My Adriatic series

Here is a new painting in my Adriatic series. The weather is an influence here. I tell myself this. Truth be told though, I never really know where these colours and shapes appear from. Just that they are the result of being immersed in this environment; in nature if you will, the sea, the trees, my garden, the skies.

Bluer, Biennale 2 Padova

This is a new painting, one of a selection I am putting up in the Padova show. It measures 120cm by 120cm so quite large. Large enough in fact to propel me into finding a larger studio as I'm being squeezed out of current Russian wooden one in garden by surplus of past stuff which provokes my claustrophobic tendencies.
Show opens November 29 at 1700 and it's at Studio Bluer, Via San Francesco76, tel +39 340 600 27 70

An old painting

This painting dates back to 1978 and has been selected by a new Gallery in San Severino as part of a group exhibition entitled  'Tender is the night'.
It was spotted at an Art Party we held a few weeks back; I had it propped up against a wall in the garden and I hadn't given it any thought for years, although Lili has always liked it.

This is the exhibition which opens July 27

Starstone Creativity: Coaching and the creative mind

Starstone Creativity: Coaching and the creative mind:                        the Sibillini mountains, our summer playground in Le Marche I'm a guest speaker at the ICF Global Conferenc...

Death Valley

It was unusually cool there, not the 100F they expect. Reason being the West was hit by a major storm which blew us out of California and across Nevada and dumped a metre of snow onto us wherever we stopped to rest.
Here is an image of Death Valley, one of eight I exhibited in the Marmaris show

Great times with Jack and Judy and Mimi and of course Liliana

Our show in Marmaris, Turkey

Colin Tracy, Steve Bray (the author of Photography and Zen) and I, shared an exhibition in Marmaris, Turkey. It was great to be fussed over and welcomed in such a heart felt way and we wish we could have stayed longer. The gallery is superb as you can see and I think it was the nicest opening I've ever experienced. In fact it was.

Stephen and Irem the most perfect hosts and the Turkish guests so sincere and charming.
I have this idea of buying a boat and living there ;O)
You can see us on TV tonight (Wed) at 630pm UK time
Wearing white gloves

Michael

Concerto in Civitanova Alta, la pianista Lorenzo di bella, music Rachmaninov

Our paintings from the exhibition Isola dei Morti were projected onto a huge screen behind the pianist.
Here is mine, looks ominous on that scale, which I think is nice.
                                                                

The Island of the Dead

This is a painting I have contributed to an Exhibition which opens at the PerMariMonti Gallery next weekend. And this is the text which goes with the painting in the catalogue..

'Ogniuno di noi ha la sua isola dei morti.

E un luogo freddo e abbandonato senza alcun significato,
che non si preoccupa ne del nostro arrivo, ne se rimaniamo li

per l'eternita, o se ce ne andiamo verso ad una vita nuova.

Meglio non indugiare troppo e stare li a lungo.

La cosa migliore?

Navigarla e oltrepassarla'

Each of us has their own Island of the Dead.
A cold and abandoned place with no meaning
and which cares not if we arrive, stay for eternity
or leave to live anew.
It's best not to stay too long there.

And best of all
To sail past the island.

The show is a tribute to the Swiss artist Bockiln and his series of paintings
on this theme

My Exhibition

It's called 'Omaggio alla Sibilla', 'Homage to the Sibilla' and is about my years spent 'neath her watchful gaze. Was up there on Midsummer's night with friends and we climbed her mountains to her cave. A stunning experience

It opens July 6 at the Per Mari e Monti Gallery in Civitanova, vialle Vittorio Veneto 59, just a short walk from the Piazza xxx Settembre.
I'm exhibiting a bunch from this series

Homaggio alla Sibilla

In fact I am still painting this series. Can't get it out of my head. Was up there May 1st and felt pulled towards these mountains. The sensation left me feeling weak, a feeling I couldn't explain to Liliana. You see, these mountains exert a powerful and ancient magnetism, which it is almost impossible to pull away from.
An image from the series.

Homage to Sibillini

Sorry I've neglected you dear Blog, but I've been working on a series of paintings entitled 'Homage to La Sibilla'. These are about my years living by the Sibillini mountains; mountains and memories, but more than that, they sort of embedded themselves in my DNA (can I say that?) and they are coming out in dreams and thus images. I think there are ten now and I can't wait to exhibit them together. Here is the latest.

I'll put more up as I photograph them.
Schmincke Ink, that's what I'm working with now. German as you might imagine.
Germans make good ink.

Skylarks

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This new painting was inspired in reverse by Colin Pink's poem. Read on..


Aerial Song

The thistledown floats in the air, idles, adrift on hidden currents,
in no hurry to land and seed. The skylarks take to the air, filling

the sky with trilling song as they flutter upwards, ever upwards,

spiralling into the heavens’ blue embrace, singing ardent arias

overspilling the senses. Their voice grows louder and louder

as they get smaller and smaller, the merest speck in the sky,

the merest speck, almost lost to vision, until at the very point

of vanishment, they turn wing back to earth, plunge down

through that spiral stair carved from the air, to glide and land

upon the sullen earth, quiet now, all song gone.

Colin Pink

17 September 2012

Don't you just love reverse syncronistic events ? THEY'RE AS TASTY AS FIBS

Here are some closeups of painting for birdwatchers

Russian studio

I know what you're thinking!
Sad, that's what you are thinking.
Sad that I lost my studio at Sambuco!
But hey! All is not lost because look!
I've built a new one at my new home and here it is.

It's Russian. No, really! It's a kit I imported from Russia. Less than half of the cost of an Italian one and

I've put it up in my garden, away from all those domestic noises (you know what I mean). Here's the

interior, 

...spacious enough and I just need to connect water and electricity, nice eh? and I've already painted my first paintings in it so am feeling pleased. Next step, some trees, maybe roses or a nut tree. Notice dart board, Boy Scout knife, bow and arrows, tent, CD player, tennis racket...ahah!

Sibillini Paintings

New mountain Paintings

These are a homage to the ten years I spent in the shadow of the Sibillini Mountains; a magical place and one which I miss already, living as I do now closer to the sea.

This is a winter painting, trapped ice and cold water runs

This at Springtime

WILD PHOTOGRAPHY; ITALY October 4 to 7, 2012

Our wild weekend in the Magical Sibillini Mountain Park

Revitalise your vision. Read more.. http://www.natashalythgoe.com/page/30637/news/

The Sibillini National park is Italy's newest and apart from all the magical connections with the Ancient Goddess religions, it is also the home of wolves, bear and squirrels. I jest here about the squirrels (but there are lots and they are sweet and black)... but enough to say it's full of the most fascinating fauna and flora.

Scenically it almost overwhelming beautiful and it is here we will spend long days, returning knackered in the late evening to chew through our images and generally give each other a good hard time.

And then eat and sleep.

Your hosts are Michael, Natasha and Mauro.

Your fellow photographers Italian and English speaking

CRASH SALE!!

We are moving house and it’s stressful leaving my studio and having to accept a rabbit Hutch

Hence the worried expression
I have literally hundreds of paintings, hanging on walls, stacked in every corner and going back years.
I’m not very good at marketing myself I am told.
So they are all for sale (all except my latest series as above and I don’t mean the rabbit) they are all for sale at 25% of original gallery and website prices.
Which is... calculator ready?
Add length to breadth, multiply by 1.5 and there is your price in Euros. 
Easy eh?
Most you can see on my site www.michaeleldridge.net
Just drop me a line if you fancy a wondrous bargain
And don't forget our workshops this summer;
Creativity Workshop in Le Marche June 13 www.starstone.me
And a Creative Photography weekend in Tuscany June 28, details www.natashalythgoe.com

What’s happening this summer in Italy?

Well. I ‘m sure glad you asked, ‘cos we have two workshops (we being me and the chaps) and here they are



This in the glorious wild lands of Northern Tuscany.
And then for the creative soul searchers, we have an amazing event
In Montefiore, The 4th of our Starstone Adventures
Both in June. Heady times!

And then, and then, Lili is organising a weekend with Jules Heavens; a weekend of sacred voice, singing the self and singing the Chakras, This on last weekend of May

All these in both English and Italian of course

Haikus and paintings

Montefiore Creativity Workshop June 16 weekend

This is Annabel, who has fully integrated with a painting. It’s incredible what Belgian girls can do! The weekend really was an explosion of creativity and between us we created not only paintings but 100 Haikus which we swiftly dispatched to California and the Universe in general (aka CTI’s creative artists forum).

It never ceases to amaze me, the power of group activity.

Sea air, new friends and good Italian food. But most importantly of all, a profound reconnection with our creativity.

A Haiku for you…

Let me help you see

Suffering is not needed

You are really free.

Next workshop Sept 2 in Appignano

email; micermice@gmail.com

It’s marvellous!

Hiya!

Guess what? Our first Coaches lunch on May 4th is full! 28 people have signed up for it. The next one is filling up fast. It's on Wed June 1st and the subject is 'Coaching and Education'...The speakers are Helen Gormley and James Sale.

http://thecoacheslunch.com to find out more

Our creativity retreats are filling up too.  Where you will rediscover your unique creativity

and where you will soak in the beauty of Italy’s light and colour, and

weave them into words and images.

June 16 to 19 in Montefiore, by the sparkling Adriatic.

The Creativity Journey of a Lifetime, www.starstone.me

Snowed up

This is a new painting I struggled with, possibly because I was snowed in for five days with no heating and no electricity. It’s emotional (probably)