Below is one of my favourites, despite the macabre aspect of it. A portrait of Kennedy by Enrique Ramos, made entirely out of butterfly wings. I wish I could like it more, but there is something obscene about seeing beautiful, delicate butterflies glued to a canvas like that. Maybe that is the controversial effect the artist was aiming for, but I personally can't handle dead animals, and it does take away from the originality and skill of the piece, in my eyes anyway.
The above portrait of Mr Ripley himself was done by the artist Franz Spohn. The incredible thing is that it’s made entirely out of bubblegum balls! In fact this whole page features pieces of artwork made from some unusual mediums. Take this sculpture on the left here, made by an artist called Lea Sewell. The sculpture follows the concepts of the so-called "dumpster artists" which make pieces such as this one out of everyday waste and junk.
Below is one of my favourites, despite the macabre aspect of it. A portrait of Kennedy by Enrique Ramos, made entirely out of butterfly wings. I wish I could like it more, but there is something obscene about seeing beautiful, delicate butterflies glued to a canvas like that. Maybe that is the controversial effect the artist was aiming for, but I personally can't handle dead animals, and it does take away from the originality and skill of the piece, in my eyes anyway.
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Yesterday I went on a trip to London. Whilst there with my family, we took some time out to go and see Ripley's Believe It Or Not exhibition. I had been to this exhibition once before many years ago when I was a kid and on holiday in America. I was slightly worried that going back to something like this now that I am a refined and sophisticated adult might ruin the memory I have of going back then, as I absolutely loved it and now ran the risk of not feeling the same now. However I am pleased to say that I was every bit as excited and fascinated by it all now as I was when I was ten yars old, which either says something about how fantastic the exhibition is or how little my mental age has changed. The journey through the building consists of weird animals, odd eating habits and unusual humans, as well as also featuring some stunning and innovative artwork which I'll write about tomorrow.
In the photo above you can see the jaws of a prehistoric Shark. I could easily fit into these jaws and not even touch the sides. Monsters of the deep are a keen interest of mine (yes, I am that person that watches those documentaries) so this was a particularly fascinating section. In the photo below you can see the skull of a ram which was born with four horns. There were many other animals such as this one on show, such as the siamese pigs, the two horses that shared one body and, most amazingly of all, a two-headed lamb that had completely different personalities for each head! Day, 46. Image 46: 319 Images to go.
I often walk past this little window, but haven’t really taken a moment to actually look into it and think how odd the collection of items on the inside are. At first I thought it was someone’s house, maybe an eccentric old lady prone to hoarding every little item of crockery she has ever come across. Then I thought that maybe it was a shop, but the dusty old windows make me think otherwise. Overall I have no idea why this quaint little collection of ornaments and lace are laid out like this at all, but I like it and would quite like my living room to look like this one-day, and that's why it has made its way into this entry. Now you'll have to excuse me as I am hung-over again and being enthusiastic about this photo has really taken it out of me. Day 45, Image 45: 320 Images to go Thanks to the ridiculous amount of food consumed yesterday my body went into some kind of overdrive/shut-down so that I somehow stayed awake until 4am!Needless to say I was one tired lady today as I hit the sales in search for some last minute, post-festive presents. Unfortunately my sale shopping was done in Ashford, and I doubted if I'd find anything to photograph in the High Street. But I was wrong, and even through my grumpy, tired eyes I still found a scene that made me think: this is one for the blog! So I hope all of you are coping with Boxing Day better than I am and that you enjoy this image of a crisp, icy evening in my hometown. Now I'm off to hibernate until the New Year! This is a Nativity Scene I did when I was about seven. My mum insists on whacking it out every single year even though the Camel is plastic, the sheep is made out of cotton wool and none of the figures remain upright for more than thirty seconds. Still that is what Christmas is all about isn't it? Keeping up with the good old family traditions that make you cringe a bit but also make you feel all comfortable and warm, like wearing a Primark onesie.
And I know this isn't my best photo ever, the colours aren't great and it came out a little grainy. But Christmas isn't about being picture perfect, it's about enjoying the festive mess everywhere and eating yourself silly. And this image definitely sums up our embarrassing, clumsy, perfect Christmas day. I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! It's Christmas Eve. It always seems to creep up like this every year and catch me by surprise. And now it's here and thanks to a fair few pitchers of cocktails last night, I am feeling far from festive.
This time of year always makes me think of those less fortunate than me, which is hard to say without getting too cliché. But I really do feel for people who don't have the pleasures we all enjoy over Christmas, and although it is true that it's "just another day", symbolically it brings out the stark contrast between one, bauble-topped side and the other. If you feel as strongly as I do about this subject and want to donate to a good cause, I just the Salvation Army's Christmas Appeal: www.salvationarmyappeal.org.uk Merry Christmas Everybody! :) This is an oil-painting I've been working on, as usual it's unfinished (there is a definite trend in my work like that) but I'm planning on getting it finished over the holidays. By the end I hope for it to look something like this Image which I used for some reference, however I obviously added my own colours and changed the style slightly:
Day 41, Image 41: 324 Images to go
I hoped that being back down in Kent would provide me with a change of scenery so that I could get some new, interesting photos after milking Brighton for all it was worth. Unfortunately in these weather conditions, most scenes end up looking the same, White. However I quite like this photo because it has a few unusual elements in it, such as the monument and the layout of the trees. I also think that the clear, crisp colours give it an atmospheric feel. I'm thinking of adding a new element to my website at some point in the future. If it all works out according to plan (when does it ever?) I would like to start turning my photographs into canvas prints available to order. It's still very early days but it is definitely something I would like to add to the project. To be honest with you, I think there is far too much of a hype surrounding snow at this time of year, it has got to the point where my family can't listen to the news without imagining someone she knows somewhere stuck on the motorway about to die because of a jack-knifing lorry or slipping on some ice into a precariously close ditch. Anyway this is Canterbury Cathedral in the snow and everything about the area looked stunning. Canterbury had a really nice atmosphere about it as well, with several people shouting hello (and a few other obscenities) at us as we walked by. As though being out in the snow together gave us a new-found camaraderie, toughing it out together and laughing at those who chose to stay indoors, or, they were just a bunch of drugged up teenagers unable to find their way home in the blizzard. Either way it was kind of nice. Now I'm off to make a (second) batch of mulled wine and get festively drunk. |
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