240209

Owner wrote:

240209

A lot of my problems in life stem from the simple fact that, “I have just seen too much”; my problems in life are not the average sort of normal problems that people experience day in and day out, but of a nature that affects not only my creative side but also my ability to understand why change for something better is not the constant and entirely selfless search that is for self!

 

What brings me to now ponder upon such thoughts?

 

This evening I sat quietly absorbed in the roves above the shops, sketchbook, pen and mind fully engrossed in what I was drawing that my personal security issues just were not there, until I suddenly realised that a hand was right in front of my face with a 50 piece between finger and thumb.

 

With a laugh and a shaking of his hand I had to inform him that I wasn’t busking merely an artist, his insistence that I had earned it came from his heart as he explained that he passed many a busker and ignored them, they could “afford a violin or a cello”,  he mused, I knew the buskers he was referring to but said nothing, do me a drawing he said, I drew the green and yellow mood ring complete with ear-lobe, a real and honest commission for a fair price.

 

He went on to say that he himself had been down as far as a man could go and there was a way out for people in difficulties, “if they were only to open their eyes, if they don’t, it is down to them and their fault”;  there you sit, sketchbook in hand and bottle of milk beside you, keep the money, I could only smile and shake his hand bid him farewell and thankyou. 

 

To add to my good fortune I was also given a hardly read today’s local newspaper.

 

old eyes with refreshed vision

Absolute Disaster today as my trusted little camera found its way to the cupboard where it now sits with its predecessors, the disaster not so much being the premature ageing of the camera but the experience of being unable to replace it with a camera of comparable quality.
Where other cameras have slowly failed I have had spare cash to replace it however such is the economic crisis that we all find ourselves in I am forced to live, camera free.

It is said that every crisis is enlitenment, taking this in hand my initial thoughts were of panic on seeing things that I wanted to photograph and being unable to, soon enough however I started to realise that I had become so reliant upon the camera that I had actually stopped looking at things properly, even my sketchbook was spending more time in the rucksack than out.

by 9.30 this evening I found myself sitting on the pavement drawing a water collection drain that sat between two gutters, seeing every detail and finding amusement, joy, even humour while identifying missing features and the ancient looking but crooked stone wall that encased the drain.

The sky also captivated me for much longer than the time it took to take a photograph and what a joy to behold, colours that dont even have names and light that could be arguably on a parr with any place on earth, I cant photograph it but I can paint, thankyou camera for breaking down.

Yesterday, prior to the camera breaking, I did manage to capture a kingfisher hovering, fishing and returning to the nest, absolutely wonderful sight to behold, even between fishing trips it chose to perch, either on the hand rail that ran along the river path or on the rocks nearby to the water, with the absence of trees it was just so easy and captivating to witness. I now know of several Kingfisher nesting sites however this latest discovery is by far the icing on the cake for those who love to watch the reality of nature in all of its simplicity of life; sadly the camera I had was totally inadequate to justify such a beautiful thing, definitely oportunity, ney, excuse to upgrade in the photographic department!

Art Head back on

Now that the business of life, barring a few residual bits and pieces, is over I am so glad to put my arty head back on, life is tiring, ney, exhausting, it is no wonder that the world seems to be running around like the proverbial 'headless chicken'.

So much so have I put the business head away in its little box somewhere in the recesses of my brain that to try and pay my bills on line is proving such a frustrating task, spending, no wasting over 40 minutes going from page to page trying to find the make payment tab, all to no avail, I shant worry now, they well send a red bill in a couple of days and I shall try once again to sort it out.

Meanwhile, back to the arty head, my 6 pieces started last week without too much headway, now totals seven having picked up a commission last week.

Yesterday saw another visitor to the studio, a chap called Mark, his visit to the studio was due to his trying to show his sons, where he used to live 20 years ago, as it turned out his old dorm was where the flat opposite the studio now sits. with him he brought a fascinating insite into the building in which I now live from a perspective 20 years ago, a plunge pool in the basement and a Dojo, (martial arts gymnasium) on the upper floor; he left with my email address.

The transition of this building was not without historic interest in the press with both the building and myself getting good coverage.

Church hall conversion

The conversion of an 19th Century church hall into 16 'affordable' flats has been completed.

High Gate Hall was most recentlyu used as a school, gym and judo club. now the stonefronted, four story building, built in 1844, has been transformed.

I have been here for six weeks or so now and only at this time am I able to now to consider the future with a greater understanding and belief as to my future as an artist.

The plan that Emma in Newcastle is quite comprehensive and overall quantifies the past 2 years work allowing me to see that all that has been done has been in absolute keeping with the direction that I had hoped for two years ago, in fact, I have exceeded my own expectations and taken a huge chunk of Lost Years and brought me nearer to where I imagine I would have liked to have been at this period of my life had I taken the artistic route in life from the very start; my only regret being the reduction in health and energy that once took me around the world.

K-Shoes

Another great Historical event for the town was the demolition of the old K-Shoes complex and the rebuilding of a new and contemporary complex, completion comes with the possibility that the dynamics of the entire Town could change, some say for the better, some for the worse with arguments ranging from, huge employment and Tourist interest to, the reinvention of the main part of the Town returning to more Traditional values, cafe street culture and an overall more quiet day in the town.

For me, for now, I delight in the reflections borne of the thousands of tons of the red metal skeletal structure in the River.

A River, reportedly to have the fastest downflow from source to outlet in the country, remains totally captivating, the lights and darks, the shadows and inner worlds that exist in a single shot can be as beautiful as any image on a par even with shots from alien universes brought to us from the Hubble telescope, do we need to continue looking deeper and deeper into space to satisfy our ever searching inner selves when there is so much more here to explore and understand, probably.

Well, that is my blog for today, for now, back to the canvas

quick catch up

No pictures with this blog, trying to keep the next ones a little close to my chest so, some mental thoughts toward the future.

With Emma from McMillans Consultancy in Newcastle now looking after some of the affairs on the Business and Baltic side of life it gives me more time and opportunity, notwithstanding a freeing up of the brain, to work on my own paintwork and that for the next exhibition, a lucky breeze blew me into contact with someone who has exhibition space available, although it is one of the local art bars for an exhibition I am fortunate to have it as an ad hoc venue, that is, as and when I have a body of new work to show I want to keep that venue for the start of Emmas Time Line plan for the 5 years leading to 2014.

I have the painful and daunting task now of searching out an accountant, finding one is easy but finding one who shares similar ethics and practice as I and Emma, they are never easy people to deal with particularly when one doesn't speak money language however, faith in a guiding and omnipotent force will for sure help me along in the right direction.

More close to home and moving swiftly away from the business side of life, I find more and more that the studio that I am working in has such a wonderful 'Ginnel' feel about it that if I were not an artist before I came here I would have started to learn.

So? why no pictures? The work is flowing and progressive allowing many aspects of my innermost self to show through; perhaps not the most darkest or brightest or even most intimate, not yet any way, that I intentionally hold back for the occasion that has yet to manifest, it is, as am I, for the future.