Art Work inspired by Dylan Thomas by my art students

In preparation for The Many Faces of Dylan Event my art classes have been inspired by the poet Dylan Thomas and his many wonderful works. Below are just a few, more to come. They have been using mixed media including collage, watercolour, ink, pencil and some of his text. As you can see some really great and inspiring work has been produced. 

We are all involved in The Many Faces of Dylan Event in Swansea Maritime Museum in Easter Week. More info to follow

Sue

Paul

Brian

Vivian

Janine

Mike

Happy Mothers Day

My Mothers Day Card I painted especially for my Mum

Hope all Mums out there are having a lovely and special day!

An Evening with Katya and Pasha, Stars of Strictly Come Dancing Tour 2014 at Swansea Grand Theatre

Yesterday I was very excited to be invited by Katya and Pasha to see their new Ballroom and Latin Show in Swansea Grand Theatre so that I could capture them in my paintings.
I am a HUGE fan of Strictly and Katya and Pasha as dancers so really couldn't wait.
Not only were they very charming and generous with their time (with some spectacular poses for me) but they also made sure they gave their time to the Wiseman Stageschool children who were also involved. They definitely made their day. And yes Katya is as pretty and Pasha as handsome in the flesh and I can't wait to paint them!

The show itself is everything you could hope for. Fabulous dancing, glamour, fun and audience participation.

All the dances you want to see are in there, a sultry Rumba, a Fiery Paso, Beautiful Waltz and Passionate Tango amongst others. Pasha and Katya having a sizzling chemistry on stage that electrifies the audience.

I must also give a shout out to the other great dancers (from various SCD shows)  Marcella Solimeo, Ryan Hammond, James Wilson and Jasmine Takacs. The show is also hosted by the very entertaining Mike Newman. There is an hilarious question and answer section with questions from the audience via social media. Katya can't help giving double entendre's  to every answer which had the audience in stitches. They were also very excited to hear Pasha was single!!

Also a shout out for Wiseman Stageschool who gave a great performance on the night and must have been thrilled to be sharing the stage with Pasha and Katya.

Pasha and Katya ended the evening with a stunning Paso followed by a toe tapping group dance which got everyone's blood pumping. I felt quite exhilarated afterwards as did everyone else.

A definite must for all the family and fans of Strictly and Dance.

For tour dates see link below
Katya and Pasha Tour Dates 2014

Finding Vivian Maier Official US Theatrical Trailer #1 (2013) - Photogra...

A documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one the most accomplished street photographers. Fascinating.

73 Questions with Sarah Jessica Parker -- Vogue

Couldn't resist posting this. Great wacky interview with SJP. Gorgeous apartment!



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Beyond El Dorado Last Chance to see

Beyond El Dorado 

Until March 23rd in The British Museum

Organised with Museo del Oro, Bogotá, this exhibition explores the rich and diverse cultures of Colombia before the 16th-century arrival of the Spanish.

This is a superb exhibition and a fascinating insight into a rich and mysterious culture who were highly skilled and had a huge respect for nature. If you have the chance go before it is gone!

The myths of El Dorado

For centuries Europeans were dazzled by the legend of El Dorado – literally ‘the golden one’. Many different stories were told of El Dorado – sometimes it was imagined as a lost city of gold, sometimes as a man covered in powdered gold who plunged into the middle of Lake Guatavita (near modern Bogotá). The exhibition uncovers the fascinating truth behind some of these myths. Unlike in Europe, gold was not valued as currency in pre-Hispanic Colombia. Instead it had great symbolic meaning, facilitating all kinds of social and spiritual transformations. It was one way the elite could publicly assert their rank, both in life and in death.

Complex craftsmanship

The exhibition features over 200 fascinating objects from Museo del Oro, Bogotá, and around 100 from the British Museum’s collection. They show technologically advanced and sophisticated goldworking techniques, including the use of an alloy composed of gold and copper, and the use of textiles, feathers, stones and ceramics. These beautiful and detailed works display a level of complex craftsmanship that perfectly marries art and skill, and show the differences in techniques and designs across the region.

Discover ancient Colombia

With a focus on the craftsmanship of peoples we know as the Muisca, Quimbaya, Calima and Tairona, the exhibition presents the complex network of societies in ancient Colombia – a hidden world of distinct and vibrant cultures. The remarkable objects reveal glimpses of these cultures’ spiritual lives, including rituals of hallucinogenic transformation, engagement with animal spirits and objects animated through music, dancing and sunlight.

A unique exhibition

The exhibition uncovers the extraordinary metalworking skill of the peoples of ancient Colombia through a unique collection of objects, some of which are being displayed in the UK for the first time.

L. Cornelissen & Son. One of my favourite art shops.

If you do manage to make it to The British Museum do a slight detour the opposite way (5 min walk) on Great Russell Street and you will find a little piece of artists heaven. I have wanted to visit this shop for ages. It has been trading since 1855 and still retains that feeling of going back in time even though it has the full range of modern artist materials. It is crammed from floor to ceiling with every imaginable colour in every type of paint and pencils. On some shelves there are glass bottles of coloured pigments with unimaginable names just crying out be used. Names of paints I have never heard of or imagined wink at you like magicians potions. I was looking for Unison Colour pastels and it was  a joy for me to open old wood drawers to reveal rows and rows of delicious rainbow colours. I could have spent hours in there! The staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable, especially when I was inquiring about materials I was not familiar with. It was a enchanting experience and I will be back.

Link
www.cornelissen.com

The Vikings Life and Legend, The British Museum

6 March – 22 June 2014
Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery
Supported by BP

• The first major exhibition on Vikings at the British Museum for over 30 years.
• Features many new archaeological discoveries and objects never seen before in the UK alongside important Viking Age artefacts from the British Museum’s own collection and elsewhere in Britain and Ireland.
• New interpretations place warfare and warrior identity at the centre of what it meant to be a Viking; cultural contact was often violent, and the transportation of looted goods and slaves reflects the role of Vikings as both raiders and traders.
• This exhibition will be the first in The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, part of the new World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre that opens later in 2014. The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery is the British Museum’s first purpose built space for temporary exhibitions

My Musings

A fantastic exhibition that should not be missed if you have any interest in this period at all!! A huge array of exhibits that really bring the Vikings to life. It gives more depth of knowledge about their life. They had culture, a social order mixed with brutality and ruthlessness. I had also, no idea that their influence spread so wide and in turn where so influenced by such an eclectic mix of cultures. 

A real highlight was the remodeled warship. It was an awesome sight and really put the scale of their achievements in perspective. 

the onl;y criticisms were that it is a bit of a bun fight at the moment so hard to get close and personal with the smaller artifacts. Also it really could have done with a few Vikings models to get an idea of their jewellery and costumes as worn instead of just in glass cases.

A fascinating Cultural show special on Viking Art

Viking Art Link Culture Show Special

Latest Art Work from My Students

Some of the latest watercolors from my talented students in Ostreme Centre, Mumbles and Swansea Grand Theatre

The Emergence of Ballet in Britain during The Second World War, BBC Ballet Season

Ballet During The Second World War

Continuing the BBC Ballet Season. Wed BBC March 5th 9pm but can be seen on iplayer. Dancing in the Blitz. 
David Bintley on how British ballet was forged during the Second World War.David Bintley, director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet explores how the Second World War was the making of British ballet and how fundamental the years of hardship and adversity were in getting the British public to embrace ballet. Bintley shows how the then Sadler's Wells Ballet Company, led by Ninette de Valois and featuring a star-studded generation of British dancers and choreographers including Margot Fonteyn and Frederick Ashton, was forged during the Second World War.

It's the story of how de Valois and her small company of dancers took what was essentially a foreign art-form and made it British despite the falling bombs, the rationing and the call-up. Plus it is the story of how Britain, as a nation, fell in love with ballet.

Using rare and previously unseen footage, plus interviews with dance icons such as Dame Gillian Lynne and Dame Beryl Grey, Bintley shows how the Sadler's Wells Ballet company survived an encounter with Nazi forces in Holland, dancing whilst the bombs were falling in the Blitz, rationing and a punishing touring schedule to bring ballet to the British people as an antidote to the austerity the country faced to emerge post-war as The Royal Ballet 

Dancing the the Blitz, BBC Link


Also if your interested in this era you must read the autobiography by Gillian Lynne, Dancer in Wartime. She was dancing with Margot Fonteine and Moira Shearer at this time. A tale of courage, tenacity and ambition.

Darcey Bussell on Life

Darcey Bussell talking about her life and career as a Prima Ballerina on BBC

Link to the BBC Documentary

Darcey Bussell Documentary on BBC I Player

Matisse Documentary

Must see the documentary on Matisse before his new exhibition at Tate Modern of his cutouts. Fascinating to hear about his drive and motivation.


Matisse Documentary on iplayer

Description of exhibition due in Tate Modern

Tate Modern: Exhibition

17 April – 7 September 2014

Henri Matisse is a giant of modern art. This landmark show explores the final chapter in his career in which he began ‘carving into colour’ and his series of spectacular cut-outs was born.

The exhibition represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see so many of the artist’s works in one place and discover Matisse’s final artistic triumph.

In his late sixties, when ill health first prevented Matisse from painting, he began to cut into painted paper with scissors to make drafts for a number of commissions. In time, Matisse chose cut-outs over painting: he had invented a new medium.

From snowflowers to dancers, circus scenes and a famous snail, the exhibition showcases a dazzling array of 120 works made between 1936 and 1954. Bold, exuberant and often large in scale, the cut-outs have an engaging simplicity coupled with incredible creative sophistication.

The exhibition marks an historic moment, when treasures from around the world can be seen together. Tate’s The Snail 1953 is shown alongside its sister workMemory of Oceania 1953 and Large Composition with Masks 1953 at 10 metres long. A photograph of Matisse’s studio reveals that these works were initially conceived as a unified whole, and this is the first time they will have been together since they were made. Matisse’s famous series of Blue Nudes represent the artist’s renewed interest in the figure.

London is first to host, before the exhibition travels to New York at the Museum of Modern Art and after which the works return to galleries and private owners around the world.

Darcey Bussell Ballet Heroines

Don't forget to watch Darcey Bussell's Ballet Heroines tonight

 BBC 2 at 8.15pm

It marks the start of the BBC Ballet Season on BBC 2 and BBC 4
Darcey Bussell Ballet Heroines BBC Link