Earths Last Picture by Kipling, illustrated by Ian Elliot

This is one that is not going to disappear as soon as they turn off the lights. I first posted this a very long time ago as one of my early entries to the Poetry Wednesday group. This one has always stuck in my mind. I like the way it uses the metaphor of the artist and his pictures.

THE POEM I HAVE CHOSEN FOR TODAY IS

EARTHS LAST PICTURE, BY KIPLING

AND THE PAINTINGS I HAVE CHOSEN TO GO WITH THIS POEM ARE BY

IAN ELLIOT

This is taken from the following web site;

http://www.online-literature.com/kipling/

KIPLING

When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted

1892

L'Envoi To "The Seven Seas"

When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,

When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,

We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two,

Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew.

And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;

They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.

They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;

They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;

And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,

But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,

Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!

ABOUT KIPLING

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born, 30 December, 1865 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Some of Kipling’s earliest memories were of his and sister Alice’s trips to the bustling fruit market with their ayah or nanny, or her telling them Indian nursery rhymes and stories before their nap in the tropical afternoon heat. His father had an art studio which provided many happy outlets for his early creativity. The family were in the habit of taking evening walks along the Bombay Esplanade beside the Arabian Sea, the dhows bobbing on the glittering waters

Kipling enjoyed early success with his poems but soon became better known as a short story writer with his now famous portrayals of the people, history, and culture of his times. In his essay “Rudyard Kipling” George Orwell called him “the prophet of British Imperialism in its expansionist phase.” Kipling was a product of his place in history and as such often focused on the British Empire and her brave soldiers; today that aspect of his work and its inherent imperialism and ‘taming the natives’ flavour has limited his popularity. Today he is better known for The Jungle Book which has inspired  many other literary works plus its  adaptations for film and  television.

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This is taken from the following web site;

http://www.scottishartpaintings.co.uk/showArtist.asp?aId=50

The Artists web page can be found here;

http://www.ianelliot.com/

IAN ELLIOT

Ian Elliot was born in Glasgow in1946. He attended Glasgow School of Art in 1964 but even prior to this he  had won several medals for modern art Scottish paintings.

When he left the Glasgow School of Art he initially took up a career teaching modern art and eventually became Head of Modern Art at a large Glasgow school. He then decided to focus full time on painting contemporary art and became a working artist.

In 2003 he was a finalist of International Artist magazine for his Landscape painting.

His paintings are often inspired by his visits to the Scottish farmlands, Tuscany and Mallorca. He is quoted as saying

“Traveling extensively throughout the Scottish farmlands, an endless fascination for the Tuscan countryside and regular visits to me pied a terre on the Island of Mallorca have provided me with an endless land and seascape material creating a fusion of shimmering colours, distinctive buildings of the land, and abstract expressionistic vistas.”

And guess where I shall be going next month……..

He has two upcoming solo shows. The first is in association with Scotlandart.com Gallery, Burnfield Road in Giffnock, Glasgow. It runs from the 16 Sept - 16 Nov 2008. The second is at the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. This runs from 23 Sept - 3 Nov 2008. More information on these will be posted soon. You can also contact me for further details.

Art. Nicol Porter

THIS IS THE FIRST NEW ART POST, THIS ONE WILL NOT DISAPPEAR ONCE MULTIPLY TURN THE LIGHTS OFF.

The Nicole Porter gallery.

This is exactly where I was, inside those purple doors sipping white wine at the opening of her most recent exhibition when I decided there really was something wrong with my eye and I needed to go home as soon as possible.

Nicole Porter was born in Aberdeen, trained as an Artist in Dundee and now runs the Nicole Porter gallery in Aberdeen.

The exhibition I went to see was not an exhibition of her work but an exhibition of other local artists. Her work was on  display at the back of the gallery and to say I was impressed is an understatement. 

This is the link to her gallery

http://www.nicoleporter.co.uk/

This is a link to her work

http://www.nicoleporter.co.uk/home.html

and please pay special attention to her portraits, they really are wonderful, full of detail, almost photographic but alive and warm at the same time. You think they will each out to touch you

Portrait paintings her

http://www.nicoleporter.co.uk/work.html

and this is a link to her blog where she talks about what is going on in the world of Art.

http://nicoleportergallery.blogspot.co.uk/

The following information is from her website. She has worked all over the world and is known internationally,

Biography

1986; Born in Aberdeen, Scotland.

2004 to 2008

First Class Honours Degree in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, Scotland.

2008 to 2009

 Lived and worked in Norway. Studied with and assisted Odd Nerdrum in his international artists community.

Summer 2009

 Lived and worked in Paris. Studied with and assisted Odd Nerdrum in his Paris studio.

Autumn 2009

 Lived and worked in New York. Studied with and assisted Steven Assael in his New York studio. Studied at the Arts Students League in New York with Frank Porcu, Michael Grimaldi and Costa Vavagiaski.

Presently

 Living and working in Aberdeen, Scotland as resident artist and partner of The Nicole Porter Gallery.

She has also won countless awards including

Artist Of The Year 2011- Artists and Illustrators Magazine - shortlisted artist

Art, Samuel Poploe

This is the guy whose exhibition I went to see at St Andrews on Friday. Normally still life is not my favourite subject matter, but his are truly amazing. He is what I would call a ‘painterly’ painter, more than anything else he is into ‘paint’. When you see his work in the flesh it’s alive, vibrant and above all, he loves paint. The actual medium is as important as any thing else. I think he is a paint worshiper.

Samuel John Peploe

(27 January 1871 – 11 October 1935) was a Scottish Post-Impressionist painter, noted for his still life works and for being one of the group of four painters that became known as the Scottish Colourists. The other colourists were John Duncan Fergusson, Francis Cadell and Leslie Hunter.

More of this  here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Peploe

The Scottish Colourists

The artists, Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935); John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961); George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931) and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883-1937) have achieved international acclaim in recent years following major retrospective exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London and the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. Despite the diversity of their work and their relatively independent careers, they are now recognised as an identifiable movement within the history of art and their influence is still apparent in painting today.

The four painters became known as the Scottish Colourists because they grafted their knowledge of contemporary French Art – Monet, Matisse, and Cezanne - onto the painterly traditions of Scotland, redefining the qualities of light and colour in their still life, landscapes, figurative paintings and drawings into their own singular styles.

More of this here

http://www.exploreart.co.uk/artistic_styles_details.asp?artistid=62&artisticstyleid=4

A Biography

For those who want it, A more in depth biography:

Peploe was a passionate and serious artist who devoted himself to work but also had powerful influence on a surprisingly wide circle of people, including many artists of the next generation. Born in Edinburgh and educated at the Collegate School in Charlotte Square, he had good academic ability but no interest in the professions, preferring to walk, sail or sketch.
By 1893 he was enrolled for classes at the Trustees Academy (the forerunner to Edinburgh School of Art) and the following year was in Paris at the Académie Julian under the neo classicist, William Bourgereau and later at the Académie Colarossi. A long period of study nurtured his natural ability and helped him perfect an early style based on Dutch masters, particularly Franz Hals, and Edouard Manet. He began a lifelong habit of taking painting trips to northern France and the Western Isles, accompanied by J D Fergusson whom he had met in Paris. He was successful in exhibiting his work and regularly submitted paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Glasgow Institute and the Society of Scottish Artists.
His first one-man show was held at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh in 1903. By 1906 his earlier still life and figure paintings, characterised by dark backgrounds, gave way to paler colours, greys and pinks. This was in part due to a move to a new lighter studio in the East end of Edinburgh at York Place, from his previous west-end base at Shandwick Place. His second exhibition in 1909 was successful but his eyes were turning to Paris and the next year, he moved there with his new wife, Margaret MacKay, whom he had met on a painting trip to the Isle of Barra in 1894. France liberated his palette and on his return to Edinburgh in 1912 with dozens of paintings and a young son, Willie, the new work proved to be much too advanced for the city’s audience and his original dealer. Unperturbed, Peploe put on his own show at the New Gallery in Shandwick Place, where the Society of Eight (including Cadell, John Lavery and James Paterson) had their inaugural exhibition in the same year.
For the next fifteen years Peploe retained a brilliant palette, evolving a mature style containing elements of Cezanne and Matisse. By the late 1920s he had reverted to a more sonorous tonal painting, still enlivened by brilliant colour chords, but weightier and cooler. In 1933 he taught two terms at Edinburgh College of Art making quite an impact. Best known for his still life paintings of roses or tulips, Peploe had a wide range of subjects including figure and landscape painting.
From 1914 he was a regular visitor to Dumfries and Galloway, particularly Kirkcudbright and also from 1919 onwards to the isles of Iona. On the recommendation of Cadell he visited Cassis in the South of France in 1924, and returned in 1928 and 1930. His landscapes have a conviction and a passion, which belie the rather diffident, shy public face of the artist. His family and closest friends knew a wickedly funny, compassionate and sincere man.
Text source: Samuel Peploe (Guy Peploe, S J Peploe’s grandson); the Dictionary of Scottish Painters, (Halsby & Harris) and The Scottish Colourists, (Philip Long).

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Aug 5 the four colourists remind me just a bit of the group of seven as well. :-)

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Aug 5 this is amazing art and i love the four colourists! Samuel John Poploe was born on my birthday. :-)

delete reply artprevails wrote on Aug 5 So much good background on the way Peploe's art evolved. And I really enjoyed the You Tube video. Thank you! Peploe's art is wonderful.

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Aug 5 forgetmenot525 said thanks, glad you like them, if you want to see more of the 'Scottish Colourists', look up my tag 'scottish colouristrs', there are quite a few posts and albums of these of these painters. Thanks I will :-)

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Aug 5 these are great presentations of the medium of paint were the beauty of the work is not just the subject but how the paint is applied and draws one into the work i notice that a lot in your own work :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Aug 5 nemo4sun said he knows his way with a brush! :) yep.............thats what I thought, except that sometimes he abandons his brush in favour of a pallet knife, and he still knows his way around even without the brush

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Aug 5 he knows his way with a brush! :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Aug 5 aaranaardvark said Thanks for the info on the Scottish Colourists whom I'd never heard of prior to reading your post. thanks, glad you like them, if you want to see more of the 'Scottish Colourists', look up my tag 'scottish colouristrs', there are quite a few posts and albums of these of these painters.

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Aug 5, edited on Aug 5 Thanks for the info on the Scottish Colourists whom I'd never heard of prior to reading your post. The Peploe paintings are wonderful, I especially like those roofscapes and churches. A very interesting bio too, the video was a good contextual aid and the music was just perfect. What more can I say Loretta? Nice one :-)

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Aug 5 Very nice art. I particularly like the second one from the top.

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Aug 5 his works are beautiful-I love them-thanks Loretta

delete reply skaviva wrote on Aug 5 That was interesting. Thank you.

delete reply pestep55 wrote on Aug 5 Even here the vibrance and definition comes though, chipper sound on the video /:-)

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Aug 5 It's so nice you can find a video of his paintings.

Art, cake art

 

Been a bit bust this weekend, had family staying, been out for a birthday meal and now I'm left with one grandchild who is staying for the rest of the week. School holidays must be a nightmare for parents, I didn't realise how much child care actually costs but to send two children to 'holiday club' while the parent works costs a minimum of £15.00 per child per day. That ads up to a huge chunk of wages, which is why I've ended up with one child for the week. This way at least my daughter only has to pay for one child to go to holiday club.
I've not even thought about Art Sunday until now, and all I can think of is 'cake'. But that's OK because these days cake making is quite an art form. This is the lady who makes the cakes for me. I used to work with her until her 'hobby' grew into a demanding business and she didn't have the time to go to work any more. She resigned and now spends her days creating cakes for special occasions.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cakes-by-Momo-x/223012644431795
these are just a few of the cakes she has made but there are literally hundreds more on her FB site.
She's not the only one out there specializing in novelty cakes;

This is a  gardener cake from

http://www.om-nanya.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/pic-of-the-day.jpg
A Van Gogh cake from here

http://img.chan4chan.com/img/2011-01-26/1296058060964.jpg
A sewing machine cake from here

http://towse.com/wordpress/2007/04/28/amazing-cake-art/
A treasure chest cake from here

http://englishrussia.com/2007/04/19/cake-art/
And.........couldn't miss this, the famous 'cake car' advert

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Jul 16 These look too good to eat!

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Jul 16 There's some wonderful cakes there, some of them like the sewing machine and the treasure chest don't even look like cakes. I love the Van Gogh one.

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Jul 15 forgetmenot525 said I don't remember cake art in the 70's...............I hope the cake hadn't been on exhibition too long or become stale cos a mouthful of stale cake's not worth a criminal record. :-) My thoughts exactly at the time, but the bite was an artistic act that abolished the distance between object and the observer and it also gives the concept of 'taste' a whole new meaning as I see it Loretta. He suffered for his art, the cake may well have been a bit on the stale side, but the point was made, cakes are made for eating. :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 aaranaardvark said he artist didn't want to press charges, she could see this was art too, but the gallery did so he ended up fined for criminal damage. Shame that:-) I don't remember cake art in the 70's...............I hope the cake hadn't been on exhibition too long or become stale cos a mouthful of stale cake's not worth a criminal record. :-)

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Jul 15 I loved the Van Gogh Stary Night cake especially....but, the sewing machine had me baffled Loretta.

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Jul 15 Some completely unbelievable - if not seen with my own eyes - cakes here. Somebody I have known all my adult life, during the mid 1970s was prosecuted for taking a bite out of a cake-art dice exhibited at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. The artist didn't want to press charges, she could see this was art too, but the gallery did so he ended up fined for criminal damage. Shame that:-)

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Jul 15 it's so unbelievable how creative people are! :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 hedgewitch9 said Amazing!!! Hi Emma...............:-) thanks

delete reply hedgewitch9 wrote on Jul 15 Amazing!!!

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 veryfrank said Very creative and I'm pleased to hear that she has turned that talent into a lucrative business. Doing what one enjoys and earning a living from it is just wonderful. I agree, she's a lucky lady, too many people either don't have jobs or are stuck in a boring dead end job with no satisfaction. To have a talent that you enjoy but also allows to to earn a living must be one of the best things in life.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 15 very popular then :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 I've got one too

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Jul 15 my Gran had one, too.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 15 my mom had a singer sewing machine that looked just like that :)

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 15 Very creative and I'm pleased to hear that she has turned that talent into a lucrative business. Doing what one enjoys and earning a living from it is just wonderful. I'm hard pressed to choose a favorite. Though I must say that I am partial to the Van Gogh cake.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Jul 15 *grins*

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 greenwytch said those are gorgeous! and of course, i LOVE the gardener's cake and the Van Gogh the best. ; ) I have to agree, those two are my favourites

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Jul 15 what a neat video to watch the bakers make this-no I have never seen this before-very neat!

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Jul 15 those are gorgeous! and of course, i LOVE the gardener's cake and the Van Gogh the best. ; )

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 did you watch the video?? when I first saw that advert on TV I didn't realise they actually MADE that cake.............its no trick, the cake was real. I don't now if you have that advert in America??

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Jul 15 I agree cake decorating has become more art now--I watch shows on food network about cakes and it is amazing what they create--great choices here-thanks- enjoy your grandchild this week

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 15 you are right it is an art ~ not just in design but taste :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 15 they're just so clever...............I could never do that with only food colour and icing sugar, and to make it taste good too...........mmmm, very clever.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 15 these are sooo cool they almost look too good to eat ~ almost lol my sis~in~law used to do decorated cakes :)