Where art meets meaning, and your space meets you
I’m creating a collection of small finely painted works that contain expressions of the alphabet.
Here are the first 10. Further blogs will have letters J through to Z.
These delightful small oblong paintings with initials might make lovely gifts for those wanting monograms in art. Or these are great for people WFH and they want their initials for their surname displayed on their bookshelf.
It was sad that Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, last week. I didn’t realise. I was at a work party. Then, on my way home, I saw all the adverts on the bus shelter portray TFL’s tribute/ perhaps public announcement. This is because all digital posters were saying the same thing. They all said Queen Elizabeth II 1926 to 2022 on a grey background. It was not too unlike the image below. That was my first indication that something had changed. I was very surprised.
Today I have been watching her coffin leave Balmoral and travel to Edinburgh. The road from Balmoral to the East is a road I had also travelled when I lived in Aberdeen as an MSc student at the University of Aberdeen. When the BBC TV presenters were calling out the towns like Banchory and Stonehaven as well as Donatoar Castle while the beautiful helicopter camera view of the journey televised its hearse tracking, it brought back my good memories of the Scottish countryside. It also felt quite moving.
Today it felt fitting to create some etchings and quick paint sketchings and draft paintings in royal purple. These are unfinished works. Below are images using purple. I sometimes shy away from purple, but since Queen Elizabeth II’s death, I’ve seen the Empire State Building shine her image amidst purple lights. Purple is currently a big theme.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin is due to arrive in London via Northolt Airport (not far from where I live). I remember going to Northolt airport 25 years ago to watch Diana’s coffin arrive from Paris, and I (with some friends) watched it travel down the tunnel for the A40. In fact, I’m inclined to go to the A40 on Tuesday to pay my respects to Queen Elizabeth as the hearse makes its way into central London. If I get any pictures, I will post them here. The ritual of watching dignitaries and their coffins travel by road via TV reminds me of when I watched Nelson’s Mandella televised coffin travelling to its burial site in 2013. It is amazing what TV can allow you to do nowadays.
I’m creating painted potions. They look good, feel good (because of the textures) and they’re full of ingredients that do you good.
In psychology, it is vital to integrate the self. I feel that the painted potions I create to uplift home office scenes express all of my talents and everything I am good at and love to do.
Some might say it is brut art because I didn’t go to art school (for fine art) and sometimes I use my hands. But I taught in a world-class art school for about 10 years, and I wonder whether those years count. I probably absorbed the artistic rules and principles while chatting to colleagues about student work and the issues in the industry.
In the pictures are painted potions in the process of making. They take several days and weeks to make as I spend hours deciding how to build up the layers, aromas and textures for the desired effect. Close up. I like to use expensive fabric in my painted potions. Some of it is a bit of deconstruction another bit of it is about what they add aesthetically.
The painted potions I have been creating use helpful herbs like lavender, lemon verbena, rose and myrrh. They smell great. The painted potions also give a nod to crystal therapy as I’ve been using citrine, turquoise and other gemstones with their wonderful energy, so far. I have collected lots over the years.
One day I shall tell you about my early years as a therapist who used more fluid an unction, lotions and potions to uplift the spirits of stressed-out clients in spas salons around the world. But for now, let’s admire the notion of painted potions.
Those are the first two ways my experience is integrated within my panted potions.
Next time I shall tell you about the work I’ve been doing around the workplace wellbeing for 10 years and how that has meaning for these painted potions too.
Here are my latest makes and recently listed in my shop.
It is of the collection inspired by the green and gold or brass Bankers lamp. I wanted to create a softer alternative so that it is a more cosy fit in homes or hospitality.
What is your favourite lighting for creating a comfortable home office space?
I made these fabric disks in the Christmas break and originally had them on my wall spread out like the old flying duck motif.
But this weekend I was having a tidy up and rearranged some of wall decor. They look better layered up, I think.
I’m back to making and will do a few more of these discs and other shapes.
It’s been difficult finding time to make but I’ve managed to clear the decks for a season of showcasing my hand made office decor creations made from upcycled fabrics, cosmetics and skincare products.
It’s going to be a creative season. If you want to ask me anything about wall. Desk or wall styling drop me a line.
I’ve noticed the more we do Webex, Skype, Zoom meetings the more important it is to hand craft our own mise-en-scène. That’s film talk for how we look on screen.
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