It means very much to me. I count myself blessed to have met such a talented, friendly, encouraging, good looking and intelligent bunch of artists with superb taste and style. :)

I sincerely hope you had a WONDERFUL year - and that next year is double good.

I'll be round later and give you all a hug :) Let me know if you have sore ribs or anything like that.


PS: this is for IF's "Sink" - and yes, Elves always wear their pants (and coifs for that matter) in the bath.

Don't you? :)

Thank you so much for looking.


Merci beaucoup à tous mes amis de votre aimable visite cette année (even Leo the Toucan) Cela signifie beaucoup pour moi. Je compte myslelf béni d'avoir rencontré un tel talent, chaleureux, encourageant, tas beau et intelligent des artistes avec un goût superbe et le style. :) J'espère sincèrement que vous avez eu une année formidable - et que l'année prochaine est le double de bon.
Je vais être ronde plus tard et vous donner tous un câlin:) Laissez-moi savoir si vous avez les côtes endoloris ou quelque chose comme ça.

Muchas gracias a todos mis amigos por su amable visita este año. Significa mucho para mí. Cuento myslelf bendecido de haber conocido a un talentoso y agradable, fomentando grupo, guapo e inteligente de los artistas con excelente sabor y estilo. :) Espero sinceramente que usted ha tenido un año maravilloso - y que el próximo año es el doble de bueno. Voy a estar todo más adelante y darle un abrazo a todos:) Quisiera saber si usted tiene dolor en las costillas ni nada de eso.

Tusen takk til alle mine venner for typen din besøk dette året. Det betyr veldig mye for meg. Jeg teller myslelf velsignet med å ha møtt en så talentfull, vennlig, oppmuntrende, gode jakt og intelligent gjeng av kunstnere med ypperlig smak og stil. :) Jeg håper du har hatt en strålende år - og at neste år er dobbelt bra.
Jeg skal være runde senere, og gi dere alle en klem:) La meg vite om du har såre ribbein eller noe sånt.

Vielen Dank an alle meine Freunde für Ihre Besuche in diesem Jahr. Es bedeutet mir sehr viel. Ich zähle myslelf gesegnet, erfüllt eine so talentierte, freundliche, ermunternde, gut aussehende und intelligente Horde von Künstlern mit herrlichem Geschmack und Stil haben. :)
Ich hoffe, Sie hatten ein wunderbares Jahr - und das nächste Jahr ist doppelt gut.



(Oh if you are reading this before the 19th go here if you would like a free taste of Poser - a program originally designed for artists to pose models without having to talk to real humans.... it comes with a stack of 'models')

The Death of the Lewd, Knotty-Spotted, Pinch-Pated Cripple!

Warning: this post is politically incorrect.

Midsummer Night's Dream

"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:"

Oberon: Midsummer Night's Dream (W.Shakespeare: Circa 1595)

Do you know 'resonance'?

When I was a kid I had a book entitled "Tales from Shakespeare" by Charles and Mary Lamb. On the cover it had a picture of this strange creature which seemed to be half man half donkey. Later I found out it 'were' Nick Bottom, a character from "Midsummer Night's Dream."  At about the same time I discovered that Bottom wasn't a donkey at all. In fact, in keeping with his name, he was an 'ass'.

So what's that have to do with 'resonance'?

Well, to be perfectly honest, all and nothing.

Shakespeare is wonderful for 'resonance'. You can immediately make a book appear to be more important by putting a Shakespearean quote in the frontispiece. It could be a book about cooking chooks, or a book on how to raise a two year old child with one leg longer than the other.

All the world's a stage,

and all the men and women merely players:

they have their exits and their entrances;

but the boy with one leg longer than the other,

he doth walk round and round:

Loves Labours Lost (W.Shakespeare (Act V, Scene II).

 
Regardless of the subject, including a Shakespearean quote will lift that book to another plane. Even if you have to make the quote up yourself  :)

And that's what resonance is all about.

Before I stop blahing, I need to tell you about another "Resonance by Association." Did you know that I rub shoulders with some wonderously talented people?

Yep! My friend Jack Foster has another book out. The man never sleeps. He's even set up a portfolio site with a list of  his  creations. About  time.

And then there's Amalia K. She just let slip about a few new books she'd forgoten about! What a memory eh? If I had those books out I'd be walking up and down the street shouting. You can see some of her influence in the little girl in this image.

And I shouldn't leave out Mita, whose list of books I discovered accidently while waiting for a bus the other day. The web address was written on the side of the bus shelter. Can  you believe that?

These three talented artists are really really starting to annoy me. :)

But not as much as Linda Hensley   whose latest work has me feeling itchy. :)