The Annoying Tree - 28.06.2014

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep" - Scott Adams

...

I've got this strange tendency to over-think things. I'm sure most of us do it. It's not usually a bad thing - to think things through, but with me, it's like an addiction or an illness. If I ever make a decision it's always in the heat of the moment, because if I have enough time to think it through, I'll never come to a conclusion,  I'll just keep on constantly changing my mind and messing stuff up. If you've ever seen me make an important decision I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about. I need to talk through all of my options, this is where my friends step in. And then even if I do make a decision, I'll just change my mind on the following day. It's horrible.

I haven't been very active here recently (again) because I recently started being a ''Teacher'', well more of a learning support teacher. I just do some extra maths with one boy, some reading with others and help a couple of boys in English/Latin. It's a very fun job, every day is different but it does mean that I barely get any free time to paint (I get home from work and then tutor in the evenings).
I feel like I'm talking to an old friend right now, so if any of you reading this wanted to catch up with me, here you go, no need to get in touch with me anymore - you know everything now :)

I'm talking nonsense today, but what I write here is not the main subject of my blog. All of this is just extra stuff. The main thing is the painting. So here it is.


It's called ''The annoying tree'' because the tree you see in the foreground nearly made me destroy the painting. I had to repaint it way too many times. I was just never happy with it... I did get there in the end and I'm quite satisfied with the outcome :)

''The Annoying Tree'' using artists' oil paints from Winsor and Newton on a 18" x 14" canvas.



Lots of Love,
Marlena

"The fight of the sea'' - 08.10.2014

As some of you may know I did art GCSE and my theme was Ordinary and Extraordinary.
As part of the project we went to Brighton to collect sources.
Today I found my USB with all of my art things on it and I found a short poem I wrote on the 23.05.2012. As a part of my preparation I responded to the poem in Kandinsky's style :D 

...

The Fight of the sea.

It's cold.

the intermittent white noise, soothed my senses, no way I was gonna leave this place.

The crashing sound, their anger expressed with the intense movement of water.. swooshing.. thundering.. roaring, like a wild beast in the deep blue water approaching its pray..

moving backwards returning to its cave.. it was cold.

then the fight was over.. the sea calmed down.. now it was whispering the words of its soul.. All I could hear was the gentle touch; the caress of the ocean just touching the rocks below. With each incoming wave, a gentle kiss with the limestone and then the wave quickly rushed back out to the sea. 

like a lover, the waves kissed the shore... a perfect place for me to be..

it's cold.. the wind is around me.. singing its sad song.. it seemed to be blue..  occasional tears touched my face, as the grey, fluffy clouds cried.. it's cold.. the wind is in my face..

a sea gull made a horrible sound.. it was trying to fly in the direction opposite to the wind.. everything was moving.  The waves were dancing, faster and faster until their gentle whisper changed into the sound of a war, the sound of crashing, roaring... it was deafening.. it wasn't lapping gently on the shore.. it was a fight again... and it was cold.

The air was salty.. there was also a scent of fish, chips and candy.. however salt was the main ingredient of the dish served by the sea. my lips were salty and my mouth was salty.. it was something that was impossible to defeat.. I was trying to drown out the taste of salt by sugar, but it wasn't giving up.. it was invading my mouth with its taste.. there was no way out.. and it was cold.

...

and here's the response:

 I just thought I'd share it with you :) it's not my best painting but it was an interesting exercise.

And here's one of my more recent paintings.

As always artists' oil paints from Winsor and Newton on a 18"x14" canvas :)

Lots of Love,
Marlena