Tavern's Member Picture Gallery.

I'm glad I could help you

Here is a link to another interesting picture: https://imgur.com/aQUHzgu
(the map shows the worldwide distribution of live internet addresses)

 

Still haven't managed to get my writing head back on.... been doing a bit of editing and word replacement here and there but I seem to be much more visually orientated. Hopefully that'll change now autumn is upon us and we start losing daylight. Bear with me if I get long-winded, (wouldn't be like me. ) I haven't written much of anything in a while as my email buds can testify to, and any words that pass from brain to keys are helpful right now.

In the meantime I've been keeping busy faffing around with quick-fire art projects, trying to keep each piece to a minimum of 5 hrs work from conception to finished product. Results have been mixed and there's several pieces I've binned, not because the ideas weren't sound, but because my concentration kept slipping and I made too many errors, kinda like what happens when my writing goes to pot.

I've been posting some of them up on my FB page, and both @Wreybies and @jannert have been very kind with their comments. Thanks guys... when it comes to my artwork, I'm as unsure of myself as I am with my writing and any appreciation goes a long way towards making me feel like I'm not flogging a dead horse. I'm a bit of a latecomer to the visual arts too.


First up: 'Gull.' Jan pointed out to me that with a bit of tweaking this image would actually make a good illustration for the opening of my novel. It got me thinking... I'll likely self pub, so what's to stop me using my artwork as an accompaniment to my words? In many respects using both would be a truer representation of how I perceive my story. I think my biggest strength when it comes to my writing is my ability to 'paint' a scene, and I'm starting to suspect how I envisage a scene with words comes from the same source as how I would attempt to visually depict it. Think two overlapping circles in a Venn diagram.

​

The next one, 'Butterfleyes,' was inspired by an exhibit in the Natural History section of the Ulster Museum.

​

The final pic, I did last night. @Wreybies liked the one above and it started a train of thought. We both share a love for certain elements of Japanese culture and still wanting to stick with B&W, I rooted through the pics I've taken that serve as stock to find something fitting to work from. This is a fantasy take based on a piece of ornamentation on a Japanese temple bell.

 

I'm always struck by your wonderful sense for composition @obsidian_cicatrix . They are all very interesting, and so different! I wouldn't assume they were the work of one artist. I like the dragon the most. It's very 3D and the light and shadows, curvy textures, monochromatic nature of it snakes beautifully throughout the image. Awesome job

 

Ta, @jazzabel. You're not the first to say that. I think each image, or images, I use within a piece speaks to me differently, hence the variety of styles. My writing suffers from this kind of inconsistency too, and it's not so easily got away with. It's especially bad at the moment which is why I'm channeling my energies into these instead.

 

That's interesting @obsidian_cicatrix I wonder how that would feel. I suffer from the exact opposite. I have a strong voice, people always tell me they can recognise my style in anything I write, and the same is true for visual. In visual art, it bothers me a bit because I find that no matter how hard I try to deviate, I end up framing and cropping one story per image, there's little ambiguity or depth (literally), things are bold and right there, there's no mystery. So I ultimately end up with something less 'different' then I hoped. It works better in writing, I think. Or I have better control in writing. Who knows, this is a muddled month, last three months in fact, all over the place...

 

@jazzabel. When it comes to mystery my credo is: When all else fails tweak the lighting.

That consistency you speak of would be great in terms of an exhibition though. Totally relate to the muddles last few months. Happens to me without fail this time every year. I learned my lesson after last year not to try and force it. It keeps me back, but its better taking a break than trying to sort my way through thousands of words of absolute drivel. My muse is on vacation and won't be back until the ambient temperature hits 15 degrees, and the magpies don't wake me up at 3.15.

 

Maybe you should crop a bit more and leave out part of the picture/story to add more mystery

 

You are not just talented but also able to produce a high number of artworks in a short time. You can always pick the ones about a certain theme or with a certain style and build up a collection for a thematic exhibition.
You can have as many styles and artist names as you want

 

@obsidian_cicatrix : I love summer, but for some reason it doesn't love me so much. It's definitely not my best season for anything. I tried with the light, but it's the cropping more than anything, almost designer-ry, like a decorative print or a fabric design. Weird.

@Vandor76 : I try, but unless I have control over every detail in the picture, it ends up looking messy. I am planning to take some wide angle shots of sea and sky, hopefully at night, so we'll see how that goes

 

@jazzabel Late autumn and winter are my favourite times of year. I just feel more settled somehow. That's when I seem to be more productive writing-wise. It almost feels like there's a switching box in my head that's triggered by light, and charges up, or drains the creativity/productivity centers in my brain. It's something tangible. I'd be ever so curious to see what this would look like on that new imaging scanner MIT and the University of Vienna came up with, just to see for myself the differences in the patterns of neurons firing.



@Vandor76

Thank you so much. I'm an anxious sort a lot of the time. I'm creative, but with it comes anxiety. Doesn't matter what medium—visual art, music, or the written word—I always feel like my best efforts simply aren't good enough. It's great on one hand; the urge to do better propels me forward, but it's a very fine line between that and becoming so despondent I lose heart.

LOL... I never even considered that. It's funny since I'd planned to use a pseud for my WIP.

 

Our household Brits, @jazzabel, @Lemex, @Lae, @outsider etc, what's the deal with this spotted dick pudding? I was in a hurry at the airport, so I just snapped a picture 'cause, well, the name...

 

What can I say? England is a nation of weirdos.

 

So it's normal to go like
"Yeah, I just ate spotted dick for lunch today. How about you, mate?"
"Had some sweet tart, actually. It was rather scrumptious."

Pervs!

 

We also have these:

http://youoffendmeyouoffendmyfamily.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/faggots.jpg

With that, spotted dick, some tea, and dried blood cake, yum yum!

 

So... British cuisine is offensive in every sense of the word?

Just kidding! I like crumpets and ale.

 

Offensive is the right word. You should just smell Bovril. xD

... get me out of this country!

 

@KaTrian : Offensive and disgusting, like 'toad in a hole'. The relief is, it all tastes much better than it sounds. Except for 'black pudding'

 

Ah, now Toad in the Hole is a genius idea, and one thing that makes England worth keeping around. Some things here don't taste as good as they sound. You will not get peas pudding where you are, the north has saved you from that horror.

 

I worked in Sunderland so I haven't escaped it I love mushy peas though, but made from fresh, not canned. Minor modification

 

Brilliance!

 

Jamie Oliver has an awesome recipe with garlic and fresh mint, yum!

 

Toad in the hole is one of my favorites! the Mrs makes some homemade versions (hers with vegie stuff) lovely!

@KaTrian i think the dick part comes from the word puddick, i was a bit baffled when i first heard it as a kid.

Its hard to keep a straight face when presented with faggots, a few tarts and a spotted dick. Especially when your aunt asks you and your cousins as 11yr olds, "Why are you lot giggling?"

p.s. everyone likes a bit of crumpet

 

Ah, ok, 'puddick.' Makes sense... I guess... I also learned a new word while I watched some TV show about tarts: 'smidge.' So descriptive! Didn't get to taste that toady thing, but maybe next time.

 

@KaTrian : Toad in the hole is just sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding-type crispy batter, so you get sausages to 'peep' out, like toads in the hole You can easily get a good recipe on line, it's so tasty but so calorific... 'Smidgeon' is my favourite, 'A tiny smidgeon of butter on my toast, please'

 

The Mrs adds spices and some thyme etc, very nice.

Faff is my word of the year, safe to use infront of kids and a pause after the first F for adults and they get the jist!!