Home Office Charm

growth Signs: After 6 years Art practice

This blog is about six years old. Since 2018 this space has been the anchor to me keeping my artistic practice going as if some form of curious web based accountability buddy that is silently coaching me along.

I was reading what I originally wrote in the About section. It’s what PR folk would say is ‘the origin story’ and how my blog and art practice started with a couple of tubes of WH Smith paint in a used Charlie Bingham box. Looking back at the images I think my practice has grown and developed.

Below are more photos of artefacts portraying the growth in my art practice. You will see how I have graduated from storing things in a used Charlie Bingham tray to now using seven Haeckles Innovation boxes to store my paints and all kinds of other artistic bits and bobs.

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Dreamy Shelf Styling

Organisational Aesthetics

Write about your dream home.

When people think about their dream home, they often think about the broad architecture. They might also dream about the interior space, structure and design. But their imaginings often miss considering the tiny decor details like the composition and likely colours needed in styling their shelves, open storage and library bookcases. Instead those finer details are left to chance. Then what we see at best their shelf display is about arranging things neatly. And at worst the shelf seems to curiously be like an exposed front draw with tens (or 100s) of items drowning in layers of sticky dust.

This post gives a few ideas for styling your shelf. It especially shows you how to use pieces of shelf art to anchor the colour scheme and inspire what items should go on the shelf and how to artfully display them so the scene is an amplification of the art.

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Abstract Botanicals: Doing Final touches on Artwork

Art & Illustration

This week I was doing the final varnish and layering on of skins for my artwork while making sense of what the series should be called and the concept behind it.

This first series has taken me over a year to make and there are over 30 mixed media 7” x 5” (178 x 127cm) pieces in the series. I thought of all kinds of names to acknowledge that the pieces express the underlying complexity and tensions I see in organisational life, as I’ve gone about helping workers with changing the corporate landscape. There is an overall name for the series which is abstract botanicals. But..that would be the more appealing acceptable name.

I was encouraged to hear another artist speak of her work conveying the horror and disgust that she experiences with another phenomena. And I realised that this is what my art is conveying too. Thus although this first series shows bright and colourful, botanical patterns of barely recognisable trees, plants and flowers (apparently I’m good at transubstantiation, necessary for abstract work), it sure ain’t pretty.

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English Country Guesthouse inspiration

Organisational Aesthetics

I’m an obvious urbanite and was nervous about travelling to England’s South West Countryside for work, this week. I had to visit Somerset in particular Chard for my 9 to 5. But my journey was helped because I stayed at a lovely little local guesthouse. And while the Chard guesthouse did not exhibit all the slick, minimalist, post modern or contemporary industrial style I have been accustomed to seeing on my usual business travels, this place really did emit some helpful old world charm

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Ability to follow engaging Style is

Personal Reflections

What makes a good leader?

This bloganuary prompt (what makes a good leader?) made me chip in mid week and roll over to Sunday. We are seeing more reports on successful leaders being able to follow a variety of elements within the organisation. Some of the elements include what their followers say is of concern. Leaders today also must follow guidance and advice from a range of stakeholders. Later you will read how important it is that leaders get the very soft and aesthetic elements right too.

Following rules for shelf styling. Clumping elements in threes, fives or sevens, Maximising the layers, using lighting, botanicals, colour and painting tactically to get an inspired feminine industrious vibe.