This, that and the other

I wanted to blog tonight. I was having withdrawal symptoms. I was also having 'can't think of anything to write' syndrome.

In search of inspiration, I grabbed my not-very-well-thumbed copy of the Art Spirit by Robert Henri. It's a series of notes, letters and ramblings about art. The first quote that jumped out at me (err the truth is it was about the fifth - but where's the story in that?) was this:

"Ever since the beginning there have been artists who have found in the simple life about them the wonderful and the beautiful, and through the fact of this inspiration have sensed the way to make the combination of form and colour we know as art."

Well, knock me down with a feather (a big one) if that wasn't just what I was trying to get at in my previous post (if a little less poetically).

While I'm on a ramble - for it seems this is becoming one - let me tell you about a giveaway on another blog... Now the trouble with telling others about this is naturally that it reduces my chances of actually winning. However, I do like this author and I think you will too, so pop along and visit a funny lady from Australia - a big round of applause for... Comic Mummy. (See, told you I would give you a plug if you were a good girl!).

Finally, very excited that my most recent art purchase dropped through t'letterbox today. The Drawing Lab. I'm off to scribble...

This blob may become something... or it may not... I was using up some spare paint on my palette. In the spirit of Robert Henri (and indeed my previous post), I'm seeing primeval predator or just a curious cat. I guess we'll have to wait and see...

Getting into the spirit

I once started a book group. It was at work. I made some posters, sent out emails and got a fair few people signed up. I can't remember who chose the first book, but I suspect it was probably me - His Dark Materials by Philip Pulman. It was a cracking read. I arranged the first meeting and the grand total of one person, other than myself turned up, and she hadn't even read the book yet. That was the end of that book group.

Efforts since then have been considerably more successful. Last year saw my gleeful and enthusiastic participation in the Wreck this Journal Group run by Jamie Ridler. What incredible fun that was and who knew that it would be the start of such a wonderful creative journey and the introduction to some lovely new friends?

The Joy Diet followed, but like most diets, I fell of the wagon near the end. It was fun while it lasted though and in particular I just loved reading what everyone else felt and then jumping up and down with glee when they felt the same as me (in other words, I was pleased I wasn't alone in my strange attitudes!).

New Year means new books and, even better, new groups. I have to admit though that I have a whole cupboard full of books I haven't read yet. It's not that I don't read, in fact I've usually got several on the go at once, it's more that I just can't resist... Yesterday for instance I was walking past a charity shop and saw a sign in the window - ALL BOOKS 50P - well, how could I say no? It would have been rude and uncharitable not to (picked up a Barbara Erskine, Valerio Massimo Manfredi and a touring guide to Britain full of lovely maps which I suspect will be finding their way into my artwork sometime soon).

So, back to the Groups. I am now reading The Art Spirit by Robert Henri and hope to have submitted my application in time for another Jamie Ridler extravaganza - The Happy Book. The latter is a mailaround project with each participant having the book for just one week before passing it onto the next.

The Art Spirit is a bit like having a bona fide famous painter giving you lessons in the privacy of your own home. There's no pictures, no colour guides or step by step painting building. It is simply written advice and shared wisdom. Interestingly, there aren't any chapters or any form of index - it just sort of rambles and is really a collection of letters, essays and articles written by the great man. I find this slightly odd, but by the same token it does mean that this is a book that you can just dip in and out of at your leisure. I've only read the first few pages so no proper post on my thoughts or progress yet but watch this space...

I'll leave you with a quote from the book to have a ponder over.

"For an artist to be interesting to us, he must have been interesting to himself. He must have been capable of intense feeling, cand capable of profound contemplation.... Nature reveals to him, and , seeing and feeling intensely, he paints, and whether he wills it or not, each brush stroke is an exact record of such as he was at the exact moment the stroke was made."

Robert Henri