Venus

Ok, I know it's Mars that's close now but this is a painting of Venus. Well, actaully the configuration of Venere. Why? well this is the star zone which the Sibilla's cave points to. It's a portal you see, a gateway to the cosmos (and beyond)
Like it?

Creativity Workshops

My new venture.
Very modern won't you think?
It's what comes of doing a life-coaching course (which I am currently)
but in the meantime, here's a new painting, just for fun..

















So this is what I'm going to do. Prise open the rusty old gate of the Physik Garden (which should take about a month) with 'rustoff' and a fretsaw; throw in a team of rabbits, sheep and strong chaps with machetes and chainsaws and clean it up and bring into the brave new world of pro-activity. Not sure what that is exactly but love the word.

The workshops... here's an extract from blurb

'History shows that the negation of creativity is damaging both to society as well as to us as individuals and this we all know to be true, but suppose you had the ability to return to the original 'heart' of your creative imagination, whenever you wish? How might life be different for you today, both for yourself and those you love.

Is it possible to live from a secure place within yourself that permits you to act from your own uniqueness? Can you really live out of your creative essence rather than out of fears, or the everyday concerns, that come from living in a turbulent society?

Using a unique yet simple combination of play, dialogue, light-hearted individual confrontations and group activities in painting, music, writing, dance, theatre games, our creativity workshops will help you experience new ways of self expression. You will hopefully rediscover the precious core of your creativeness, which has always been there waiting to re-awakened.'

For further and on-going info regarding creativity workshops and creativity coaching check for upcoming info on www.physikgarden.com

Back to my roots

And I don't mean the Boy Scouts.
I mean Bournemouth College of Art
It was where I (or should I say we ) cut our creative teeth ; we being the Bournemouth Boys aka Maestri, Blatchford, Fassnidge, Drury and me, Eldridge. Oh, and a host of brilliant part time lecturers ('cos brilliant and exceptional is what they were) Yes, the then Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design; now called The University of Art (I think)
So, there we all were at this sort of reunion exhibition. crowds of people and very well organised too. Over the weekend we got to talking about those inspired years where we worked and taught intuitively and in a spontaneous fashion in a way which could not be possible now; nor even understood.
Most of all, talking with Tony Maestri, I was made most powerfully aware of the influence Krishnamurti had made not only on us personally, but on our teaching philosophy at the College of Art. Every summer he and I (with our kids in tow) would make it out to Brockwell Park for Krishnamurti's summer seminars to listen to yes, but more to simply absorb his words and his presence. I remember driving to the Park one summer in the late eighties I think it was, up from Italy to spend the weekend there at his seminar. I'd been out of touch for a couple of months in the Tuscan hills and I'd arrived to find the place almost deserted and gloomladen, he'd died a couple of weeks before. That was one earthquake of a loss but, after this Bournemouth experience, his life and words and influence have come flooding back.
Tony Maestri (http://tonymaestri.com/Books/Intro.html)has all his books, I've lost most of mine but have gotten another from Amazon. Recommended reading indeed. You should read Tony's books, too, which draw heavily and at times emotionally on Krishnamurti and his brilliant understanding of consciousness.

Look at this.....























Nice eh? You can buy Tony's books from his site above (a gentle plug)

Zen and the art thereof

This painting's got nothing to do with the title really; well, not directly. In fact it's four paintings that I have just finished which I have put together his morning and photographed as a whistful reaction to someone I met yesterday.











I met an interesting Zen monk on a seminar in Recanati. He talked about stopping, and reflecting and making a space for life to enter and for creativity to take place. And this in the week when Tony Maestri and Alex King say they want to meet with me for a weekend in Sicily to start to put together the book about 'The Bournemouth Years', i.e. our teaching philosophy which was just exactly based on the few simple words of the gentle Zen monk.... I think, hmmm, serendipity!!!
So, anyway, this Zen monk goes on to tell me that the planet is out of sync and that's why we all feel so rough in the morning because the planet's suffering you see. And what'smore, in the year 2012 (Dec 21st to be precise) the planet will suddenly say enough's enough; shudder and do a complete spin around. Oh great! In the evening before turning in I did a quick check on CNBS news (to check DOW index as I do) and the presenter is telling me not to bother paying bills anymore because the world's coming to an end in 2012. Buy real estate in the sahara he says, everything else will be covered with ice.
Last time it happened, it seems, was 12000 years ago at the time of Noah (of course). Seems there are Chinese reports of that time which mention a catastrophic night where the stars streeked across the sky and were never the same stars again in the night sky, holocausts, volcanic eruptions, all that stuff.
So I guess that's what this painting is about. Just that I didn't know it at the time.
Tell you what though, I didn't sleep to well last night, worrying about what to do about our animals when the day comes.