#934 theoldmortuary ponders

On May 31, 2024May 31, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Serendipity5 Comments

I don’t paint people much, which is strange as I find people fascinating. I don’t think I have any more planned exhibitions for 2024, so I could set myself a summer project. The few people I can pull out of the digital or even real-world portfolio are all thinking about something.

Maybe that is my thing, I hadn’t realised. Even a pair of dancers are not truly engaged with one another or the viewer. Lost in their individual worlds despite being physically dependent on one another.

Even my recent cold water swimmer is lost within the tiles of the shower.

The more I look the more pensive people I find. Storm Agnes, raging but full of thought.

There is even a portrait of me in our hallway , pondering.

Seems that pondering is a creative theme. I had no idea!

P s In the interests of research I went in search of a painting that has been stored here for many years.

My first portrait from my Foundation degree, hiding in lofts, attics and barns for 25 years or so.

In one of life’s uncanny twists, I discovered recently that my DNA is 10% Viking. But that is not particularly important to this ponder. I seem to have always liked people in my paintings to be deep in thought. A point worth pondering I think

#933 theoldmortuary ponders.

On May 30, 2024May 30, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Cornwall, Devon1 Comment

A compressed week is a funny thing. An art exhibition over a long weekend, with an extra day to help take it down, has pushed all my normal domestic admin into two days this week. By Friday I should be all caught up but yesterday a funny thing happened. Chores, errands etc were somehow completed with an hour to spare. So I took the dogs to a favourite garden and just took in the view while we waited for the appointment time for their annual vet check.

A few years ago I spent just over a month living in this house and garden with an old labrador while her parents were taking a long break in Europe. I had an outdoor studio to paint in with a view to make a trainspotter weak.

At the time I was preparing for an exhibition that required abstracts so the location was immaterial. Which seems like a crime now. But just looking at the view is only half the story. The sounds of this valley are the thing. As trains approach the viaduct they are coming out of a tunnel, so there is a feel of a train approaching, then the sounds. These are both fascinating sensations, no matter how often they are experienced. There is also a powerful sense of wanderlust, knowing that this train is a link to the rest of the world. In less than five minutes the train will cross the Tamar on the Albert Bridge, designed by Brunel. Taking people away from Cornwall and on to wider horizons.

When the train emerges onto the viaduct it is almost an anti-climax. With my smartphone in hand, and photos and sketches of this viaduct taken or drawn over many years. I had a happy hour or so, digitally tinkering. Stitching photos and sketches together to try to express the energy felt as a train emerges from the tunnel and starts to run across this tiny valley.

#932 theoldmortuary ponders.

On May 29, 2024May 29, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Devils Point3 Comments

I had a weird dream last night, a dream of no consequence but it left me with a puzzle. What do you call a place that you end up that was not your planned destination?

“I set off for X but ended up in Y instead.

When X = Destination what does Y =?

In my dream the answer ‘Somewhere else’ didn’t work and neither did giving either place an actual name. The key to getting out of whatever pickle I was in, was a one word answer. I never found one. Waking up turned out to be the only way out of that particular nightmare.

My camera phone has updated one piece of photo editing software. The erasing tool is now much more accurate but the other new feature took a simple image somewhere very interesting. Not my intended destination at all. Somewhere else completely. If only I had a one word answer.

The funny thing is that following the recent art exhibition I was wondering quite where to take my art practice.

Cold Water swimmer projected to a massive size at Devonport Market Hall.

An exhibition always feels like a bit of an endpoint. Maybe that is what the dream was always about perhaps all this pondering on a non-existent word will help. Who could possibly guess where I will be off to next.

#931 theoldmortuary ponders

On May 28, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Bank Holidays1 Comment

Ta da, normal blogging service resumes. What else has been happening during the four days of an art exhibition. Well, quite a lot of real world talking to new-to-me people. Still a little bit of giddiness at seeing my own art on such a large scale.

Some yardening.

Some tinkering with a new photo editing feature on my phone.

And an al fresco lunch that was sent indoors by rain.

In many respects an entirely normal British Bank Holiday.

#930 theoldmortuary ponders

On May 28, 2024May 28, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Art for sale, Drawn to the Valley, SerendipityLeave a comment

Last day of the exhibition. 4 days of visitors and memories.

Just enough time to share a few final pictures, before the unsold works are bundled up in bubble wrap and returned to the artists.

Onward now to the next exhibitions of 2024.

#929 theoldmortuary

On May 27, 2024May 27, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Art for sale, Drawn to the Valley, Serendipity1 Comment

All that glistens will lead us through the second to last live blog of the Spring exhibition. Although it may not be obvious in my photos, all these works have a little bit of twinkle about them.

Today is the last day of the exhibition at The Market Hall, Devonport. An exhibition worth driving the extra mile for. Free parking, great architecture, and a cafe to natter in.

The visitors so far, have loved our new choice of venue and for many it is their first time at a Drawn to the Valley event.

The 360 degree, Dome projection room was buzzing during the Private View.

Sometimes a shaft of sunlight catches someones work and the twinkle becomes fascinating.

From the Industrial to the delicate.

And for some final twinkle.

#928 theoldmortuary ponders

On May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Art for sale, Drawn to the Valley, Serendipity2 Comments

Following a trail of white to a Private View. Drawn To The Valley held their 20th Anniversary Private View, last night at the Devonport Market Hall.

Art featuring white will lead us to the event.

The sun was shining all day before the Private View, Devonport felt almost Mediterranean.

Daytime guests slipped away and snacks unpacked for the evening event.

Huge congratulations must go to the organising team of this fabulous exhibition, the building team, the committee and the artists who are participating.

20 years of supporting and encouraging artists and makers in the Tamar Valley has built a diverse and talented organisation. Ready to move into the next 20 years.

#927 theoldmortuary ponders.

On May 25, 2024May 25, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Art for sale, Drawn to the Valley, Drawn To The Valley Artists, SerendipityLeave a comment

Live blogging/pondering from an art exhibition with a theme of turquoise, inspired by the plaque on Devonport Market Hall. So many artists love turquose this is not a difficult task.

Art lovers also love turquoise. Although I didn’t catch any turquoise wearing visitors today.

But an artist, Anne Blackwell Fox , wearing turquoise,was in the building when I took this picture, entitled Emergence

The last two turquoises are significantly different to one another, but they both feature missing triangular chunks. Perhaps the bigger significance is that they almost mark the top and bottom of the Drawn to the Valley geographical boundary

Shelstone Tor on the Northern boundary of Dartmoor and an abstract representing the sea at the southern end.

#926 theoldmortuary ponders

On May 25, 2024May 25, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Drawn to the Valley1 Comment

Yesterday wasn’t all about orange art. There was a huge amount of talking about art and, for half an hour, nipple tassels.

The morning started with a wonky moment.

I had read on instagram that the panorama setting on a camera phone could be used in an up and down motion rather than from side to side. As I arrived at the exhibition venue the perfect subject,a clock tower, was adjacent to the car park.

Now I think I may need to read a little bit more about this technique.

I watched a run through of the 360 degree projection of our art work. It is genuinely thrilling to see a small piece of my art projected as an immersive experience. These next two photos are a bit rubbish but I was lost in the moment. I will get better ones today.

Stonehouse Fruits ( Fig and blackberry) projected on a massive, 12-foot by 12-foot, scale.

My Cold Water swimmer was even bigger. Caught at the exact moment the projection beam was between her knees.

Normally the dome is filled with bean bags for comfort, but this was only a run through so this is how we did it.

Another wonky moment, as laying flat on the foor in varifocal glasses with 360-degree film projection is less than ideal. Below is a tiny video. There is a soundtrack of birdsong and tinkling water.

https://videopress.com/v/oWeQR31h?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

That was a lot of excitement for one day.

#925 theoldmortuary ponders.

On May 24, 2024May 24, 2024 By theoldmortuary.designIn Art for sale, SerendipityLeave a comment

Live blogging on the theme of Orange.

Drawn to the Valley, Artist and Makers Group has become very plugged-in to the Arts and Making culture of Plymouth, in recent years. The current Spring Exhibition opened this morning in a new-to-us venue. The Market Hall Devonport.

I will be here a few times so I thought choosing a colour theme would keep things spicy and interesting. My apologies to artists whose Orange moments have not been captured. The reflections in this magnificent exhibition space are quite tricksy. Hopefully you will get your colour moment in a different hue.

First up Jayne( Poster Girl) Ashenbury.

Next, Michael Jenkins Satsumas.

Just gorgeous when served with Debra Parkinson’s ducks.

Which in turn might interest a ginger cat.

Or even a leopard.

Now there is a small struggle to find a link from a Leopard to an Opium poppy but Tibet comes to mind, thank goodness.

And the link for the last Orange of the blog is Orange edges.

And just for orange sake. The seat where I wrote this and a visitor serendipitously provided a pop of orange.

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