GIRL WITH CHAIR He is sitting on the rim of a wood planter box that houses a smallish palm tree providing no shade on this warm day, and looking away from where I am standing. My camera is a second away from capturing this perfect shot. An image photograph for a potential sketch. One... Continue Reading →
TALK TALK TALK "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes - and ships - and sealing-wax Of cabbages - and kings - And why the sea is boiling hot - And whether pigs have wings." Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, Ch. 4
He salutes me every morning. Him…that old guy…the early morning walker. Like me. Although, I know that I’m not the only one. I imagine he salutes every one he passes whether on the same side of the street, or not. Ex-military, for sure. Crisp camouflage pants, green jacket with emblems on the sleeve, name... Continue Reading →
An idea within an idea within an idea. It never seems to stop until...someone else is doing something else that someone else is doing and the fire is lit..and it begins again. In a different place altogether from where you think you've started. My Yorkshire fellow artist and friend Rebecca from STUFF AND NONSENSE, (can... Continue Reading →
LAPIN BLEAU via Thoughts on Integrity Sometimes words spoken or written by others hit a nerve, make a point, provoke, and not just a mere thought but myriads of thoughts....that are too important to ignore. Angst, about when the sky will finally fall, real or imagined, is palpable. This is not about Chicken Little. This... Continue Reading →
FALLING INTO BED "And some artists try to make something out of nothing, order out of chaos, demanding of themselves that they ably communicate structure and composition, colour and balance, and that each piece they create serve to communicate a predetermined issue as well. A piece of art asks people to stop and look in... Continue Reading →
Curious still about the etymological origin of twice…as defined in Origins A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, authored by Eric Partridge is this: “2. In double degree or quantity (twice as good).” Twice. As. Good. Originally, my thinking was this would be easier to explain than I’m [actually] finding it to be. I’m attempting... Continue Reading →
Grandmother’s house was always dark. That’s what I recall anyway. The heavy drapes were always pulled shut which swathed the living room in darkness. The living room became an unmistakable cave when you entered through the front door. Grandmother’s house was always dark, but it also always smelled of blackberry jam. The scent was pungent.... Continue Reading →
Normally, I’ve been reluctant to besiege My Reader with facts, that particular part of my art researching profession that requires accuracy closely bordering the edge of boredom. However, just this once and feeling safe in the “historical fact” arena because I’ve taken liberal liberties with wording and comments…the curious art researcher and enquiring mind bubbled... Continue Reading →
This is how it goes, usually… 1 January – take down Christmas tree. Pack. Store. This is how it went… 26 December – Christmas tree down. Packed. Stored. Five-day head start on usual Christmas tree take-down. Forget January. Early. Easy. Done. Forgotten. Bliss. Thirty-one plus five extra days of forgetful bliss. Thirty-one plus... Continue Reading →
The day couldn't have been darker, colder, more foreboding or windier. What did we expect? It was, after all, the East Sussex seacoast in early spring; a perfect day to get out of the cottage and explore the neighbourhood in spite of the dreadful weather. Right. The residential hill behind the train station looked straightforward, and looked straight... Continue Reading →
FIG ON A PLATTER ON the ninth day Before Christmas It came as a vision A flash. No, a scare! THIS FIG Was just sitting On a silly green plate In the shape of a pear. AS if by a thread Poised high in mid-air A twee bit of mistletoe Was hanging just…there. WHAT could... Continue Reading →
Sometimes things just get away from you. The day. Time. The weather. A swear word (or words) that is or are supposed to be silent but end up being out-loud swear word(s). Really LOUD out-loud swear word(s). Don't you just hate that when it happens? Occasionally I do, but most of the time not so... Continue Reading →
At first it was curiosity and wondering about a word. Then mental machinations and mindless wanderings took the high road and soon profound curiosity became a fever-pitched research obsession. It was all about a word, and the word was G-R-E-A-T-N-E-S-S. A good word GREATNESS. A great word. Greatness (n.): from the adjective GREAT to... Continue Reading →
WHITE CHAIRIf I wrote to you would you answer?Not because you won’t but because you haven’t.Is it because of all those things I said on pages? I don’t know what else to say that would erase all those words expressed with pen to paper. On those pages euphoria of time and place got the better... Continue Reading →
SUNDAY LUNCH Not to bore you with details but the menu was southern comfort through and through: thin sliced smoked ham, Vermont maple syrup laced with baked beans; collard greens infused with pepper bacon; wine and more wine; peach pie laden with birthday candles and what else? Real Southern Comfort. War stories recounted years of... Continue Reading →
“What a strange thing is memory, and hope; one looks backward, the other forward. The one is of Today, the other is the Tomorrow. Memory is history recorded in our brain, memory is a painter, it paints pictures of the past and of the day.” Grandmas Moses, primitive painter RED CHAIR
"Day after day, day after day We stuck, nor breath nor motion As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean." The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Winchester Cathedral Winchester, Hampshire, England What better way to end the day than to sit in solitude in one of the greatest churches of England, dated from 1079, and reflect on words penned by Emily Bronte: "No coward soul is mine, No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere: I see Heaven's glories shine, And... Continue Reading →
Ham House Garden Patio Ham, Surrey England I look up to My Reader. Admire My Reader. I think My Reader is the Toot’s Potatoes…please excuse my personal coined phrase for Brilliance Plus. My Reader has accomplished the un-accomplishable, and has left no emotional room for anything less than inspired adulation. El Guapo has written... Continue Reading →
Jots from a Small Apt. 