Brigitte

Brigitte is a fabulous French duo that I’m listening to a lot at the moment. I only heard of Brigitte because of a Facebook share by a French friend I’ve never met. Why? Well Britain doesn’t really follow European music does it. Such a shame as it means

The Girl from Ipanema, and the Man with the Sax

Astrud Gilberto

Tall and tan and young and lovely… Yet again I have a shortage of bare ladies to model for me so I looked elsewhere for inspiration and

Drawing of a Younger Man

Drawing of a Younger Man

I felt the urge to draw again but owing to the current world shortage of bare ladies I had to find somebody else to draw. OK, there are probably just as many bare ladies to draw as there ever were, but I am not currently enroled in a class so had to improvise.

Like a Star

OK I have to admit that when I called a page of this blog Tune of the Week I was letting my enthusiasm triumph over reality. I have been very lax in my updates and maybe Tune of the Quarter would be more appropriate. I make no apology, just haven’t been inspired by much music lately. I am inspired today though

Walking to Work with a Smile

S&M in London’s Leather Lane

S&M Tools in Leather Lane. Every day I walk past this and it always makes me smile. Is it just me?

Neon Nude

"You Have More Freedom Than You're Using" by Dan Attoe

“You Have More Freedom Than You’re Using” by Dan Attoe

As you’ll know if you’ve looked around my blog, I believe that the true purpose of art is looking at bare ladies. Top marks then to Dan Attoe. I Googled him and discovered he’s a real artist, this is one of a series,so why is this work glowing at passers-by from a window on Leather Lane?

I don’t know, but it’s been there for a while now. Each evening as I walk down to the tube the pink glow catches my eye and I smile.

Of course all art has a message, and that message is different for each viewer because of what we bring with us. Myself, after an initial smile, I found I was taking the caption of the work quite literally to heart. Like many people I read the newspapers and probably grumble if I see something about a freedom which seems to be curtailed in some way. Negative. So what is the positive? What am I not doing that I’m free to do? Plenty! The more I think about it the more I think I should get out and do stuff! Things I’ve always wanted to do but thought I couldn’t. Actually there is nobody but me stopping me doing pretty much anything I want. Yeah!

Subversive ambient media on the streets of London

Just saw these bikes on the South Bank. Don’t think I need to say anything.

Enjoy!

London loves Barclays

Priceless...

What do you want?

For my next trick, I need the participation of the audience …

For my next art project I need input from others. If it helps you can imagine I am Santa, your boss, your significant other, your fairy godmother, your president, your friend, your parent, your child, anyone you might want to give you something or grant your wishes. You get the idea?

OK now please just answer this question in any spontaneous way you like:

“What do you want?”

Just ask for anything you want. Please answer either using the Comments on this post, or by emailing me direct at

eclectnik@googlemail.com

or send me a post card, Youtube video, anything you like really.

Thanks for your help, and when enough of you have replied you’ll be able to see the resulting work right here on this blog.

New Direction

OK I thought it was time to try something new. Move in a new direction. And initially the direction is down, as you will see in the video.

Bored with Bare Ladies?

Bare Lady in acrylic

No, I find that despite several terms of life drawing and life painting I am still not bored with the bare ladies. The nude figure is endlessly fascinating. Whilst some naked bodies are more aesthetically pleasing than others (and obviously nobody really wants to see a naked man!) each body, each pose and each situation brings new challenges in shape and form, light, shade, and colour. This example is my most recent, the final project on the painting course at the Art Academy on Southwark Street. I’m sorry the term has ended as it’s been a good class with very friendly people and a brilliant teacher.

I’m not sure what class to do next really. Carry on with the life painting I guess, and maybe now that I’m more confident with paint I might go back to the City Lit. I am going there to do a video editing course in April/May but that’s a different thing altogether. Yes maybe the City Lit, because I did like the teacher there too. And come to think of it my life drawing tutor at the Central St Martin’s was great too. So what ever I do next I will aim to stick with painting bare ladies, confident in the knowledge that a nice teacher will come around and tell me if I’ve got the proportions wrong or the limbs in the wrong place.

And if it wasn’t for this blog, where could I display the bare ladies. Let’s face it, the family don’t want to eat their dinner looking at a bunch of bare lady pictures.