Leiria now

This is a bit (not exactly a bit, because it covers the whole side of a building. What I mean by a bit is that there are other pieces of art work done around the town, and this is just an example of one of them. It's also not a bit in relation to it's whole, as the whole painting can be seen. I could rant more over the inappropriate use of the word bit, until I have completely lost the original idea, which I think has happened) art work done on the side of the local cinema. A little bit of ancient history: The region around Leiria has been inhabited for a long time, although its early history is obscure. The first evident inhabitants were the Turduli Oppidani, a Celtiberian tribe (akin to the Lusitanians), who established a settlement near (around 7 km) present-day Leiria. This settlement was later occupied by the Romans, who expanded it under the original Celtiberian name Collippo. The stones of the ancient Roman town were used in the Middle Ages to build much of Leiria.

Makro

This piece was one of the most difficult to photograph as the tablet screen that was attached to the canvas, kept on reflecting the surrounding area. But I think, eventually got it right. I have a lot of paintings that have been done over the years that I will have to start posting up to this blog. Any, this canvas is 130*120cm and was painted in 2016

Steam Punk Lamp

This is my latest craze and creation. A SteamPunk Lamp. This is constructed from various mechanical devises and used to simulate a post apocalyptic era. This one used an old horn and some computer parts, fixed onto a piece of polished fire wood. In this case the horn does work.

Leiria´s Assemblage Graffiti

Living in this small town called Leiria does have its surprises: this afternoon while taking a walk along the river that runs though the town, I came upon this sculpture that was done against the wall of a building. On closer examination it was pieces of plastic that were screwed to the wall and then the wall was painted. I do not know if this could be called a sculpture or a painting, but I was very impressed. The photo does not do it justice. Maybe the technique could be called "Assemblage Graffiti"

For Whom the Artist Created

"For Whom the Bells Tolls" a title from a famous novel by Erst Hemingway. By I wonder at this statement: "For whom the artist created?". Those words are mine, as they iterate my thoughts about, for whom the painting are painted for. If the artist has been commissioned to paint, sculpt or compose - the answer is evidente. However the amount of unseen art that is created by the creator, is immense and in most cases, is never seen, sometimes even destroyed. However, I surmise that most artists create for one person only - themselves! And I think that any artist of worth will apply his energies to satisfying himself, as to to his/hers worth as an artist. The strongest critic to any work is the creator himself - in his heart of hearts, he will know that the item is a true reflection of his talents and inspiration, and not the art collector or the curator of some gallery. Although the artist still craves the adoration from a neutral third party. It never is safe, to ask anther artist what he thinks of the work (every artist know this) and most of all, never ask a family member what they think of your work. Their options are always based on the fact that they love you (or we hope so). The best judge of his own work, is the artist himself. If he lies to himself, it won't be for long and he will grow to the realisation that he will have to admit, that it was not that great after all. What happens then? Well, it's back to the proverbial drawing board. That constante need to do one better will always exist. This need to forever do one better, can drive an artist nuts. The artist that comes to mind most readily is Van Gogh. An immensely productive artist, churning out sometimes a picture per day, but never been happy with the results. But I must admit - he had other problems as well. I can not quote verbatim, but Picasso said that he was never satisfied with one of his works, as he saw errors in it and knew that the next one he did, would not have the same errors as this one. I believe that this is all an attempt to please the artist himself, maybe that is why I think and that an artist is a selfish person by nature. The artist does not seem to be that good a person then?

RWR172

RWR171

This is another of the small ones (20*20cm). Done on canvas with gold leaf and mobile phone parts.

RWR170

RWR169

RWR168

This is one of my favourite little ones, known as the the "The little Ones". They are 20*20 cm and have been very popular.