Art and Sports 11 – Figure Skating

Figure skating 01 - by Miki

I am still on my sports arts journey, focussing on winter sports for the moment. And in order to paint winter themes I have to set my mind to a winter mood, to feel the cold and somehow romantic atmosphere. Well, we are in the middle of October, so I would say it is quite sensible to think about winter already. There was a time in my life -my Germany time-, when the winter could have started soon, And anyway, especially when I was living in Freiburg,  Switzerland being just around the corner, the snow was never very far away. But where I live now, in Andalusia, in the middle of the Almeria desert, it is not easy to think winter thoughts… although some might say,  I just need to stretch my mind to the Sierra Nevada, which is also not so far away…

Anyway, one of my favourite winter sports disciplines is figure skating on ice .I guess I will spend some time on this subject. I have started the series featuring couples skating, as it is what I most enjoy. I love the basic contrast between man and woman but still in search of unity and , the matching gear they put on are a delight for my eyes, In fact they all generally look like the perfect couples. Although I must say that some couples are veering away from that aesthetic perfection, typically when the guy is immense and the girl tiny, probably for the sake of easing the carrying and throwing. And call me old-fashioned, or  not liberated, but I don’t like it either when the girl looks like the guy , and inversely… In couples skating I especially love the increased tension through the double possibility of failure and the search for harmony and coordination. These guys really have many parameters to master to give a good show and achieve a high ranking.. what a performance really!

Now some words about painting figure skating. It is not as easy as I thought, perhaps because it is closer to dancing than to traditional sport, especially through the elegance and the general body attitudes in search of drama or fake smiles!  I would say it is not easy to escape the danger of kitsch, or at least not to cross the borderline between art and kitsch. When I think about it, I don’t understand why I love figure skating so much. Of course I love dancing, I love skating, but generally I don’t like mixing tastes.. it is like when we eat waffles here: Kevin loves to put chocolate AND strawberry syrup on them, and I can’t stand it, both tastes killing each other: what a sin! Or like in painting, mix too many colours and you get an ugly grey. I know, I am digressing here, figure skating is not at all like that, and yet, as I stated painting it, I felt the danger very clearly….

Figure skating 02 – by Miki

I won’t say anything about the results. As I always state: it is not up to me to judge my work.

I will just say one thing: I will persevere!

These paintings are available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

Turre in Spain

Turre 01 - by Miki

In my last post presenting you places where I have been travelling and sketching -in that case Sorbas- I mentioned that I had hardly painted Turre, where I actually live in Andalusia, Spain. It is not quite true. I found some sketches featuring Turre, although the town is more in the background, as a white silhouette.  Well, better than nothing actually, especially because Turre in silhouette is very nice,!. It is anyway nice to see where the town is situated, between the mountains and the sea.

Map of Turre, Andalusia, Spain

We are 4 kilometres away from the Mediterranean sea, and at the foot of the Cabrera mountain range. “It is built along the “Rio Aguas”, which by the way means “The River Waters”.  Typical Spanish: the only waters we see in that river is when we have some rare torrential rains, but most of the time the only things that flow along it are herds of goats and sheep wandering around! Very lovely though… 

The sketch below was painted on our way to Sorbas, Turre being the white townscape in the background.

Turre 02 – by Miki

Like many of my travel sketches from that period (2007-2008), it is done in ink and pastel chalk. But I have also a watercolour interpretation of that scenery, Very different as you can see, but still the same place. Amazing in fact how the technique and the colours can give a totally different impression of a place!

Dawn in Turre - by Miki

And concerning watercolour, I also found  the following one. I can’t remember having painted it, neither where nor when. But on the painting itself, by the signature,  is written 2008, and behind I wrote “Turre”. So it is certainly some place I saw here, probably a lonely house somewhere at the outskirts of Turre. I quite like the painting, although it is perhaps not really representative of Spanish scenery. But does that really matter? Not to me!

And finally a piece called, “Dollhouse in turre”, inspired by a beautiful house very close to Turre, and a little girl whom I saw sitting there on the doorstep one day.

Doll House in Turre - by Miki

That painting was by the way, chosen for the cover of the August edition of our wonderful local magazine, “The Sentinella”. Always a big honour to be featured there! By the way The Sentinella appears every month as a printed edition (great quality by the way, worth collecting!), but also online.  Also because my partner, the great musician, artist and ranter  KEV MOORE,  is featured there every month, being the magazine cartoonist, and also having a regular column called “Want some Moore?”, where he sounds off about everything that gets on his nerves, and believe me, that’s a lot!

The Sentinella – August Edition

These paintings are available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

Art and Sports 10 – Speed Skating

Speed Skating 01 - by Miki

The first time I really enjoyed Ice speed skating was last year, as we were touring the Southern States of America. The Olympic Winter games in Vancouver were just happening, and sometimes in the hotels, when it was too cold to go out (we are used to warmth all around the year living  in our Andalusian desert…. the temperatures over there were quite a shock!)  we switched the TV on and followed the games. We were especially captivated by the Ice speed skating disciplines,  probably because of the whole theatre surrounding the USA’s charismatic figure answering to the fabulous name of Apolo Ohno.  Apolo by the way, is the guy leading the pack on the painting above, and also on the painting below… well, I didn’t  really try to reach an exact similarity in the facial features,, as these are not meant to be portrait paintings, but really speed skating paintings.

Ice Speed Skating 02 - by Miki

Sorry for the exclusivity,  but he is, through his face and whole body attitude a wonderful painting motif! And speed skating itself is a perfect sports motif for my new technique, combining much movement and bright colours.

For those who want to know more about Apolo, here is the beginning of the Wikipedia entry:

“… Apolo Anton Ohno (pronounced /əˈpɒloʊ ˈæntɒn ˈoʊnoʊ/; born May 22, 1982) is an American short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. He is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time.

Raised by his father, Ohno began training full-time in 1996. He has been the face of short track in the United States since winning his medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics.^[3][4] At the age of 14, he became the youngest U.S. national champion in 1997 and was the reigning champion from 2001–2009, winning the title a total of 12 times.^[5][6] In December 1999, he became the youngest skater to win a World Cup event title, and became the first American to win a World Cup overall title in 2001, which he won again in 2003 and 2005.^[6][7] He won his first overall World Championship title at the 2008 championships… “

These paintings are available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

I am so sad…

Steve Jobs Grave

Along with millions of people around the world, I am mourning…

Right now I am writing these words on my wonderful  IMac…

For the last 20 years my computer life has been spinning around the Apple…

Steve Jobs was even born the same year as me…

Yes, I am so sad….

Sorbas in Spain

Sorbas 02 - by Miki

I have presented loads of travel sketches from many different countries in this blog , but if I remember well, I never published paintings from the town where I live (Turre) and the surrounding area here. I love to draw landscapes and townscapes, but as usual, although we live in a lovely little town with spectacular mountains and sea views, I have hardly ever painted it. But I did a few artworks featuring of some the neighbouring places.

Today I will bring you to Sorbas, a typical Spanish little town about 20 kilometres south of us,  a bit further away from the sea

Map of Sorbas in Spain

Unfortunately I don’t remember much about the place, except that there were plenty of painting motifs. I remember though that we were there on a market day, but it was quite near the end and there was only some small stalls left on the town square, and hardly anybody around. I still found the motif very nice and painted it on the sketch above, choosing some pale yellow light to increase the nostalgic atmosphere. In fact it is very representative of many rural Spanish towns which have been quite deserted by the youth. Although judging by the numbers mentioned in Wikipedia, the population has hardly changed in the last 10 years, about 2800 people. Well, perhaps it was deserted before…

The main part of the  town is built on a hill, hanging houses always being a very attractive motif for me. On the sketch below you can see Sorbas, the white townscape in the background, viewed from the main street leading to it

Sorbas 01 – by Miki

I seem to remember that I did more sketches that day, but I can’t find them any more. I need to go back there one day and paint again. It shouldn’t be a problem considering the distance, but as always, “close to home” seems so unreachable. I travel thousands and thousands of kilometres to see and paint beautiful places, forgetting the jewels we have here… it is a little bit like the story of Don Quijote and his Dulcinea, isn’t it ?

All sketches presented here have been painted on the site, in ink and pastel chalk.

These paintings are available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

Art and Sports 09 – Boxing

Boxing 01 - by Miki

I was thinking about sports which could be appropriate for my new technique, the one developed this Summer to paint the Tour de France, and Kevin proposed that I try boxing. I was convinced immediately! Most people, who know me superficially, or only from photos, would ask:  how on earth can such a tiny, soft looking person  be inspired by that violent sport? Well, this is another aspect of my life which does not match at all my physical appearance, and contribute to my fame of being an “ALIEN”, kind of.

Fact is:

I am a green belt in kick boxing.

And I love kick boxing, Well, better said, I loved it. I stopped practising it some years ago, as my partner was worried for me. I first tried to convince him to do it with me, but he is a professional musician, you know, and as such he cannot run the risk of appearing on stage with broken teeth or nose, a blue eye, broken fingers or tibia, etc… Although this could look very rock ‘n roll I think! And concerning myself: a famous rock’n roller can’t allow himself to have a messed up chick.. at least not that kind of mess!!!  So I stopped my kick boxing career. abandoning the dream of a black belt around my delicate waist one day….

Of course he is right. Each kick boxing class or fight I attended ended in somebody, me or somebody else, being injured, sometimes heavily. I am an intelligent person, I can control my own force, I am disciplined, I am aware of all the dangers coming from all sides, especially when legs and arms and fists and feet are at work. But some people are not, they are there to get the hell out of them, and you can’t do anything against it: The best self protection technique and defensive attitude can’t impede some kicks finding their way to your sensitive parts…. This was all quite traumatic, and I hated it.

What I loved in kick boxing was the training itself. It involved the whole body and brain in an extreme and challenging way, more than any other sports I had ever practised. After each class I was always extremely exhausted, but felt fantastic, and also so proud of myself.

Then, to get the classes were always a hell of a performance. Sometimes I had to throw up afterwards, so excited I was, and this, although my body was very well trained, through other sports too like daily swimming. But you know what? I had many examinations in my life, and some of them very difficult, but I never felt so proud of myself as when I got a new kick boxing belt. By far not! I suppose the pride comes in proportion to the effort one has to invest….

Anyway, here is my first boxing painting. I like the result, so I might do some more soon.

This painting is available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

Monpazier in the Perigord

Monpazier 01 - by Miki

Sometimes, when I need a creative break, I go back to my collection of travel sketches from recent years and work on them. Well, “work” is a too big a word. I simply refresh them a little bit, scan, photograph and publish them. I have a huge amount of unpublished works, or at least not published in a way which makes them available to the public. Travel sketches are an important part of my artistic work, probably because they are the most emotional ones, the ones to which I always associate wonderful memories. They are really attached to magic moments of my travelling life, and always when I go back to them, I start feeling quite nostalgic -which is certainly not a strong characteristic mark of me, as I never look towards the past- and above all, I feel like I want to go, to be on the road again.

My travel sketches are also important for my business life, people love to buy paintings from places where they have lived or been on their holidays. I am always glad when people in the world can relive great moments of their lives thanks to my art.

Recently I stumbled upon a series of sketches from the Perigord, which we visited for one week some years ago on our trip up to Scotland. We loved that part of France, and really, we need to go back there and explore it more fully. It is certainly worth a trip in itself.

Today I will present here sketches from the charming town Monpazier,  a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwest France.

Wikipedia:

“… Monpazier is an ancient bastide town from the 13th century. It was home to Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard II of England for a time. Nearby is the Château du Biron and the Dordogne River….”

Monpazier 05 - by Miki

Typical houses from Monpazier….

Monpazier 03 - by Miki

All the sketches presented in this post are done on the site, in ink and pastel chalk. All  in my personal impressionist style:  when I say “Impressionist”, I don’t mean it in the traditional sense. I just mean that they are impressions of the places, not being a slave to details and not supposed to be accurate. They are much more the artistic representation of my emotional reactions and interpretations of the sites.

These paintings are available directly online as Giclee prints in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

Art and Sports 08 – More Watersports

Surfscape 01 - by Miki

Just some more surfing art works, in my new technique developed especially for sport paintings.

Surfscape 02 - by Miki

Surfscape 03 - by Miki

These paintings are available directly online as Giclee prints in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA store

And more generally you can see all the stuff I paint by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”