Smooth Sailing

I've been loving an Ella Fitzgerald compilation CD I bought. And when I say love, I mean LUV. And here's a track that's hard not to LUV. I mean, Lurv. I mean, adore. I mean, worship. You should play it really loud.

In The Music Room

A few years ago- five, six, seven years ago?- I went down to my basement dungeon art room in our old house and made several large paintings with wet, swirly acrylic and acrylic ink that I let flow and do what it would. It was an attempt to escape Christmas drama, and it worked. But I couldn't accept these paintings as "good" because... well I guess because I wasn't controlling the paint. They just didn't fit my idea of what a good painting (produced by me) would be.

The painting pictured here was one of them. The face in this painting, though somewhat buddha-like, struck me as looking like something out of a graphic novel, and to me that just wasn't good painting. I dunno- have you ever had an idea stuck in your head?

It went on display as part of my first ever solo show at Polychrome Fine Art, and although that could have conceivably elevated it in my eyes, I still looked at it askance. David wanted it to hang in his music room in the house we live in now, and I wasn't opposed. It actually looks quite striking on the gold wall. Now I look at the painting in the morning when I use the exercise bike, and I think about my pre-conceived notions of what good art is. I have come to enjoy looking at what the paint did in this one, and I try not to judge it too harshly. I've also done plenty of similar paintings since then. I'm attempting to be more open-minded with both my own and other works of art. Still working on it...

It's a Man's Man's Man's World X 4

"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" was written by James Brown and his one time girlfriend Betty Jean Newsome in 1966. Betty Jean wrote the lyrics, and claims that James often forgot to give her royalties. It's a Man's Man's Man's World.

Roller Coaster Of Love

This is all I have, at the moment... more work-in-progress bullshit. But I'm going to sweeten the deal with a video that, if you watch it, you'll probably be humming for a while...

I'll Be There (Minus Mix)

If you like singing, as I do, if you like hearing voices... listen to this mix of "I'll Be There" by the Jackson Five, a mix where they've removed the better part of the 60s/70's chamber-y-music-bullshit. Then when you're finished, watch a clip of Michael Jackson singing soul- when he had soul, and when he had a normal face. I didn't know I was a Michael Jackson fan till I saw the second clip, a couple of years back.

Quest for Big Paint... Work in Progress

After investing in a big easel from Island Blue Print I have finally started painting large-scale again... on the table. BUT OF COURSE. It doesn't matter. I had to do whatever it took to get me going, as the prospect of  returning to big paintings after many years had me quaking in my boots. And playing with lots of flowing, watery paints was definitely the way to get me going. The easel will be put to use eventually........... right?

The Moldy Past

I've been making noises about painting LARGE scale again for quite some time, but I always felt I'd have to wait until I had my fantasy outdoor studio space because the space I work in now is quite small. Last weekend I decided I'd better try using that small space anyway, because who knows how long it will be until I'm able to afford the fantasy space? So I bought an easel, and made an attempt to weed out some of the detritus that has been taking up space in the studio, in order to give as much room as possible to future (gulp) large-scale painting. Boxes of journals (numbering in the 70's or 80's- I lost count at some point), a box of fabric, and boxes of David's studio "artifacts" got moved out and assimilated elsewhere. At the bottom of a box of journals I found these two monoprints that were originally in a sketchbook at art school, and because they were stored at the bottom of a cardboard box in my mother's musty basement, they are moldy and deteriorating (especially the top one). They were "quickies" but I've always liked them, though I couldn't tell you exactly why. Also, they weren't meant to be self-portraits, but I think the self-portraits I was doing at the time probably rubbed off on them. 

Aging Faces

I'm ageing (aren't we all). And although I never considered myself to be vain or overly concerned with my looks when I was younger, I find as I'm ageing that, lo and behold, I'm not loving the inherent physical changes (SHOCKING!). But I don't want to be fettered by this... I don't want this to be a concern. So I gravitate to things like the photos that follow... I study them... anything to help inure me to the coming onslaught.

Here's the link: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/ana-oliveira-identities

Sunny Boy

                                                      2013 - Collage on Board - 8X10



                                              I finished it - W H A A A A A A A A A A A A A T

In the Studio

I haven't "blogged" for a while... damn! I've been busy and I took a trip to Montreal to visit my friend Sheri...  that's the story. Plus... haven't been in the studio for a while. About a month ago I was working on a collage that had a painting of Cornelius from Planet of the Apes layered on top... sadly this one didn't work out. Sigh. Anyway, here's the beginnings of a new one I started work on before going to Montreal:

Shek Kip Mei Estate

Last week I bought a Taschen book of Chinese propaganda posters, and it turned out that the posters are from the collection of Michael Wolf, the German photographer living in Hong Kong whose toy factory photos I posted about a month ago. It sent me back to Michael Wolf's website, where I (of course) found more photos I wanted to post. Shocker.

These photos are from a series called  "100 X 100", which shows the residents of a housing complex in Hong Kong called Shek Kip Mei Estate. This housing estate was built in response to a horrible fire that left thousands homeless in the 1950s, and is composed of 100 rooms that are a mere 100 square feet in size. Some people are overwhelmed by their stuff in their tiny spaces; others have very little. Most are overwhelmed.

Unfortunately the files are disappointingly small and the resolution bad, so I can't make the photos any bigger. You really will have to go take a look at his website (link is at the end).

After deciding earlier this evening that this would be my post tonight, I went for a walk with my daughter and the dog. Literally about a minute after parting ways with my daughter at Chambers and Pandora, a young Asian man stopped me, and, pointing to a map on his smart phone, asked in a fairly heavy accent for directions to a certain address on Fort Street. He explained that he "wasn't from here" (ha ha! no kidding!) and when I asked where he was from, he said "Hong Kong". We walked together for a couple of blocks and I excitedly told him about the Michael Wolf photos I had just been looking at on the Interwebs, but I'm not sure how much of that he caught (I was speaking pretty quickly). He told me that he was studying Business at UVic... he wanted to study Accounting, but UVic doesn't offer it. Maybe after his Business degree, he said. A very random and very pleasant little interaction that left me with lifted spirits somehow.

Michael Wolf's website: http://photomichaelwolf.com/#100x100/1

It's The Little Things

In our living room we have a mid-century teak stereo unit that I found on UsedVictoria a few years ago for $300. 'Twas a steal. Normally of course it's covered in CDs and records, but before Christmas I had it completely cleaned up. It looked something like this, only completely clean:

Completely clean save for ONE RECORD... a 45 rpm of Harry Belafonte that I admired every time I was near the stereo, because it's, well, it's beautiful:

Then my daughter gave my husband a CD called "Ivory Coast Soul" for Christmas, and by chance it eventually ended up on the stereo beside Harry. Unfortunately these photos just don't do justice to how great these two covers look next to each other- no amount of adjusting on Photoshop could re-create the beautiful soft aqua behind Harry Belafonte. The two covers are sitting next to each other still, where I admire them daily (they'll get moved eventually of course):

                                           IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS

Shugo Tokumaru - "Katachi"

Ella vs. Sarah

Getting a little obsessed with the Lady Diva Jazz Singers Extraordinaire these days... perhaps just as a way to distract myself from obsessing over Amy Winehouse. I'm going to post "Take The 'A' Train" and "Lullaby of Birdland" by both Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn. Please indulge me by telling me which you prefer... and why. I'm interested to know!

Cat Lady

I don't know anything more about these photos of a woman and her cat than what you'll learn checking out this link... but you really SHOULD check it out, because these are great pictures. Trust me- I'm a doctor. Cliquez ici maintenant: http://thechive.com/2012/11/09/an-elderly-woman-makes-a-loyal-feline-friend-28-photos/

With thanks to Cake Hole xo