Art

One winter Wednesday

/ Robert / 5 Comments

One winter Wednesday, wee wan Willy Weasel whistles wistfully,
Why’re wide-eyed whelk, Wellington’s waist worn white wings waving without wind?
Wellington, Wellie-to-friends, wobbles wildly, whizzing, whirring, wending
To Wollongong wedding of Wendy Weevil to Willow Winkle.
Wendy’s award winning women’s weaves once won, way-beyond Willow’s winding wastewater wicking widget.
What a wonderful wardrobe they’ll wangle!
Wander welcomes welterweight Wombat, Walter wearing weather worn wafer-thin western wove wheat-sheaves.
Wicked waiter, Wilfred watches whilst wading in the weeds,
Whittled walnut water-raft whooshes in Wembley Womble Witch and Wakefield Whale Wizard, whispering worthwhile words to witty Wandering Wolf, Winston.
Winsome Wensleydale Wench, Winnie has the where with all to warn of a woefully wavering weighty wonton wagon whisking towards the waterfall.
Wow, wiggling Worcestershire Worm, Winona get’s to work on the wailing wheels with wooden wedges.
Willy Weazel whiffs the scent of wafting wedding whisky, wondering whether the weather will warm.

Air element

/ Robert / 2 Comments
Version 2

I considered presenting a blank sheet. After all how do you paint something unseen? Weightlessness came to mind, such a heavy word to describe something ethereal; unseen, lighter than a feather.

My imaginings are viewed through a water element induced feelings lens. Increasingly with age, earthbound gravity anchors me as I am dragged along the ground like a hot air balloon basket being divested of collected paraphernalia. It doesn’t seem to matter how much is discarded I just can’t seem to get my carcass of the earth.

Both versions of the abstract watercolour are posted here.

The first feels heavy, constrained, forced, and overworked.

I am happier with second version.

  • I was aiming for:
  • Purple for spirit, and I believe, evolved thought
  • Yellow for the air element, in my view also sunny hope filled optimism
  • Blue resonates for me as free limitless sky high thinking
  • While white space represents light and calm

A decade or two ago, I was fascinated by people who read a book while completing gym based cardiovascular training. In contrast, I felt like I was soaring as I listened to dance music. The beats, sounds, and crescendoing voices motivating my body to pump and work harder to lift me higher and higher.

Nowadays, finding the music in the gym too loud, I can’t be bothered to try to compete with my earbuds. Dialling up the volume sets off my tinnitus. I can complete forty minutes’ exercise in the aerobic heartbeat zone while reading a book on my phone. It works on the reclined bike, elliptical trainer, and treadmill.

Panic

/ Robert / 1 Comment
Tallow Beach Nov 2024

Putrid pounding panic percolates,
Producing pent up pressure,
Presenting powerlessness permeates.

Deducing dreadfully dark downfall
Desperate denuded drowning
Dubious duplicitous denouncement

Avid alarm avoidance;
Amber anchored aggregates arterially
Articulating ‘AARGH!’, alleviating an aneurism

Fallen foolish faun finds feet frozen fjord;
Frenzied fumbling for frosty firmness,
Feigning fabulous feeling.

Earth element and Sweaty Betty body blues poem

/ Robert / 4 Comments

It is appropriate for the earth element to be represented by something that is visually heavy, solid, grounded, and has strength.

This abstract watercolour references rock, soil, and chalk in yellow, oranges, red, brown, and white. Metals of gold and silver. Amethyst, emerald, and plants are shown in purple and green.

The poem reflects on changes to my body living life on Earth, the planet.

Sweaty Betty body blues

‘I can’t live if living is without you’* ear worm………

Why is it dry, oily, and moist?
Are they sunspots, freckles, liver spots or moles?
When and why did the lines, wrinkles, crows feet, and crêpe texture first appear?
Surely not from rare UK sunny days or coconut oil frazzled lobster red to peeling brown trips abroad?
Or from living in antipidean glare?

Journeyed from Johnson’s lotion slathered babe
Through acne ravaged, Clearasil cleansed teen,
Twenties, thirties, forties; Clarins, Lancaster, Clinique treated T zone, factor 10 to 30 suncream
To fifties, sixties; Simple, Nivea, Olay, spf 50+ sunscreen, and shade.

Joie de vivre patina of itches scratches, burns, grazes, cuts, bites, blackheads, blisters, blemishes, bruises, fungal rashes, warts, tags, scars, ingrowing hairs and whiskers, and blocked pores.
And,
Yo-yoing weight stretches, sagging wobbling rolls and folds loosening; losing battle against gravitational pull and aging.

Sweaty Betty body blues; love the skin you’re in!

*Harry Nilsson 1971

Pink rock Airhead

/ Robert / 2 Comments

Wishing you great health and happiness in 2025!

I am consciously stating the obvious when I write, spending quality time with family is limited when you live on opposite sides of the planet.

When we moved to Australia in 1998, my niece was a child. We are getting to know her and partner as adults whilst they take working holiday breaks from Spain here. Initially in 2018/2019 and again this year. We just spent a joy filled time swapping stories and creating happy memories with them over Christmas.

Whilst reviewing my sketchbook, my niece and partner were drawn to a rendering of a Pink Airhead from March 2024. They remarked on the way the character had developed over time.

Today’s whimsical Airhead represents both outward airy lightness through the pink rocks/stones and inner darkness contained in the black outlines.

‘Pink rock’ is a play on words reflecting a lack of self confidence to display goth/punk/emo individuality. I believed, to be accepted, I had to hide my true self and conform to societal norms. I wonder where this belief began.

As a shy young teen distracted by fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and daydreaming, I expressed myself through coloured handwriting. Setting aside traditional black and dark blue, I favoured apple green and turquoise inks in my fountain pens. Both of them intermittently leaked over my fingers and exercise books. Also, I had a hot pink felt tip pen reserved for doodling, sketching, and creating organic shapes filled with circles/bubbles.

Going further back, in the first class of primary school 1968-1969, taught by Mrs J. Booth, I have three distinct memories: winning a prize for hand painting/printing; enjoying singing along to “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” accompanied by guitar; and exposing myself in the communal handwashing area of the unisex toilets.

I have no recollection of the reason why, having removed all of my garments, I minced out, hands in the air from the cubicle like a bawdy butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. Nor do I remember any repercussion of my action.

Up until that point, I believe I was as carefree as any other five year old. I dressed my teddies, floated around like a bird, and coloured in.

Above is my report from the end of the first class of primary school. 3 (satisfactory) for conduct stands out from the 4 (good) grades. I suspect this was due to memory number three above.

Water abstract mixed media

/ Robert / 7 Comments

On the back of the success of the fire oval and circle, I revisited water in the round. Above is the result.

I applied multiple washes in shades of blue, turquoise, and green.

I sprayed water onto the whole to create dappling and to soften the edge. Clean salt was added and removed twice to reinforce the darker splodges.

The ovoid version including less washes and recycled salt is included again below for comparison.

Fire inspired

/ Robert / 13 Comments

I had an idea of sinuous flames of ox blood, yellow, and orange flames undulating from the bottom of an oval to left of the top.

Spraying water and adding salt resulted in the above picture.

My husband suggested I try a circular watercolour that could be printed on a tee shirt. This abstract mixed media piece is the result from last weekend. Two washes intensified the colours.

Water inspired

/ Robert / 4 Comments
Final abstract mixed media A3 painting

This abstract mixed media painting was inspired by the colours of water over submerged sand islands viewed whilst descending towards Cairns off the coast of Far North Queensland, Australia.

Concept sketch 1
Concept sketch 2

Whilst on holiday in Port Douglas, using my husband’s 1980s Winsor and Newton Sketcher’s palette, I completed a couple of concept sketches on A6 cartridge paper.

After returning home, I started with a pencil oval outline filled with light watercolour washes in acqua, blue, and green. Texture was created by adding large clean salt crystals that absorbed the water and hues.

The outline was inked in and more washes added.

First draft

Water was sprayed on sections of the picture freeing up the colours to merge, and the edges and outline to soften. Darker shades were added to the water droplets and encouraged to flow into each other. Salt recycled from other paintings was added to create random patches of soft brown and pink.

The above was repeated a few times until the final version emerged.

Jack’s bean

/ Robert / 5 Comments

This is essentially green yellow brown no. 2. Inspired by a feather from my husband, the split on the left echos the way barbs separate. The shaft is represented by the right hand white curve from base to two thirds up.

The pristine blue ink outline was softened by spraying water onto the still wet Winsor and Newton watercolours.

Early on salt was added to the yellow area resulting in the undulations. After three layers of green and brown, salt was used to develop texture.

I am happier with the way this mixed media abstract painting came out. My husband said it looks like one of Jack’s beans that grew a mighty stalk linking his home with that of the giant.