Amsterdam Red Light

Visiting museums and galleries in Amsterdam was really pleasurable. I found the Van Gogh museum particularly inspiring as all the paintings there were done in the last 10 years of Van Gogh's life. Ive always been captivated by his evocative style and being up close to his work really made me itch to paint again. I made this painting based on the red light district in Amsterdam... its not how I wanted it to be and there's much to improve on but I enjoyed painting again and this time on quite a large piece of board.
I'm not sure which version I like more colour wise so just put them both

Amsterdam

Some photos from my lovely visit to Amsterdam at the end of July.

Beer and Bicycles

Canals and a cat

 Proud Jack posing with (Bruce Wayne) Batman in museum square

 We went to an amazing museum 'Yab Yum' which used to be one of the best-known and most exclusive brothels in Amsterdam. This was me posing by a bubble bath in one of the girl rooms.
I really liked the bath tub and wall paintings, it reminded me of the bathroom described in the Harry Potter books (when Harry opens the wailing egg).

Trying the local breaded delicacies

Jack and I on our hotel balcony

pancakes swimming in ice cream and coffee syrup

August

Ive been working on a few exciting illustration projects, been to the theatre a few times, had my birthday and also visited Amsterdam since last writing on here. I have plenty of photos and facts to share but for now I will post a few pics of work in progress :)
I'm also involved in a comedy improv group that has our first show next week! exciting

Touluse and the swimming cossie

My cat Toulouse has a fascination/obsession with bleach. Whenever we clean the bathtub with bleach, minutes later we will find him in there rubbing his body everywhere and having himself a pleasurable time. Tonight, Id just come home from my lovely aqua aerobics class and put my 2 piece cossie on the radiator. I left the room to get a drink and when I returned Toulouse had managed to pull my pants down and was now lying on them, rubbing himself and licking them. The bleach from the swimming pool was making him crazy.... so I left him to his fun but took a couple of pictures during the session.

'Les Saisons Russes' at The ENO

I have always been attracted to the traditional Russian clothing and architecture and fortunately this show featured this greatly. The set designs were rather playful, at times similar to a pantomime backdrop but executed with more precision and the glittering, vibrant costumes were a feast for the eyes. The Russian dancers lived up to their immaculate, disciplined reputation and delighted us with a variety of dance styles and moods. 

What was also a first for me was seeing a female conductor. From behind I could see Alevtina Ioffe’s glittering hair clip and vigorous arm movements, which at times mimicked a ballerinas. The way such wildness and ferocity was kept controlled was startling to behold.

  But my favourite part of the show was the final piece ‘Polovtsian Dances’ by Borodin. This piece from Prince Igor is incredible but when the singers appeared in the boxes and started singing it really did give me shivers. With the dancing on stage and the singers so close to us, the entire piece was unbelievably passionate, tribal, frenzied and powerful!!!

My bedroom

Since I have come back from Canada I have been trying to sort out my room, clear through some clutter and organize boxes ect. I painted my some walls white to make it more neutral but then I couldn't resist painting on the walls. I painted a silly sketch of me and my 2 cats and some inspirational words/quotes surrounding it. Around my mirror I've stuck tickets from events Ive been too and looking at these theatre tickets each morning makes me happy.

July

I wish I did not like the Dairy Milk Marvellous creation JELLY POPPING CANDY chocolate bar so much. It is just so tasty! I like the gooey chewy jellybean texture compared with the crunch of the smartie shells. It is like the texture of fruit and nut but upgraded. Throughout my life, I'll always get hooked on a chocolate bar for about 2 months, then I'll exhaust its goodness and probably not be able to eat it ever again. I did that with caramel bars when I was 15 and for years since I haven't touched one. I'm obsessed with others things like:

o   Earl Grey Tea,

o   Butternut squash

o   Sweet potato

o   halloumi cheese

o   Watermelon

o   Elderflower juice

But these things are at least healthy. Perhaps by the end of July, I won't find this marvellous creation bar so marvellous anymore. 

My reading challenge is on target, it is half way through the year (ALREADY!!) and I'm half way through 50 books. Though I love reading I have found setting myself a number to aim for has really helped me pick up a book more instead of doodling or watching crap on t.v. Speaking of.... there is a truly messy show on atm called 'I wanna marry Prince Harry'. It's bound to end horribly when the guy posing as Prince Harry comes clean to the girls. Perhaps they will be so angry they will attempt to beat him up, I don't know if I'd blame them/or want them to stop.

July is full of things to do and here are a few things I wish to check out:

From July 10- Over 100 works celebrating writer Virginia Woolf: Art Life and Vision are on display at the National Portrait Gallery.

15 July- Outdoor screening of The Royal Opera's La bohème. 

From July 23: Gillian Anderson stars in the Tennessee Williams classic ‘A Streetcar Named Desire‘, directed by the visionary Benedict Andrews at Young Vic.

June

 

The English Eccentrics

The Opera is the perfect place to see and meet English eccentrics- these people are the best type of characters to watch and draw. This couple have been married for over 50 years but keep up their Friday night tradition of attending the theatre (come rain or shine!)