Coffee in Portugal

If you think that France has a coffee society, come see what Portugal is like. Coffee shops are ubiquitous, some times they stand shoulder to shoulder along the same avenue. On a warm summer night, they are jammed packed and quiet well attended on a winters night as well. This drawing was penned on paper, I don't remember when, but I do remember the feeling at the time. It was one of those very rare occasions, when one was feeling relaxed and in tune with everything. Sometimes referred to as "in the zone". Although the brandy was at hand, it was not the cause of the feeling, but the rather the sheer satisfaction of a successful day's work (one can work daily and hard, and still not have this sensation). These rare feeling do not happen that often, so, they are note worthy to the person experiencing them. It is rather a selfish experience, it can not be shared with anyone. Probably a case of self-satisfaction.

Waiting Again

Does it not seem to you, that we spend a lot of our time waiting for some people. Not necessarily waiting for them to meet with you, but rather waiting for them to come to some sort of realization or the "Aha Ha" moment. When I used to frame pictures, a photographer arrived at my shop with some very thought provoking photos: one of these was a chap sitting on a bar stool. But once the artist explained to me how he took this photo, it became even more provocative than before. His explanation was that the subject was seated in the dark, the camera aperture was set to be open for a long time, and source of light was shone on the subject's feet. Very slowly the focus of the light was moved up the side of the man sitting on the chair. All this time the image was being captured by the camera. This impressed me no end, and so I casked the photographer if I may use his image in my art work, and thank goodness she did. So using gold and silver leaf on canvas, that had been glued onto masonite, the image was reborn. The frame has also been included into the artwork.

Detached

Have you ever been in a room , filled full of family , friends and interesting people, and felt totally detached? This situation has absolutely nothing to do do with the quality of the people in the room, nor with the fact that you love, like or dislike anyone of them. It has more to do with the Grande Canyon of space between the way that I think, and the way that others think about certain subjects or themes. When they discuss certain themes, there seems to be absolutely no link or attenuated bridges between the rest of them and me. Is it my fault that I feel like this? I'm pretty sure that they will jump at the opportunity to shout : Yes! Thank goodness these moments are rare and hopefully they will not become frequent. So, if you have a closer look at the painting you will see me (or yourself) sitting on a chair, and in the far distance some other people wondering about, but together. Maybe you can recognize this situation

Amedeo Modigliani

Every artist has another artist that they admire, and more often than not, it is more than one artist. During the artist life he will go though stages of having a particular artist being his favourite. For a long time Modi was mine, and I don't think he will ever totally leave the ranks of those that influenced my creations. So here is one of my works that was born out of one of his. My painting used gold and silver leaf as well as some varnish to add depth to various parts. Amedeo Clemente Modigliani, born July 12, 1884 and died January 24, 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures. His production is known for its nudes, which were not received well during his lifetime, but later found acceptance. Modigliani spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance, until he moved to Paris in 1906. There he came into contact with prominent artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuşi. Modigliani's oeuvre includes mainly paintings and drawings. From 1909 to 1914, however, he devoted himself mainly to sculpture. The main subject is portraits and full figures of humans, both in the images and in the sculptures. During his life, Amedeo Modigliani had little success, but after his death he achieved greater popularity and his works of art achieved high prices. He died at age 35 in Paris of tubercular meningitis.

The CDs

This is still one of my favourite ones. Naturally, gold and silver leaf, placed on a canvas of 81 x100cm. Done in 2003 with enthusiasm and soul.

The Cake Knife and Fork

I have in my possession an old knife and cake fork, they were handed down to me from my grandmother. As you can imagine the older folk hold dear such items as sherry glasses, cutlery and table cloths. However this two small items I hold dear as I can remember her using them whenever we (That is me, my parents and sister) went to visit them. As a rule, in our house we did not have cakes and sweets, so going to see granny meant we were going to get what normally we were not allowed. Just the fact that we were not allowed was more than enough of motive to over eat. This knife and fork were (and still are) made of silver and the handles was made of bone. Because these items brought back happy memories, it was decided to make a painting of each of them. Snapping to my favourite medium: gold and silver leaf. I stretched and prepared the canvases of 146x92cm. The back ground was done with the gold leaf and the blade of the knife, and the prongs of the fork were done with the silver leaf. I was hoping that they would be bought by a restaurant owner, because they would have made an effective result on the wall of the restaurant. But as fate would have it, it went to a private dwelling's dinning room. So I should not quibile too much

Boxes

Title - Boxes. Medium - Gold and silver leaf with mixed media. Size - 61,5 x 99,5cm. Year 2003. Each little box has been framed and joined to its partner on the side, then all of them have been placed into a larger frame that hold it all together. A very heavy wooden structure. Asking price €1500 (Gallery price)

John Henry Fuseli

Henry Fuseli (7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draftsmen and writer on art who worked and spent most of his life in Britain. Fuseli was born in Zürich, Switzerland, the second of eighteen children. His father was Johann Caspar Füssli, a painter of portraits and landscapes, and author of Lives of the Helvetic Painters.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands. He was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuytbrouck. His family was quite well-to-do; his father was a miller and his mother was a baker's daughter. Religion is a central theme in Rembrandt's paintings and the religiously fraught period in which he lived makes his faith a matter of interest. His mother was Roman Catholic, his father belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church, but the Dutch Republic was famously tolerant and, while his work reveals deep Christian faith, there is no evidence that Rembrandt formally belonged to any church, although he had five of his children christened in Dutch Reformed churches in Amsterdam: four in the Oude Kerk (Old Church) and one, Titus, in the Zuiderkerk (Southern Church).

Honoré Daumier

Honoré Daumier (February 26, 1808 – February 10, 1879) was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century. A prolific draftsman who produced over 500 paintings, 4000 lithographs, 1000 wood engravings, 1000 drawings, 100 sculptures he was perhaps best known for his caricatures of political figures and satires on the behavior of his countrymen, although posthumously the value of his painting has also been recognized