Pictures from Pompeii - 2000 year old art

 I just wanted to share with you these amazing photos that I took while visiting Pompeii in May this year. This trip to Italy was the best holiday I've ever been on. 

I spent most of my days in Italy walking the streets of Rome looking at all the fantastic architecture, but one day we decided to take the train down south for a daytrip to Pompeii, which is near Napoli and just by the base of the volcano Vesuvius.

Pompeii was buried in heavy ashes from the Vesuvius eruption in year 79, and the city wasn't discovered again until 1749 - almost 1700 years later! 

The city is still not completely uncovered, but archeologists are still recovering artefacts. The fact that all these items are so well preserved is such a great and interesting way of learning about history.

Walking on the ancient steets of Pompeii was such an amazing experience! It was hard to imagine that everything you saw around you was over 2000 years old. The buldings and fountains were very impressive, but what really amazed me was all the art. Have a look at my Pompeii art pictures below. There are both 2000 year old mosaic floor patterns, and even some erotic art from Pompeii's brothel.

 

 If you are going to Italy I strongly recommend that you visit Pompeii. It's actually not difficult getting there. I took a 2 hour train from Rome down to Napoli, where I changed to the local train Circumvesuviana, which goes around the volcano Vesuvius. The staff at the station were very helpful as well, and even though we were there during the tourist season, there were staff there that helped us get on the right train.

Abstract Art - Not just laziness

Many people think that abstract art is just an artist being lazy, throwing paint on a canvas. Sometimes that can be the case (I know, I have tried!), but usually there is actually a lot of thought behind the painting, even if it doesn't picture anything concrete.
The choice of colour, the movement in the picture, contrasts, shapes... a lot of different things play their part in abstract art. You might want to emphasize something in a room or simply draw attention to it, and you can help doing that by making a painting with certain shapes or colours.

Last year I lived in a big attic room with white painted walls, and I desperately needed some colour to make the room look a bit more interesting. That's when I painted this 3-piece painting above. I chose the colours cause they matched the other decorations in my room (when I hung up the painting, all my other decorations suddenly stood out a lot more), and the reason I made it on 3 canvases was to make it cover as much of the wall above my bed as possible. The bigger, the better, right?! ;) I also did it because I like the way the picture flows through the 3 canvases.

When I paint abstract art I actually prefer to divide the painting up on several canvases. It sure makes the painting look more interesting, and you get a wider variety and more options of what you can do.

Inspiration and Childhood Memories

I came across this picture of two pretty little flower fairy girls when I was browsing the website of my favourite art shop. As soon as I saw it it hit me; My sweet grandma had a big poster of this picture up in her guest room where I always stayed when I visited her. I used to love that poster. Me and my sister used to sit and stare at it and pretend that we were little fairies in a tree

The artist is Cicely Mary Barker, who was an English woman born in the late 19th century. Her illustrations focused on fairies and flowers, and she published several Flower Fairies books and cards from the late 1910's to the 1970's, but she was the most popular during the 20's and 30's.

I think my grandma had a few Flower Fairies posters and smaller images, cause when browsing through Cicely Mary Barker's work I seem to recognise quite a few of them.
I'm tempted to buy one of these books as these fairies really remind me of my childhood and my lovely grandma. Who knows... perhaps I'll get inspired by these pretty illustrations and paint something similar myself :)

The fairy-like lady in the forest - acrylic painting from 2010

I don't know what I was inspired by when I painted this acrylic painting back in 2010. I had bought this massive canvas, and I just wanted to create a fantasy world - a little bit fairy-like. I wanted to achieve a contrast - gloomy and mysterious forest colours with that fiery red hair. Don't ask me why I painted a naked woman in the forest only wearing a necklace with a dragonfly, cause I honestly have no idea. I never in beforehand decide what I'm going to paint, but it just happens... (unless it's a portrait of someone I know) I know I had just read a book a few months earlier that mentioned a dragonfly necklace, so I guess I was influenced by that.
I am not very happy about the proportions in the painting - they look quite unnatural. But I do like the overall look of it - I really worked hard on the colours.
If I had the energy I would change a few bits in it, but after all this time I really can't be bothered. It might just make it worse!
What do you think?

Inspiration on handmade silver rings

My first inspiration post!

As some of you may know already I am taking an evening course in jewellery making at Leeds College of Art and Design. So far I have tried working in both copper and silver, and I must say that silver is my favourite, even though it's more difficult to work in. (I accidentally melted my first attempt of a silver ring while trying to solder it... oops!)

My first ever ring was just a plain copper ring, and the first one I made in silver was also just a plain one. My next step is to do something more creative (=more complicated) and I've started making a ring in silver that goes around the finger 2-3 times with swirly ends. We'll see how it turns out. I promise I'll keep you posted :)

For now, here is some inspiration on handmade silver rings. Hopefully these will get my creativity going.

Although I have put these selected images together they do not belong to me, and if any of them are yours and you wish to have it removed, please just drop me an email to say so.

A selection of handmade silver rings to get me inspired

Tattoo Art

Some people claim that tattoos are not a form of art. I think the opposite!

If anything, you can say that tattoo art is the ultimate art... it stays on your skin permanently after all, and you take it with you wherever you go.

This is not a new trend, as some people may think, but the art of tattooing is ancient. Just look at the Maori tribes of new Zealand and their tattoos. Every symbol has a meaning, and their tattoos tell the story of their family and themselves. Perhaps that is the secret to a great tattoo: get something personal rather than going for the trends.

I have 4 tattoos myself - all designed by me - and I am proud to wear them!

Tattooing in progress - half way there

My tummy tribal tattoo - dark brown

My flower vine tattoo in brown and pinkish purple

 People compliment me on my shoulder blade tattoo all the time, and that makes me feel appreciated as an artist. I'm not saying you should get a tattoo just to show off your art (cause it's not like you carry your paintings around everywhere you go) but I am just trying to make you understand that tattoos are an art. Then there are of course the amateur made tattoos that should be hidden away from the world forever.... Even if the design you have made is great, it might get destroyed by the person tattooing you. So for god's sake, make sure that the tattoo artist you go to is a well respected one with years of experience, and ask to see some of his/her work first. Also, most importantly; make sure you have a proper think about what design to choose... It's no fun if you change your mind in the future.