meh, and snap

estació del nord

picking up after a holiday is meh, even if you don't expect it. especially if you don't expect it. and with a temperature drop of about 15°C it's chilling, even. the good thing about a short break however...

palm trees! i am so smitten by palm trees now... 

... is, for me anyway, i come back with a clean canvas in my head. so blank i've completely forgotten about any appointment or agreement i should have recently made. it's ALL a blank and i might need a reboot. 

ciutat de les arts i les ciències

i've only just now realized i didn't take my best camera to valencia, having gotten used so well to the light weight and user friendliness of my mobile phone with a built in camera lens of the refutable kind. 

retrospective exhibition of artist okuda san miguel in el carme cultural center

my travel ease was guaranteed, but my snap shots disappoint. i had expected it a bit, i am surprised anyway. whilest images look pleasing on social media, they show their inadequate pixelation hard in photoshop.

aw. man holes. when looking down, you find all sorts of, well, beauty

will you then just bear with me, for what it's worth? i'm working on a small series for my flick library to whom it may concern and i will link that up here when it's done. for now, i've been able to secure a few in this post. ☻

enjoy the weekend. man, it's cold here. holidays after Easter for you? enjoy! ♥

la tierra de las flores

oh. i'm away from home. means i've written this post beforehand, while i was anticipating. in the meantime you may have found my IG and facebook entries. yes. in spain. no rain. well plain. and holiday.

what i hope to find is peace of mind, soft wind, spring sunshine, different people, a language mostly alien to me, good food, a bit of local brews, no alarm clock, sea shore, architecture, distraction. 

errrrm, where'd that come from... ☻

i think that mix will work. the online bookings i've made so far are promising. i'll be staying in a studio, just off jardines del turia, in ciutat vella (old town). since i can't make the journey in one single go...

... i'll be stopping over twice in barcelona too. long time no see, and the time provided in barcelona is very limited, but maybe an evening stroll, an afternoon leisurely walk, possibly a meet up with jane? 

anyway. since i'm feeling quite chirpy, in the mood and generally elated, i am joining a few cunning scenes from a wordy collage. maybe i'll continue the song title into de la luz y del amor. here's me hoping.

from the city above, i greet thee and wish you a splendid weekend 
and a promising week ahead. ♥

what dreams may ...

finally coming round to using up vintage images scraps

as a matter of a tiny project, and to keep the creative stream streaming, i found myself cutting and pasting early last week, all the while wondering where it would lead me. well, it lead me up the hill! 

geraardsbergen, oudenberg, kapel

i remember feeling at crossroads with myself, dilly-dallying, so next i saw myself cutting into vintage flower images. because i needed a hill of grass land, really. and so. 

detail on its side from manneken pis (see below)

before long i felt on a roll, thinking up local scenery, asking myself, can i cut it, and next meaningfully piecing small snippets together. because i can only do this when i have an objective. 

geraardsbergen, oudenberg, chapel and pond

like, perhaps, framing an image in my camera? i don't know. the details are leading me, and there it is, a stylized image that makes me quite ecstatic indeed, seemingly popping up from, well, where?  

geraardsbergen, manneken pis in progress

as a means of distraction, this cutting and pasting does a fine enough trick, offering almost instantaneous gratification (not counting the hours). i'm always in for variation. now, am i looking at greeting cards, i wonder?

the sickness of the body is the cure of the mind *

my tiniest painting palette

i believe there's nothing more challenging in our daily lives than keeping the wheel turning when we're not feeling up to it. since an in-house move at work december last, it's been rough riding in more than one way.

zottegem railway station underpass

winter can be bleak but light, but ours wasn't that. apart from aforementioned professional changes, needing ample adjusting, we've been sailing the tumultuous seas of head colds and unpleasant flus. yes. plural. 

a new diversion. collage

and one can try to hold one's head high, which is always preferable. at a certain point the heavy chin will just stay put on the body and more than a good night's sleep is needed to get it back up. 

my old paint tubs and starting a greetings card...

okay. that's where we're at. i don't find it easy, being ill. i don't find the admitting easy, and i certainly don't find the sweating it out easy. i get bored so easily when the dynamics are missing... 

... for mum, who turned 93... ☺

but. it's true. in between hot teas, light toast, power (well) naps and watching a few films that were awaiting me patiently, i can dedicate precious time to drawing. one can even draw while lying down, i've found!

have a beautiful germ free ☻ weekend, and enjoy your week ahead ♥
* would you believe it? i love that basque proverb!

must have fun

doll's dresses... i can see these on wrapping paper, right? 

where does it come from, my sudden urge to draw doll's dresses? i never even wondered, but just went ahead and used research to draw some dresses up and clothe them on a vignette blob. 

painting blobs is such an addictive thing to do, much like gelli plating (patrice?)

where does the vignette blobbing come from, i don't know that either, frankly. i've for a long time loved all things small and tiny, maybe it's the right and proper size for me? so painting blobs is just mere fun. 

sunday morning breakfast counter doodling

because, that i do know : creating must be fun. i've been giving myself a hard time already over the fall exhibition, losing the plot even, until i realized, i just need to have fun while doing whatever it is i will be doing. 

my prep wall in the studio. oi, long way to go. but! no worries

i am showing a tid bit here, but all of this can still change towards the dates. i don't mind staying close to the exhibition theme (baking), but i might just stray from it just as well. i should not forget to have fun. 

have a beautiful end of the weekend and a brilliant week ahead. ♥