Work in progress, acrylic on canvas
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” Pablo Picasso
“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or a path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realise your potential.” Joseph Campbell
I’ve been busy making digital art prints for my Etsy shop… the first ones make use of a leafy ink doodle that I drew a few years ago (the prints are available here) — and even though I enjoy working on the computer, it’s been weeks since I held a paint brush and now I can’t wait to get back to my easel…
Magnolia study – ink and watercolour, 140 x 170 mm, 2016
Magnolias at Mona Vale, Christchurch, 2013
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London
Tree – mixed media on watercolour paper, 2016
A tree in the neighbourhood, Christchurch ~ original photograph, 2015
Austrian/New Zealand artist, architect and visionary Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928–2000) was an amazing person and he is one of my favourite artists. His work is colourful and exuberent, bold and quirky, unique and significant.
If you’re not familiar with Hundertwasser, you can visit www.hundertwasser.com to read about him, his art and his philosophy. ‘Blobs grow in beloved gardens’ 1975 and ‘Green town’ 1978 are just two of the beautiful artworks that inspired my tree painting.
I’m not sure if I like ‘Tree’ or not… but I do like knowing that I’ll never look at another tree the same way again!
In the style of… posts are where I use my own photographs as a starting point and draw inspiration from some of the world’s greatest artists and illustrators. It’s not about copying someone else’s art; it’s an experiment in seeing things differently.
Flinders Street Railway Station, Melbourne — ink and digital colour, 2016
“Drawing makes you look at the world more closely. It helps you to see what you’re looking at more clearly. Did you know that?”
I said nothing.
“What colour’s a blackbird?” she said.
“Black”
“Typical!”
David Almond
