Easter paintings in Farnham Parish Church

carrying the cross

taken down from the cross

I came across these painting last week, but the church was too dark to see them properly.

Today it was much lighter.

They were not originals, which I would love to see. There was no information on them, or if there was, I did not see any.

I suspect they are Stations of the Cross, but if so I only saw eleven and there should be twelve, but I may have missed one.

Note: There are twelve, one is of the Last Supper.

I have always been impressed by Stations of the Cross in churches, as in each church, they are different.

Today there was a large wooden cross, which is not usually in the church. I assume it appeared yesterday, Good Friday.

• Crucifixion or Corpus Hypercubus

Takis Moraitis

Takis Moraitis

Wandering through Plaka, , the old part of Athens below the Acropolis, I came across the studio of Takis Moraitis.

Takis Moraitis hails from Cephallonia and Milos, taking up residence in Piraeus at the end of the sixties. A student of Greece, Rome and Paris, his obvious talent was soon recognized by such famous art figures as George Kouzounis, Spiros Vasilliou and Yannis Tsarouhis, each of whom helped the budding painter develop his own individualistic style with colors and lines.

The lonian Islands and the Kyklades form much of his landscape subjects, where he pays special attention to the pure blue of the Mediterranean sky, the bright sunlight and the white buildings. His has a distinctive style of fusing color and light in a dramatic evocation of romantic settings. Downstairs in the Archipelago Restaurant you will find a very different painting on the theme of “Eat, Drink and be Merry”, but again his usage of blues and golds lend a unique flavor to the hedonistic portrayal.

Moraitis has held Exhibitions in many parts of the world including Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Romania, Australia, Dubai and the Middle East, as well as Cyprus. He has also held many personal exhibitions in many parts of Greece and the Greek Islands, and his paintings have been collected for many important private collections. His works decorate palaces in the Middle East, the Presidential Palace in Cyprus, the Cyprus State Gallery and the Municipality buildings of Piraeus, Crete and Syros.

Throughout his career he has been presented with a number of awards, including those from the International Academy of Dioskouri, Italy. Today you will find Moraitis busy re-building an old house in the Plaka area of Athens, creating a special art center where he plans to host lovers of the art world and teach youngsters who a share his interest in painting Greek subjects.

I wish I had had more time to look at his works and have a chat.

He was most insistent that I look at his cellar. What he seemed to be wanting to show me, standing in the middle of what appeared to be an excavation, was a huge earthenware jar that looked like it something out of the Arabian Nights, wheich he saiod was 2,000 years old.

Arte exposición: éxtasis de Nuria Meseguer

éxtasis de Nuria Meseguer

I never actually found this art exhibition open. The only reason I was able to view it was because I was at a concert in Castillo de San Felipe.

• Coro de Cámara de Garachico en concierto en Castillo de San Felipe

The way the paintings were hung, gave the impression they were floating in front of the walls.

Castillo de San Felipe, an old colonial fort, is now used as cultural space, art, exhibitions, theatre, music, concerts

Castillo de San Felipe

El Castillo de San Felipe, on the edge of Playa Jardín, is a 17th century colonial style fort which used to protect the town from attacks by corsairs and pirates. It is one of three fortifications which used to exist in the town.

Built under Phillip IV between 1630 and 1644. Subsequently abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin after the flood of 1826, as its original purpose as a defence against English privateers was no longer needed.

Apart from guarding the town, the castle also guarded a small harbour located at the mouth of the Barranco de San Felipe. It was this that gave the castle its original name – Castillo del Puerto Viejo.

Castillo de San Felipe is now used as a cultural space for exhibitions, music recitals and drama.

Finding it open is a problem. Only three times have I found it open but was not allowed in, changing art exhibition, rehearsals (twice).

A very misearble man manning it, a typical council jobsworth.

Yesterday it was open, or should have been open. There was due a midday recital, but it was cancelled due to illness of the pianist. A miserable woman, another typical jobsworth, refuused to let anyone in to the art exhibition, even though they had made the effort to tun up for the midday concert. Her unhelpful attitude was one of ´come back Tuesday´.

Arte en Turistkyrka

arte en Turistkyrka

Thursday pea and ham soup in the Swedish Church. A Swedish tradition.

Art on the walls.

Teófilo Galán Ulla

arte de Teófilo Galán Ulla

Teófilo Galán Ulla, T Galán Ulla as he signs his art, was born and educated in Madrid.

He has lived in Barcelona, Munich and Stockholm, but needed tranquility to paint. This he found in Tenerife.

It was in Tenerife I found him, in Puerto de la Cruz.

His style is that of the French Impressionists, though in conversation, he disagreed. His focus is not on detail, but on movement.

An exhibition of his work can be found at the International Art Gallery in Puerto de la Cruz, very near the main church.

The International Art Gallery was founded in 1969 by a group of artists.

Jolanda

Arte de Jolanda

Jolanda has an interesting technique, or to be correct, two techniques.

She is a street artist. I found her on the streets of Puerto de la Cruz, sitting outside Instituto de Estudios Hispanicos in Calle Quintana that runs between Plaza de Iglesia and Plaza Charco. She paints in oils, her canvas a tile.

She will take a white tile, cover it in black, then using thumb or finger, etch out a character or a scene. The result is something akin to a silhouette. I have seen something similar with sand and a strong backlight. The image appears in the sand, then wth a brush of the hand it is gone to be replaced by a new image.

Her other technique is to dab the oils onto the tile with a stick or her fingers, then mould into position with a finger.

I rarely find Instituto de Estudios Hispanicos open. If I do, I make the effort to pop in as they always have a good exhibition. Yesterday was no exception, a series of photos.

I was looking for another art exhibition. I followed the directions I had been given, and found the streets I was looking for, only I forgot the location. I was hoping maybe something would jog my memory, but nothing. I then came across a poster, it was Restaurante Kafka I was looking for, but I had walked too far to make it worth retracing my steps. Something for another day.

Stokes at The Collection

Stokes at The Collection

A modern coffee bar in a museum, Stokes at The Collection stands in marked contrast to Stokes on High Bridge.

A wide range of quality teas and coffees, their own made cakes, locally sourced for their lunches.

The contract to run the County Restaurant is up for grabs. Maybe Stokes will take it on, but they would have to make the point, locally sourced, no white van chiller food hotted up. County Restaurant has good staff, what is wrong is the company that has the contract. Stokes took over at The Collection and improved it. They could do the same with the County Restuarant.

The Collection in Lincoln is a museum and art complex that houses a museum and incorporates the Usher Art Gallery.

Art by Phil Martin

Painting of Lincoln by Phil Martin on exhibition at Café 44

looking down Steep Hill outside Readers Rest

Steep Hill

Paintings of Lincoln by Phil Martin on exhibition at Café 44, an indie coffee bar in Lincoln.

Phil Martin is a local artist, who began his art career with military fine art. He has exhibited across Europe. He mainly works in oil and acrylic.

The Drawn Blank Series 2012

Drawn Blank

Train Tracks

A couple of weeks ago I was in Guildford and stumbled upon art by Ronnie Wood in a little gallery. It must have been my lucky day, as the same gallery had running in parallel an exhibition of the art of Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan is one of the most influential figures in music in the last five decades.

I saw him play with Eric Clapton sometime in the 1970s.

Bob Dylan the singer-songwriter is well known, less well known Bob Dylan the artist.

A collection of his drawings and sketches created whilst on a world tour 1989-1992 were published in Drawn Blank (1994). The originals were lost. To recreate what was lost, the artwork in Drawn Blank was blown up to life size, and used to create a new set.

This new collection, a re-creation of the old collection, went on display at a museum exhibition in Germany in autumn 2007 where it drew record crowds, followed by the Halcyon Gallery in London in 2008.

Ingrid Mössinger – the curator of the Kunstsammlungen Museum, in Chemnitz, Germany – came across Drawn Blank during a visit to New York in 2006. Instantly excited about Dylan’s work, she contacted the artist’s team and was thrilled to learn that Bob Dylan would agree to have his art exhibited in public for the first time.

When Dylan had first drawn the works in this series he had intended to create paintings based upon them. Ingrid Mössinger’s proposed exhibition encouraged him to now do this using watercolour and gouache. “I was fascinated to learn of Ingrid’s interest in my work, and it gave me the impetus to realise the vision I had for these drawings many years ago,” Bob Dylan commented.

These paintings formed a collection entitled The Drawn Blank Series. Unlike the delicacy of the drawings in Drawn Blank the paintings are expressive and vibrant. Dylan paints several versions of the same image, using different colours and tones which result in a dynamic variety of impressions, feelings and emotions.

The Drawn Blank Series 2012 is a selection from this collection.

Bob Dylan has recently released a new album Tempest to mark 50 years and will tour North America.

I was in Guildford today talking with Ben in Ben’s Records. I mention the two art exhibitions, and that when I was there, I remarked they need to change the background music to Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Ben kindly lent an album by each which I was happy to drop off.

Forest Gallery is a small art gallery at the top of Guildford High Street.