Power cut !

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Guthlac

It has been 5 months since our last power cut but here we go again! At least we now know who to ring etc.

No broadband just 3G….how will I cope?

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Understanding

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Guthlac

One of the joys one gets from trying to make a copy, however flawed, of a great work of art is an understanding of how the paintings was made, the artists use of colour and above all else the talent of the original artist.

Making my pale facsimile of Madame X has made me look at just how Sargent approached his work. Now before I get too carried away with this it must be accepted that I’m working from a print which, no matter the quality, would never come close to the real thing. Providing you accept that then one still learns so much.

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Proportions, proportions

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Guthlac

The curse of anyone who has tried to make a painting r drawing of a person…you need to get the proportions right and at the moment I’m not there yet. Obviously an awful lot of work still to do.

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Bucket list painting

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Guthlac

One of the greatest painters, well at least in my opinion, is John Singer Sargent. I have had the privilege to see a number of his works and every time I do I find myself wanting more. Unfortunately as I’m not a billionaire the chances of owning one of these gat works is nil so the best I can do is try and see as many of the paintings as I can.

This in some ways is a bucket list and one of the paintings that is highest on that list is Madame x. This painting, along with many others, are in American museums and collections. Fortunately many appear to be in and around the New York are so perhaps I’ll have to make a pilgrimage to New York. In the the mean time I’ll have to content myself by making poor copies of the original – this time using Brushes on the iPad.

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Full Disclosure

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Guthlac

Photo 04-02-2014 11 24 39

Some times when I visit an exhibition I find myself totally stumped as to what exactly I’m supposed to be seeing.  This was the experience I had with the Malcolm Morley show at the Ashmolean in Oxford yesterday.   I hadn’t travelled down to Oxford specifically for this but rather my wife and I felt like a day out and there are fare worse places to go than Oxford.   The Ashmolean is one of the finest museums and galleries in country so we’ve spent quite a bit of time there over the years.  So it was yesterday – hence my introduction to Morley’s work.

Now before I had read this introduction I knew next to nothing about Morley and at the end of the exhibition I didn’t feel any better informed.  There was nothing on offer that I could connect with.  Morley appears to make large scale paintings of photos he finds in a ‘super realistic’, his description, style.  Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many photorealistic paintings now to realise that whilst he is considered the pioneer of this style his paintings left me cold and unmoved.  No doubt in his time they were ground baking but to me uneducated eye they just felt like bad copies.  I walked away wondering whether I had turned two pages in my art history for dummies – however the clincher for me is the title ‘Turner Prize Winner’.  To make matters worse he was the first winner – thus in some off beat way setting the standard (I know that is totally unfair).

If Malcolm Morley is your cup of tea then I believe this is quite a good collection – thus a good exhibition to see.  Otherwise…don’t bother.   My this sound so pissey and I apologise to all those involved with the show but Morley’s work leaves my cold.

As for my own artistic endeavours well I made a couple of sketches but I can never settle properly to work on these things.

iPhoneography -IMG_1566-Edit iPhoneography -IMG_1569-Edit

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Shoes

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Guthlac

2013

Time waits for no one…2013 is no longer with us so it is time for me to start thinking about my next yearbook…This is will be my fourth or is it fifth I can’t recall and it is a really difficult project to edit as there are so many things I could include – at the moment I’ve got 435 images to filter through and I have many more sketches, drawings and paintings to consider.   So Many decisions – such hard acre but it is worth it.

 

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So I stopped up to the end of the third quarter

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Guthlac

It was somewhat spooky to switch on Sky’s Super Bowl coverage to find the exact scene I had described…four men squashed into a small studio/sky box. The only thing that I hadn’t mentioned the patronising attitude of some of the American guests to the token British journalist/analyst. At one time he appeared to be getting all excited taking about how it reminded him of the 80’s and the studio went silent… Now this is interesting as most people in the States have never been to a pro football game and so their understanding of the game comes through the TV and so the British journalists enthusiasm had the same level of validity as the average American – yet the vainly hidden scorn. Or am I reading far too much into the whole thing…probably.

As for the game you couldn’t ask for more. All the predictions were wrong. The weather was fine, the game was so un balanced as to remind one of the Broncos of the 80’s/90’s. To quote the great philosopher of the time Homer Simpson…” the Denver Broncos..??!!??…” on finding he had been given them by an arch villain he had been working for. The start set the tone…the Broncos first possession and they screw things up and give away a safety. After that it just went down hill and I swear that on one of the super slow mo close ups of Peyton Manning you could see the realisation dawning on his face that he will always be the second best quarter back in the Manning family after his little brother Eli. It was just so wonderful.

So enough of this gloating at another man’s misfortune, if a multi millionaire sportsman really knows what misfortune is. By the end of the third the Broncos scored but they never looked like making any real come back and sure enough they didn’t. One final question – who was the Donnie Osmond impersonator who did the half time show? Last year they had a true superstar Beyoncé but this year…I have no idea who he was…however given the middle of the road pap he seemed to be turning out I guess that Simon Cowall might have something to do with him…I must look this up. (I’ve just looked him up and it seems that he has developed all on his own – still what the hell do I know about music and I guess he doesn’t care on jot about my views and good on him for that)

So overall worth the sleep deprivation. Roll on next season.

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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To stop up or not? That is the question

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Guthlac

Well it is that time of year again…another Super Bowl … I’ve just realised this is my 30th…good old channel 4 all those years ago. In the early days you had to wait, I think, until the following week before seeing the action. However today it is very different. Super Bowl parties are all over the place and so the question is…should I stay up and watch it live?

I’ve watched the game live in the States and I have to say it makes an awful lot more sense than over here where even on Sky most of the commercial breaks cut back to several past and present NFL people crammed into a small luxury box poised high above the game trying to fill the empty space. Also the America is great theme of the Super Bowl works when you are in the states – outside it just looks jingoistic and really quite patronising. From beyond the US of A many of the faults are far more apparent than to most people who live in the country and banging on about just how good America is doesn’t go down as well.

Do I stay or do I go? … well I might just catch the first quarter and then…

Go Seahawks.

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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Take on Me….it’s no place to be safe or sorry

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Guthlac

Une Soule déesse

 

Well I’ve given up on my battle with my editing process for now.  I have the greatest admiration for those who have to do this, including my son and his fiancee,  but the whole process is just not worth it…at the moment at least.  Over the past month or so it has consumed more and more of my RAM to the detriment of other things – especially my art.

So time for things to be parked and for me to refresh my batteries and enjoy life just a little.  For those out there who don’t have this privilege then I have nothing but admiration.

 

 

 

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Give a little bit more

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Guthlac

Simon Marchini
http://www.simonmarchini.co.uk

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