The Asian touch

Some people might say that my art keeps changing, some might also say that I have no consistency, and therefore other might say, that by being all over, my art is not solid. Well... they might have a point... or not... :-)

I have read an article recently about building a consistent body of work for an exhibition. Even raising this topic means that not all artists work the same. Some would work with the same media most of their life or stick to the same subject and others.. well.. will be all over.

The truth is that I get so bored easily. With everything! My art is who I am, looking for other venues to ease my boredom.
However, looking at my art during the last 15 years (and I am indicating just the last 15 years, because I started to be a full-time artist 15 years ago), you can see, not only the changes, but also how my previous art influence my current one, and how my surrounding influences it too.

I have just finished a new painting. 15 years ago I was working a lot with ready-made. For example look here. Then I moved back and forth from media to media, however, acrylics were the "home" I've always returned to.

Using my nowadays methods I gave my painting a "twist". I added a ready-made (broken china) and painted a Chinese plate. I am in Singapore after all :-)

And of-course it has the hint of mosaic art which I love so much :-)

Heavy SMOG in Singapore

My computer desktop shows the weather in Monaco. It is raining there. I wish it was raining here in Singapore too. It has been dry for a few days now and it is hot.
But it is not the hot weather that is bothering right now. It is the smog!!!

With the burning of forests in Indonesia, the island of Singapore is covered with heavy haze. It is reported to be the heaviest in 16 years.
Yesterday night the PSI level was 321!
The authorities advise everyone to stay indoors, and say, that if the condition continues, they schools will be closed.

This morning at 8am the PSI level was 122, now (1pm) it is 371.

I took photos from our balcony at 8am.

 

An hour later (PSI 131) it looked like this:

 

There is a smell of fire in the air, the eyes are burning. Some people are wearing face masks. A scene I have never seen in Singapore before.

 

So now we are waiting for the rain.









Laundry Day

When I was a small child we had a semi-automatic laundry machine. A break-through of its time. Most house holds didn't own one. But still, in between the machine circles my mother had to use wooden forceps to deal with the wet laundry, following with hanging all outside on the wires.
A day later the laundry, which was stiff as a heavy paper, was neatly ironed and folded.
I can't even think doing it nowadays... myself...
Who can think today of dealing with hanging laundry that can be easily be put in the dryer.

I can divide Singapore to two main areas - The Expats live in state-of-the-art condos. Most of the locals live in public housing (HDB), most of them very nice and huge.
You will never see any laundry hanging out in a condo, but going to an HDB neighbourhood is all different feeling and view. There's this a warm environment around the HDBs. The buildings are colourful, surrounded but little shops that sell everything. And yes, laundry is hanged outside.

 



 I have just finished a painting. I call it Laundry Day.

I painted the Western style.

I can't even begin to understand how the Eastern way work. How do they get it on there, how do they get it off.

It's a mystery to me :-(

Location, Location, Location

We left Singapore for a short vacation to our second home in Europe, where I (also) have all the art supplies I need. A vase with roses waited for us on the table, and I've decided to paint them. Luckily I took a photo because they died after two days...
Not being comfortable with painting flowers, it took me four days to complete rather a small acrylic painting.

I have realized that in my European home I paint differently than in my Singaporean one. I cannot tell why, but this is a fact!
In both locations I paint at home with the same medium. And in both places I am happy with my home. So what is it really that changes one approach in art???

Many of the old masters moved to southern France both for its cost of living and its weather.
Our second home is (sort of) in southern France, and that does not make me a master, sadly not even nearly... The light here and in Singapore is not much different (neither that cost of living).
Nevertheless, my art is different.

The birth of a tree

A new tree was born, an additional to my trees' family. If you have followed my art lately you've realized that I am into trees lately. Their branches create a fabulous abstract structure. In fact, Mondrian early works was a study of trees which were slowly diverted into abstract, leading the way to his famous red-blue-yellow famous square abstracts.

My trees (as most of my paintings lately) start with blue lines marking their branches. Then they develop either to very graphic forests or with a touch of impressionism.
Usually the colors are unnatural.

Today I finished another tree. This time it has more realistic colors. Here it is:

 

As always it began with blue lines and then came the background. Yes, I know... It is somewhat backwards. Usually you should begin with the background and only then you draw the lines. Makes life easier. However, I like how the imperfect background covers parts of the lines, making them less sharp.

 

Finishing this part allows me to check the composition, see if I am happy with it. Then I continue to the stage which will be my second layer of background.

 

It starts to feel like trees and I like the depth, but the whole thing is too impressionistic to my liking. Third and hopefully last layer will make it more graphic.

 

So, I choose now to add somewhat childish leaves. Their colors are bright, the edges sharp, pulling them forward and by that making the background deeper.

 

 

Again I need to check the composition. Oddly, I cannot see it objectively just by looking at it. I use the large mirror in my studio or even better, I take a photo and check it on my computer.

I am not happy. There is no balance and the background looks flat.

Another day of work, additional leaves, treating again the background with some green mixed with red.

I am done!

I sign!









The trees of Singapore

Once upon a time there was tiny island named Temasek. Temasek was covered by rainforest.
Long time has past, Temasek changed its name to Singapore and most of the rainforest is long gone. Apart from a few pockets of natural rainforest in some of the Singaporean parks, all the greenery of Singapore is planted.

There is almost always something going on or around the trees. Usually ferns of different kind are planted on the tree trunks dressing them with green.

 

In the last few weeks, part of trees in Orchard road are dressed with colourful blankets, making an outdoor show of unusual combination of nature and art. 

Despite of the (almost) daily rain, every few day a small tanker scrolls the roads making sure that none of the trees in thirsty...

 

I once dreamt of being a carpenter, then I wanted to be a cashier (looked fun pressing those buttons on the register...). Now I want to have this job of watering the plants...

Weather and hair

I have a new phone. Well... it will be a phone (maybe) one day. I still cannot give up my two blackberries. My new phone has mainly two usages, none of which is actually for making calls, as it is still sim-less. Its main usage is to drive me crazy (!!!), the second is to see the weather... And these two are kinda stupid.
There is no point in checking the weather in Singapore. It is always the same. Always around 29-33 centigrade (84-92 Fahrenheit) and always wet and humid.
And humidity is bothering. I don't mind sweating and taking 2-3 showers a day, but I do mind what it does to my hair :-(

If you are Caucasian and your hair is like mine - straight but not flat, you are doomed to look like you got up and forgot to comb your hair. With the humidity I look like a vane. There is no product I have not used. All in vain. My hair can look great it the air-conditioned home, but once outside it looses all control.

I went today to the hairdresser. And finding one in Singapore, who knows how to cut Caucasian type hair, is a mission of itself... Gladly I have found one. And today I let him decide what to do, not trying to make him maintain my haircut for years.
And he cut and cut and cut. At some point I looked like my aunt Shula... Not a compliment... I closed my eyes. Aunt Shula, a German sever lady, is not my favourite one, to say the least.

Two hours later, when I left the hairdresser, my short hair actually looked okay, and feeling the air on my neck was a great treat.

(Hello, yes, this is me, wearing my painting shirt.)