Alcoudim – 2 – (Travel Sketches Portugal 2009)

Back to “real” work now, after an evasion in the Music world and ma Fantasy world…

Some works on commission are waiting , not the easiest part of my job, really! I mean psychologically it is not easy, it means much less freedom in the realisation and above all the necessity to succeed. But well, it must be done!

This is why I wnet back to work on my last travel sketches of Spain/Portugal, specifically to Alcoutim (see here the first post about it, with some sketches)by the Spanish border  I have still a lot to there, and I would like to finish them before we start the next trip in the middle of september, although we actually have no idea if our initial plan to go to The Provence/France for one month will come true…

The Sweeties

Yesterday I  started a new series of paintings “The Sweeties”. Well, I guess it will be more a mini-series, as I don’t believe that my inspiration and technique will last for many paintings. I needed to take a holiday from travel sketches and  musicians paintings, and there is for me only one way: to flee back into the fantasy world. No real people, no real places, just weird and/or silly stuff. To tell the whole truth, I was so fed up that our team Derby lost in football against our mortal enemy “Nothingham Forest” that I had to leave this bloody reality for a while and calm down!

One day I might tell you why I called the series this way… in fact seing how it started, The Weirdos would be perhaps more appropriate, but the name refers to the technique I use… eating sweeties while I paint?

Flowers for my Friend

pour mon amie Emma….

This morning I woke up with a very special friend to my French friend Emma, one of the persons I most admire in the world. I created this bunch of flowers for her, my way to present  her my best wishes for her beginning carreer. She is a wonderful therapist… and soon to contract online! But unfortunately only for the French speaking people… although I must dsay, she is so good at what she does, that it would be worth to learn French just to get your psycho problems fixed by her! 

Big hugs, Pomme, and I wish you the very best, which you anyway deserve!

You can see my -so far- published collection of flowers and still life in my FFA Gallery clicking on this link.

If you are interested, You can buy there directly on line, prints of these paintings in many different sizes, on different kind of papers or canvas, or as greeting cards. Just click on the widget below

Michael Jackson 09

Alcoudim – 1 – (Travel Sketches Portugal 2009)

Last year, as we left Castro Marim , we went on into the Algarve, towards Faro, the very tourist part of Portugal. This year, leaving Castro Marim we decided to go straight up towards the North,  more or less along the Spanish border. We had some problems with our motor home “The Boomobile”, and had totally lost our electric autonomy, meaning that we were forced to spend quite a lot of our time in camp sites, feeding our beast with mains power. Unfortunately the camp sites are not very frequent in this part of Portugal but on the map I spotted one in Spain, quite close to the Portuguese border, and just the right distance away from Castro Marim. We headed there, with the intention to cross the border river (Guadiana) by Alcoudim.

Well, bad decision with respect to camp sites! What I hadn’t planned, was that there was no bridge there to cross the river! Neither there, nor further down or up! We were quite fed up, but on the other hand,  Alcoudim was such a beautiful little town that we very much enjoyed our day there. Without electricity, but well, the days were light and long… and candle light by dinner is soooo romantic!

Anyway, the above sketch is a view  of the river Guadiana, and of the Spanish town in front of Alcoudim. And with no bridge over a long distance, no wonder that the towns  in that border zone are in fact harbours, for sailing boats and Guadiana cruises.

Portrait of Michael Jackson 05

Sorry for the ones who get bored to see Michael Jackson in my blog, but I can’t get rid of him in my soul at the moment…

At least I am making the ffort not to publish all of them here  

But for the ones who are interested in the whole series, please have a look at Portrais for Life

Portrait of Michael Jackson 04

I feel deeply inspired by all the singing and dancing attitudes from Michael Jackson… I guess the series of portraits of him will become quite long, except of course, if I get bored with myself painting Michael Jackson before then… which is more than probable!

My whole career as a series painter is always a race against boredom… if I want to paint a series, I have to be very quick, to paint relentlessly, because my boredom could outrun Usain Bolt!

Wait for me…

Today, 15h English time, is another game from “my” football team, “The Rams”, DCFC, Derby County Football Club. A home game against Plymouth, whose nickname is “The oilgrims”. Just before the start of the Championship season, early this month, I published an art football calendar featuring The Rams fighting against some of the other teams. One of them was Plymouth…

In fact the Ram on the picture, wearing a life belt and ready to jump into the ocean to fight for his team, even if it men swimming to America, is of course the most fanatic football fan I have ever met, my partner Kev Moore!

but don;t think twice, he can swim, he normally doesn’t need any belt when we both swim our 1000 metres everyday…

Anyway: We have to win today!

PS: the mentioned calendar is to purchase in Miki’s Mart

Portrait of Michael Jackson 01

So, I have started with my Michael Jackson series.

Looking at this one, Kevin says:

“It could be anyone!”

Perhaps… but in fact this portrait belongs with another one. Ans when one sees the second one, no doubt, I think, who it is!

if you are interested, you can see the second one in my portraits blog

Egrets from The Past

Reading at Susan Cornelis’ post this morning, I was suddenly remembered of quieter times of my life when I spent many hours watching at birds in different places from euripe… it was of course before I met my Rocker Kev Moore, since then, I have hardly time to spend observing birds… he hasn’t got the necessary patience to it!

Anyway—once I even started a kind of sketch book about the birds I saw…I spent some time searhcing for thta book todat, as I have paintings and sketch books all over the places, and hardly keeps notice where they are. But here it is, the first drawing featuring some  egrets from The Delta del Ebro?Spain and  Les Dombes/France. But these are  all “petites aigrettes”, little egrets, while I think the one in Susan;s post is a “grande aigrette” (sure you can do the translation yourself!)

This second sketch is just a “copy” from a book about birds, kind of…