Unfortunately I didn't have time to finish this painting when I was out in Ibiza so, yet again, I've had to upload the half-finished project. As I've had to leave the canvas in Spain you are all going to have to wait with baited breath until the summer before it's finally finished. This is a copy of a canvas that my mum saw in a shop, took a sneaky photo of and gave to me to attempt. I used acrylic and only used 4 colours (5 including white) and I like the warm, rustic look the colours give. Although the painting doesn't have all that much detail, it was the blending of the colours to create the right effect that I found difficult. Overall I'm really happy with how it's looking and will be nice to have something that I have done myself decorating the living room!
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I just got back to Brighton and it's been another sunny day which is great! I have, up until now, I have basically given up on beach photos seeing as I have done that pretty much to death. However that was until a fish carcass got swept up onto the shore and decomposed until it was just an intact white skeleton, that I thought "Oh go on then, this is arty". In the second photo I tried to captured the movement of the flowers blowing in the wind and the fact that the colours look so vibrant! These are some photos from my last few days in Ibiza. One of my kind friends took me to some of the remotest parts of the island to get some nice, scenic shots before I had to go. After risking our lives going up and down the most ridiculous mountain roads(apparently sheer drops and sharp turns don't require barriers or speed limits), here's what we found! Unfortunately this day happened to be the one overcast day during my whole stay there (of course!) so the colours aren't as vibrant as they could have been, but it is nice to get a few photos of the boating/fishing side of the island because as well as being a big source of income, it holds great cultural significance, with some of the huts being centuries old. Automotive beauty is a common occurence, and has been since long before WWII, with Bugattis and Alfa Romeos exhibiting pseudo aerodynamic teardrop fenders up to Chris Bangle's controversial styling movements of early 2000. However, now it's a drawn out, extruded beauty. Beauty placed upon a chassis, mounted with 36 bolts and rolled off the production line. Not the beauty of a teardrop, but that of an orchestra - a symphony of collaborating planes, adhered through years of focus groups, formed by the hands of a hundred designers. Naturally, there are a few that long for the days predating this current, research lead, beauty - days when the beauty of the machine was apparent through it's function. In a direct retort to the glittering 14 coats of paint found on custom Hot Rods, these few have, through their own creations, formed the Rat Rod culture. The goal here is to drop the biggest engine into the cheapest car, even if either of these was found in a scrap yard - resulting in rust filled deathtraps unfit for safe road use. It's through this negligence that the beauty is found - with complete disregard for anything other than transposing car and driver, passion can be heard roaring alongside the blackend exhausts. With nothing to cloud the vision of the creator, the most simple idea is communicated clearly and boldly through the hand cut panels, leaving an evocative impression. Imagination and Function is clear in these machines, and with that, Beauty is abundant Michael Hollins This is a bit of a random entry as the photos don't really have a theme, they are just things that I saw whilst out and about that I thought were interesting. The dead butterfly up above may seem a little morbid but I thought that the delicate whiteness of the butterfly against the dirty plastic dog bowl made an eye-catching and unnatural contrast. The image below was taken for similar reasons, I like the effect that man-made stuff in a natural surrounding has. And no, I didn't just steal this from my Art GCSE folder.
On another note, I've nearly completed my first commissioned painting so I will be uploading that onto here soon! We went to get a bit of a culture update today and watched some traditional Ibicencan dancing. I think a lot of people are fairly suprised when they see what traditional Ibicencan dress looks like as it couldn't be further from the club-island image it has. The women all cover their heads with a scarf, it is usually black but as they were imitating courting and wedding dances the girls would get a bit more dressed up. There are up to thirteen skirt layers in a woman's dress which may be partly why their role in the dance is very shuffling and slow. The men carry castanets which they clap loudly along with the rythm of the music, they also use them to pick the girl they want to dance with by clicking a castanet in their direction. The men's role in the dance looks a little like an Irish jig except they also incorporate high kicks around the women, supposedly to show their agility and impress the girl. The women's clothing here is bright and colourful, but some of the older women on the island still wear the "every day" version of this, which had far less layers and is usually black and white. The oldest woma in the group has gold rings running right up her fingers on both hands, this is because when young women were courting with a man, they weren't considered to be engaged until he had given her twenty-four gold rings. The shoes on their feet are made out of the fibres from a cactus, called "Pitre" and "Esparto" which is a type of straw. My dad's family's traditional name is "Espartaret" as in the old days they were the shoe-makers in the town. Day 102, Image 102: 263 Images to go Here are a few images from random outings over the last few days. The one above was taken in the (almost) dried up river bed in Santa Eularia where I used to go to feed the ducks as a kid. It's a weird little oasis right below a main road and has a magical feel about it, as though no-one has ever been there before. I've had a nostalgic couple of days because the image below was also taken from a place I haven't been to in years either. It is the view from the top of the "Old Town" in Ibiza town, it dates as far back as medieval times and once a year they have a medieval fair where they deck the streets with arts and crafts stalls and traditional food stands as well as putting on old Punch and Judy style plays. I haven't been back to this part of town since before I came to England so it was nice to wander around the streets again and appreciate the views it has over the area. To the left was taken during a misty sunset whilst I took my dog for a walk near my house as the silhouette of the tree caught my eye. Day 100, Image 100: 265 Images to go I can't believe I've been doing this blog for a hundred days now! I never keep anything up for a hundred days. The image above was taken yesterday as I was wondering through the forest and saw a random door lying on the floor. A little further up was a window and even further, yet another door! This was eerie in itself so I thought I'd take a surreal image of one of the doors in a clearing in the forest and am quite pleased with the slightly creepy effect it has. The next photo is, obviously, of a butterfly. It took FOREVER to capture it as it kept flying away. If only I had my long-distance lense with me at all times! Day 98, Image 98: 267 Images to go. Cormorants are a type of coastal bird that are always hanging about the sea-shore here in Ibiza and I was lucky enough to get a shot of these two cleaning themselves on the rocks. I thought the photo on the left would make a nice change to the last entry as it includes some of the little greenery we have on the island at this time of year. On a side note, it has been really nice and sunny so I've been sunbathing every day hoping for a beautiful, golden tan. And what do I get? Heat rash. Mmm...exotic. |
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