Live Simply Simply Live
  • Blog
  • Studio
  • Home
  • Cards
  • Coronation Wood

Simply..out of focus....

21/11/2023

8 Comments

 

I hesitated to publish yesterday's photo as it is so out of focus, but I realised it captured what I felt as I looked out of the window at the ferry so brightly lit, the lights of the houses on the far shore like a little row of hieroglyphs, the clouds lit by the light of the moon and the sweep of the grass verge as I sped by.

It was just an ordinary journey home but it looked and felt dramatic and exciting.

I may have to paint this, and perhaps it doesn't matter that my eyesight is out of focus if my mind and thoughts and feelings are still sharp! Thank you Karen for prompting these thoughts.
8 Comments

Simply..in the studio....

21/9/2023

6 Comments

 


Susan in Dorset remarked on the light from the large window in the studio (converted from a wash house/coalhouse) and I thought I would show you the other windows and the glass door.

One window looks out onto the forest, and the other window and the door look out onto the loch. Light and inspiration on every side.


Picture
Picture
Picture
 
I was inspired by Karen who has read the whole archive of Live Simply (!) to look back at previous Septembers. Perhaps you would like to do this while I take a blog break?  Here is some work in  the studio in Spetember 2010,
6 Comments

Simply..back briefly....

17/7/2023

7 Comments

 
 
to Copenhagen.

We visited the Herschsprung Collection. I think it was the day we used the Hop Off Hop On bus, or was it the day we walked 20,207 sterps?

I especially wanted to see the works by Willhelm Hannershoi which I had only seen in reproduction. He has been likened to Vermeer. The enigmatic images of empty rooms, the back view of figures, or light coming through a window intruiges me and I liked this text which was displayed beside the few paintings by the artist. Is he painting silence? Loneliness? Cerainly introspection, particularly in his self portraint.


IMAGES OF THE SOUL


Can you paint what cannot be seen? Can you paint pictures of souls? At the end of the nineteenth century, many artists tried. They opposed naturalist art, which they saw as superficial. Today we call them Symbolists. Vilhem Hammershoi's pictures exude silence....the perfect picture must be a symbol of something deeper.


7 Comments

Simply..as the season changes....

17/4/2022

6 Comments

 
..so does the decor. Yellow Gate In The Snow has enchanted me all winter.

..
Picture
Picture
Picture

This one, called Freedon, will lift me up and remind me how fortunate I am to be free. I will never take it for granted.
6 Comments

Simply..if you were....

7/11/2021

6 Comments

 
..at the private view of Let It Snow, this is the text  that should have been on the wall....
Picture

I am happy to say that despite the weather there were quite a few people to chat to at the Meet The Artist hour yesterday. I really enjoy it when people share their memories of snow.

My little cousin being held up to the window to see snow for the first time said  'Who did that?' ( I don't recall what answer she got, if any!)

Do you have any special memories of snow you might share here?
6 Comments

Simply..fun....

3/11/2021

6 Comments

 

It was delightful to arrive in the gallery  on Saturday and find ten or so young children spread around the floor doing their own snow pictures!

We had a lovely chat, and they were clearly enjoying the exhibition and having fun.

Today I met Sheena whose comments on the blog I have enjoyed for years! It was so good to put a lovely  friendly face to the name (we had to remove our masks momentarily - who'd have thought it?)  I am so glad she and her friend Lesley got a fine sunny day for their trip to Dunoon.

Yet more fun with my friend Lynne Cameron, a onetime student of my Drawing For Non Artists course at the University of York, now a full time painter. See her vibrant work here.

It's wonderful to be meeting up with people face to face again.

Details of the exhibition here.

6 Comments

Simply..whew!

23/10/2021

8 Comments

 

That was a stretch (my word for the year!)

I enjoyed every minute of the private view and the company of Mary and Grace, long-time commenters here on the blog, and friends and family as well as people I had not met before from the gallery's own mailinglist. I talked my head off. My friend Ann, Mary (from Washington DC) and Grace (from Paris) had a lovely meal together after the event. 

I am so touched that so many people cane, from near and so far! Thank you all, and to all the staff who made the occasion such a success.


I am starting to load images of all the paintings on my Studio page....

Picture
Picture
Picture
8 Comments

Simply..on with the show....

19/10/2021

10 Comments

 
(Will change the subject soon - promise!)

Getting the work up on the gallery walls gave me a new perspective on it....


Picture
10 Comments

Simply..tick....

18/10/2021

6 Comments

 


Let It Snow exhibition - details here.


Confirm details Meet The Artist sessions - Sat   6 Nov at 2.00pm and one other date to be congirmed in the gallery - Would love to meet you there!

Confirm music - Debussy The Snow Is Dancing, Arvo Part Fur Anna Maria,  John Cage In A Landscape.

Delivered the paintings to the galley - tomorrow is hanging day.


Have just watched The Earthshot Prize - how wonderfully heartening!!




6 Comments

Simply..tick, tick....

16/10/2021

2 Comments

 
list of titles, sizes amd prices to gallery - tick
wall text and cv to gallery - tiick
photgraph 15 paintings - tick
final check each painting - tick
invitations - tick
arrange transport (two vehicles) - tick
wrap ready to transport - tick
confirm arrangements private view - tick

Getting there!

Picture

This is And On The Ships At Sea
2 Comments

Simply..not panicking....

14/10/2021

8 Comments

 
Definitely not. Though the pressure is on. The exhibition opens next week.

I have been without phone and camera for 8 days. We are so used to next day delivery here in uk that I couod not believe how long it took to get sorted. What timing!

I have still to photograph all the paintings...
Picture

This is Yellow Gate In The Snow 11. I plan to post them all on my studio page, but if you are near enough I hope you will come to the exhibition!
8 Comments

Simply..Open Studios....

25/9/2021

10 Comments

 
It is Cowal Open Studios weekend and I visited Jackie Stevenson in her new studio in the village and bought some of her gorgeous cards.

There are five artists showing in my village alone, and 52 over Cowal - a lovely buzz from the many friendly talented people who are taking part. (I was a founder member but am not participating this year....maybe next year - it's a really nice thing to be part of.)

If you are near enough I urge you to make the trip, if not have a lovely online browse..
10 Comments

Simply..the woebegones....

2/9/2021

6 Comments

 

MaryB mentioned that she was feeling haunted by the images  of 'woebegone' children in Joan Eardley's work, and I thought you would like to know that many of the children she drew went on to thrive. Thanks to post war Britain's welfare state - free education for all, free healthcare for all (the eye sqint was successfully operated on for example), free school meals, cod liver oil and orange juice, and slum clearance, the abject poverty of many families, including the Sampson family of 12 children, was alleviated. Not to mention  effective contraception.

Two of the Sampson girls, Pat and Ann, now work with charities in Glasgow which help the (thankfully smaller) homeless population.

Both heartbreaking and heartening, and all within living memory.

More honest and moving images here.

Picture
6 Comments

Simply..it took....

27/8/2021

8 Comments

 

It took five buses, one train and two ferries to get to Edinburgh and back yesterday on an impulse trip to catch the Joan Eardley exhibition on its penultiimate day.

It was wonderful to be in Edinburgh again, and in an art gallery again! And so worth it to see this exhibition. 42 works of breathtaking honesty, compassion and sheer bravery.  It takes courage to do your own thing and put it out in the world to be judged.

Reproductions are of course pretty amazing,  but nothing is so moving as standing in ftont of the real thing! How I have missed it. Have you?

Picture

My favourite little cafe/delicatessen G&T a few doors up from The Scottish Gallery has changed hands after many decades, but they do a nice cappuccino.

Life is looking up.

Picture
8 Comments

Simply..hot!

26/8/2021

8 Comments

 

After a visit to the gallery yesterday to try to assess if I have enough paintings for my forthcoming exhibition -I have! - I allowed myself half an hour in the hammock. Lovely.

I hope you are getting some sunshine too. It's good for the soul.


Picture
Picture
8 Comments

Simply..sad....

25/8/2021

7 Comments

 

..to hear this morning of the death of artist Elizabeth Balckadder. Prolific, popular and yet remained an artists' artist, and was hugely influential. Sophisticated and completely without pretension. She freed botanical painting from it's straightjacket. Life in every brushstroke,  she will live on through her wonderful work.


You are sure to recognize some of the images here.




7 Comments

Simply..live lighter....

24/8/2021

2 Comments

 
Feeling lighter now that I have 14 paintings completed! What could make you live ligher?

More from the white area of Jennie's garden..

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
2 Comments

Simply..blizzard in the sunshine....

22/8/2021

8 Comments

 
Picture
8 Comments

Simply..excited....

21/8/2021

6 Comments

 

I started work today on  two new paintings: Thundersnow, Edinburgh and Blizzard.

A day off and two lovely visitors yesterday did me so much good! Do you need some 'time off'? Can you arrange it for yourself?


6 Comments

Simply..neglected....

19/8/2021

4 Comments

 

Under a boundary hedge, quietly rotting, is a blue gate. A whole new story! But not now I tell myself. Paint!

Picture
4 Comments

Simply..feeling the pressure....

18/8/2021

6 Comments

 
I am so interested in your comments and questions and wish I had more time to answer them more fully. I'd like to write  about the magic of being 'in the flow' which occurs once the decisions have been made mosrtly, the way my 'paint first' motto  means that some of the decisions are made while doing the dishes or ironing, and the part that music plays in getting me in work mode...however I have put myself in the position of  having to do the work, not write about it. A bit of a push over the next two weeks I think.

No gardening but time to go out and look at the wonderful agapanthus with a coffee in my hand.

Please keep your comments and questions coming - they encouage me so much and I will always answer them - maybe briefly at the time and in blog posts later when the pressure is off a bit!

Picture
6 Comments

Simply..titles....

16/8/2021

6 Comments

 

I LOVE  titles! One of my favourites is Where There's A Ffish There's A Lemon - the title of a small painting I own by Christine McArthur. The title makes me smile.

I will post a photograph of it soon (my computer is not letting me uploadd photographs today..)


With my painting Ice and Lemon  the thought process went something like this..I used irridescent paint for the sky and found myself adding more and more colours. The icy blue needed some lemon to make it sparkle a bit, and the painting was becoming more and more effervescent - almost party like. I thought of a G&T and being asked would you like Ice and lemon with that - Yes please! A fun title.

Oten the titles are very straightforward. Yellow Gate In The Snow, Snow At Chrissie's House. I am very aware that , especially in semi-abstract works, the title is often the viewrs way into the work.

The painting definitely does take on a life of it's own and evolves as a kind of negotiation.  In fact I have just had an argument with one! Highly unusual . I wanted  an area in Yellow Gate In The Snow to be a clearing in the forest, but the space kept insisting that it was a house.  I gave in in the end. It is now a house, and I love it.

 
How can I describe the creative process.  Demanding, exhausting sometimes. Exhilerating and really exciting. Every brushstroke is a decision (which is probably why it is tiring) and, like all decisions, you are often asking yourself Is it the right one? So between the actual putting of paint on canvas there is a lot of looking and meditating and judging going on. And at the back of your mind, as even the wonderfully talented pianist Vikingur Olafsson says is a nervousness about whether the world will like it! I have to make sure that thought is kept very much in the background or it would paralyse me...

6 Comments

Simply..inspired....

13/8/2021

4 Comments

 

I am finding both music and the talk about music and creativity inspiring. You can hear this pianist on BBC Sounds in In Tune of 12th August, and in a video on YouTube -Vikingur Olafsson  Debussy Rameau   EPK/Trailer. I would love to know what you think..

The days are flying by and I am feeling quite tired, not having worked this hard for years!

This is the start of Ice And Lemon.
Picture
4 Comments

Simply..keeping going....

9/8/2021

4 Comments

 

Twilight Snow, Scotland..
Picture
4 Comments

Simply..how to....

6/8/2021

6 Comments

 

..find an exact complementary colour.
You night like to try this first with bright primary colours. For example find something red. A book cover, or napkin, or an apple, and a piece of plain white paper. Now gaze for a slow count of twenty, without blinking, at the red object. Then transfer your gaze to the white paper. You will see what is called an after-image which will be green, the complementary colour of red.

If you stare at blue the after-image will be orange, at yellow the after-image will be purple.

It works even with the most subtle colours. If you are trying to mix the compementary colour in paint, you have to memorize what you see on the white paper- takes  practice - but you can always gaze at the original again to get a match.

You can probably look up charts, but this is more exciting! Let me know if it works for you..
6 Comments
<<Previous

    Categories

    All
    Live Simply
    Live Simply
    Simple
    Simply Art
    Simply..A Student Of Old Age
    Simply Beautiful
    Simply Bin It
    Simply Chill
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Do A Good Deed
    Simply Draw
    Simply Draw
    Simply Eat
    Simply Fitter
    Simply Fun
    Simply Get Rid
    Simply Grow
    Simply Headspace
    Simply Holiday
    Simply Home
    Simply Home
    Simply Inspirational
    Simply Laugh
    Simply Learn
    Simply Listen
    Simply Live
    Simply Low Maintenance
    Simply Money
    Simply Move
    Simply Move
    Simply Organise
    Simply Paint
    Simply Routine
    Simply Seeing.. Or Not
    Simply Stylish
    Simply Venice
    Simply Write


    Author

    An artist seeking a simpler life - (but not too simple!)

    All words and images copyright Freda Waldapfel 2010 - 2020

    Archives

    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.