Black on Grey on White

Zoomed in and cropped: due to the size of the piece this is all my scanner could cope with (sadly all I could get done this week) I did however finish another Christmas commission, sort out paperwork and miscellaneous data before the school break next week, so all in all it has been a successful and busy week. Hurricane is coming along smoothly (if still a little bit bland and without much muscle shape.) This is has all been rendered in light layers of 2B on Mellotex paper. Must admit to wondering if I have not bitten off (size-wise) more than I can chew draw... One thing for sure: there's nothing like a new challenge and pushed boundaries to keep an artist on hers toes... Thanks for popping by. Have a great week-end.

Have you all started thinking of Christmas and tackling it's yearly challenges? Affirmative at this end. Christmas commissions: the challenge facing Black on Grey on White. Keeping the surprise intact implies keeping the image and drawing hidden and therefore depriving my blog of a substantial amount of material. To counter this, I have started a large new piece (26x61cm = 10"x24"). A "full frontal" view. My targeted subject Hurrican. In August I was granted a private photo session with this gem of an equine(big thank you to the Warendorf National Stud ) . 150 frames to work from . Really can't help thinking this is the first in many Hurrican portraits. Work will be done in-between commissions. Slow progress a certainty. Updates a promise. Until then, feel free to get know this big chap: he has his own website . It's in German but a horse is a horse...right?

One of my vivid summer memories comes in form of a neoclassical sculpture. Discreetly posed ( in Brussels' Royal Art Museum ) between Jacques Louis David's Death of Marat and the grandiose works of Rubens , "Le Deluge", by Matthieu Kessels, stopped me in my tracks. Hypnotised, I circled this work of art. Encompassing every detailed fold, hair and muscle. Desperately trying not to intrude on the intimate pain so present. Unable to look away. A sculpture so powerful and beautiful its image burned my memory . The strong balanced composition, the fluidity of the lines, the interwoven movement, the raw pain, the simple drama all quite simply... set in stone. Mathieu Kessels was born in Maastricht on the 20 May 1784, he died in Rome in on the 3rd of March 1836. A sculptor with a low profile but incredibly hypnotic works. ( b Maastricht, 20 May 1784; d Rome, 3 March 1836). Flemish sculptor. He gave up his apprenticeship as a goldsmith in Venlo to attend the Ecole des B...

An early morning -3 Celsius saw hats and scarves flying and a grumpy mum clearing frosted car windows. Autumn has packed its bags and opened the door to winter...a whole month too early. I so disagree and am thinking up ways of coaxing it back for a few more weeks ... Should I come up with no plans: at least Jess is ready and waiting! p.s: Jess was dressed with the scarf by our youngest. She was worried the wee "fluff ball" might catch cold... All I could do was catch my camera and try to avoid giggle shakes while shooting...

Every now and then I take the time to "flick" through the posts of my blog. I enjoy remembering, pondering and through it find inspiration. This one the posts that got me rethinking and for once agreeing with myself. My small attempt at answering the massive question: What is Art? What is art? This must be one of the most controversial and complex questions to answer. Controversial in its subjectivity and complex if only by the number of art forms there are. This actually means answers (usually long and longer) can be given at so many different levels and in no definite way. Having said this, answers have been given and in quite a large way. So why ask I hear you think. Well, I believe it is an important question for every artist to think about at least once and to attempt to give a coherent answer. So I will put my thinking cap on and probably bore you all to tears. OK here goes. If you don't want to read any further you could always check out the wikipedia, free ency...

Boasting yet another great big proud smile: Legacy is featured on Alyson Stanfield's Artbiz blog and in her Art Marketing Action newsletter. Thank you very much for the honour and the real-time fab feeling. Alyson is an artist advocate, an approachable art-marketing consultant and the author of the successful ( in my case well-read and earmarked) "I'd rather be in the studio" . (If you don't have a copy. Easy fix: available directly through Artbizcoach.com or Amazon . I doubt any artist in possession of this "must" will willingly sell their copy !) When you have a moment (and if you haven't done so already) check out Alyson's blog here http://www.artbizblog.com/ . Highly recommendable.