Catching Up On Kudos / Credit

A couple of weeks ago I posted about being prompted / inspired to return to lending my hand to some form of artwork or another. I've been fortunate here in getting to see, and know a little bit, some very talented writers, photographers, artists and hobbyists. The prompt to action has been brewing for quite awhile and I've gained that inspiration through seeing the work of various people - Kel at 'the xfacta' through her 'Art Attack' challenges, Robin at 'Bountiful Healing', Lea at 'Lea Kelley Saying Thank You For...', among a number of others.....

In this post, http://constantchangeisthenorm.blogspot.com/2009/05/small-beginning.html I singled out QuoinMonkey's series on mandalas over at 'red Ravine' for getting me going on them. I downloaded some and have spent a bit of time using my new art supplies colouring them in - getting used to the materials and working with them and the colours again; tuning my eye and hands in.

The other person I credit with providing that nudge into action is QM's partner at 'red Ravine', ybonesy, with her series of posts regarding the evolution and process of a brilliant graphic she produced. yb periodically attaches what she refers to as her 'doodles' to her posts but these posts took it all to a higher level. The initial one that really caught my eye described the process, her inspiration and the materials she chose - you can see it here in 'The Making of a Painter':
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/the-making-of-a-painting-painter/
A couple of weeks later the finished project appeared here - scroll down to 'The Other':
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/this-that-the-other/
...and a few days later a variation on the theme:
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/flower-power-haiku/
Powerful stuff to be sure.

Thanks again QM. Thanks ybonesy. Thanks to everyone who has provided positive example and encouragement. I needed that!

Oh - come see the new me over at http://norm54.wordpress.com

A Small Beginning

Funny, ain't it?? How when you've been away from something for a very, VERY long time (like drawing) a blank piece of paper can be SO daunting!! A couple of weeks ago I finally got out my pad of paper, pencils and a batch of markers and thought 'What the hey!?!?'. I started in drawing some flowing sinuous lines, then traced, & double traced and mirrored some of them to get this product below.

I bordered the pencil drawing with grey marker to strengthen the lines and also so it might pick up when photographed. Over to the left I was checking out the various coloured pens and found the pen barrels aren't a very good representation of the actual pen colour.

Each area filled in above has two or three colours in it done in varying ways; crosshatching, pointillism, random squiggles. Is it any good?? Well, no not really.... but it broke the barrier against doing the next one at some point. It also told me I need more and better colours to choose from and probably a different medium. The pack of oil pastels that I picked up at the same time as the markers and paper have taken a mysterious disappearing jaunt. I know I didn't want to leave them in the car but what have I done with them....???? Ah well, back to the store.

Okay, mandalas. First off kudos to QuoinMonkey over at red Ravine for tweaking my interest. I had been following with interest her monthly installments regarding her year long journey and practice. Doing a search over at their site brought the lot of them together here:

http://redravine.wordpress.com/?s=mandalas

If you scroll back to the bottom of the page you can follow the evolution since January 2008. Contained on her pages were links to on-line sites where you can download and print a variety of designs.... so I did, and this is the first one I tried. BTW, I spent that entire night following links and going off on associated tangents including labyrinths, mazes, sacred geometry..... you name it. Anyway, I've been totally impressed with QM's work and her writing on the subject. A big shout out to QM's partner Liz who also contributed some of her artwork to the posts - she has a great eye for design and use of colour.

So, once again, is this any good?? No, I don't expect so but it was fun to do and play around with colour choices (which were pretty limited). I was drawn to the strong geometrics of this design and was satisfied with how it came out. There will be more in my future, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to doing some designs of my own and am thinking of using them as colour studies. We'll see.

There is a maritime Canadian artist by the name of Christopher Pratt who has done an ongoing series of minimalist landscapes using the tri-field 'land, sea, sky' theme. Considering the narrowness of the theme there is a considerable variety in his output. I can't find those particular paintings but to see a page from an online gallery of his fine art work click on this link:

http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/pratt/pratt2/www.ic.gc.ca/pratt/art/gallery10.htm

Just move the cursor over a title to see a thumbnail; click on the title to see a large version.

What's New??

Well, my work week began on Sunday night and each morning the drive home has been a harrowing, white-knuckle experience. Black as pitch on mostly rural roads; roads so covered in snow that I couldn't make out where the centre line or shoulder were; spots so icy it was like skating; aggressive drivers who have no respect for the laws of physics. Arrggghhh!!! Man! Weather! You name it; we've had it. Driving rain, sleet, freezing rain, lots of snow, fog..... the whole shebang. When I got up this afternoon there was rare and glorious sunshine so, in my tracks, a t-shirt, slippers and my robe I sat with a coffee and basked on the steps outside our kitchen door and enjoyed the rays. Beautiful!

Just outside a moment ago checking out the almost full moon and noticed Jupiter and Venus are slowly trackinng further apart in the southern sky.

Here at work the guys have been quiet this week - a good, focused group intent on recovery - and no one in crisis or with other serious health concerns. It makes my job a lot easier. It has also allowed me time to watch a couple of movies - something I rarely do on the job, perhaps 4 or 5 times a year.

I posted about having rented a particular one and Amuirin from Stop & Wander directed me to a post about it she recalled having seen written by Quoin Monkey over at red Ravine. 'It' being, 'I'm Not There', the Dylan biopic. After having watched the movie I headed to red Ravine to check out the post and it made it a fuller experience for me getting other perspective on what I'd seen. Of the 6 portrayals I was most impressed by Cate Blanchett's performance - we're talking Oscar caliber acting here. Definitely not to all tastes but I would likely watch it again (to see what I missed the first time in this multi-layered production). Thanks to Quoin Monkey for a great post and to all her commenters as well - see QM's post here: http://redravine.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/im-not-there-the-6-faces-of-dylan/

When I dropped those movies back at the store I grabbed one that Amuirin had referred to months ago; I recognized the image on the cover and recalled the name - 'The Visitor'. This one wouldn't likely have a wide audience but I really enjoyed it. It's a good story, a good character and plot driven film , well told in a linear fashion. A half hour is spent laying the foundation where you're wondering where this is going.... and it draws you in, pulls you along and succeeds in making you care about the outcome. I won't give any clue to the ending but I left it at home tonight for Lynda to watch. She called and left a message on my cell during our meeting tonight - 'I liked it but you know I don't like movies that end like that. Damn it, why would you recommend I watch it?' Well, I recommend you search it out and watch it, too. And thanks Am for the heads up.

A couple of shout-outs for significant milestones hit by blog buddies. Robin of Bountiful Healing hit the 'Big 5-0' last weekend. Kel from Xfacta and her hubby Mr X celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss yesterday. And over at Stop and Wander, Amuirin's daughter 'S' turned 11 years old!! Happy times!! Congrats all around.

Of the music I borrowed from the library I've listened to just two of them so far. Just finished Leonard Cohen's '10 New Songs' (2001) and enjoyed it. I'll need to have another go with the lyric sheet in front of me to fully appreciate it. The other is a CBC Records recording titled 'African Guitar Summit' (2006) which is simply great; nimbly flying fingers up and down the fretboards. A completely different approach to guitar playing than Western artists. Love it!! More info here: http://www.africanguitarsummit.com/home.shtml

Th-th-th-that's all folks.

Words To Live By.....

.... well, for the guys anyhow. 'Never pee into the wind!' Stated with great clarity by a very drunken friend of mine after he had done just that. He survived, tho damp. It was also the most sensible thing he had uttered in hours. Go figure - one way to sober up a bit.

Yesterdays share at red Ravine (see right side bar) by ybonesy about fickle bladders and urinary practices triggered a bunch of memories, some hilarious, some embarrassing, some groaners. And although this isn't high literary writing practice it is something everyone can relate to..... everyone does it. Pee that is.

My most vivid embarrassing moment was way back when I was first beginning to drink alcohol on a regular basis (early 70's). My system was pretty naive, I wasn't used to drinking but I was out with some older guys from work after our day was done. My thinking was that I needed to match them drink for drink and try to act as if I was relatively unaffected by all the booze. At the end of the session I headed from the warmth of the bar outside into a chilly, windy winters evening and as soon as the cold air hit me I knew I had to find a washroom a.s.ap. Rather than turn around and use the bar facilities I started to walk toward the nearest subway stop figuring I would find somewhere else to go. (This is in downtown Toronto) I've arrived within seeing distance of the station and still no where to go. Damn! I know this particular station doesn't have any washrooms so I start scanning the street.... hmmmm..... car traffic has become lighter after rush hour...... foot traffic is spotty.... I'm a man, I can go anywhere, right?

I'm pretty smashed but I know I'll never last through an extended subway ride so I spy a likely looking spot for an impromptu pee. Facing out on a side street is a plain looking building and there are a couple of large concrete planters that I figure will block me from view. One last look around to make sure there aren't any pedestrians or cars in the vicinity..... hoist out the equipment and ahhhhh!!!!! relief!!!!! For a few seconds I'm thoroughly enjoying the release of my distress until BLAM!!!! The front door of this building blasts open and this waiter or maitre'd is screaming at me to clear off, get away from his restaurant, the cops are on the way!!!! Here I had been having a leak up against their heavily tinted windows in full view of the chi-chi clientele. Oops. Heh-heh; been thrown out of better places than this, buddy.

Well, I started legging it in the direction of the station as fast as I could.... trouble was I was so backlogged with beer that I wasn't finished peeing as yet with no end in sight. I did eventually stop and manage to pull myself together, pay my fare and get on my way home but I made a point of not sitting too close to the other riders that night.

You smell that? What is that smell? Smells like someone peed on this train. Who would do something like that?

Like ybonesy said - my apologies; too much information..... but the recollection of something this stupid and minor was fun and funny. Hadn't thought of that in years.