Inspired by Franz Marc

So our artist inspiration this week is Franz Marc. I had never heard of him before, he was a German artist whose brilliant talent was snuffed out during WW1 when he was tragically killed in France like so many other shining stars of his generation. His father was a professional landscape painter and Franz had studied Art in Paris before the War, developing an affinity for Van Gogh and this is apparent in his work some of which can be viewed here http://hs.riverdale.k12.or.us/~dthompso/art/marc/gallery/

Most of Marc's mature work portrays animals, usually in natural settings. His work is characterized by bright primary color, an almost cubist portrayal of animals, stark simplicity and a profound sense of emotion, which garnered notice in influential circles even in his own time.

This drawing of a sleeping cat is mine and I have layered it into a digital collage. I certainly enjoyed this week's challenge.

Lest we Forget

ANZAC Day and so many memorable moments both on TV and here in Gympie. Today Alan was involved in the March and the Catalfalque Party. In these photos you can see him marching with the Light Horse in the parade and then in Memorial Park afterwards as part of the Catalfalque Party. Memorial Park was created by the people of Gympie as a dedication to the men who lost their lives in World War 1 and it is full of Jacarandas and rose gardens. Here you can see the Rotunda, used today for its original purpose as a Bandstand, the piper in the background and Alan standing to attention. The top image is a photo one of the Memorial plaques from Memorial Lane. There are a series of these in this Lane (which joins the park to the main street), all brilliant, this one is dedicated to WW2 and you can see a Corvette in the picture.

Frameworthy Challenge - Arthur Rackham

This week's frameworthy challenge was the artist Arthur Rackham http://www.spiritoftheages.com/Rackham.htm I had never heard of him so I really enjoyed looking at his wonderful illustrations. I was inspired by his wonderful sepia colours and his images from Peter Pan. This sent me off to my very old copy of Peter Pan c 1956 - unfortunately not the one with AR's illustrations. This photo was taken of me long before 1956 and I can report that I did grow up.......... sadly we all do........ but I hope I have retained my sense of wonder and my imagination, and I still love to pick flowers in the garden :)

Yesterday is History; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a Gift

The title for this post was inspired by some words written on the side of a very old and dirty Kombivan I saw parked in a car space near mine today. I was returning from a visit to our main street in town, `Mary Street' is its name and I thought to myself - well if today is a gift how have I put it to good use. So thinking back - this morning I walked 3 kilometres in 33 minutes, did 40 minutes of strength and flexibility exercises, went to the hairdresser where I was lucky enough to have to wait and was therefore able to read a whole issue of Country Style Magazine :) Then it was off to the Post Office followed by a sidetrip into my favourite second hand bookshop where
I bought 2 books really cheaply by authors I love. Next stop was for a cup of coffee and a sandwich and some time to start reading one of my books. Then I wandered down Mary Street looking at all the different shops, all interesting, popped into the Health Food Store for some Psyllium and walked back to my car where I noticed that Kombi :) As I post this the day is not over yet, later I will have a glass of wine, eat a healthy dinner, watch Australian Story on TV and do some reading before bed. So thinking back I think I have really appreciated and enjoyed the `gift' of today.

Matisse Inspiration and other things

Whoo I can't believe that its been more than a week since I last posted. We have been busy with a trip down to the Sunshine coast to see Sue and Co. on Sunday and Monday, then I was at Art Society on Wednesday where we are continuing with the bookmaking. Thursday we went fishing on the Noosa River with Alan's brother Geoff and Julie. Friday we had a Carriage Club Meeting at our place in the evening and that same night Alan's sister Margaret arrived to stay for the weekend. So last night we had a lovely dinner and some wine. In between all these activities we have been doing some `Autumn Cleaning' and mowing and weeding etc. Then today Alan was off to training with his Light Horse Troop in preparation for ANZAC Day.

However I did find time to have a go at the `Frameworthy Challenge' for this week which was Matisse. I have always loved Matisse and I have a framed print of his behind my computer, so it was easy to be inspired. I particularly love his use of colour, and in this collage I focused on the idea of being inside looking out - a theme which Matisse often uses.

Inspired by Wassily Kandinsky

This week's Frameworthy Challenge was really inspiring. The artist chosen was Wassily Kandinsky a Russian artist who is considered to be the originator of Abstract Art. I searched through the on line galleries and found inspiration here http://www.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/PD--10280221/SP--A/IGID--853489/Murnau_1909.htm?sOrig=CRT&sOrigId=26&ui=97DD300FE6D549318091C67413F8F70A

So here is mine. I created the background in ArtRage and then added the collage elements - stars, houses, stitching and the flower. I was really happy with the result.

Playing Truant

Last weekend we both attended a pretty full on weekend workshop at R.D.A. so on Monday we decided to escape to Noosa for the day. We picked up some take away food and sat beside the river and just chilled out for the afternoon. It was so beautiful there that we decided on the spur of the moment to book 2 weeks at the adjacent caravan park in May. So something to look forward to.

Today was my regular Art Society Wednesday and we are learning how to make and bind books. We are using watercolour paper cut to size which we then dye with tea, ink and other things. Then we tear or distress the edges and next week we will be binding them. The covers are interesting. We are using the covers from old books which we will then cover with crumpled tissue paper which will in turn be distressed with gold paint and shoe polish. It all sounds a bit odd but the result is great. I'm not sure how I will go with the binding but I will post a photo of the finished product.