Whilst this Kick-About prompt mentioned a particular painting by Alexei von Jawlensky, I was intrigued by some of his other works, particularly his paintings of heads. That was enough for me to start creating my own paintings of heads, and I grouped them together rather than presenting them as individual portraits.
Head on over to Phil’s website to see my artwork and how others have interpreted the prompt. Here is the link:
What are Foraminifera? I had to look them up only to discover that there are thousands of them living in or on the seafloor. I’m not a scientist so my understanding of them is minimal but they are single-celled organisms; tiny seashells.
Here is a link to the Kick-About organised by Phil. Head on over there and discover the wonderful interpretations of others who also took up the challenge of the prompt:
And just as a bit of fun, the same image but upside down:
I’m not sure that this was a success for me as I struggled with the practical skills of making a mobile with such fine materials. Doing it again, I would use wood for the Forams and cord to hang them. My fingers just aren’t as flexible as they used to be.
Having my work displayed in the Kick-About’s is a delight and seeing it alongside such talented artists is a real driver to improving my own artwork.
This Kick-About nearly didn’t come to anything as I became so frustrated with my attempts of portraying the Sputnik satellite! Then, I remembered Laika, the first living creature sent into space.
Head on over to Phil’s blog and see what others have presented there; here is the link:
I must have binned more than 50 such drawings before realising that there was another story to tell, one about a dog called Laika: the real Dog Star! She must have died in so much pain and for what? Why do we treat animals, sentient beings, in such an exploitive way?
Butterflies, Flitting from flower to flower; Peace.
The end of July and the beginning of August, is the traditional festival of Lammas, a time of abundance and in the pagan calendar, seen as the beginning of autumn. There are so many flowers in our tiny garden but this Buddleia, a dwarf variety, is a favourite. Known as the butterfly bush or shrub, we can see why it is so called. I didn’t manage to capture on camera the other butterflies in the garden but I am working on a further linked post with some artwork which I shall publish shortly. 🤞🤞
The Kick-About prompts from Phil Gomm’s blog at Red’s Kingdom, are an amazing way for me to explore my own visual creativity. For too long I have ignored the artistic side of who I am, and so the K-A is helping me recover my art……..literally! On and off throughout my adult life I have tried something to launch into the visual arts but nothing has worked until now, and the K-A is helping me! The work below is something I did over 20 years ago on a weekend printing course in Wells-next the Sea!
The latest K-A prompt was Lee Krasner, a female American artist involved in a movement known as Abstract Expressionism. The quote below comes from internet searches and I think it also perfectly fits my own point of view:
Abstract Expressionists value the organism over the static whole, becoming over being, expression over perfection, vitality over finish, fluctuation over repose, feeling over formulation, the unknown over the known, the veiled over the clear, the individual over society and the inner over the outer.
That was written by William C. Seitz, an American artist and Art historian (1914-1974).
Head on over to Phil’s blog to see this submission and the work of the other amazing artists, such wonderful ingenuity and creativity. Here is the link:
We had a short break in Dundrum, County Down, staying in a fabulous apartment that overlooked the bay. We were a little unlucky not to have the warm sunny weather of the previous three weeks, however, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. There is a small supermarket and petrol station, a pub and a couple of restaurants and eateries! I shall add a couple of links at the bottom of the page.
Here are a few of the photos from our visit:
There’s a ruined castle to explore and some really wonderful walks around the area, Murlough National Nature Reserve being exceptional. There is also a Coastal Rowing Club; one of my photos shows a couple of boats being launched. Just a few miles south of the village is Newcastle with plenty of shops and places to eat.
It’s been a really busy time, and we’ve also been on holiday (more later) so I’m pleased to say that I was still able to take part in the latest Kick-About. This time the prompt from Phil was the artist JamesTurrell. Please follow the link to see my work there along with what others have submitted.
When I was opening the vertical blinds in our sunny bedroom, the effect of the bright sunshine streaming through the blinds triggered something in my memory of one of Turrell’s artworks. That was my starting point, although something else I’d read about his work also slipped subconsciously into my own artwork. For decades, Turrell has been constructing a “naked-eye” observatory………..in an extinct cinder cone volcano!
Turrell has been called the “master of light” and I cannot ignore what was going on musically in the 1970’s with one of my favourite rock bands, Electric Light Orchestra. The song Mr. Blue Sky was originally released in 1977 but here is a brilliant and colourfully illustrated video from 2019.
Another in the Kick-About series of artworks. Below is a link to Phil Gomm’s website where I and others were challenged with the title Semper Augustus. Head on over and see what we’ve come up with:
Another challenge for those who participate in the Kick-About. I love the way each person’s interpretation is so different. This time the prompt was LIGHTHOUSE and below is a link to Phil’s page:
A Different View 