Still all at sea ...

My last post (below) was about my take on Hokasai's Great Wave, so sticking with the sea theme ... but under it this time, here is a large-ish canvas with jellyfish! There is something quite mesmerizing about how these creatures move through the water.

Lots of texture, particularly at the bottom, using a little Powertex with threads and small shells, but this is mainly acrylic paint.

Another trip to the National Gallery to see the Courtauld Impressionists exhibition.  Some of my favourite paintings are in this collection ...

Paul Cezanne - Lac d-Annecy - 1886

Vincent van Gogh - A Wheatfield with Cypresses - 1889

Edouard Manet - A Bar at the Folies Bergere - 1882

Claude Monet - Antibes - 1888

I also took a photo of what is currently on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square -

Michael Rakowitz - The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist

In 2006 Michael Rakowitz start a project to recreate over 7000 archaeological artefacts looted from the Iraq Museum during the war or destroyed elsewhere. One of these was the Lamassu, a winged deity, which guarded the Nergal Gate at the entrance to the ancient Assyrian city of Neneveh. This Lamassu is made of empty Iraqui date syrup cans.

My favourite is still the Blue Cockerel! (see here).

Making waves ...

The Fearless Four got together recently, though we were only three as one was unwell; but fully recovered now.

We had decided to use some Powertex in our creations. Last year I visited the Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum (see here) and so decided to use his Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) as my inspiration.

This is a box canvas and I mainly used heavy modelling paste, together with some threads and ribbons (dunked in Powertex), for the structure.  I also got some colour on the background.

As the paste was so thick I couldn't go any further, as it needed to dry out overnight.  The next day I had great fun using lots of different blue paint! I redid some of the sky, and added some gold highlights.

So, this is my homage to Hokusai (minus the boats!).

And what did the others get up to?

Linda started making waves on a mirror - to be finished.

Lin continued with a painting started earlier, with lots of texture.


















Had a trip to Tate Britain to see the Edward Burne-Jones exhibition. Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) is the last major figure associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, one of my favourite art movements.  The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets and art critics founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

This is another stunning exhibition, with too many favourites, but here are a few -

The Depths of the Sea

The Golden Stairs

Edward Burne-Jones had a preoccupation with myth and legend which led to him working with sequences of images. These next three are from The Briar Rose series, based on the story of Sleeping Beauty.

And finally -

The Graham Piano

Good times with great friends and great artists!