Media madness for the bored and restless
Oh Hello! Long time no see. I had hoped that while I was taking a small hiatus from writing that the world may have calmed down, but it would appear that we are now living in a permacrisis (oh yes I did just use the new word introduced to the English dictionary), where we all... Continue Reading →
There are times, I feel that I have been born in the wrong era. I have almost a Victorian style fascination,(although I don't want to kill animals just for fun and I don't want to revive, what was lovingly known as freak shows) and anything that strays from the beaten track will capture my interest... Continue Reading →
As humans, we like to think everything else has a personality and a sentient consciousness. This is why we talk to our plants, name inanimate objects and write books or make films about animals having a secret life or toys that move around when we aren't looking. The phenomena is called Anthropomorphism, and it is... Continue Reading →
On the 8th of March every year it is International Women’s Day. I am female and consider myself really privileged as I live in a society where, while there are still disparities between men and women, it is nothing compared to other cultures in the world. This said, there are still huge worlds apart for... Continue Reading →
Sometimes life gets in the way of things we want to do. I had great plans to write a Christmas article, but with a new job and other responsibilities, time just got away from me. So, here I am to kick off the New Year with a film breakdown, and this is one that has... Continue Reading →
There are some artists who set out to be controversial, either to get a message across or to get noticed. Generally, these are works which are controversial for the time, but as time passes and culture changes, most of the scandalous artworks seem a lot less risky. Allen Jones is not one of those. Born... Continue Reading →
You may remember a little while back I did an interview with Saki and Bitches. This was a great moment for me as she is an artist I really admire, and for her to agree to do an interview via email was a really exciting moment for me. So imagine my excitement, when she messaged... Continue Reading →
Do you remember the song "It's Raining Men", by the Weather Girls? They always made it sound like there was an abundance of Adonis like men falling from the sky, ready for the taking, which always conjured images of women being knocked out by a falling half naked man, for me... Or maybe you remember... Continue Reading →
Cast your minds back (I appreciate for some of you, this will be a really alien concept, as mobile phone have replaced a lot of the waiting in relationships now), to a time when you had your first love, and you had to wait for contact, be it a phone call to your parents landline,... Continue Reading →
I was first introduced to Saki & Bitches art, while wandering around Shoreditch looking at street art for the day back in 2018. I can remember falling in love with the bright colours and this curvaceous woman painted boldly. Long flowing orange hair which sang out a message to me of strong female imagery. That... Continue Reading →
I love taxidermy - from the brilliantly executed to the very poorly done, it is something that I very much appreciate. I don't particularly like the thought of animals being killed with the specific purpose of being stuffed, and on the whole this is a thing of a bygone era, but I am a big... Continue Reading →
There are lots of people who inspire me greatly, these range from historical figures, to artists to just people I know. Rebecca Bathory is an astounding photographer and I am incredibly lucky to also know her on a personal level. Bathory's work displays the chaotic beauty of decay and degradation. Her work concentrates on forgotten... Continue Reading →
You know the phrase... one man's rubbish is another man's treasure? Well this is definitely the case for artist Vortex Recup'art aka Adrien Vinet. Vinet takes what others throw away and makes mystical and fascinating creatures out of what he finds. Vinet's sculptures juxtapose the natural or psychological world with robotic forms to create sometime... Continue Reading →
Unbelievably, I wasn't that popular at school - I was the weird ginger kid who was oversensitive and was interested in things that "normal" children didn't really like. For many years this made me feel like a bit of an outcast, with a small circle of friends that I never really felt I belonged with.... Continue Reading →
Once upon a time I went to Rotterdam. While I was there, I made a visit to a crazy little natural history museum, because I love natural history museums. This one, in comparison to the one that is in London is tiny. The downstairs was filled with the usual things you would expect to find... Continue Reading →
These days we are all getting quite well practised at wearing a mask, aren’t we? Be it the type that covers your mouth and nose to prevent the spread of COVID, or just a false smile on your face as you manage how you are dealing with lockdown, we are all wearing something to hide... Continue Reading →
Way back in 2018, when the world wasn't turned upside down with a pandemic and we could go and see the wonders of life, I managed to catch an exhibition by Mothmeister held in London. Excitedly I rushed home and wrote about them, as I was so in awe and inspired by their work. I... Continue Reading →
Well, 2021 is settling in following the trend of 2020 really isn't it? In the UK we are still in lockdown, there is a variant strain of COVID that the vaccine will not make you immune to, and Mount Etna is exploding. This really demonstrates how fragile and temperamental the environment we live in is.... Continue Reading →
I can already feel you yelling at me...WidowC... this guy isn’t an artist, he was a terrible American serial killer. Why are you dubbing him as an artist?? Much like everyone else, lockdown has presented me with the time to look at all the weird, wonderful and terrible things that are out there, and I... Continue Reading →
What I really enjoyed about the end of last year, was how everyone I know got very excited about seeing the back of 2020. It was almost as if some magical force would take away COVID and Donald Trump and we would be left with some utopian society that would live harmoniously together. Now that... Continue Reading →
Here it is! 2021! We have finally put to bed the year that wasn’t, and yet we are still in some form of lockdown (even if we aren’t calling it that these days). I have found a new guilty pleasure though, while I am limited to hanging out at home and walking the dog, which... Continue Reading →
Well we are days away from the start of 2021, and while I do hope that the next year is more productive and less devastating that 2020 was, I also think we are in for a few more months of sitting around dreaming of when we can go out and ditch the ‘new normal’ in... Continue Reading →
I have had an article published on the Parkstone International website which you can find here It would be great if you would head in over and give it a read and then let me know what you think.
It's been a bit rubbish lately hasn't it. As such I have been struggling for inspiration to write, but I can't let Christmas slip by without writing about why we all celebrate this day (supposedly). This year, the message of this painting might be particularly important, especially for those who are in the UK, and... Continue Reading →
I have been published on Parkstone International again. You can find the article here. This time it is on the master sculptor Rodin. It would be great if you took a look and then let me know what you thought.
Sometimes, there are pieces of art which just miss the mark so drastically, that they are not seen in the intention the artist meant. This came to mind yesterday while I was watching the news. We know that there are many artists that are misunderstood, which I think is fine if they are creating pieces... Continue Reading →
This week has been full of highs and lows. The crazy electoral race between Biden and Trump, another lockdown starting in England and just the general rubbish which comes with daylight savings of short days and long drawn out nights. This led me to giving this darker than dark story a thought, and how it... Continue Reading →
Here we are in what is set to be a dismal Halloween. The weather in the UK is just pretty dull, we are waiting on the potential second wave of COVID, therefore any Halloween fun you might have thought of having with 6 friends inside the privacy of your own home, has probably been trampled... Continue Reading →
I saw a statement that struck me really odd the other day which was "feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings". This was said by Cheris Kramarae, and on the surface it seems a ridiculous statement, but underneath that is the world in which a lot of women find themselves in daily.... Continue Reading →
I write a lot about religion. I don't have a belief, but perhaps this makes it easier for me to be completely unbiased, as it is not something that I have invested devotion to. I like to understand it, as I believe that this stands me in good stead to firstly empathise with my own... Continue Reading →
It is that time again! I have had an article published by Parkstone International. This is about what Banksy has been upto this year and his new exhibition in Rome called "Banksy - A Visual Protest". You can read the article here. I would love it if you came back and told me what you... Continue Reading →
Memory is a funny old thing isn't it. By definition it is the faculty of the brain by which data is encoded, stored and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. We, in general terms, also hold on to memories of things that have... Continue Reading →
It's a tale as old as time right? Father wanders into someone else's house, crashes for the night and then goes to steal some roses, beast comes out and say he will kill him or he can hand over one of his daughters. Said daughter turns up, is terrified of the beast, but it is... Continue Reading →
I am coming away from folk stories this week to talk about an artist that I have only just stumbled across, and have really taken to his work. This particular painting might resonate with me somewhat more than the others simply because of a recurring nightmare that I had when I was younger. The dream... Continue Reading →
We all know the story of "Little Red Riding Hood", right? WRONG! No, you know the tamed edition which is nice and child friendly where Red escapes with the help of a friendly woodcutter, and they manage to cut Grandma out of the wolf's stomach and everyone lives happily ever after. Well...while the Brothers Grimm... Continue Reading →
As a kid (and to an extent, still today) I loved disney movies, although not overly the ones with Princesses in... I know I drove my brother to distraction watching "The Jungle Book" and I loved watching "The Fox and the Hound" with my Dad. As soon as you start to venture into Princess territory... Continue Reading →
In the weird story game, Europe has to be up there in the top 5, which is probably what made it so easy for the Brothers Grimm to collect so many creepy and totally dark tales of people being either completely manic or mistreated. This is not to say that other cultures don't have such... Continue Reading →
I can honestly say that this week I feel like the world has gone a little bit crazy. The ease of lock down measures seem crazy - having to self isolate if I travel, but not until after the 8th June, I can have up to six people with me in my garden, but they... Continue Reading →
This is the third article I have written about stories from the Brother Grimm collection, but what I have realise is that not everyone knows about them...admittedly I assumed everyone did... simply because it is so common place for me. The Brothers Grimm did not write the stories that were in their books. They were... Continue Reading →
This is originally an article I wrote for Parkstone international, but they decided to change it, so that it bore very little resemblance of the article I wrote. Therefore, as I write for them out of the goodness of my heart, I decided to post the full article here. This subject is a fine line... Continue Reading →
I am taking a very slight detour from fairy tale this week to look at an artist who seems to base his art in the world of folklore, myth and stories instead. As a child I was deeply enthralled by stories, I had a vivid imagination and would spend hours daydreaming about mythical creatures; this... Continue Reading →
I find it amusing how simple and compliant the heroines in stories can be sometimes. Some of them have been through horrible things, but don't appear to have trust issues of any sort. They appear to walk blindly into traps, and hope by the grace of God that there is a man around to help... Continue Reading →
I often talk about the importance of understanding stories, culture and history as a key to understanding art and films. It gives you a firm grounding to use applied knowledge and link subjects together that are comparable. Folk/fairy stories serve a purpose to deliver a moral and to entertain. Many of the tales we tell... Continue Reading →
Lockdown is rough isn't it? Stuck in the house with the same people you have been stuck with for over a month now, little respite and routine which is set to match Groundhog day. The TV just has adverts reminding you not to go outside or the endless begs from charities even though many people... Continue Reading →
There are those people who appear to be annoyingly good at a lot of things. I have been told I am one of those people. What this actually means is, I try my hand at a lot of "stuff" and I continue to practice and hone the skills for the things I appear to be... Continue Reading →
I have had my regular article published by Parkstone International. You can find the article here It would be great if you would pop over and read it, then come back and let me know what you thought.
Another week of isolation due to COVID-19 and another film from the depression trilogy by Lars Von Trier. This seemed wholly fitting for the current climate with a film that goes through the impending end of the world and a person suffering near catatonic depression. While in reality this isn't the end of the world,... Continue Reading →
I don’t write about digital art anywhere near as often as I should. Generally, because I find paintings much easier to write about. They hold a certain quality that I feel is much more personal as it is a connective process of brush to canvas or what ever medium is being painted on. That is... Continue Reading →
I am really proud to say that I have had this article published to celebrate Vincent Van Gogh’s life. You can find the article here
It truly is a strange and worrying time at the moment isn't it. COVID-19 appears to be bringing out the best and worst in people, from fighting in the aisles of supermarkets for toilet roll, to masses of volunteers helping our elderly and vulnerable people. The media have caused a frenzy which is of an... Continue Reading →
I have had another article published by Parkstone International. You can read it here. Please do let me know what you thought.
Have you ever watched something, and immediately wanted to watch it again? This film was exactly that for me. It is so rich in symbolism and so dense with nods to other stories, elements and film productions that it really get the brain ticking. It is a film that sucks you and a leaves you... Continue Reading →
I was in Prague recently and I completely fell in love with Andy Warhol's "Love is a Pink Cake". This shifted my view on him completely, as previously, I have to admit, that I found his work a little...samy. The first thing that you think of with Warhol, is after all, a can of Campbell's... Continue Reading →
As you probably are aware by now, I also write for Parkstone International. This time I was asked to write on “The Guitar Lesson” by Balthus, which I find a fairly trying article to write. None the less, you can find the article here:- https://parkstone.international/2020/02/16/shelleys-art-scandal-that-painting-by-balthus/ Why not head over there to see the full painting... Continue Reading →
I really love a horror film, which will be absolutely evident if you have read any other of my film articles; but I quite often find myself saying “they don’t make them like they used to”. The characters seem insipid in newer horror to the point I don’t really care what happens to them, and... Continue Reading →
Did you know that there is such as thing as Dark Tourism? This is people who go to visit places that have connections with death and/or suffering. I would say that I verge into Dark Tourism quite often; but it is rarely just to say that I have been to that place, it is more... Continue Reading →
I think we can safely say that the start of 2020 has not been a brilliant one, there are terrible fires in Australia, and my heart goes out to every living being there in a hope that recovery comes quickly. In the UK we have the ongoing comedy saga of Brexit and the hash job... Continue Reading →
On my search to do something inspiring on New Years Day, because I really wanted to start this year doing something inspiring, I stumbled across an exhibition at the Tate modern, which was closing on the 5th January (sorry to anyone reading this who wanted to experience it). It was an artist I hadn't experienced... Continue Reading →
I have an odd relationship with Star Wars. I wouldn’t say that I am a huge fan, in the way that I don’t consider my religion a Jedi, nor do I have Star Wars memorabilia littered around my house, but I do know a lot about the films, and perhaps some of the finer details... Continue Reading →
Japan is a beautiful country and I was mesmerised by the tidal patterns that I could see on the beaches. I know that sounds odd, as I live quite close to the sea, and I can see the tide changes when I please, but here in the UK we have fairly straight, undisturbed shorelines so... Continue Reading →
Merry Christmas! I hope that you have all opened your presents and received everything you could want (or a plethora of socks and pants at least). I would like to take a moment to thank all of the people who have visited this website this year, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of readers... Continue Reading →
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